Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
S awyer had previously told Chance that, being in Hawthorne, he was mostly dealing with family law matters. This situation certainly fell into that category. He listened now as Robert Givens walked Sawyer through everything Chance had learned from the attorney, plus additional information.
Sawyer asked for the court date, which Givens said would be this upcoming Thursday.
“And my client will then be able to obtain full, legal custody of Daisy at that point?” Sawyer asked.
Chance saw Givens and Astrid exchange a look, and she nodded to the attorney.
Givens then told them, “Yes.”
“Where will Daisy be staying until the court hearing?” Chance interjected, worried about his daughter’s well-being, and staring at Astrid pointedly. Her confession of not liking the child and having no patience with her had him truly concerned.
“Since you’re going to take her off my hands, I think she should go ahead and stay with you now,” Astrid told him. “She might as well get used to you. And if you see what a little brat she is, you could always change your mind and sign the papers and present them to the court at the hearing.”
He hated the callousness in her tone, and Chance knew the sooner he got Daisy away from this woman, the better.
“I can come to where you’ve been living and pick up Daisy’s things,” he said.
She shrugged. “Actually, I have a diaper bag in the car with her things in it.”
He cursed loudly and then said, “One diaper bag? It has everything of hers?”
Astrid shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve known for long time that I wasn’t going to keep her. I didn’t see the point of buying her a lot of clothes or toys.”
It took everything Chance had to remain in his seat and not knock the fire out of her. He had never struck a woman before. Had never even thought of doing so. But Astrid Powell was sorely testing him. Again, he knew the best thing for Daisy would be to have a fresh start.
Starting now.
Chance rose, and Sawyer followed suit.
“Let’s go to the car and get Daisy’s things,” he said, his voice tight.
They went outside to the black Lincoln, and Astrid handed over the diaper bag.
“I assume Daisy isn’t potty-trained yet.”
Astrid wrinkled her nose. “No. That takes a lot of time and patience, and I didn’t want to invest any more than I had to in her.”
He unzipped the diaper bag and looked inside, seeing one ratty-looking stuffed bear. No books. No other toys. Only a few items of clothing and some diapers. Disgust filled him.
“We’ll take the car seat, too,” Sawyer said, leaning into the vehicle and removing the car seat.
Though he didn’t want to ask this, Chance said, “Would you like to tell Daisy goodbye?”
“No,” Astrid said. “I’ll see her on Thursday. I can say goodbye then.” She looked to her attorney. “Let’s go, Robert.”
Chance watched them drive away and then turned to his friend.
Sawyer shook his head. “I’ve dealt with some bad people in my time, but your ex takes the cake.”
“Let me be perfectly clear. I want to clear up any misunderstanding. I went out with that woman twice. Twice. We had sex. Once. That’s it.
I never saw her again because I didn’t particularly care for her, and she seemed to feel the same about me.
The fact that she kept Daisy from me makes me want to rake her over the coals.
I’ve missed my little girl’s first smile.
First steps. First words. I’ll never be able to get that time back. ”
“You’re going to need to buy a lot of things for Daisy. I don’t know much about kids, but I’ll bet Kelby can clue you in on what you’ll need.”
Chance knew absolutely nothing about children. But he did know that he already had a lot of love in his heart for his daughter.
“We should be fine, regarding the hearing. Thursday should go smoothly for us,” Sawyer assured him. “Especially with Astrid wanting to cut all ties. I’ve never seen a colder woman in my life.”
“From what she told me when she arrived, she had broken up with a guy she really loved before we went out. He’d been transferred overseas, and she didn’t want to go.
She decided to have the baby because she thought it might have been his.
Now, he’s been reassigned by his office to New York, and it seems they’re getting back together.
She wants a new life. Nothing to do with Daisy.
And I’m glad of that. I know someday I’ll have to tell Daisy about her mom, but I just want to focus on loving my little girl right now. ”
“You’ll need to fill Summer in on what’s happened. It’s going to affect her as much as it will you. Maybe more so.”
Chance’s heart sank. He decided he couldn’t marry Summer. He couldn’t drag her into this mess. Daisy was going to need one hundred percent of his attention, and she deserved every bit of his focus. The same was true of Summer. Whoever she married needed to be completely devoted to her.
He couldn’t be that man right now. Maybe never.
