“What do you want, Monica?” I glared at her before looking back down at Skylar. “Hey, honey, want to go play in the backyard?”
“Yes, please.” She hugged my leg and then ran to the back. “Can I pick some flowers, Uncle Noah?”
“Of course.” I beamed at her and waited until I saw her walk out the French doors to turn back to Monica. “What do you want?” I glared at her, and let my distaste show through.
“You better ask your new lover, Lucky. She’s the one that called me.”
“Lucky is my brother’s fiancée.” I shook my head in disgust.
“I’m sure you’re f**king her.” Monica leered at me as she stepped in closer to me. “Or maybe you’ve been missing me. Is that why I’m here? Been missing you.”
“I’ve missed you as much as a good man misses hell.”
“Noah, you’re back.” Lucky ran down the stairs and gave me a despairing and apologetic look.
“Yes.” I nodded coldly.
“Where’s Skylar?” She looked around wildly and I grabbed her arm.
“She’s in the backyard.” I nodded towards the back.
“She’s a kid.” Lucky looked at me with big eyes. “Skylar’s a kid.”
“Yes.”
“So you really didn’t miss your ex, did you?” Lucky chewed on her lower lip and I sighed.
“I told you that I didn’t miss my ex.” I sighed. “I told you you didn’t really understand.”
“I’m still here, bitches.” Monica interrupted us. “Where the f**k is my money?”
“What money?” It took everything in me not to physically harm her.
“My money to go to Aruba,” she sneered at me. “And no, I don’t want you to come with me. You missed your opportunity.”
“I have no interest in going with you anywhere.”
“But for f**king Skylar, you’d go to the moon, right.” She looked at me with thin eyes. “What a f**king weirdo you are. I should have known when you had to move to Palm Bonita you were a sicko.”
“Skylar is like a daughter to me.” My voice was low and angry. “I was the one who took her to the park, I was the one who took her bowling, I was the one who took her for ice cream. I was the one that made her feel safe again.”
“You’re also the one that left her crying for weeks on end.” Monica looked at me with a gleam in her eye. “But I shut her up.”
“You shut her up?” I frowned and then it hit me and I grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall. “Did you break Skylar’s arm?”
“She bumped into a chair.” She looked at me with a blank stare. “And get your f**king hands off of me before I call the police.”
“You’re an evil bitch.” I hissed at her before letting go of her arms.
“Noah!” Lucky walked up to me and grabbed me. “Calm down. Don’t let her win.” She whispered in my ear.
“I hate her so much.” I said out loud. “You know how I tell you that all the dregs of society moved to Palm Bonita, well, she was the worst of them all. She is a thief, a con artist, an abuser. When I met Monica, I thought she was a victim of domestic violence. I thought she had fled an abusive husband. But I was wrong. Her husband was dead, had died in a car accident a few years before. Left her a couple hundred thousand. She spent that money then spent Skylar’s college fund. Then she took jobs cleaning people’s houses but she was also cleaning out their houses. She also conned several families out of their pensions with her schemes. Monica didn’t flee to Palm Bonita because she was afraid of her ex-husband finding her and killing her, she fled because she was scared the cops would find her and imprison her for life.”
“That’s why you needed the private jet.” Lucky’s eyes popped open as she stared at Monica. “It wasn’t because of your fear of flying with other people at all, was it?”
“Ding, ding ding. Your lover’s a smart one,” Monica cackled. “And I never lied to you, Noah. The very first day I met you, I told you there were lots of bad people in town and that you had to be careful. It’s not my fault if you didn’t listen to my advice.”
“So what do you want, Monica?”
“I told your brother when he picked me up from the airport. He’s very handsome, isn’t he? So much more handsome than you. I’m sure he’s better in bed as well.”
Lucky glared at her, and I grabbed her hand so that she didn’t try to slap Monica.
“What do you want?” I asked again, only this time my voice was a lot harder.
“What I’ve always wanted.” She stared at me with a light expression. “Money.”
“Why would we give you money?” I stared at her with hate.
“Because you love Skylar,” she laughed, “and you don’t want to see anything bad happen to her.”
“You leave her alone,” I moved forward to grab her again, but this time she reacted quickly and got out of the way.
“I’d be happy to leave her alone forever,” she smiled at me, “for a million dollars.”
“What?” My heart beat fast at her words. “What do you mean?”
“I’ll sign over custody to you.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal. “I couldn’t give two shits about raising her. You love her so much then you can have her. Just give me a million dollars.”
“I don’t have a million dollars.” My heart thudded as I stared at her. “My dad is the rich one. I don’t have access to that kind of money.”
“Oh, well, I guess it’s back to Palm Bonita we go. Hopefully the next sucker to move to town can take care of me a little better than you did.”
“Leave Skylar.” I asked softly. “Leave Skylar with me. Even you have to know that’s not the town for a little girl. And you’re just not ready to be a mother.”
“I’m ready to be a mother. I love kids,” she screeched. “I want kids.”
“Well, you’re a mother now and you’re not doing a great job.” I shook my head.
“I’m not a mother.” Monica gave me a look. “That little brat is not my kid. I married her dad after her mom died of breast cancer. She’s not mine.”
“She was your husband’s child.” My voice rose. “She is still your family. You should still love her. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the same blood. You can still love someone with all your heart, even if you aren’t biologically related.”“Oh, shut up, Noah. You always were an obnoxious prat. Save your holier than thou shit for church.” She glared at me. “Where the f**k is my money?”
