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“Let’s discuss this in the conference room,” Kincaid urges.
My fists clench open and closed as Kincaid leads us in that direction. It feels like my life is spiraling out of control, but then that makes me feel petty and insensitive to others.
What those boys lost is a million times what I lost. Letting them end up in foster care while the courts decide if Mila is fit seems like a shitty thing to let happen when it’s something I can prevent. The trauma those boys will have to deal with in the years to come is bad enough.
Mila lost a sister and then was slung into parenthood. Maybe those two things combined are what caused her to act out the other day.
“Tell me what I have to do,” I say to Mr. Dobbs the second the conference room door closes.
“You have to be in custody of the boys. Just saying you’ll go won’t work.”
“How long?”
Mr. Dobbs shifts his weight from one foot to the next. “The court systems are always backed up. We could get an order in place possibly in the next couple of weeks.”
“An order?”
“A temporary guardianship order,” he explains. “It’ll allow you to move them here, put them in school. Well, the older boy is in first grade. Luca doesn’t start kindergarten until the fall.”
“But how long before the courts let Mila have custody?”
He shifts back and forth one more time, and I know the answer isn’t going to be anything I want to hear.
“I’ve spoken with Ms. Taylor, and as willing as she is to take the boys, she’s not exactly in a position to financially care for them.”
“You said they had a will. Did they not have anything that would help take care of the kids?”
He shakes his head as he grips the back of his neck. The man’s lack of confidence in delivering information makes me wonder if he’s ever won a court case before. If I need this custody thing to go the way it should, there’s a very real chance I’ll need to find someone other than him to fight that battle for me.
“They don’t have anything. The family seems to have fallen on some pretty hard times recently.”
“What about the grandmother?”
He shrugs. “She hasn’t been mentioned.”
“Meaning what?” I ask.
“Meaning my conversations with Mila Taylor haven’t been about her mother and she wasn’t mentioned in the will.”
I chew the inside of my cheek, all of this information just a little too much, making me want to slow things down as much as I can so I don’t make the wrong decision.
“Mila wasn’t listed as their godparent or guardian or whatever?”
He shakes his head.
“Is there something wrong with her?”
Mr. Dobbs’s lips form a flat line. “Not that I know of. The will was drawn up right after Jace was born. It named you the godparent and responsible for Jace and all other kids they might have, which now includes Luca. It’s very possible that Mila wasn’t listed because she was still in high school when they had it drawn up.”
That explanation makes a little more sense.
“Like I said, she’s willing, but the chance of the court awarding her custody is slim because she’s just not financially capable.”
I look to Kincaid. The man is my boss, but he’s also a mentor.
“We’ll do whatever it takes,” he offers. “Just let me know how you want to proceed.”
Mr. Dobbs breathes a sigh of relief as if he thinks I’ve already made up my mind.
