Chapter 19 Alex
ALEX
Once again, I sat in Ben’s conference room with Darren, praying he would sign the paperwork and take the money and be gone for good. With the leverage we had over him, there was no way he would refuse.
Darren slouched in the chair across from me, eyes bloodshot, a two-day beard shadowing his jaw. A faint odor of cigarettes and grease. The bravado was gone, replaced by the dull look of someone who’d finally run out of road.
Ben sat at the head of the table, voice even.
“Mr. Kincaid, this document formalizes the termination of your parental rights to Peter and Bella. Once signed, you relinquish all legal claim or future contact. In exchange, Mr. Garcia will provide the agreed-upon financial sum, and neither he nor Ms. Horton will press charges stemming from the recent incident involving Grace Horton.”
That got a flicker from him. He straightened a little. “So that’s my reward for being the bad guy? You buy me off, and I stay quiet?”
Ben didn’t blink. “As much as it pains me to have Alex pay you a dime, it’s what has to be done to get rid of you. You’ve been nothing but poison to those innocent children—when you left them and when you came back. You should be ashamed of yourself. But take the money and go somewhere far away.”
Darren’s gaze slid to me, a slow, mean smirk lifting the corners of his mouth. “You must really think you’re something, huh? Swooping in, taking my place. Giving them the rich lifestyle that Mattie always wanted?”
I leaned forward, calm, deliberate. “I didn’t take your place.
You gave it away a long time ago. Mattie wanted only for her children to be loved and taken care of, which you refused to do.
Mattie made herself sick worrying about whether you would suddenly show up again.
But me? I wanted nothing more than to get you to legally sign off on your kids’ lives.
They’re mine. They’ve been mine since the moment I met them.
And, unlike you, I’ll stay and fight for them until my last breath.
You disgust me, but I’m willing to give you a fat check anyway, because I love my kids. ”
Darren’s jaw twitched, but he stayed silent.
Ben pushed the folder across the table and set a pen on top. “Initial each page, sign at the bottom.”
Darren stared at it like it was a snake that might strike him. For a long beat, no one spoke. Then he sighed, shoulders sagging, and picked up the pen. The tip scratched across the paper, the sound loud in the still room.
“There you go.” He scrawled his name with a shaky hand. “Happy?”
Ben glanced through each page, then closed the folder with quiet precision. “Relieved. For everyone involved.” He pushed the envelope with the cashier’s check toward Darren.
Darren snatched it up, then tucked it into the pocket of his jeans.
“Maybe use this money to turn your life around,” I said.
He gave a dry laugh. “Yeah, well, guess what? You don’t get to tell me what to do. I’ll live as I please.”
“You always have,” I said.
Ben rose, signaling we were done. Darren pushed back his chair and stood, avoiding my eyes, as he headed toward the door.
He hesitated, his hand on the doorknob. For a moment, I thought he might say something redeeming.
I was wrong. “Guys like me never had a chance against guys like you. People with money always win.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” I said.
He gave a half shrug, then walked out, the door clicking shut behind him.
Ben tucked the folder into his briefcase and looked at me. “That’s it. He’s done. The court will finalize it by Friday.”
I nodded, the knot in my chest finally easing. “Thank you for everything. You’ve been a rock in all this, and I appreciate it.”
Ben smiled faintly. “Like I said before, I’m always here for you. You’ve done a lot of good in the world, Alex. I hope you know that.”
“You’re too kind, but thank you.” We shook hands before heading out of the conference room.
As I stepped outside, the late-afternoon breeze rolled off the ocean, warm and salty.
I pulled my keys from my pocket and stood there a moment, letting it all settle.
Darren was gone. The past was behind us.
The future lay ahead, bright and promising.
I bowed my head, thinking about Mattie. A feeling of peace settled over me. She could rest easy now. The kids were safe. And I was headed home to tell them the good news.
The tide was low that afternoon, the waves curling softly against the sand.
As I made my way down the path toward the beach, I spotted Peter and Bella kicking a soccer ball back and forth on the packed sand.
I watched for a moment, gratitude flowering in my chest. How I loved them.
All I’d wanted from the moment they entered my world was to give them a good life.
Now that Gillian and Grace had come to us, hopefully forever, we would morph into a new kind of family. One bound by love, not blood.
