Chapter 6
Family was everything to Wade. When anything threatened them, his priorities shifted. Bella was no different. Claire’s urgency tore through him. She’d scarcely had time to mourn Albert. Now, this legal threat.
It got worse the next day when she texted a photo of a letter, the formal petition from the Weavers’ attorney, along with a court summons already scheduling a date.
Within thirty-six hours, he’d secured an attorney—thanks to his brother Eric’s recommendation.
He didn’t go with the lawyer who’d represented Albert when the Weavers threatened to take Bella from him.
In an even more fragile situation due to Albert’s absence, Wade needed someone who’d treat this case as if their own family were at risk of falling apart.
Now, he settled into the comfort of his home library. Warmed by the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the books on his shelves emitted the scent of leather and aged paper. His gaze drifted to the movie posters—Rocky, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Karate Kid.
The posters always pulled him back to focus. He’d admired Rocky’s resilience and grit. Sometimes, he’d imagined adapting that spirit into animation.
He glanced at the laptop. The countdown ticked across the screen. Any moment now, the family attorney and Claire would convene for their virtual meeting.
He checked his watch again—3:56. Waiting was the hardest part, especially when punctuality seemed more of a suggestion than a practice. He bounced his foot.
The pen in his hand reminded him of the work he was supposed to do as he waited. Time to focus. What was that scene he’d wanted to jot down before Novi had called?
“It looks like Wade is here already.” A voice crackled through the screen.
He swiveled to the computer, and the attorney, Sophia Simpson’s face popped up. So did Claire’s in the corner of the screen, her eyes shadowed. Unlike in Guy’s office when she’d looked put together, even composed, her hair was rumpled, her expression worn.
She was still striking, and her exhaustion only added to her determination. “Hi, Wade.”
“Claire.” Hard not to keep things lighthearted by calling her the nickname.
Seeing her this frazzled evoked guilt he couldn’t shake.
He’d been tucked away in his glass-walled home while she’d been holding everything together.
His T-shirt felt like it was clinging to him, the sudden warmth more than just the Malibu sun spilling in from the windows.
Sophia cleared her throat.
So he nodded to her. “Thank you, for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice.”
“Anything when kids are involved.” Her red hair glowed on the screen. “Given your situation as we discussed, we need to act swiftly.”
Claire’s shoulders drooped as if under a weight pressing down on her. Stacks of plastic organizers clustered in her background. Her jewelry supplies, no doubt. The dresser. She must be in her bedroom. Shouldn’t Bella be nearby, making some kind of noise or even crying?
“Where’s Bella?” Did he want to see the tyke?
Bella looked so much like Albert. He didn’t know Bella the way Claire did.
He hadn’t rocked her to sleep or heard her first babbles.
He wasn’t emotionally attached, but he couldn’t bear the thought of her being taken away.
It would be like losing Albert all over again.
“My friend showed up for our movie night earlier. She’s with her now.”
At least she had support from her friend and church perhaps, but shouldn’t he be there?
He’d been there since the beginning, having flown in to congratulate Albert when Sammy was supposed to leave the hospital.
Instead, she’d lost too much blood. Claire had been there, and Wade had waited with her, the two of them hovering by the nursery as Albert alternated between it and checking on his wife on life support.
Claire was a constant presence. Her life was intertwined with Bella’s from the start. He’d assumed she’d be fine because that’s who she was—giving, resilient, steady. But hearing her voice break yesterday changed his assumption.
“We need to address the concerns Lauren raised.” Sophia’s face turned serious. “And the legal implications from those. Have you met the caseworker, Wade?”
“No.” And he had no desire to, considering her assessment of Claire’s situation. His jaw stiffened. He respected social workers, sure. But Bella didn’t need intervention. “Bella doesn’t need a caseworker. She has guardians.”
“Apparently, I’m ‘overwhelmed.’” Claire let out a shaky breath, her fingers brushing her chin. “I’ve been doing everything I can.”
His heart clenched. “You’re doing great, Cupcake.” He’d nearly hired a caregiver for her dad right after Sammy’s death, but Albert refused his help, insisting Wade had done more than enough by covering the attorney fees. “I know you’re incredible with John too.” She was the rock for her family.
