Page 31 of Sunshine
“What the hell is that, Case? Who the hell are Liam and Siobhan Callen? And why the fuck are they suddenly entitled to visitation?”
I honestly thought they’d backed off after I called them. But no, seems they were just waiting until it was more convenient for them. I check the date. Yeah, like when they’d closed the beach house for the season.
“My parents,” I say numbly, tossing my sausage, paper plate and all, into the fire. “They’re filing for custody themselves on grounds I’m unfit.” I sigh forcefully. “I thought they’d given up after I called them, but I guess not.”
“You knew about this? Why the fuck would they do that, Case? What the fuck aren’t you telling us.”
He’s pissed and I don’t blame him. My parents are strangers to both Reece and her family. Hell, they’re even strangers to me now. “I don’t have anything to do with them. I don’t even know how they could have found out about this. About Reece. We’ve been estranged for a long time. I didn’t tell you because I thought it was going to go away, and I didn’t want to stress you out.”
“Do they have a chance?” Jeff asks, his voice ripe with worry and impatience. “I don’t know these fucking people, Case. And the fact that they introduced themselves by means of a custody lawsuit tells me everything I need to know about them.”
“I haven’t even seen them in over five years, but they…” I pause to gather a breath. “They’ve got money, Jeff. A lot of it and the connections and influence to go with it. And I’m not so sure the caseworker or judge like me very much. But even if they don’t win, they’ll likely get grandparent rights.”
Jeff lets loose a string of curses and I don’t stop him, probably because my own head is filled with them.
The fucking audacity. Wasn’t it bad enough they’d made my life hell growing up, did they have to do it to my daughter too? Screw that.
“I know this isn’t great news, Jeff, but I’m going to do everything in my power to stop them.”
“Jesus, this is our baby, Case. This is Reece. Smart, sweet, and sensitive, Reece. She better not be a pawn in some battle between you and your parents.”
“That’s the last thing I want, Jeff. I want her to be safe and secure not tossed around between a bunch of greedy adults who think they know best.”
His grunt ends the call, and I let my face fall into my hands for a few minutes, rubbing the skin as if I can rub my troubles away. And then I call my sister.
“Posy?”
“Hey, Case. What’s up?” There’s music in the background—classical.
“Do you know what our parents are up to?”
“What now?”
“They’re petitioning for custody of Reece.” I sigh, feeling exhausted. “I thought it was a ploy to get my attention at first, but they’re actually pursuing it seriously now.”
“Just a sec,” she says, and I hear the muffled sound of her covering the mic. “Excuse me folks, I’ve gotta take this.”
A minute goes by before she uncovers the phone and the music is gone. I put her on speaker so I can pull up the email.
“What the fuck do you mean?”
“Apparently, they think my daughter will be better off with them. How’d they even find out I had a daughter?”
There’s silence for a minute. “That might be my fault.”
“Jesus, Pose, what did you do?”
“Reece’s picture is your caller ID on my phone. You called when I was there, and you know Mom, she doesn’t let things go.” She pauses long enough for me to growl. “I’m so sorry, Case. I didn’t think they’d do anything like this. I mean they’ve been bugging me about grandchildren, but this is too far. Reece doesn’t need this. Send me all the legal documents and I’ll get David to look it over. Let me help fix this.”
“Posy, you’re still in their good graces, do you think you getting involved is a good idea?”
“I’m not letting them do this to you, Case. They’ve done enough. It’s time they learn boundaries apply to them too. And I’m only in their good graces because I played the game by their rules, and it fortunately worked out. You did what was right for you. And I’m proud of you and the strength that took.”
“If you’re sure,” I say as I forward her the emails from my current lawyer.
“Got it.” She hums a bit as she glances through the stuff I sent her. “When are you back in town next? We’ll set up a meeting.”
We arrange a time to meet, and although I loath to take time away from my daughter when I’m in town, I’ve got no choice.
