Page 35 of Absolution

“Raze, I fully intend on returning, but the situation is more complicated than I expected. There’s a kid involved,” I bluntly say, laying it all out on the table for him.

“A kid? Shit, Ratchet. That is not what I expected you to say. Is it hers?” he asks.

“It’s her brother. She just told me about him last night. I’m not sure what her intentions are with him yet, but I need to ride this out. If she intends on bringing him home with her, I will make sure that happens.”

“I understand Ratchet, and I am happy to know you want to stay with us. It just wouldn’t be the same around here without you.”

“Yeah, who else would bust V’s balls?” I smile. Raze’s laugh fills the phone, and I laugh with him.

“If there’s anything that you need me or the club to do, please let me know. Keep me in the loop where you can.”

“Will do, Prez,” I tell him. “So, tell me how our good friend Rex met his maker.”

Raze begins to tell me about the activities of the last night, when a stack of papers on the coffee table in front of the couch, catches my eye. I scoop up the pile, and study the words on the first page as Raze talks about burning Rex’s business to the ground with him inside of it. I should have been pissed that someone else got to handle my job for the club, but this new information has me engrossed.

The paper in front of me is the application to file for custody of the boy whose name I know now is Asher.

Does she intend to make this a permanent stay?

My eyes read line by line, and I notice that she’s left only one portion blank. Marital status.

Thank god for small favors.

I flip to the next page and find a hand-written page with her to-do list with a neatly organized row of check boxes. The first line simply reads find a job with a broad check mark next to it, but the rest are blank. The other items on her list are a bit more sporadic. The next line mentions a therapist, and the rest detail the things she needed to do based off of the application I saw first. The biggest item that stands out to me is her task of paying the court administration fee and filing the actual paperwork. It hits me like a punch to the gut knowing she’s working constantly just to scrap together two hundred bucks. This could have been taken care of far sooner, if she had just let me in from the beginning. I may not be rolling in serious cash, but everything that I have earned from the early backdoor dealings of the club and my legitimate job through the club’s security service, has been saved. I grew up with nothing, and after starving and living on the streets, I made a promise to myself to not waste whatever I was given. In my own way, it was a guarantee to never go without a roof over my head and food in my belly.

A swell of pride hits me, when I realize how serious she is about getting her brother, and no matter the cost to me, I want that for the both of them. But even I have to admit that the odds will be stacked against her. After spending countless years in the system, I know all too well the requirements of getting custody of a relative or adopting a child. While it might be different here than it was in Florida, married couples with disposable incomes and huge houses always get priority. It pains me to think that her effort to get him may all have been in vain. She’s a single woman with a small income, and a trailer that is falling apart around her. She would be seen as a risk by the courts. Not to mention the fact that she might have a criminal record a mile long thanks to the men she clung to during that dark period of her life. Something that I don’t blame her for, since I know all too well the sacrifices that it takes in order to survive.

A crazy idea pops in my head, but I need to look into the local laws, before I go through with it. My idea could come with consequences should the Kentucky state law stars align. She would be pissed, but if it expedites her case, it’s a risk that I am willing to take.

“You still there?” Raze asks. “Did the connection drop?”

“I’m here, Prez. I think my girl is starting to wake up, but when Voodoo leaves his computer bat cave, have him give me a call.”

“Will do. Be safe, brother.”

“Same goes to you. Get some sleep, old man.”

I disconnect the call, and toss my phone down next to me. With Raze not distracting me, I look over the paper again. This confirms what I have only assumed since she told me about her brother. She wants to adopt him, and what my girl wants my girl gets. I will, for damn sure, make this happen.

I make myself a promise, before heading back to bed with my girl.

That no matter how much she will fight me, I will fight for her and Asher even harder.

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