Chapter Twenty-Two Charlie
Chapter Twenty-Two
Charlie
I dropped Harper at school and made my way to Violet’s house to see how the deck was coming along. She’d stayed for dinner last night, but she’d left shortly after because the reality was, I still had a daughter to take care of.
We both agreed that we needed to figure out what this was before we started having sleepovers in front of Harper.
I’d never had a woman stay the night at my home, and I never thought I’d consider it.
But Violet was different.
All-consuming.
She’d come by for breakfast this morning, even though her oven was fixed.
She’d come over and cooked Harper and me breakfast.
We’d traded some sexy texts last night, and I was going out of my mind.
I wanted her in my bed.
I’d gone long stretches without sex many times over the years, but now that I’d been with Violet, it was all I could think about.
“Hey, boss. I thought you were working over at the hotel job today,” Will said as he wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.
I nodded at Jason and Kory, two of our workers, as they continued laying out the planks for the deck.
“I have an appointment this morning. I just wanted to see how it was going over here. I’ll be at the hotel all afternoon.”
“That groundhog sure did some damage. I got a good look at the wires and the pipes, and he was awfully busy down there.” Will chuckled. “I’ve got James coming to fix the wires this afternoon, and we’ll get those pipes replaced this week.”
“All right. That sounds good. Have you seen the groundhog around this morning?”
“Nope. I had things really fortified last night, so he probably figured out that we’re onto him.”
I glanced around. She had a nice piece of land, and the tree line wasn’t too far off. We’d just need to make sure everything was closed up well.
“Okay. Thanks for getting this done. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. I like it over here more than the hotel anyway.” He shrugged. “It’s quiet, and Violet always brings us treats when she stops by.”
I snorted. “You’re so easy.”
“And you aren’t?” he said. “I see the way you look at her. We all know there’s something going on there.”
“Everyone in town is talking about it,” Kory said from a few feet away.
“I thought you guys were construction dudes. I had no idea I’d hired a bunch of gossipy schoolgirls.”
Jason laughed. “Glass houses, boss. I heard you were at the Brown Bear Diner wearing pigtails and glitter yesterday.”
This fucking town.
There were no secrets.
“Yeah, well, when you have a seven-year-old daughter, you come talk to me about how difficult it is to say no to her.”
“From what I can tell, she isn’t the only one you can’t say no to.” Will smirked, and I gave him the finger.
“Just get back to work. I’ve got a meeting, and then I’ll be over at the hotel the rest of the afternoon if you need me.”
I drove the short distance over to Logan Hawkins’s law office.
Her assistant led me into her office as soon as I arrived, and I whistled at all the custom built-ins. “Nice office.”
“Yeah, it’s nice when the guy before you has it all done before he retires.” She laughed and motioned for me to take a seat. “So tell me what’s going on with Harper’s mom.”
I filled her in on our arrangement, and she listened intently, taking notes and nodding.
There was no judgment at all when she looked up at me.
“Okay, so I understand your concerns. She has clearly abandoned her child, as showing up one day a year is far from anything close to being considered a parent. She hasn’t paid child support or contributed in any way to Harper’s needs,” she said, tapping her pen against her desk.
“But I’m not going to lie to you, Charlie. It’s complicated.”
“How so?”
“Well, Alaska law does not allow the court to terminate one’s parental rights. The court can restrict access, but it’s not like she has access anyway, so it’s an unusual situation.”
“I’m just trying to do the right thing by my daughter.
She was uncomfortable on her birthday, because Caroline feels like a stranger to her.
And I get it. I wouldn’t like that either.
” I scrubbed a hand down my face. “But I don’t know how to handle the situation.
I don’t think she should just be able to show up once a year when it’s convenient for her.
I think I sort of went along with it all these years to keep the peace, do what I thought was best for Harps.
But now it feels strange when she shows up.
We have a life now, and it doesn’t involve her in any way, shape, or form. ”
“Yep. I get that. We have a few options,” she said as she reached for her coffee mug and took a sip.
“Okay. Let’s hear them.”
“We could get a court order for child support and back child support and force her hand.”
