Page 76 of Silver Sanctuary
The lawyer nodded. “If you’re okay with it, Mrs. Caldwell, then we can proceed. Officially, I can say they know nothing at this point.”
Lacy looked over at Nash. “They want to be here to support you,” he whispered.
“Yes, please. If they want to be here, then I’d like for them to stay.”
The next hour was spent going over every detail of her life. From when she became responsible for Embrie’s day-to-day care, to how she obtained the counterfeit birth certificate. They asked her how she paid for doctor’s visits, if she lied to obtain benefits from the government, if Embrie was ever in a dangerous situation because of her. And as hard as she tried, as much as she wanted to be stoic in front of Nash and all the other guys, she couldn’t hold the tears back as they asked her to tell them the details of the night she fled West Virginia with Embrie.
“Look.” The lead lawyer smiled at Lacy. “We areveryconfident that things are going to go in your favor. You’ve kept Embrie safe from Amber and her instability. You kept her sheltered, nourished, enrolled her in school—all of these are good things, Lacy.”
“What are the next steps?” Nash asked.
“We’re going to file a petition for emergency guardianship. Since you are married, both of you will be listed on the petition. Again, this is a good thing. You’ve been providing for Embrie all on your own, Lacy, and that is so commendable. It’s easy to see that she’s well taken care of and incredibly loved. She has a safe home, and that’s thanks to you.”
“But…” she whispered.
“But… we still have to deal with the matter of you taking her across state lines without holding actual guardianship of her, and using an illegal birth certificate to help her enroll in school.”
“It’s really bad, isn’t it?”
“Baby, no.” Nash’s reply didn’t give her much confidence. “You were doing it in Embrie’s best interest. You didn’t use it to take benefits away from anyone. You didn’t use it for nefarious means. You enrolled a child in school and took her to the doctor when she was sick.”
“Your husband is right. We’re going to come at this hard and fast, Mrs. Caldwell—petition the court for emergency custody to be granted to the both of you. We’ll ask that your mother’s parental rights be dissolved, citing decades worth of drug use and the fact that she abandoned her infant child with you, and left you to care for her that entire time. The fact that she only seems to have interest in custody of the minor as a way to extort money from you will be the nail in the coffin.”
“But we don’t have any physical proof of that.”
“No, but they have my testimony,” Nash said.
“That won’t be enough.” Lacy knew their word alone wouldn't get results.
“We’re still going to bring it up. And in addition to that, we’ll gather up Embrie’s school records, her medical history. Demonstrate that you’ve been a responsible caretaker for her. I cannot promise anything with one-hundred percent certainty,Mrs. Caldwell, but I’ve seen more cases of child abandonment than I care to admit. You have stepped in and clearly been a loving guardian for your sister. We are going to make sure that nothing changes for her on that front.”
“And the charges she might face?” Hawk asked, a shrug of his shoulders the only acknowledgment that Nash looked as if he might strangle him for asking the question.
“We can clearly establish that the falsified documents were not used with malicious intent and were only ever used to protect the child. I’m healthily optimistic that a judge will see the actions of a protective older sister trying to do everything she can to save her innocent sister from facing the same upbringing she herself had to navigate.” The lawyers stood, gathering their paperwork. “I know it’s difficult, Mrs. Caldwell, but try not to worry. We’re the very best at what we do, and we’ll prove that you’ve been the very best mother to Embrie. You should hear back from us by tomorrow with the results for our emergency guardianship petition.”
Lacy nodded, acutely aware of the way her mind felt disconnected from her body. She just needed to get through one hurdle at a time. Tomorrow she would legally be Embrie’s guardian… if everything went right.
Twenty-Three
“We don’t have to go anywhere. It’s getting late; I’m sure everyone will just want to go back to their own lives.” Lacy wasn’t sure she had the energy to sit through a big celebration.
“What are you talking about? You got married today! You joined our crazy family! We have to celebrate.” Mae held out her hand to Embrie who smiled as she twirled around in her dress.
“Yes, but we could just go back to our place. I can cook something…”
“You aren’t cooking on your wedding night.” Lily placed her hand on Lacy’s arm. “If you don’t want to go here, though, we can find someplace else. I’ll cancel our party table reservations right now.”
“What’s this about canceling?” Nash’s voice wrapped around her as his hand slid over her hip. The touch was exactly what she needed—it grounded her. Reminded her that she wasn’t alone anymore. She didn’t have to fight on her own; Nash would stand up for her.
“Nothing. I just didn’t want to impose on anyone tonight.But now that I know you guys planned ahead and there are reservations to get to, we should go in.”
“Then let’s go,wife.”
A shiver rolled through her at his use of her new title. But as they stepped into Davney’s, the shivers didn’t stop.
“Are you cold?” Nash whispered.
“No,” she squeaked out, praying her nerves would settle. Why was it so hard to walk into that place? She wasn’t there to work, she was there as a patron. All of Nash’s friends enjoyed eating there, so she could too.
