Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
“Alright. Um…I should warn you. Just to be prepared, of course. It’s highly likely that this is a scheme to get money from you. She’s probably just looking to score. Especially considering how easily she decided to go for joint custody instead. It would be a better opportunity to get money from you if you’re both responsible for the girls’ well-being.”
The thought had already crossed my mind. But I had another question. “Why now? Why didn’t she try three months ago?”
“I asked her lawyer the same thing. He was cagey about it, but I had the impression that she couldn’t afford him until now. Just keep your eyes and ears open while she’s around the girls. Custody won’t be an issue if you can show that she is unfit to be around them. If you can prove that she’s only there to try to extort money from you…”
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, frustrated as fuck with the whole situation. Then the monitor squealed, letting me know that Daisy was awake and ready for a bottle.
“I don’t have time for this bullshit,” I grunted. “Just set it up for next week, and we’ll go from there.” I hung up and spun around as I shoved my phone into the pocket of my pajama pants.
My girls needed me.
2
Ava
As I was refilling coffee for one of my regular customers, my cell vibrated in my apron. Scanning the restaurant for my boss, I slumped my shoulders in relief when I looked at the food pass-through window and saw him working at the grill. We weren’t allowed to use our phones at work unless we were on a break, but I needed to keep mine with me this morning because I was expecting the most important call of my life.
I hurried over to the coffee machine and put the pot on the burner before heading toward the bathroom. I yanked my cell from my apron pocket, a knot forming in my stomach when I saw my lawyer’s number on the screen. Ducking into a stall, I accepted the call. “Hello?”
“Good morning, Miss Cromwell.”
My fingers trembled as I locked the door behind me. “Do you have news?”
“Mr. Ellis is willing to let you see Cassidy and Daisy.”
Tears filled my eyes as I whispered, “He really said I could come see the girls?”
It had been two long months since I’d seen my nieces. The only thing I’d been able to find out back then was that the girls had gone to someone in Carrie’s family. I had wanted to go after them the minute I heard about her death—which thanks to my jerk of a brother wasn’t until an entire week later—but one of my coworkers had convinced me it was better to wait until I had all of my ducks in a row. She’d warned me about how ugly custody battles could get and that hiring a great lawyer was the only way to win if things got bad. Since she was newly divorced and had managed to get full custody of her kids, I figured she knew best.
“Yes, and with less resistance than I expected.” There was a rustling of paper in the background. “I’m hopeful that his quick acquiescence is an indication that he will be amenable to sharing custody with you.”
The tears spilled down my cheeks. “How soon can I see them?”
“When can you make the trip to Long Island?”
Sunday was my next day off. I had back-to-back shifts—dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow—and I was on the schedule for Friday and Saturday night. Luckily, I had covered shifts for all of my coworkers over the past few months, so I had plenty of people to ask to do the same for me this weekend. If I was going to make the two-hour drive out there, I figured that I might as well make the most of it. I’d find a cheap motel, try to set up some interviews for jobs out there, and check out neighborhoods to figure out where I could find a relatively inexpensive apartment.
If I wanted to make the joint custody thing work, I needed to be closer to where they lived. That was going to be tough to accomplish since Long Island was one of the most expensive places in the country, but if Carrie’s cousin didn’t make me go to court, then maybe I’d get some of my retainer back and could use that for a deposit.
“I can drive up right after my shift tomorrow.”
“I figured you’d say something like that. I’ll send you the address and follow-up with Mr. Ellis's attorney so he knows to expect you.”
Scraping together the thousands of dollars I’d needed to hire Mrs. Poole had taken a lot of overtime and cutting back on anything but the necessities, but she’d proven to be worth every single penny. It had only taken her a day to discover the girls were with Carrie’s cousin in New York, and two more to get permission for me to see them. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”