Blackout After Dark (Gansett Island #21) - Marie Force Page 0,95
fanned her face. “Most romantic thing ever.”
Smiling, he said, “I wasn’t even trying to be romantic. I just knew I couldn’t leave you.”
“Maybe Piper will find her Owen on Gansett Island.”
“Wouldn’t that be something?”
Laura thought of what Piper had said about Jack, but kept it to herself for now. “Sure would.”
Chapter 34
For most of Monday, Dan Torrington had played phone tag with the attorney representing Kyle and Jackson’s father.
“You have to understand,” the attorney said when they finally connected while he was at Mallory and Quinn’s party. “My client only recently learned that their mother had died. He wants to be sure his sons are being well cared for.”
Dan had walked away from the others to take the call, fearing that Seamus would actually have a stroke if they didn’t get this worked out soon. “From all accounts, he was nowhere to be found when she was alive. The boys don’t even know him. I assume that was by design on her part. And not for nothing, a court saw fit to give her full custody. I also assume there were good reasons for that.”
“He had some difficulties and made mistakes he regrets.”
“If I run his record, what am I going to find?” Dan asked, already knowing the details but wondering whether the lawyer would be honest with him.
“You’ll find he had some trouble earlier in his life, but he’s moved on from that.”
“What kind of trouble are we talking?” Dan asked.
“He battled drug addiction for years and did some time for possession. He’s off probation now with a good job and a home that he owns. He was still battling addiction and on probation during the years he was with Lisa, but he hasn’t been in any trouble since he got out of jail.”
“I appreciate you being honest with me, but you have to understand that my clients have provided a good home for the boys and have helped them through the difficult loss of their mother. Disrupting them at this point wouldn’t be in their best interest.”
“He wants to see his sons.”
Dan had held off on presenting Seamus’s plan until it became clear that they were at a stalemate. “I have an offer for you, and I want to be clear—this is the only offer we’re going to make. My clients have full custody of the boys as well as the resources to fight for them if it comes to that. The boys’ mother, who had full custody, chose my clients—not yours—to raise them after she died. You and I both know that any judge would respect the provisions their late mother made for them.”
“Okay, what’s your offer?”
“The O’Gradys are willing to allow him to visit them, but not as their father. They would be told he’s a friend of theirs who wanted to meet them. They’d allow him to visit twice a year, and when the boys are older, they’d be told who he really is and be offered the opportunity to have whatever relationship with him they chose to have.”
“That’s an awfully big ask.”
“It’s a big ask for him to show up at this point making demands when those kids don’t even know him. Where’s he been for the last seven years?”
“I’ll present the offer to him and get back to you.”
“We’ll look forward to hearing from you.”
Dan had no sooner ended the call when Seamus pounced. “What’d he say?”
“He’s going to take your plan to his client. The father had some drug issues and did time for possession. He was still using and was on probation when he and Lisa were together.”
“Ah,” Seamus said. “That explains a lot. What did the attorney say when you told him our plan?”
“That it was a big ask, but I pointed out that him showing up after all these years making demands is a big ask, too.”
“Sure as fuck is.”
“In his defense, he didn’t know until recently that Lisa died.”
“He has no defense. Where’s he been all this time?”
“I said the same thing. I also made it clear that you have both the resources and the wherewithal to fight him.”
“Damn straight. Most of the time, I try to pretend that my lovely wife isn’t loaded, but I wouldn’t hesitate to ask her to pay for something as important as this.”
Carolina curled her hands around Seamus’s arm when she joined them. “I would gladly pay for anything that would keep those boys with us.”
“Ah, love,” Seamus said. “You shouldn’t sneak up on me that way.”