34. Vail

34

VAIL

My phone rang, pulling me from the project I was working on. The space Jordan had given me had been forgotten for a bit but I was back to it, ready to move along with it.

“Hello?” I asked, seeing Lana’s name on the screen.

“Vail, I need to speak with you urgently. Are you home?”

“Yes, downstairs, but in the building.”

“Which floor? I’ll come to you.”

“Five.”

She hung up. Lana was friendly but not the overly warm and fuzzy type.

My stomach turned, wondering what she had to speak to me about. What I didn’t expect was to hear Lana’s heels on the floor in under five minutes.

I exited the room and met her in the hallway. She was smoothing her hair back, appearing a bit frazzled.

“Come in. It’s not much. I don’t even have somewhere to sit.”

“Don’t worry about that. Listen, I’m going to get right to the point. Do you remember Gil’s sister, Celine?”

“Yes.” I had a good relationship with her when I was with Gil. She didn’t know what took place between us. Gil never put bruises where they could be seen when he knew we were visiting his family. While I usually hated going anywhere with him, I liked visiting Celine. She made me feel at home.

“And you remember Celine’s daughter, Ava?”

“Yes,” I replied, dragging the word out a bit.

“Celine passed away.”

“Oh my god.” I put my hand to my mouth, shock rocking through me. “What happened?”

“Car accident. I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure how close you were to her.”

“We were friendly and got along. Not tight but we knew each other.” Then another thought occurred to me. “Was Ava in the car?”

“No,” Lana rushed to say. “She was at a friend’s house.”

I let out a breath, but not all the way. Ava still lost her mother. Her father wasn’t in the picture, having signed parental rights over to Celine.

“In Celine’s will, you were granted custody.”

“What?” I yelled, not thinking before the word was out of my mouth. I wasn’t even in Gil’s will. I heard he’d left his money to some organization I didn’t recognize. There was no reason for me to dig deeper. I didn’t give a shit about him and how much he left behind. “Me?” What the hell did I know about raising a child? I didn’t even want kids. My sister had them and that was good enough for me.

“I know this is a lot. But you must make a decision. If you want to take custody of her, we’ll get everything taken care of.”

“And if not?”

“Another guardian will be appointed.”

“Who?” Gil’s parents had to be in their late seventies by now. His father was battling dementia last I’d heard and that was years ago. I wasn’t even sure if either of them was still alive. The father’s parents weren’t in the picture. They could be dead too, for all I knew.

“The court will help decide where she’s placed.”

I braced my hand on the wall and bent at the waist, willing my stomach to calm down. The thought of Celine dying was a lot, but to add on that I was given custody in Celine’s will… How was I supposed to handle that? A child? I was supposed to raise a human being? I was good with Tahoe, but he was a dog. Not a person with more needs.

“I understand if you need some time to think about what you’d like to do.”

“I…”

The thought of Ava living with someone she didn’t know didn’t sit well with me. Granted, I hadn’t seen her in years. Gil didn’t have any other siblings, and Ava was an only child if I remembered correctly. That left aunts, uncles, and cousins, but obviously if she wanted them to take care of Ava, she would have put them in the will.

“Oh my god.” Another thought crashed into me. I didn’t think about Celine after Gil was killed. I was so wrapped up in what happened with my family that I didn’t stop for a moment to consider Celine.

Darting across the room to where there was a sparse bathroom, I bent over and threw up my breakfast. I really had to get a hold of my stomach, but holy fuck. Just when I thought my life was calming down, this happened.

I heard Lana come up behind me as I flushed the toilet. “After speaking with Celine’s attorney, she changed her will when her brother died.”

“But…”

“He was awful as you well know, and it was all over the news what he did.”

“Vail!” I heard Jordan call.

“In here,” Lana said. She stepped out of the way so Jordan could enter.

He put his hands on my cheeks. “What happened?”

“I’ve been given custody of a child.” Even saying the words made me sway. This wasn’t one of the moments I’d been waiting my whole life for. A child wasn’t on my radar.

“What?” Jordan asked with curiosity.

Lana explained it to him since I couldn’t. I was trying to get my stomach to calm down. It also gave me time for the weight of what was happening to sink in.

“Vail!” Hartley yelled, racing into the room.

“Here,” Lana said, taking a break from talking to Jordan.

“What the hell happened?” Hartley panted. “I heard Lana rushed into the building and Jordan raced back.” His hair was a mess and sweat dotted his forehead. Air sawed in and out of his lungs.

“Did you run here?” Jordan asked.

“Yeah, it was quicker than driving. I got to the building and the elevator was taking too long, so I ran up the stairs.” He leaned against the doorway. “Holy shit, I need to exercise more.”

Jordan gave Hartley the abbreviated version. With every word he spoke, Hartley’s eyes got wider, while my heart finally began to calm down.

