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If this dear little girl had learned to be thankful for substitute mothers, then maybe it was time Blake learned to be thankful for a substitute child.
6
Before Morgan knew it, October came and was speeding by. Blake and Ciara seemed to get closer with each day. He loved watching the two of them together, whether it was Blake untangling his daughter’s unruly hair, helping her with a difficult homework assignment, or hearing the murmur of their soft voices when the two females shared quiet bedtime talks that had become a ritual.
Many evenings he would sit in his favorite chair as Ciara and Blake played with the two cats they had brought home from the shelter along with a trunkload of supplies for them. Ciara had named the older one-eyed female Misty and the scruffy black and white kitten she’d called Gracie. He had rolled his eyes when he first saw the beleaguered-looking pair, but the symbolism was not lost on him. He was just happy with how much they made his daughter smile. At this point, things were going along so well with Ciara that he selfishly hoped no university job offers came in for Blake.
Tonight Morgan had a late workshop session in a training course his company gave for bodyguards so it was past Ciara’s bedtime by the time he got home. When he arrived, he climbed the stairs and stepped quietly into her bedroom. His heart swelled at the sight of his daughter sleeping all peaceful and snug under the covers. And curled up next to her were Misty and Gracie. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and left the room.
Back in the hallway, he saw a light under Blake’s door so he walked over and gave it a soft knock. When she opened it and stood there in pink yoga capris and a Bronx Zoo T-shirt, Morgan was thrown off once again by the effect she had on him. He tried to shut it out, but having been at work all day he forgot to prepare himself for that strange magnetic pull between them.
After a moment of silence, he said, “Sorry I was so late tonight. How did everything go today? Any issues at school I should know about?”
“No. Everything is fine. Ciara’s doing great. She came up with a theme for that essay assignment—her first autumn. We took a walk earlier and she loved all the scents and colors and has already made an impressive start with it.” Blake paused and seemed to be looking him over, but not in the way he would have liked had the circumstances been different. “Are you okay?” she asked, then quickly added, “If you are hungry I made a bunch of chicken wings and oven fries for dinner and there are some left if you want to stick a plate in the microwave.”
“Thanks, but I had dinner. If you aren’t in the middle of anything right now, I need to talk to you for a few minutes.”
“Sure. Come on in.” Blake pulled her door open fully.
Morgan walked into her little apartment and followed Blake to the room that faced the Sound. It now had a love seat and an upholstered chair with a small coffee table set in front of the sliding glass doors to the balcony—in addition to the desk that she had insisted was enough when she moved in. Since Blake had refused to order any more furniture, Morgan had gone ahead and bought these for her, guessing at her taste.
“I have a Keurig up here if you want some coffee,” she said.
“I’m good.” He took a seat on the upholstered chair.
Blake sat across from him. “I hope I haven’t done anything to—”
“No. No, you’ve been great. A welcome burst of bright energy in our household.”
She nodded a shy thanks, then asked, “Is it about…Fawn?”
“Yes,” Morgan said with a sigh. “My attorney got a communication from hers. He wants to meet.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure,” he said, shaking his head. “I told you I had full custody on all counts and she had zero rights concerning Ciara and had never asked for anything, instead took steps to hide the fact that she had a daughter for the last nine years.”
“Until that reporter found out about Ciara and Fawn got a ‘bad mom’ slap,” Blake said, and he liked the subtle hint of anger she showed on behalf of his daughter.
“Yes. So, feeling her oats with her rich husband and his slick lawyer, she threatened me with the whole shebang—take Ciara and gain both legal custody and primary physical custody based on the fact that she is the mother and can also offer her a two-parent household.”
“But if they want to meet now it must mean she is willing to negotiate.”
His jaw clenched. “As if she has a right to negotiate for anything after the way she’s treated Ciara. As if we are equals in this. I do not want her to have anything except supervised visits. Even with those I worry about Ciara. I don’t trust Fawn. But yes, I’m thinking either her attorney just wanted to ask for the moon at first to scare me into negotiating, or else maybe he actually believes her lies, and now they are realizing going to court might give Fawn more bad publicity than the story she is trying to fix.”
“Just based on the things you’ve told me, she definitely would not want your side of the case made public.” Blake pulled her feet up and sat cross-legged on the love seat.
Morgan tried not to picture the ways he could make love to her on that piece of furniture. Nope, not going there. “Right, uh…well, I’m hoping this is a good sign. What it means is that I need to go into Manhattan next Wednesday and you would have to take Ciara to school that morning. Also, depending on what goes down, I might need to have a meeting with someone later in the day, in which case I need to make sure you don’t have plans, since that is an evening I’m usually home with her.”
“I can do both. We’re good.” Her head tilted in thought, her eyebrows knit in a way that reminded him of the first time he saw Blake at Harper’s house. She finally said, “I’ve never touched on this subject with Ciara, so I need to know what she knows about the custody suit and what I’m supposed to tell her about why you went into the city.”
“Ciara knows everything because she was on the second-floor landing listening to the whole argument I had with her mother when this came up. When I climbed the stairs after Fawn stomped out the door that day, Ciara came running up to me begging me not to let ‘that mean lady’ take her away. That is how she sees her mother—‘that mean lady.’ And Fawn has given her good reason to be afraid of living with her. The mere thought of Ciara being trapped with that harpy makes me crazy. So, as you can see, I absolutely have to I win this.”
“I’m so sorry, Morgan. You are such a good father. Somehow I’m sure that will come through. If there is anything I can do, just let me know.” Blake reached out and touched his hand and it took all his willpower to not grasp her arm and pull her onto his lap.
He nodded silently, then stood. “I’ll tell Ciara about why I am going in next week,” he said. As he turned to leave, he added, “I really appreciate that you are here for her. I can already see the positive effect your presence is having on her.”
“Thank you.” And there was that shy expression again that made her look even more beautiful. As Blake followed him to the door, she asked, “Are you still on for the Halloween parade this weekend? If not, I can take her by myself.”