“I don’t have a million dollars to give you, Monica,” I sighed and shook my head. “Isn’t there another arrangement we can come to?”
“I want a million dollars or Skylar leaves with me.”
“I just told you. I don’t have a million dollars.”
“But I do.” Zane’s voice boomed as he walked into the room. I hadn’t even heard the front door open, I was so wrought with emotion. I stared at him as he walked up to me with a caring expression.
“Zane, you’re back.” I smiled at him weakly and he squeezed my shoulder. Lucky ran over to him and he put his arm around her holding her close.
“I have a cashier’s check for you.” Zane looked at Monica. “But get one thing straight, you’re not getting this check until we go to an attorney and get the legal documents signed and taken care of.”
“Let me see it.” Her eyes bulged with happiness and greed.
“You’ll see it only when we’ve been to the attorney.” Zane’s voice was firm.
“How do I know you’re not lying?”
“I’m not in the habit of lying.” Zane’s tone was even. “But here, you can have a look.” He opened his briefcase and took out a check and held it up for her. “I just got this from the bank and it’s made out to you. You’re lucky I have a good relationship with the bank manager and was able to get him to open the bank and do this for me. But here it is. One million dollars for you to do whatever it is you want to do. But you need to sign over full legal custody rights to Noah.”
“I’ll do it now if you want.”
“We have to go to the attorney’s office tomorrow.” Zane shook his head. “Then you get the check.”
“Fine. Where’s my room?” she said sharply. “Or if you prefer, I can sleep with you.”
“You’ll sleep upstairs in a spare room.” Zane looked at her in disgust. “And Lucky and Skylar will share a room tonight as well, so Lucky can make sure she’s okay.”
“Whatever.” Monica shrugged and then looked at me. “I knew you were going to be a good catch.”
“What does that mean?” I couldn’t help but ask her the question.
“When I first saw you in Palm Bonita, I could tell you were a kind person. And then when you first met Skylar and were so sweet and gentle with her, I knew that you’d love her like a daughter. That is what I was hoping for. Why do you think I allowed you to take her out so much? I knew you’d help me kill two birds with one stone. I’m going to be a rich woman and I’m going to be rid of that brat.”
“You’re a horrible human being, you know that?” I looked at her in disgust and walked to the back garden so I could check on Skylar. “Hey, where are you?” I called out as I walked through the French doors.
“Right here, Uncle Noah,” Skylar yawned up at me from the chair she was sitting on. “I was just taking a quick nap.”
“I think it’s time for bed, honey.”
“I don’t want to go to bed.” She shook her head.
“But you’re tired.”
“I’m not tired.” Her lower lip trembled.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m scared I’m going to wake up again and this will all be a dream.” Tears slid out of her eyes. “I don’t want to wake up and not see you.”
“This isn’t a dream, poppet. I’ll be here in the morning. I’ll be here every morning. I was coming to get you tomorrow. But instead, you came to get me first.”
Skylar looked at me silently with big hopeful eyes and so I continued. “I made a mistake when I left you, Skylar. I didn’t know how to say goodbye and I didn’t know what Monica was going to say or do if I tried to take you with me. I tried to ask her to let me take you so I could give you a better life. But she threatened to do bad things. And because we’re not family, I didn’t have any legal rights, but I was trying, my love. I was always trying.”
“I was so sad.” She grabbed my hand. “I was so sad when you left.”
“I’m so sorry, Skylar. But I promise I will never leave you again.” I smiled at her and held her hand tightly. “I promise that I will always be here for you because when you love someone you will always be there for them; to protect them, to love them, to kiss them and hug them.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.” I heard my phone ringing and saw Robin’s name on the screen before putting it back in my pocket. I didn’t want to interrupt my time with Skylar by answering the phone. Not now. I hoped and prayed that Robin would accept my call in a few days. But right now, all I could focus on was Skylar. She was finally going to become my daughter and this time, I had to make sure that I did everything in my power to keep her safe and make her feel loved.
***
“Here’s to families.” Zane’s beer can clinked mine as we sat on the couch after dinner. It had been three days since we had met with the attorney and I was now in full legal custody of Skylar.
“Here’s to me having the best family ever.” I grinned back at him and took a chug of beer. “Thank you for being the best brother ever.”
“It was the least I could do.” He said and leaned back. “She’s a great kid.”
“She is.” I agreed. “I sure hope I don’t do anything to screw her up.”
“You won’t.” Zane smiled at me. “And you know Lucky won’t let you.”
“That’s true,” I laughed. “She’s already acting like a mom.”
“I know.” He groaned. “She’s going to want ten kids now.”
“You’ll be happy to give them to her.” I laughed and he chuckled.
“What about you? You want more?”
“I think that’s a bit early to ask. I just became a dad and I don’t even have a girlfriend.” I laughed but I felt a little sad inside. Robin hadn’t answered or returned any of the calls I had made in the last two days. I knew that I should have tried to explain everything earlier, but I had just been so overwhelmed.
“How’s Robin?” Zane asked curiously and I shrugged. “Does she want to meet Skylar?
“She doesn’t know about Skylar.” I bit my lip and he looked at me in shock.
“Oh, boy.” He shook his head. “You have to stop keeping things to yourself, bro. You’re making it harder on yourself than you need to.”
“I didn’t want to get people involved with my worries.” I sighed. “Especially not if I’m planning something that may be illegal.”
“I knew you were up to no good.” Zane shook his head. “As soon as I saw you on the phone, I knew you had some hair-brained plan up your sleeve.”