I immediately interrupted. “No. I don’t want money.
Her family has a lot of it, and I don’t want this to turn into a pissing match on who has more.
Because I’ll lose. This isn’t about the money.
There’s nothing more important to me than supporting my daughter and providing a good home for her.
I’m happy that I can do that on my own. This is about the emotional effects of a woman showing up once a year and calling herself a mother.
It was fine, until it wasn’t. The minute my daughter was not okay with the situation, I felt the need to do something about it. ”
“Okay. So we’re not looking for any financial support.”
“We are not,” I said adamantly.
She put her hands up. “Okay, got it. The goal is to just stop with the once-a-year visits. We aren’t looking for a relationship or any support. So we could press her and force her hand.”
“How would we do that?” I asked.
“You know, it’s all risky, Charlie. Because if by chance we press this and she in turn decides that she wants to be a mother, we could be opening a can of worms. She could fight back.”
I nodded. My stomach twisted at the thought. But I knew in my gut that this woman just didn’t have it in her. She was far too selfish to want any sort of custody.
“I get that, and it makes me uneasy. But I’m fairly confident that she doesn’t have any interest in being a parent.”
“Okay, so we can test the waters. We could file a dispute about her visits, point out the fact that she has abandoned her child and has not been there emotionally or financially. We can mention the emotional toll her visits are taking on Harper, as they don’t know one another.
We can put a bunch of legal jargon in there and suggest that she either step up to the plate or relinquish her parental rights. ”
“Is that a thing?”
“A parent in the state of Alaska can voluntarily relinquish their parental rights to their child in writing and sign it in the presence of a court. So if you feel confident that she will not bite at the opportunity to step up, then I would say this is your best shot to get her to relinquish her rights.”
I sighed. This wasn’t something I’d ever set out to do.
I didn’t even know Caroline well when she got pregnant.
It was a whirlwind relationship. We were young.
But I’d been okay with the arrangement up until now, and I wasn’t looking to pick a fight.
I just wanted my daughter to be happy. And seeing the toll this last visit had taken on her, and the shift in her attitude about seeing Caroline, I felt like my hands were tied.
But there were risks, and that was terrifying.
“Can I have a little time to think this over?”
“Of course. And keep in mind, we could serve her and she could choose to ignore you.” She shrugged.
“But, we could also take her to court, prove that she’s abandoned her child, and try to go that route.
That would drag everyone through it, though, so you’d have to be committed.
The letter seems like the best option, if you aren’t looking for a big fight. ”
I nodded. “I’m not. I just want to do the right thing.”
“All right. Take all the time you need, and I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
She stood and came around her desk, extending an arm. “You’re a good dad, Charlie. Harper is lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one.”
“Let’s see if you’re saying that during her teenage years.” She chuckled. “I really tortured my parents.”
“I highly doubt that.” I smirked. “I’ve heard that I’m going to be in for it. But my baby girl has always been different. She’s a special one.”
She clapped me on the shoulder. “Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, my friend. We’ll talk soon.”
I left her office and was sitting in my truck, unsure about what to do, when my phone vibrated.
Firefly: How did the meeting go?
Me: I don’t know. It’s complicated. I don’t have a fucking clue what to do.
Firefly: Where are you?
Me: Parking lot at Logan Hawkins’ law office. Why?
Firefly: Stay put.
I didn’t know what she was up to, but I did as she asked, because I was still trying to figure this shit out.
What if I picked a fight and lost?
What if her parents decided to throw money at the situation and tried to take Harper from me?
Was that even an option?
Logically I knew that couldn’t happen. I’d been her only parent since birth. But money could be a powerful tool, and the thought made me sick to my stomach.
There was a knock on the passenger-side window of my truck, and I startled.
I unlocked the door when I saw Violet on the other side.
“Hey. It sounded like you needed to talk things out.”
“I thought you had a meeting with the tent people this morning for your sister’s wedding?”
“And they’ll still be there when we’re done. It’s fine, I promise. Tell me what happened,” she said, turning her body to face me.
I filled her in on the different options I’d learned about, including the one I was leaning toward—the letter, in hopes of her relinquishing her rights voluntarily.
