Chapter 5
If his lips are gonna be on something I made, I’d rather it be a duck call.
-Jase-Duck Dynasty
James
Cursing as the phone in my pocket stopped ringing before I could answer it, I glanced at the screen and groaned.
Twenty seconds later, it started up again. “Hello?”
“Mr. Allen? This is Lillian McBride, with Child Protective Services. Is this a good time to speak with you?” No nonsense Lillian asked.
Gritting my teeth against the irony of being outside her very building while she was calling me, I managed a stark, “Yes.”
“We’ve had another report filed against you. We would like to come out sometime in the next week to evaluate the allegation.” She said formally.
No bullshitting with this one. The woman was a hardened shell of a woman. Although, I guess she would be. She’d seen it all in her fifty something years, and then some. The sad thing was, was that most of those ‘things’ she’d seen were all about children. Poorly treated, abused children.
“What is the report this time?” I asked with a frustrated sigh.
I’d had social services, as well as police, called on me at least once a month over Janie. My ex, Anna, decided that she wanted to be a part of Janie’s life after all, and was using everything in her power to get it. What I hadn’t figured out yet was why.
A little over a year ago, Anna had tried to say that Janie wasn’t mine. Luckily, after a DNA test, it was proven that I was Janie’s father, no longer giving her a leg to stand on. Then the stupid woman tried to sue for custody of Janie. Which didn’t go well for me at all.
The judge that presided over the case was a man hating woman activist who hated me on principle. She didn’t care that Anna had signed over her rights to Janie. All she cared about was doing what was best for women.
The bile still burns when I think about the court hearing that day.
***
Six months ago
Stevens v. Allen
Family Court of Rusk County
“Ms. Allen, can you tell me why you signed away your rights?” Anna’s douche of a lawyer asked.
Anna struck a sad face and forced a lone tear to trail down her cheek. “James, I mean, Mr. Allen, told me he would force me to, and it would be best if I did it the easy way.”
What a load of bullshit. I’d never done any such thing. I’d given her two months to come back before having my lawyer contact her. She’d signed away her rights in front of a fucking judge for Christ’s sake. I didn’t force her to do anything.
Fucking bitch.
I heard Cheyenne and my mother’s sharp inhalation behind me after Anna made her explanation, and I prayed that they both held it together. This shit wasn’t easy for me either, but I was good at waiting.
A sniper had to be.
“No further questions.” Mr. Douche smirked.
Chairs creaked as the occupants of their seats shifted while waiting to see what happened next.
My lawyer, Todd Masterson, stood and made his way to the box where Anna sat. She shifted uncomfortably at the power emanating from him, and I inwardly grinned.
The man was fucking awesome. Six feet four inches of hard muscle wrapped up in a sleek lawyer’s suit. He’d been a marine for twelve years, and a lawyer for seventeen. He knew his shit, and I had every faith in him. After 9/11, he’d enlisted, and hadn’t looked back since. He’d handled my affairs for the past six years, and my mother’s before that.
“Ms. Steven’s,” Todd boomed, then flexed his hands. “Have you pursued any contact with Janie since you signed away your rights?”
Anna shifted again. “Well, three years ago I tried to see her, but that man,” She pointed in Sam’s direction. “Wouldn’t let me, so I left.”
Sam didn’t shift when the scrutiny turned his way. In fact, his presence only seemed to multiply. The man was a fucking robot when he wanted to be. Not one thing could shake our captain. Oh, he could be angered, or upset, but you’d never be able to tell. He’d just kill you first. He’d slit your throat, facial expression never changing.
“Well, from what I understand from my records, that was four years ago. What exactly have you been doing since then?”
She didn’t have an answer right off hand, so she took a few seconds to think about it. “Well, he told me that if I returned, that I wouldn’t like it. I felt my life was in danger, so I stayed away.” She finally answered.
“What did he say that made you feel threatened?”
“Objection.” Mr. Douche yelled.
“Sustained. Mr. Masterson, please stay on topic.”
I was confused as to why that wasn’t on topic, but with the way that the judge kept glaring at me and Todd, I wasn’t sure there was a reason. She was just that bad of a bitch. The woman was going to cost me custody of my daughter. I knew it.
Twenty minutes later, my fears were confirmed. At least partially.
“Ms. Stevens, I am granting you supervised visitation, with a chance of partial custody after five months if the third party supervisor confirms that you are worthy. Dismissed.” The woman snapped, then clanged the gavel.
My stomach was at my feet. Janie didn’t know her mother at all. That wouldn’t stop her though. At six, she was very intelligent. I’d told her about her mother, about why she wasn’t with her any longer. Janie knew, on some level, that her mother wasn’t there because her mother didn’t want her. Therefore, Janie seeing her, even in a supervised setting, didn’t sit well with me.
Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it just yet. Only figure out what Anna’s ulterior motive was before she hurt my little girl.
***
The sigh that slipped out of Lillian’s mouth surprised me. She was normally careful to be completely partial, but I had a feeling that Anna’s false claims were wearing on her patience.
“The anonymous tip that was obtained says that you are bringing unconscious women that you’ve drugged home and then copulating with them. Where then you make them walk home.” She finally said.
“Ummm, okay. I guess I’ll see you soon. Mrs. Lillian.” I said tightly, hanging up at her proper Goodbye.
What. The. Fuck.
I haven’t had a woman in my house in five fucking years. That didn’t mean I’d been celibate since then, but I sure haven’t fucked any of them in front of my daughter.
Then what she’d said hit me, and I wanted to fucking kill someone.
An unconscious woman could very well be Shiloh. Although unconscious, I hadn’t fucked her. I most certainly would’ve remembered that. The woman had been the star of my jerk off fantasies for seven and a half months now.
And if they had seen Shiloh being carried in by me last night, then that meant that they had eyes on me. “Motherfucker.” I growled.
Yanking the phone out of my pocket and all but spit my words out to Sam on the other line. “Find him.”
***
Shiloh
“Hello, Ms. Mackenzie,” The woman who’d be doing my interview, Lillian, said before gesturing to a seat. “Please, have a seat. I’m sorry I was delayed. I had to make a quick phone call to someone about a case.”
“That’s okay, Mrs. McBride, I understand.” I said once I was situated in my seat.
She sighed loudly, and I was startled. Lillian looked like a woman that would die before sighing, so I assumed the case was a bad one.
“Once you’re hired on, I would love to go over this case with you. I’ve heard such good things about you. Captain Brady didn’t have anything but nice things to say. He said you’ve helped a lot of children in your short time as a social worker.” She explained.
Captain Brady was like a second father to me. He knew my dad, and was always there when I needed something. He’d also helped me sign on with the Galveston PD when I was nothing more than eighteen newbie. I’d been a police dispatcher while I went to school for my Social Services degree.
“Yeah, Captain Brady is a great man.” I agreed.
I had to force myself not to say hell of a great man. I’m not sure how that worked with a job interview. After working at the police department around a bunch of men, as well as my brother, I just didn’t have the vocabulary of a debutante. I swear like a sailor, and it’s not often that I curb it. However, I’d do just about anything to get out of my current job, even if it meant changing my attitude for the time being.
“You have impeccable references. However, I’m a little concerned about the notice you gave with your previous employer. He did say that you left without notice.” She said, her stare holding mine unflinchingly.
“Yes, ma’am. Without telling you my life story, I had some trouble with an ex-boyfriend of mine. He wouldn’t take no as an answer, so I moved out of town.” I explained.
I didn’t tell her that I’d found out I had a brother, and then started digging into my father. I wanted to know more about Sam, and that inevitably cost me my job, my life, and my happiness. Sure, my ex was definitely not my favorite person, but I would never give a man that much of a hold over me.
Part of it was true, so we’d just go with the less descriptive explanation.
Her mouth pursed when she heard the story of my ex, and I knew I had the job.
“I’d like to start you out on a probationary period. It’s customary for all new hires. I don’t see you as having a problem with it. Once you’ve worked here for 90 days, we’ll have an evaluation of your performance, you’ll get a raise if we deem you worthy, and then your benefits will kick in. How does all this sounds?”
“Sounds perfect. When would you like me to start?” I asked almost giddily.
I tried really hard not to bounce in my seat like a teenager high on Edward Cullen and his glittery super awesomeness, and I was 99 percent effective. I couldn’t control the bounce of my leg, however.
“Tomorrow morning. We don’t come in until nine a.m. You’re more than welcome to come in at eight if you need a lunch break, but most of the office just come in and eat at our desks. We work until five, most days, but there will be the off chance that you have to work late due to a case. You’ll have certain cases that are assigned to you, but don’t hesitate to ask me or anyone else in the office for help.” She smiled.
“You’ll be given your own car; feel free to use it when you need to, just don’t overdo it. Umm, what else?” She asked as she tapped her pencil on the desk. “Oh! Never go in a residence if you feel unsafe. Trust your gut instinct. We have police officers that are on call for us when we need them.”
I understood that completely. Many of the children that were in the system lived in a potentially dangerous environment. There was no way we could know if that same threat against the child was posed against us as well.
“I understand.” I whispered.
