Chapter Six
Sawyer only heard one side of Royce’s conversation, but it was enough to know something was really wrong.
SPD officers and sheriff’s deputies were at their lawyer’s office?
Acid churned in his gut, and a paralyzing fear gripped his heart as Royce wrapped things up.
What the hell had happened? And how would it affect their adoption or even their ability to take Darla home?
He felt an emotional tsunami building and willed himself to calm down.
He probably could’ve talked himself off the ledge with his normal processes if not for his exhaustion.
Sawyer’s brain didn’t want to settle down and be reasonable; it wanted to throw a fucking tantrum.
“Okay,” Royce told Eddie. “I’ll see you soon.”
A warm hand landed between Sawyer’s shoulder blades, and his mother’s comforting scent calmed his surging turmoil. “I promise that everything is going to be okay.” And even though she couldn’t possibly make those guarantees, Sawyer believed her.
He tilted his head to rest against hers. “I need to do something, but I can’t seem to move.”
Royce came to stand in front of him. “Will you call Charlie and ask him what’s going on? There are SPD cruisers on the scene, but it seems like CCSD is in charge. That means the law office isn’t the primary scene for whatever happened.”
The simple suggestion snapped Sawyer out of his fugue.
He glanced at the bassinet where their daughter slept peacefully and mustered the energy to pull his shit together.
Charlie Price, his former partner and now the county undersheriff, would know what was going on.
“That’s a great idea. I’ll call him now.
” Sawyer retrieved his phone and scrolled through his contacts.
Royce walked to the bassinet and stroked Darla’s soft cheek. “There’s nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart. Not about the tongue tie procedure or whatever is happening at the lawyer’s office. Your daddies will make everything right.”
Christ, had Royce just lied to their daughter six hours into parenting? Sawyer knew the message was more for the adults in the room than the sleeping infant, but Darla wriggled in her little cocoon and made the cutest baby sigh he’d ever heard.
“Aww,” the grandmothers collectively said as they moved toward the bassinet.
Sawyer pulled up Charlie’s contact info and tapped the call icon before lifting the phone to his ear.
He wasn’t surprised when his call went to voicemail after several rings.
“Charlie,” he said. “It’s Sawyer. I’ve got a time-sensitive situation going on and need your help.
Our daughter was born this morning. We can’t take her home from the hospital without our attorney filing legal documents with the court, but all attempts to reach her have been unsuccessful.
My father-in-law rode over to the law office to see why no one had returned our calls.
He said the place is swarming with CCSD officers.
I’m not feeling very good about this. Can you please call me as soon as possible and let me know what’s going on?
Talk soon.” He returned the phone to his pocket with a frustrated sigh. “Now what?”
“Well,” Jo said. “I’m going to the waiting room to meet Eddie when he returns. I’ll send Barron back to meet his granddaughter.” She hugged everyone goodbye, gave one last longing look at Darla, and headed out.
Royce crossed the room and flopped down on the sofa as if his legs wouldn’t support him any longer. “This would be easier to handle if we’d managed more than a few hours of sleep last night.”
Evangeline snorted, then covered her mouth to hide her grin. “Sorry. But…get used to it. Nothing will ever be the same. Not sleep. Not sex. Nothing.” She looked wistfully at the sleeping baby. “And you won’t regret a single thing. You’ll learn how to function with less of…everything.”
Royce leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees, and hung his head.
“I feel cheated.” His voice was low, gruff, and raw from the emotions he’d kept in check up to that point.
“We’ve been dreaming and planning for Darla much longer than nine months.
And yeah, I expected to feel a little fear today, but I figured it would be the same worries all parents have, not this gut-wrenching turmoil that our dreams are teetering on the edge of disaster.
” Royce raised his head and met Sawyer’s gaze.
“I won’t give you sh…crap about needing to be in charge anymore. ”
Sawyer chuckled for the first time in what felt like forever. “I won’t hold my breath.”
“Seriously,” Royce said. “You’re only a control freak because you can do things better than nearly everyone else.”
Grimacing, Sawyer replied, “Baby, I don’t think that’s the compliment you thought it would be.”
Royce growled his frustration and rubbed his eyes. “I hate that we have to rely on a judge to decide that we’re a legitimate family. It’s unfair. And I just feel…”
“Vulnerable,” Sawyer suggested as he sat beside his husband. He raised his hand to rub Royce’s upper back.
