Page 21 of Fractured Reunion

He should know. She walked away from him with the same disdain emanating from her eyes now.

“I wanna see my kid,” Oliver said in a whiny voice. “I got rights.”

Maggie didn’t say a word, waiting for Officer Thomas to answer.

“No, he has not been doing any of those things,” Officer Thomas admitted. “But now that Joey’s mother is dead…”

From where he stood several paces behind the officer, he could see the horror and dread flash across Maggie’s features. This was her worst fear.

And he wasn’t sure there would be anything she could do to prevent Oliver Chism from taking custody of his son.

“Joey has undergone surgery, and I will not allow him to be upset by being confronted by a stranger.” Maggie’s gaze pleaded with Officer Thomas to support her in this. “If Mr. Chism is ultimately granted custody of Joey, then obviously we would try to make this as smooth a transition as possible.”

“You can’t keep me from my kid,” Oliver protested.

Maggie ignored him. “Furthermore, I would expect the court to complete a DNA test along with a drug and alcohol assessment of Mr. Chism to make sure he’s actually Joey’s father and fit to take care of a young child.”

The back of Oliver’s neck flushed red with anger, or embarrassment. Aaron quickly moved forward to help defuse the situation.

“I agree that Child Protective Services will need to vet Mr. Chism prior to his taking custody of the child,” Officer Thomas said. “However, I wasn’t sure if Joey needed someone to give consent to medical care. I didn’t want there to be a delay in the child getting the care he needs.”

Maggie looked as if she might answer, but he stepped in. “Hello, I’m Dr. Aaron Monroe. Unfortunately, Joey’s condition took a turn for the worse yesterday,” he explained. “The trauma surgeon feared for Joey’s life and decided to take him to the operating room after deeming the procedure emergent. He drained the internal bleeding the boy suffered as a result of the bus crash, and he left a drain in place in case more blood accumulated in the area. Joey is also getting IV antibiotics to ward off an infection.”

“And that’s why I’m not willing to have Joey disturbed at this time,” Maggie added. “He’s in pain, and we don’t know for sure if he’ll need to have another procedure. This is not the time for him to meet his—father.” The subtle distasteful emphasis on the last word was impossible to ignore. Although Aaron wasn’t convinced Oliver Chism was smart enough to pick up on it.

“That is helpful information to know,” Officer Thomas said with a nod. “We appreciate the update on Joey’s condition. I’m glad to know Joey has been well cared for. And since parental consent is no longer needed, I’ll escort Mr. Chism home.”

Aaron wondered where the guy lived and made a mental note to call Alec to have him dig into Oliver Chism’s background. The guy appeared sketchy, but that didn’t mean he had a criminal past.

He had to assume the police wouldn’t have brought Oliver Chism to the hospital if he was a felon.

Then again, he wasn’t necessarily up to speed on the rules and regulations of family law. Plenty of criminals had kids. The courts didn’t intervene unless there was a proven case of neglect or abuse.

The thought of Joey suffering made him angry.

“I’m not leaving till I’ve seen my kid,” Oliver protested. He tried to shake off Officer Thomas’s hand.

It didn’t work.

“Oh yes, you are,” Officer Thomas said. “I’m sure you want to do whatever is in the best interest of your child. Don’t you?”

That statement gave the skinny guy pause. As if he was realizing for the first time that his ability to win custody of his son depended on his actions. It was not a guarantee.

“Yeah, sure,” Oliver mumbled, hunching his shoulders. “Whatever.”

Aaron stepped to the side, giving Officer Thomas and Oliver Chism room to leave. He caught the apologetic expression on the officer’s face and knew the guy would be an ally for Joey.

Yet he also knew that the legal system didn’t always act in the best interests of the public. If Oliver really was Joey’s biological father, the judge might be inclined to place Joey in his custody. Keeping families together was always a top priority.

A soft cry from inside Joey’s room had Maggie spinning in the doorway and disappearing inside. He followed, watching as she drew the child into her arms, whispering reassurances.

As before, Joey clung to Maggie like a lifeline. It made sense that the child had gotten so attached to her; she’d barely left his side since the bus crash. When Joey settled back down, she lifted her head to look at him.

“I know,” he whispered, easily reading her thoughts. “I’ll talk to Alec, see what he can dig up on Chism.”

“I’m sure Officer Thomas did that too,” she said in a low voice.

“Probably. But Alec is a detective, he may be able to find out more about this guy.” He needed to do something to ease the strain on her features. “Let’s hope for the best, okay? Maybe he’s not as bad as we’re assuming he is.”

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