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“And you.” He pulled the glasses all the way to the point on his angular nose, addressing Julie. “You think Mr. Hawkins should have guardianship of Hunter?”
“Daddy—I-I, mean yes, your honor. I do. He has been able to provide a stable environment for him and nurtured his love of football.”
“I see.”
I looked at Julie to see if I could read her expression. Her father was a thin, wiry man. Not someone I’d meet on the street and call intimidating, but in here, he was one scary hell of a man.
He looked up from the paperwork. “I admire what you are doing with this, young man. I truly do. After reading your file, I think I can even understand why you are doing it, but I need to hear it from you. I need to hear you tell me that this is not going to be one of those things that sounds like a good idea, but then becomes too hard so you quit. Because I can tell you now that kid is going to be a hard shell to break. It’s not all going to be easy. Julie has been working with him for over a year, and half the time he still won’t even speak to her. He needs someone to go the extra distance with him, not bail halfway through.”
Judge Bristow waited for my response.
“I understand, your honor, and I won’t fail him. I know what he needs. I get this kid. I know what it is going to take and I am more than willing to go the extra mile.”
Julie’s father leaned back in his chair.
He spoke slowly and deliberately. “I’m glad you said that, because you won’t just get to take him home. There will be parenting classes to take and you will have a mediator that will need to be present especially at the beginning to oversee the transition for Hunter. He has been in foster care now for three years, so this is going to be a big change for him.”
I felt my pulse race. Shit. This was happening. “That is not a problem, sir. I have extra rooms at my home. I am more than happy to even open it and allow someone to stay there for a time while we all adjust if need be.” That would screw with my relationship with Julie for a while, but we’d make it worth it. Right now, we needed to make sure we could get Hunter out of the system.
“Julie?”
“Yes, your honor?” She sat tall in her seat. I noticed how conservatively she had dressed this morning.
“Would you be willing to take on the mediator role while Hunter continues to adjust?”
Her face broke into a smile. “Yes. Absolutely yes, sir.”
“All right. Then I need to speak to the boy and I’ll let you know my final decision.”
We exchanged looks. Julie squeezed my hand under the table.
My attorney nudged me. “We have to wait in the hall,” he whispered.
“Ah, gotcha.” We rose and waited in the hall.
I nodded at Savannah. The rest hinged on Hunter.
30
Julie
The minutes in the hallway felt like hours. Hawk couldn’t sit still. He paced from one end of the corridor to the other.
I felt the same way. As if at any moment I could crawl out of my skin, but instead I sat frozen like a damn statue. Afraid that if I moved I would somehow disrupt the balance of what was about to happen.
I trusted my father. I did. But he knew Hawk’s reputation. He knew everything he had done. Regardless of how hard he cheered for the Sharks on Sundays, my dad wasn’t going to hand over the safety of a child to this man just because he was a star. My dad was wise and fair. Deliberate and detailed.
I squeezed my hands together, praying that Hunter told him everything he wanted to hear in there. Hawk was great with him. Amazing even.
The door to the hearing room creaked open and Hawk and I both rushed to the entrance.
“You may proceed,” the bailiff announced.
I looked at Hawk, trying to reassure him when I was dangerously close to falling apart myself.
“It’s going to be ok.” He smiled.
We stepped inside the room and I stared at my father. I didn’t know whether he would ask Hunter to leave.