“Well, if that’s all, we will see you in the morning. You’ll get your car then as well.” She said standing and holding out her hand.
I shook it, and she led me out into the main office again. “Have a good rest of the day, dear. I’ll see you bright and early!”
I nodded my head and smiled, then pushed the door open. I was momentarily blinded by the sunshine, and it took me a few minutes to adjust. James wasn’t there, which really didn’t surprise me much. Bum me, yes, it did. Surprise me? No.
I glanced up at the clouds that were moving by at what felt lie the speed of light, and looked further into the distance to see black clouds on the horizon. Then my broken arm started to throb, and I closed my eyes willing the pain away.
“Great. Just fucking great.” I growled and started down the sidewalk.
“What’s great?” James asked.
Screeching like a banshee and jumping four feet in the air, I whirled and turned towards the alley that I was in the process of passing. James was straddling his bike, both elbows resting on the gas tank and crossed. He was staring at me with amusement on his face, and I wanted to punch him in the nose.
“My arm hurts.” I snapped.
His smile fell away instantly, and he stood, still straddling the bike, and fished out a bottle of pills from his pocket. “Here, I got these filled for you while you were in your interview.”
I smiled warmly at him, feeling like a complete ass. “Thank you. I really do appreciate it.”
He flipped the saddlebag on his right side open and pulled out a Coca Cola, handing it to me after I had a pill in my hand. Shoving the pill bottle in my purse, I took the drink from him, grimacing inwardly. I hated Coke, but anything was better than my throbbing arm right about now.
“You don’t like Coke?” He asked as he saw me make a disgusted face after I drank.
“No.” I said, handing the offending drink back to him.
“Weird.” He said, taking a swig.
“When I was younger, that used to be the only thing my mother would have on hand. It didn’t take long for me to attribute starvation to the taste of Coke.” I said without thinking.
“You starved?” He barked.
I jumped at the bite of anger in his tone. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. The only time we ate well was when dad came for a visit. Things would get better for a while after that, but it didn’t stay that way. Whether it was because she ran out of money, or just plain didn’t care what my father would do is beyond me.”
He didn’t say anything, and I didn’t want him to. I didn’t want anybody’s pity. Instead of allowing more questions, I started walking back down the sidewalk. James cursed behind me and started the bike up.
The alley seemed to amplify the loud rumble of the motor, and I had to smile. It sounded like a monster.
Said beast pulled up beside me on the sidewalk. “Get on. I’ll take you home.”
“I can’t. I have to go find some appropriate work clothes. Lucky for me it’s business casual.”
“I’ll take you wherever you would like to go. Come on.”
The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Goodwill and a few consignment shops. What most people don’t realize is that there is actually good stuff at these places. Even before I was forcibly moved to Kilgore, I shopped at the Goodwill. I just didn’t have it ingrained in me to pay full price for something that I could get nearly twenty five times cheaper somewhere else.
“If you don’t mind, I need to run home real quick to make sure I get Janie off the bus, and then I’ll drop you off back at your place.”
He didn’t wait for my acquiescence though, just pointed the bike in the wrong direction and roared off.
We actually caught Janie’s bus when we were about a mile away from Free, and James and I laughed at the googly eyes that all the children were giving us. Janie waved frantically from her seat at the front of the bus, and James played the doting father, waving back to his baby while still keeping a close watch on the road.
Once we got to the bus stop, a very excited Janie, whose feet were moving faster than her mind, tumbled off the bus. James made a move to get up and help his baby up, whom was now crying, but I gave him a pat, signaling that I would handle it. He was in an awkward position with my bags, and me all on the bike behind him, and I felt it prudent to help in any way I could.
“You okay, sweetie?” I cooed as I dropped down next to Janie on the dust.
The bus driver yelled a goodbye, and pulled away, leaving us in silence, minus the soft crying coming from Janie. “Y-yes.”
“What happened, punkin’ head?” I asked, smoothing her blonde wispy flyaway hairs back against her scalp.
Tear tracks ran in straight lines down her cheeks, and she looked absolutely pitiful. The wound itself was fairly basic, scraped knees that everyone dreads, but overall she was in good health.
“I fell off the fucking bus.” She said in one of the sweetest voices I’d ever heard.
“You sure did punkin’ head. You know that’s a bad word. You really shouldn’t say that.” I scolded gently as I helped her to her feet.
“I know. I heard Uncle Max say it yesterday while he was working on the Dyna we have in the shop.” She said with absolutely no apology anywhere in sight.
“Yes, that’s a boy thing. Girls shouldn’t cuss. What kind of Dyna was he working on?” Liar, liar, pants on fire. I was going to hell. My mouth could compete with a Marine’s vocabulary with ease.