“But it’s a lot to manage alone, Claire.” Sophia tilted her head to the side, then reviewed some notes. “Hiring a caregiver for your dad could alleviate some of the pressure.”
“I’ll call Hearts at Hand.” His old friend Bryce’s wife, Liberty, owned the caregiving agency. “We’ll get a caregiver to tend to John’s needs.”
“That’s a good step.” Sophia held up a hand.
“But the primary concern here is the court’s perspective on what’s best for Bella.
Her maternal grandparents are retired and have financial stability, a spacious home, and ample time to provide care.
Lauren noted that your living situation is…
chaotic. This could give the grandparents an edge. ”
“If…” Claire flinched. Her lips pressed into a thin line. He rarely saw her appearing so vulnerable. “If I hire a caregiver for Dad, shouldn’t that be enough?”
“Stability for Bella also means stability for her guardians, Claire.”
Wade’s stomach knotted. “What are our options, Sophia?” He folded his arms on the table. “There’s got to be something we can do.”
The lawyer’s brow furrowed as she reviewed the letter where Albert named him and Claire as Bella’s appointed guardians. “Albert mentioned… He seemed to think the two of you… had chemistry.”
Claire’s cheeks flushed. Her curls slapped them with her headshake.
“I don’t know what Albert was thinking.” He could hear her knuckles popping, a nervous habit formed when she was younger, always fidgeting her knuckles when she felt cornered.
Heat had crept up his spine when he’d read Albert calling him out on looking at Claire as if she were the last woman on earth.
But the rest of the letter jarred him too much to dwell on those lines.
“You’re both single, right?” Sophia’s gaze remained steady, intrigued?
Wade straightened in his seat, heat kicking up. “What are you suggesting?”
“There is an… unconventional option.” She pursed her lips, her brown eyes alight. “If the two of you married, you’d present a united front to the court. It would show Bella has a stable family unit, emotionally and financially.”
“Married?” Claire gasped, her eyes widened, and her mouth sagged open.
“Marriage?” Wade echoed, needing confirmation on the audacious suggestion.
“It may seem old-fashioned, but it could make all the difference.” Sophia’s mischievous expression sobered. “Courts value stability, and if you’re both single and want Bella to stay with family, this could be your strongest option.”
The idea lodged in his mind like a contrived movie plot twist. Marrying Claire would mean rewriting everything he knew about her.
And himself. It would be more than any scripted love interest he’d ever portrayed.
He looked at her. For a fleeting moment, he could almost see it—the two of them, a family, keeping Bella safe and loved minus all the other things marriage entailed.
“You never know what kind of start will make a marriage work,” Sophia kept talking, a wistful smile edged in between her words.
“My husband and I had a whirlwind romance in France and married a week after we met on a tour bus. Once we started living together, we learned more about each other than we ever would’ve just dating. ”
“We can’t just—”
“Let’s do it.” Wade cut Claire off before he could second-guess himself. His brother Nate would call it a classic Nate move—impulsive, brash, leaping before looking.
“Wade, are you serious?” Claire’s gaze locked on him through the screen.
The decision settled in with unexpected certainty. “For Bella.” It felt right.
Claire blinked, her brow and jaw tightening, her head shaking.
So he spread out his hands, his resolve firming. “We can’t let the Weavers take her away. If getting married is what it takes, then we should do it.” It wasn’t as though they’d live under the same roof. He had no girlfriend or intentions to get married. This was a small price to pay for Bella.
Claire’s jaw relaxed, and the furrows fled her brow. But that hesitation still dimmed her eyes. “Wade, that’s a huge decision. We’ve never even… I mean you and I have—”
“I know,” he interjected, hoping she meant the feelings he’d chosen not to act on, even that night they’d danced at Albert’s wedding.
She’d felt right in his arms, her subtle herbal fragrance, her incredible softness.
Despite their unexpected connection, he’d kept his distance once again.
Albert had pushed him to dance with her, but the attraction Wade felt terrified him enough to maintain his distance whenever he visited Albert thereafter.
“If you’re both on the same page…” Sophia beamed. “You two have a wedding to plan. Before the court date is even better.”
“Is that the only option?” Claire winced as if fearing the answer.