Page 72 of Sunshine
Lulah gives me a sharp look, her brow arched. “An RCMP officer who went undercover as an outlaw biker.”
“Right,” I say.
And because she reads people too well and knows I’m not buying what she’s selling, she frowns. “Come on, they’re in the den.” She nods her head toward the house. “Want a coffee?”
“That’d be great. Although I fear I’ll need something stronger if this goes sideways.”
“We all might.” She shrugs when I lift a brow at her and look at her belly. “My stronger will be a little different than yours, don’t worry. Maybe a fully caffeinated coffee for me.” She rolls her eyes. “Wooo.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders, and we walk in to face the music. “Aren’t you supposed to be on bedrest?”
“Shh, don’t remind Jeff. You’ll get me in trouble. He says I’m only allowed up for an hour twice a day. And it’s been an hour and a half already.”
I cross my arms. “I’m on Jeff’s side for this one, Lulah.”
She sticks her tongue out at me and turns toward the stairs. “Guess you’re making your own coffee then.”
“If it means you doing what’s best for the little one, I will.” This time she gives me the finger and I chuckle, knowing she wouldn’t dare do that if Jeff were near.
I walk into the den, not bothering with coffee. I need to know what we’re up against more than I need caffeine.
There’s a sense of impending doom with the way the judge is looking at me. Having my brother-in-law, David, and Jeff heredoesn’t change a thing in the way she glares at me. This time I’m not dog shit on her shoe, I’m the maggot that ate the dog shit on her shoe.
“Where are Liam and Siobhan Callen? This is an informal meeting, but they need to be here.” The judge frowns, looking down at the paperwork on her desk.
Greg Chambers, the Callen family lawyer for as long as I can remember, steps forward. He’s aged since the last time I saw him, but his eyes still hold the shrewdness of a man used to winning.
“I’m here on their behalf as they were unable to get here on such short notice.”
For the first time the judge looks unimpressed by someone other than me and it feels good not to be on the end of her disapproving glare. She grunts and makes some notes.
“And what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Callen?” Her head swivels to face me and she pins me with a scrutinizing glare.
“I made it from another province, so what’s their excuse again?”
“Mr. Callen, you need to concentrate on you.”
“I was on private property and everything in those pictures was consensual, your honor. It was my parents’ private investigator that was trespassing.” I shoot Greg a look fit for Python Keller before looking back at the judge.
David speaks up. “Your honor? May I request that the identity of the woman be kept off the record? And those pictures be inadmissible. My client and his companion are entitled to privacy. I also request that those pictures be destroyed.”
“Mr. Callen, and his lady friend, should have thought of that before traipsing around naked like teenagers high on ecstasy.”
“With all due respect, Your Honor. The private investigator crossed the line by going onto private property. What myclient does in his free time on private property shouldn’t be used against him. And besides, none of this proves their original complaint, which was that Mr. Callen has not shed his undercover outlaw persona and that he isn’t adjusting to living in the ‘real’ world. He has not done anything illegal. Has had no contact with anyone from the Motorcycle club beside the informant that assisted him in his investigation and his time undercover.”
“This wasn’t regular biblical sex, Your Honor. These were deviant acts.Ifthey were even consensual. Tying a woman up and smacking her around are exactly the type of things an outlaw biker would do.”
Judge Hortense laughs. “Deviant acts? Mr. Chambers, you apparently haven’t read a romance novel recently or seen some of the most popular movies of the last ten years. But yes, this depends on the woman’s consent.”
“What kind of a role model will they be for a young impressionable little girl, Your Honor?” Greg shakes his head as if he’s personally offended. “Especially the woman—if we can even call her that. Is that who’s going to teach Reece how to be a proper young lady?”
The judge nods, scribbles on her notes. “Careful, Counselor. The woman in question isn’t here to defend herself and she isn’t the one petitioning for custody.”
My jaw shifts and I clench my fists, fighting the urge to clock the old man I’d once considered family. David steps on my foot so I relax my hands.
“Your honor, the woman in question is an upstanding citizen, a successful professional, who would make an excellent role model for women’s independence and self-sufficiency. Besides that, Case is at work every day, building his house. He goes grocery shopping, pays his bills, does everything a law-abiding citizen does. Andhevisits his daughter, showing up foreveryscheduled visitation and speaks with her on the phone every day. He even reads her a bedtime story nightly.
And when he’s with Reece, he takes her to the zoo, museums, parks and playgrounds. Your Honor, I wish I’d had a dad like Case growing up. These accusations are ridiculous and a waste of the court’s time. We need to give this man his daughter and let them move on with their lives. They’ve missed enough time together while he was serving and protecting the public.”