“That does sound like the best option. What are you hesitant about?”
I blew out a breath. “You know, the day Harps was born, I was terrified. Fucking terrified. I didn’t know how to be a parent. Hell, most days I’m just making it up as I go, you know? So who the fuck am I to tell someone they shouldn’t be a mom?”
“Who the fuck are you?” she asked. “You’re Charlie fucking Huxley, that’s who.
You’re the best dad I’ve ever known. The dad who gets his hair and makeup done just to see his daughter smile.
The dad who asks how to make pink pancakes because he knows that’s what his little girl wants.
The dad who shows up every single day for Harper.
You know what a parent is, Charlie. You’re the hashtag. ” She smiled.
“What hashtag is that?”
“Hashtag ‘love you, mean it.’ You show it. You feel it. And you live it.” She took my hand in hers. “And Caroline is not it. And your daughter is telling you that she’s uncomfortable with the situation, so you’re trying to fix it the best way you can.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I guess there’s this fear that she’ll push back. That she’ll let her ego get involved and fight for Harper just for the sake of winning and not losing.”
“I get that,” she said. “And I don’t know all the different legal things that can happen in a custody battle like this.
But I know what a good parent looks like, and I’m looking at him.
Caroline is not a parent. Hell, she’s not even a friend.
She doesn’t call and check in. She shows up one day a year.
That is not a woman who seems like she would want to fight to be a mother.
But I also understand being scared, because you have something to lose. ”
“I have everything to lose,” I said as a deep pain settled in the middle of my chest.
“So then, there’s your answer, Charles.” She moved across the seat and climbed onto my lap.
She placed a hand on each side of my face as her gaze locked with mine.
“There is too much at risk. So maybe when she calls once a year, you change the way things happen. You don’t let it happen at Harper’s party.
You tell her how it’s going to go down.”
“But Harper doesn’t want to see her at all,” I said, shaking my head.
“You explain to Harper next year when the time comes that you are setting ground rules with Caroline. About when she can visit and what an age-appropriate gift looks like. You can be honest with her about some of this, you know? She’ll appreciate how hard you’re trying.
And if she doesn’t want to see her, you go with her to a public place, and Harper can tell her that, and you go from there.
She left immediately when she felt rejected at the party.
She won’t keep coming back if she feels unwanted.
She’s a complete narcissist. When it doesn’t serve her, she’ll stop showing up. ”
I thought it over, and she’d made a good point.
The risk was too high. The possibility that she could push back, even though it was highly unlikely, was still possible.
As much as I wanted this to go away, the worst-case scenario forced me to reconsider doing this.
I’d never had someone I could talk to about Harper.
But Violet Beaumont was not just a woman I was painfully attracted to.
She was not just a woman who got under my skin when she argued with me.
She’d become more than I’d realized.
She’d become someone I relied on.
Someone I trusted.
Someone I thought about when I wasn’t with her.
Someone I wanted when I was with her.
“Okay. That’s what I’m going to do. I appreciate it.” I tucked the hair behind her ear, my large palm covering the side of her neck as my thumb stroked her jaw.
“‘Okay’? You’re actually listening to me?”
“Yeah. I agree with you on this. I didn’t know what to do, but you’re right, the answer is clear. There’s too much at risk. I need to ride it out.”
“I like agreeable Charlie.”
“Don’t get used to it. He doesn’t come around often,” I said as I tugged her closer, grazing my lips against hers.
“I think you’re a lot softer than you let on, Charlie Huxley.” She nipped at my bottom lip.
“Nothing soft here, Firefly.” I thrust forward, letting her know just how much I wanted her.
“Take me home and show me.”
“Yeah? You don’t have to get back to work?” I asked.
“I do. But right now, I just want to be with you.”
I attempted to pull the seat belt over both of us, because I wanted to keep her right here and drive home as fast as possible.
She laughed. “I’m not sitting on your lap while you drive.”
“Fine. Buckle up, Firefly. That’s all I needed to hear.”
She was still laughing as I pulled out of the parking lot.
I couldn’t get her home fast enough.