Page 28 of Fractured Reunion

“I’m going. I’m going.” Apparently, Oliver wasn’t in the mood to speak with Officer Thomas again. The skinny, twitchy man finally took a step back. He flashed an eerie smile. “But I’ll be back. My lawyer says I have rights.”

She nodded, waiting for him to turn and leave. When Chism was gone, Aaron asked, “How in the world did he get a lawyer so fast?”

“It’s not what you think. He has a personal injury lawyer. He probably called one of those numbers on the billboards along the freeway.” She sighed and gestured to Joey’s room. “I need to give him this popsicle before it melts. Then I’ll fill you in.”

“Of course.” He held the door for her. As she gave Joey his popsicle, which thankfully wasn’t as melted as she had feared, she was glad Aaron had arrived when he did.

Yet it was odd that Aaron was proving to be more supportive of her now that they were divorced than when they were married.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Lingering in Joey’s room wasn’t smart, especially watching Maggie and Joey interact as if they were mother and son when that wasn’t the likely outcome here. Yet Aaron was loath to leave.

“Kyle came by and removed Joey’s drain.” Maggie offered a sad smile. “Joey’s recovery is going well. And while that’s good news, it looks like Joey will be ready for discharge on Monday.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “That’s not a lot of time to get a foster parent arranged.”

“Tell me about it.” She grimaced. “I filled out the application, but I’m sure there’s no way I’ll get approved that quickly.”

He wasn’t surprised she’d filled out the application, although he didn’t understand why she even tried. “You don’t live here, Maggie. I can’t imagine a judge is going to approve you taking him to Boston.”

“I know, I thought I could get a rental property for a few months while I look for a job here in the Milwaukee area.”

Wait, she was planning to move back here? He stared at her for a long moment. “I don’t know what to say. That’s a huge move when you don’t know for sure how this will turn out.” This being Joey’s biological father.

If Oliver Chism was, in fact, Joey’s biological father. He’d want to see the DNA results for himself before letting that guy near the boy.

Then again, if Chism was able to get a lawyer, he and Maggie may have little say in the matter. Joey’s mother did list the guy as the father on the birth certificate. Seems unlikely she would have done that if it wasn’t true.

“I know it’s a big move, but I need to try.” Maggie glanced at Joey who licked his popsicle while watching television. The boy didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the adults in the room. “I can’t just walk away.”

“You walked away from us,” he said, before he could check himself.

She flushed and crossed her arms over her chest. “You let me. And besides, you know I can’t give you the family you wanted.”

He was about to point out that all he’d wanted was her and to maybe adopt when his phone rang. Seeing Jamal’s number on the screen, he groaned. “Sorry, I have to take this.”

“I know.” Maggie turned her attention to Joey while he walked out of the room to take the call.

“What’s going on with Grace?” he asked.

“She’s got some bleeding, and I thought you’d want to come and see for yourself.” Jamal sounded more concerned than panicked, but he trusted the resident’s judgment.

“I’ll be right over.” He lowered his phone, wishing he could stay and finish this conversation with Maggie. “My post-op patient is bleeding. I’m sorry. I need to go see her.”

“Don’t apologize.” Maggie said the words casually, but her expression was tense. “I know patient care comes first.”

Did she? He hesitated, then forced himself to turn away. Their relationship was over, and covering old ground wouldn’t change anything.

No matter how much he wanted it to.

As he headed to the pediatric ICU, he quickly called Alec. “Hey, Oliver Chism showed up here at Children’s Memorial to see his son despite being told not to.”

“You want me to follow him around?” Alec asked. “Maybe I can catch him in the act of committing a crime.”

That sounded drastic, and while it was tempting, he knew it wasn’t fair. It was Saturday, and Alec had a family of his own. “No, I guess I was looking for advice. Not sure what we can do to keep him out of the hospital while Joey recovers from his surgery.”

“I can talk to a friend of mine who happens to work in the police district where Chism lives,” Alec offered. “Cops often know the troublemakers who ride the line in their district. Maybe he has some ideas.”

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