Because of that, he had to let Summer go.
“Could you keep this under your hat for a while, Sawyer?”
“Attorney/client privilege, Chance. That goes without saying.” Sawyer’s gaze bore into him. “But you’re going to have to tell Summer the truth. She deserves to know.”
“I’ll talk with her after I have complete, legal custody of Daisy.”
They went into the house and discussed going to Dallas on Wednesday since the hearing was at nine o’clock on Thursday morning. Sawyer offered to book rooms for them, and Chance agreed.
“We can get together Wednesday night after Daisy has gone to bed and go over any questions that you might have,” Sawyer said.
“Thank you. Both Daisy and I thank you.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” his friend said genially. “Call in the meantime if you have any questions. I’ll text you the hotel information.”
Chance took the diaper bag upstairs, taking everything out of it and placing it on his bed. It was pitiful how little was inside it. He would make certain he’d shower Daisy with everything she could ever need.
As soon as he could figure out what all of that was.
He went downstairs and found Maria playing with Daisy in the kitchen. The housekeeper looked at him questioningly, rising to her feet and coming to him.
“Daisy is going to be living with me,” he informed her.
“I don’t know anything about a two-year-old.
I’m going to need some help, Maria. I know you were hired to clean, so I’ll have to get someone else to watch Daisy while I’m working, but I’d appreciate if you could tell me a little bit now about what I need to get for her. ”
“Of course, Mr. Chance.”
During the next half-hour, Maria talked about some of the things Daisy had already experienced and what was to come.
He learned about pull-ups versus diapers, and Maria gave him tips on potty training.
She told him that Daisy seemed a little behind in her language skills, but other than that, she seemed very healthy.
“She can eat pretty much whatever you do, Mr. Chance.” She grinned. “Just a lot less of it. Be sure to cut everything up into tiny bites. You don’t want her to choke.”
“Do I buy a crib? Or does she sleep in a bed?”
“She’s ready to get out of a crib at her age.
You can put her in a twin bed and push it against the wall.
They have a guard you can slip under the mattress which will keep her from falling to the floor on the other side.
I think it would be good for her to be around other kids, though, Mr. Chance.
You should see if they have a preschool in town.
I’ve tried to sing a few songs with her.
Itsy-Bitsy Spider . Row, Row, Row Your Boat .
The ABCs . She doesn’t know any of them.
Being around other little ones, she’ll learn quickly. ”
“Thank you for your help today, Maria. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you. Would you show me how to change a diaper before you leave?”
“Sure, Mr. Chance. It’s easy.”
Daisy was sitting on the floor, playing with a bowl and a wooden spoon.
Plastic mixing cups were scattered about her.
She seemed happy playing with these, and he would remember this in the future.
He recalled how he and Kelby used to love playing inside big cardboard boxes.
He’d look for one of those tomorrow, as well as getting her some new toys and books.
Definitely books. He wanted the world for his daughter, and it would open to her through the magic of reading.
Maria showed him how to change a diaper. Thank goodness, it wasn’t complicated.
“What size of clothes should I buy?”
She checked the tag inside Daisy’s shirt. “This is eighteen months. It’s a little tight on her. You should get a 2T. That’s a size two for a toddler,” she emphasized. “I’d also take her to a doctor, Mr. Chance. Make certain everything is all right with her.”
“That’s a great idea, Maria.”
Chance decided to wait on that until he had full, legal custody of Daisy so that no one would question anything.
He picked up his daughter and carried her out of the kitchen, saying, “Let’s say goodbye to Maria.”
The little girl waved and softly said, “Bye-bye.”
Those were the first words she had spoken, and it caused his eyes to mist with tears.
“One more thing, Maria. I didn’t know about Daisy. The woman who brought her here? I only saw her twice before today. If I would’ve known about Daisy, I would’ve brought her to the ranch right away.”
Maria placed a hand on his forearm. “I know that, Mr. Chance. You’re a very nice man. You’re doing the right thing for Daisy.”
After Maria left, Chance wanted to devote all his time to Daisy. With dread, he pulled out his cell and called Summer. Just hearing her voice when she answered crushed his soul. He would need to talk to her in person to end things. Not now, though. Daisy was in a strange place and needed him.
“I’m going to have to take a rain check on dinner tonight,” he told her.
“Why? Did something come up?”