I made my way toward them. They stopped kicking the ball and looked up at me, then jogged my way.
Bella brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Did it go okay?”
“Yeah. He signed the paperwork. Everything’s official.
He’s agreed to give up his parental rights.
We still have to go to court on Friday to make it legal, but that’s just a formality.
Ben expects the judge will officially grant the adoption without hesitation, since I’ve been your stepfather for such a long time and that it was clear your mother wanted you to be with me after she passed. ”
Peter stared out toward the water, quiet for a long moment. “So he’s really gone?”
“Yeah. He promised to disappear. No more showing up, no more games.”
Bella sank down on a log, drawing her knees up to her chest. “I hope it’s true.”
“It is,” I said. “Ben made sure of that.”
Peter kicked at the sand. “I wonder why he never wanted us.”
I shook my head. “Guys like us will never understand a man like that. He’s made one poor choice after another. Frankly, I feel sorry for him that he’s missed out on being your father. It’s one of the greatest things that ever happened to me”
Bella’s voice wavered. “I know exactly who he is now. I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused.”
“Me too,” Peter said quietly, sitting next to his sister on the log.
I sat between them and put an arm around each shoulder. “I’ve been thinking about your mom today. She’d be happy it’s all sorted now and we can get on with our lives.”
For a while, we were quiet, listening to the rhythmic pull of the waves.
Then Bella looked up at me, her expression soft, her voice husky. “Are you going to ask Gillian to marry you?”
I turned to her, blinking. “What?”
She shrugged, that same teasing spark in her eyes her mother used to get. “You heard me.”
Peter gave a half-smile. “We all know where this is going. And we’re glad. For you and for us.”
I let out a low laugh, shaking my head. “You’ve no idea how happy that makes me.”
“We wanted you to know that we’re good with it,” Bella said. “Even though change is hard for me, I’m going to do my best to embrace it.”
I looked out at the horizon. The water caught the light in a dozen shades of gold. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you both but things have been so hectic. I’m going to ask her very soon. I know her ring size now.”
They both smiled.
“Dad, you have to make the proposal epic,” Bella said. “Gillian deserves that.”
“Epic? I may need some help with that,” I said.
“There’s something else we wanted to ask you,” Peter said.
“Shoot,” I said.
“We were thinking about Grace, you know, once you and Gillian get married,” Peter said. “And we started worrying that she’s going to feel sad if we’re adopted but she’s not.”
I stared at my children, utterly flabbergasted by their generosity.
“She’s always wanted a dad,” Bella said softly. “She told me that one night. And she said she always imagined someone like you.”
“Right. I see.” I swallowed once, twice, fighting for control over my emotions. After a beat or two, I said, “I hadn’t thought of that. But if she’s open to it, and you guys are okay, then I would love to adopt her too.”
“That way no one can ever pull us apart,” Bella said.
No one could ever pull us apart, regardless. But I didn’t say that. Once they had children of their own, they would understand the fierce, unconditional love a parent felt for his or her kids. All the ways in which we would fight for them and sacrifice for them.
“I love you two very much.” I pulled them into my chest, kissing the tops of their warm, salty heads, and thanked God for all the ways they’d enriched my life and made me a better man.
Thank you, Mattie, for sharing them with me. Entrusting them to me.
A pale yellow swallowtail appeared out of nowhere, riding the wind as if it were headed right for us.
It settled on the driftwood beside us, wings opening and closing in slow, graceful rhythm.
A moment later it rose, gliding out over the tide, the sunlight catching on its wings until it disappeared into the burnished line where sea met sky.
Toward heaven.
On the morning of our court date, the five of us headed into the courtroom.
Sunlight poured through high windows, warming the polished oak tables and flags that framed the bench.
Ben was waiting for us, papers stacked neatly in front of him.
Across the aisle, the guardian ad litem smiled at Bella and Peter dressed as if it were Sunday morning instead of a weekday in June.
Gillian and Grace settled directly behind us. I turned briefly, exchanging a nervous glance with Gillian. As much as Ben had assured me that this would go as planned, I couldn’t help but worry.
When the bailiff called our case, the judge looked up from the file, her expression kind. “Good morning. This is the petition of Alexander Garcia to adopt minors Peter Walsh and Isabella Walsh.” She glanced at me over her glasses. “Mr. Garcia, would you please come forward with the children?”