“Do you know Ava well?” Hartley asked.

“I met her on multiple occasions, but it’s been years.”

“She’s twelve,” Lana stated. I was close in my estimation.

“Does she remember you?”

“According to Celine’s attorney, she does. She has fond memories of playing with Vail.”

A smile teased my lips. “I used to sit on the floor with her and play with her dolls. We’d give them pretty outfits and do their hair. Sometimes Celine would join us. We’d play board games or go for a walk. Gil never did. He was content to watch TV while I bonded with his family.”

“Fuck him,” Hartley bit out. “Sorry, but fuck him. I’m glad he’s dead. Could you imagine if Ava went to him?”

A chill rushed over my skin. I was glad Gil was dead for a multitude of reasons. When faced with the idea of him being a father figure to Ava, hell no.

“What do you want to do, Vail?” Jordan asked.

I looked at him, at the love in his eyes. I could feel his concern where his hand brushed over my arm soothingly. Hartley’s breaths were finally coming slower. His eyes were misty, probably thinking what I was.

In that moment, taking in the men I loved, I asked, “Do you want to help me raise her? I don’t want to do this if you’re not on board. It’s not just about me. We’re in it together. I’m not leaving either of you. If I take custody of Ava, I need you to be on the same page.”

“It would mean upping the security,” Jordan said. “She has to be protected. I’d spend more time at home, maybe pull back on some of my commitments.”

My eyebrows raised. “Are you quitting that side of things?” I didn’t hesitate to bring it up in front of Lana. She knew damn well what Jordan did and didn’t do. She protected him better for it.

“No, but bringing a child into this changes things. I could slow down so I’d be here more often.”

“I’m only down the street,” Hartley said. “I can take over at night so Jordan can work. Between the three of us, we could do this.” A smile teased his lips.

I was a bit shocked, to be honest. “Are you two saying what I think you are?” Jordan wasn’t young. He remembered what it was like raising JJ. But he also knew what he could have done differently. He was actively working to repair the relationship he had with his son.

“I didn’t want more children,” Jordan stated. “The thought of Ava being placed with people she doesn’t know doesn’t sit well with me. She already formed a connection with you.”

“Agreed,” Hartley said. “She’s been through hell and back. We can provide her with a stable environment.”

“I think stable is a bit of a stretch.”

“Okay, so maybe it is, but we can do this. If you want to, Vail.”

My sick stomach that was already settling was quickly changing to an overwhelming feeling of hope. Ava had been through a horrible ordeal. I wasn’t sure what she knew of her uncle, but she lost him and her mom. Her life had been turned upside down. If we could help her, be there for her, we should be.

“I didn’t want kids,” I said aloud. “Now, I can’t imagine her going into foster care or a place she doesn’t want to be.”

Jordan brought his hand to the back of my neck. “Are you certain?”

“I am. I never thought I’d want this, but I do. I want to bring her here with us.”

Lana turned from just outside the bathroom, which holy hell we were still in. She brought her phone to her ear and started speaking.

“I’ll do anything for you,” Jordan said. “For either of you.”

“But this isn’t the same as buying us what we want or taking us on trips.”

“When I say anything, I mean anything .”

Hartley cuddled up to Jordan’s side. “You have a lot of love to give, even though you don’t think you do. Your heart is really damn big, Jordan. We love every part of it.”

Our tough partner ducked his head to tuck it against Hartley’s neck while he pulled me closer, so we stood in a tight circle, arms around each other, breathing the same air.

“I love you,” I told them. “More than I could ever express. This is a big deal and you two are ready to jump in with both feet. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

“You’re jumping in too, Vail,” Hartley said. “You might not have wanted children, but you’re ready to change your life for her.”

“You are too.”

God, this was so much to take in, but at the same time, I couldn’t and didn’t want to go back on my decision. It felt right, like everything else did when Jordan came into my life and when Hartley returned to it. Puzzle pieces were sliding into place. In my case, each piece was another person, slotting themselves into the most important spots in my life, where they were always meant to be.

We had a lot to do. A room to prepare. Items to move. And Ava was going to need therapy after going through what she had. But it just so happened Jordan hired someone.

“Jordan, does Arden handle family counseling as well?” I asked.

“I think so.”

I nodded. “Good. Maybe once Ava is comfortable and with her consent, she’ll want to speak to him.”

Hartley brushed his lips over my cheek. “Already thinking like a dad.”

“I’m not a dad.”

“You said she didn’t have a father figure.”

“No, at least I don’t think so. I don’t remember Celine mentioning she dated.” She could have, but again, if she was serious with someone, I’d have thought Ava would go to them.

Jordan pressed a kiss to my throat. “Another part of our lives intersecting for a reason. Now we’re brought here, to a girl who needs support and a family to lean on.”

“Our family,” I corrected.

“Yes, baby, ours.”

Thank you for reading Vail!