“It was a 2002 Dyna Super Glide. It’s really pretty. Uncle Max was replacing the brakes because the dumbass who owns it doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing. Says the Dyna was too much bike for a banker douche like him, but at least it wasn’t one of those pocket rockets that guys with small dicks normally like to ride.” She explained.
Do not laugh. Do not laugh.
My eyes raised from Janie’s hazel ones to the identical ones of her father’s and I saw the mirth floating around in his eyes, trying just as hard as me not to laugh his ass off, too.
“Honey, what have I told you? What goes on in the garage stays in the garage. We don’t repeat bad words anywhere else but there. Got it?” He asked with a twinkle in his eye, and then stooped down to kiss her skinned knee.
“Yes, daddy. It feels all better. Can I have a beer now?” She asked with a pouty lip.
“Sure thing baby. I bet there’s a few in the garage fridge. Why don’t you go check?” He asked as he stood to his full height.
Janie didn’t wait another second. One second she was leaning into her father, and the next she was halfway up the drive.
James turned from watching his daughter’s retreat to studying my face. “I really don’t give her beer.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I got that. Root Beer?”
“Yep. They come in those little baby cans that don’t even seem worth it. The guys make sure it’s always stocked with her favorite. Otherwise they have to hear her complain.” He snickered.
“I’m sure she doesn’t complain in the slightest. What I think happens is that y’all spoil the shit out of her.” I said as I walked up to the garage and watched as Elliott opened her baby can of root beer for her.
“Thank you, Lott. I love you.” She said in her little pixie voice.
If it were possible, Elliott would’ve melted into a puddle of goo onto the floor. He reached his hand down and ran his knuckles on her cheek in a loving gesture, then pulled her ponytail.
“Hey!” She said with indignation.
Her shout was followed by a shot to the balls, which, luckily, Elliott had the wherewithal to block. He wasn’t able to block the frog to his thigh, though. Which caused him to start jumping around crying out. It was a good act. That is if he was actually acting.
“You taught her that didn’t you?” I laughed.
“Uhh, no. That would be Ember. She felt that she needed to know how to defend herself. She’s got one hell of a right hook, too.” He agreed, eyes watching his daughter as she walked to the bike that Sam was working on, then taking a seat next to him on her own stool.
“You want to talk to him?” He asked.
My eyes snapped to James’ face and I flushed. Dammit. All it took was one freakin look at my brother and I started to wish I had him as a friend. My head kept saying ‘Caution, Keep Out!’ but my heart kept saying, ‘That’s your brother. He needs you as much as you need him.’
“No.” I choked. “I would like to go home, though. I can walk. Looks like that storm passed us by.”
A car pulled into the parking lot behind us, but I ignored it in favor of watching my feet.
“It didn’t. It just hasn’t reached us yet. Are you sure you don’t want to stay another day? I don’t mind. Janie and I love guests. Every once in a while it’s nice to have someone to talk to that doesn’t tell me how much she loves GI Joe and Iron Man.” He said, placing his palm on the small of my back.
Tiny little shivers sparked from his hand, down to parts lower that hadn’t seen the light of day in well over a year.
The warmth that his touch had caused took a flying leap off the proverbial cliff when an absolutely adorable woman stepped out of a silver Fusion. She was short, reminding me of Payton and Blaine. Short blonde hair that gathered around her shoulders in choppy layers brought attention to her face, which reminded me of those baby dolls that have the blush painted on in the perfect circles on their cherub cheeks.
“Hey, Jamie.” The woman said, blushing even more perfectly.
She was honestly the most adorable woman I’d ever seen, and I hated her.
The loss of James’ touch at my back was like a cool bucket of water being poured over my skin. His arms opened wide, and I had to step out of the way to make sure I wasn’t mowed down by the little sprite.
Stupid Tinkerbelle.
You know, in Peter Pan, Tinkerbelle was a real bitch. She wasn’t nice in the slightest, and I always wonder why Disney portrayed her as this cute little fairy, when in reality she was Satan’s spawn.
I contemplated the horridness of that sneaky little bitch as I walked down the driveway, and down the road. When I got to the cutoff through the woods, I decided it was best to go ahead and take the shortcut seeing as James was right, and the dark clouds of black were currently straight above me.
Then I cursed myself for getting jealous and leaving when I should have just stayed and waited. But when I saw James’ arms wrap around that woman, something in my chest caught, and I felt the need to run.
I’d experienced enough of that feeling for a lifetime, and I was definitely not standing around watching a man I had a crush on macking on some woman. No sir-ree-bob.