Page 98 of Family Bonds: Carter & Avery

“It’s Mike Coffey. You know damn well I’m Josie’s father. You’ve always known. I found out Colleen is dead and I want my kid.”

“You signed those rights away before she was born,” she said. “You know it and I know it. I’ve got all the legal documents. Not to mention I am Josie’s guardian.”

“It’s my kid,” Mike said. “I want her.”

“Get a lawyer,” she said and hung up the phone, her messy fingers smearing all over the screen.

“Sit down and tell me what that was about,” Carter said.

“You heard it,” she said.

“But you didn’t seem as surprised as you should have been,” he said. He noticed that right away. First, her face got white and then it got red. Like anger.

She let out a sigh. “Make sure Josie is still upstairs, please.”

She grabbed a paper towel and started to wipe her hands while he left the room to see if Josie was upstairs.

He returned to the kitchen and saw her still sitting there, this time drinking his water. She was obviously shaken.

“She’s got music on and is drawing. She didn’t even hear me go up the stairs.”

“Good,” Avery said. She was talking quietly now. “When I went home for Thanksgiving, I was out getting our dinner and ran into the police officer that came to get me at my job to tell me about Colleen. She’d recognized me and then said someone had been asking where Josie was and causing a scene about two months ago.”

“Why didn’t you say anything to me before?” he asked.

“Because there wasn’t much to say. I got a copy of the police report. I knew Mike’s name. I’ve always known. He isn’t listed on the birth certificate. He left Colleen when she was pregnant. He gambled a lot and he didn’t treat Colleen that great. When she found out she was pregnant, she’d told him and he didn’t want the kid. They split up. She said she’d reach out when she got close to delivering so he knew, and he told her not to bother. At one point a month or so before the baby was born he said he would sign over all his rights, but he wanted to know when Josie was born. She reached out to tell him and he never showed up.”

“Asshole,” he said.

“Exactly. They’d signed all the papers before Josie was born. Colleen worked fast in case he changed his mind. She decided she didn’t want Mike in her life. I’m not sure how he found out about Colleen. He moved out of the area years ago and Colleen had no clue where he was.”

“Someone told him,” he said. “Was he from Danbury?”

“No,” she said. “I’m not even sure where she met him, but he must have been in contact with someone there. He’d only lived in the area a few years. It made me wonder if he found out about the lawsuit and he wants the money that Josie was awarded. Unless he wants the money she gets from social security. There was a life insurance policy too.”

Carter didn’t know those things. It wasn’t his business either. It was bad enough that Josie was worth millions and Avery controlled that money and he hoped she never thought he cared or wanted a part of that.

“It could be that,” he said. “Did you try to find out anything about this guy?”

“I searched social media and the Internet in general but came up with nothing.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“Nothing right now. I mean, I should contact my lawyer. Thankfully I’ve got one on the island already. Not that I know what to do but need to get my ducks in a row. I don’t know what he’ll do, but I’ve got to be prepared.”

“Did you make the cookies yet?” Josie said, running into the kitchen. They hadn’t even heard her coming down the stairs.

“Not yet,” Avery said, forcing a smile on her face. She sent him a look to end this conversation and he had no choice but to do that.

Only his mind wouldn’t quiet down and he knew he was going to have to help her with this whether she wanted it or not.

32

Without Facts

“Thanks for helping out today,” Carter said to his cousin Alex on Thursday before the holiday.

Lots of people were getting work done on their cars this week because they were on vacation. But that meant it was harder for him to take time off.

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