Roz Fox - Baby, Baby

Broad-winged bats beat up a storm in Faith’s stomach as she walked downtown to the building where Reed’s offices were housed. Passing a corner café, it dawned on Faith that she’d skipped lunch. She didn’t think she could eat a bite, but she certainly hoped her stomach didn’t growl at an inopportune time during their session.

“You’re prompt,” said a matronly receptionist when Faith checked in. “Mr. Reed likes that in a new client. Just let me ring his office and let him know you’ve arrived. Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea, Ms. Hyatt?”

“No, nothing, thanks,” Faith murmured, hoping she was the only one who knew her hands were shaking so hard she’d spill a beverage. As she’d only seen one other lawyer in her life, when she needed power of attorney to take charge of her father’s welfare, she didn’t know what to expect of this so-called strategy visit.

“Come in, come in, Ms. Hyatt,” boomed a jolly voice.

Faith leaped out of the chair she’d taken in the corner of the waiting room. No wonder he sounded so jolly. David Reed resembled Santa Claus. Though dressed in conservative blue rather than a red suit, he was round and sported white hair and a full beard.

“You don’t look a thing like your sister,” he said, clasping Faith’s cold hand.

“No,” she murmured, “I don’t.”

He merely nodded, indicating she should take a chair near his desk as he closed his office door. “Well, I hope you’re more solid than you look. This fight could be long and nasty.”

Faith’s heart sank. “I…I assumed the court would uphold my sister’s wishes.”

Reed steepled pudgy fingers. A fair-sized diamond winked in the sunlight streaming through a window that overlooked Boston Common. “Your sister was less than forthright with me, Faith. May I call you Faith?”

“Please do. How, uh, in what way did Lacy lie to you?”

“For one thing, she led me to believe the baby’s father was dead. Oh, she didn’t come right out and offer to produce a death certificate, but she implied as much. She never said a word about being divorced. In essence, Lacy let me think the money she willed you and her unborn child had come to her through an inheritance.”

“I didn’t know she’d left any money. She never said anything. We hardly had time to cover the custody papers, which, to be truthful, I signed quickly to ease her mind. I never expected her to d-di-die.”

“I believe you, Faith,” Reed said, bouncing his fingers together again. “I hope the judge will. Either of the other two legal counsels could imply you want custody only for the money.”

Faith gasped. “Surely not! I’d planned to care for the babies out of my own savings. I doubt that whatever Michael settled on Lacy was a huge amount.”

“The living trust your sister set up is approximately half a mil. You, if made custodian, have access to the interest until the babies turn twenty-one. Add to that proceeds from the sale of a beach house. Another seven hundred and fifty thousand.”

Faith tried to keep her jaw from dropping but didn’t succeed.

“I see you had no idea,” David said. “I wish I’d gotten your reaction on video. Now you understand my concern. The Fielding team will surely make an issue of the money. And I’ve got no doubt that Dr. Cameron knows how much his ex-wife was worth.”

Clasping her hands tightly, Faith brought them up under her chin. “I don’t want Lacy’s money, Mr. Reed. Is there a way to put it completely in trust for the twins?”

“There is. But you might not want to be so hasty. If your aim is to win full custody of those infants, it could get costly.”

“Of course that’s my goal. As I explained, I have three bedrooms. I rented a larger place, assuming my dad would stay with me after he sold his house. In fact, he’s living in an assisted-care facility, so I have lots of space. I’ve already turned one bedroom into a nursery,” she said passionately. “I can’t believe either Michael or Kipp will offer the twins as much love and attention as I’m prepared to give.”

“Maybe not,” David said bluntly. “But one of them is the natural father. That’s why I wanted to talk to you face-to-face, Faith. Fielding’s team has demanded that the court order DNA testing. It takes four to six weeks after they give the go-ahead—and they will,” he added. “The test will establish paternity beyond any doubt. If we dig in and fight after that, we’ll be contesting a bona fide parent. I’m not saying we couldn’t win, considering the mother didn’t think highly of either Cameron or Fielding. It does mean that preparing our case will require a lot of expensive hours. I’ll need a full-time legal researcher and a legal secretary assigned exclusively to this.” He paused. “To be honest, the case intrigues me. Hell, I foresee it being a tremendous boost to my practice.”

For the longest time, Faith chewed the inside of her mouth and stared out the window. “I only want what’s best for Nicholas and Abigail,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I realize it’s a monumental decision. Maybe you’d like to go home and sleep on it. Those men both have the best counsel money can buy. I want you one-hundred-percent committed before we jump into a dogfight.”

Faith refocused and looked into his serious blue eyes. “I am committed,” she said. “You just hit on the whole point. Kipp Fielding has money coming out his ears and a Roman numeral after his name. Oh, he wants Nicholas all right. To carry on his prestigious family name. He doesn’t give a damn about Abigail. Michael has money, too. But my sister divorced him because he was never home. He’s a world-famous doctor, who’s completely consumed by his work. Lacy thought I’d be the best person outside of herself to raise her child, er…children. Unless the court can show something colossal to make me change my mind, I’m going to fight. I don’t need to sleep on it. If holding on to custody takes every penny of my portion of Lacy’s estate—so be it.”

Her impassioned speech set the wheels in motion. All the way to Lacy’s apartment, where—as she’d promised Reed—she’d handle the disbursement of her sister’s belongings, Faith prayed she was doing the right thing for the babies. Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake the image of the tears Michael had shed when he held the twins. A court fight would turn Michael against her. He’d most likely end up hating her. But she’d promised her only sister—and she’d lost her heart to those babies. What did it matter that she’d lost her heart to Michael years ago? That was then. This was now.

THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER of the week, Faith dashed about town in search of the items left on her list. As she entered each store, she looked over her shoulder to see if Michael skulked nearby. After the third day had passed without incident, and since he hadn’t popped in at the hospital, she began to relax and enjoy her shopping sprees.

She bought a double stroller that did everything but talk. Before setting out to buy one, Faith hadn’t had any idea how many types were on the market. The one she selected was blue canvas awash with white daisies. It included sunroofs and a basket large enough to hold a sack or two of groceries plus a big diaper bag. Perfect for walks in the park. There was mosquito netting to drape over both infants during nice weather and clear plastic that zipped on to make the interior cozy if the weather turned blustery. The whole thing folded easily to fit into the trunk of a car.

Pleased by that purchase, Faith then bought what the clerk referred to as “a diaper system.” The microfiber bag had waterproof linings and pullout changing pads and removable totes.