“Yes.” The word came out in a tortured hiss as he leaned into Sawyer’s touch. “I don’t enjoy feeling this way.”
“Me either, and yes, I try to avoid feeling helpless as often as I can. But we aren’t in control, and we need to trust that the universe will make things right for us.
” Sawyer leaned forward and kissed Royce’s shoulder.
“We’re going to give ourselves about five minutes to sulk and mentally throw our tantrums, and then we’re going to take action. ”
“Like what?” Royce asked. “We can’t leave our daughter alone here and storm the crime scene to demand answers.”
“Shhh.” Sawyer dug his fingers into Royce’s scalp the way he liked. “We have four minutes.”
Royce huffed out a heavy sigh. “Fine.”
Sawyer closed his eyes and let his riotous emotions flood in and slosh around.
There was the fear and frustration Royce described, but there was the absolute joy he’d felt during Darla’s delivery and holding her against his bare chest. They would find a way through this like they did everything in life—together.
“Okay.” Royce’s assertive voice penetrated through Sawyer’s meditative peace. “There are still two more minutes on the clock, but I’m done moping.”
Sawyer opened his eyes to find his mother had snatched Darla out of her bassinet.
She was sitting in the glider with her feet propped up on the matching stool.
Evangeline wore the most serene expression on her face as she cooed softly to Darla.
He looped his arms around Royce’s shoulders and pulled him close.
“We won’t be fighting this alone.” He nodded in his mother’s direction.
“If someone tries to screw us over and take our girl, they’ll have to go through my mother first.”
Evangeline looked in their direction, a devious smile curving her lips. “And Eddie.”
“The superhero duo no one ever would’ve predicted,” Royce replied.
Sawyer chuckled. “Yet, it’s the team everyone probably needs.”
There was a brief knock at the door before Barron opened it and entered the room.
“Congratulations, guys.” His gaze shifted to the corner of the room, and his face lit up with joy when he spotted his wife and new granddaughter.
“You are going to share her, right?” Barron asked as he crossed the room to the sink.
“Maybe.” But Evangeline stood up slowly once he washed his hands and gestured for Barron to take the chair. Then she carefully transferred the sleeping baby to his arms.
“The grandpa gig never gets old,” Barron said. “Hello, beautiful angel.”
Evangeline sat on the footstool, and the two of them fussed over the newest member of the family. Sawyer and Royce watched them for a few minutes before they turned their attention back to one another.
“We’re not without resources,” Sawyer whispered. “Our chief is married to the sheriff. We’d never tap into that connection without there being a valid reason, and they know it.”
“True.” Royce opened the internet browser on his phone and started typing in the search bar. He hit Enter and sucked in a breath at the results he found.
Sawyer’s stomach knotted painfully at the sound, but he leaned closer to see what caused the reaction.
There was a headline about an early morning hit-and-run involving a jogger in Chatham County.
Beneath that, in smaller print, it read: Prominent attorney left dead in the road.
Was this accidental or intentional? “Click the link,” Sawyer said.
Royce’s thumb shook as he tapped his phone to open the article.
The text was brief, as the reporter claimed that law enforcement hadn’t revealed many details.
She led with the time and location of the accident before she got to the person’s identity.
“Ned Owens. Isn’t he a founding partner at Ivy’s firm? ”
“Yes,” Sawyer said, remembering the encounter between Ivy and Ned the previous…night? Had that just occurred yesterday? “He’d wanted to talk to Ivy about something but hadn’t wanted to keep us waiting.”
“I wonder if the source of his concern is the same reason he’s dead,” Royce said, then shook his head. “That’s a big leap. This is real life, not a movie or TV show. His death is likely the result of a tragic accident.”
“Maybe,” Sawyer said. “But Ned Owens looked deeply troubled last night.”
“You only observed him for a few minutes,” Royce countered.
“It was long enough to know something had really shaken him. And with the police presence at the office…” Sawyer tapped his chest where his heart lay beating inside. “Something bad was going on, and now we’re caught in the middle of it.”
“I like my conclusion much better,” Royce said, but Sawyer could tell his opinion was wavering. When Royce whispered, “Shit,” Sawyer knew his husband had also pitched a tent in the conspiracy theory camp. “Now what?”