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Sure enough, a big smile broke over his face, and he came over and knelt down in front of her again, taking her hands like he had before.
“That’s great news,” he said.
She nodded, and she leaned forward. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything. In fact, it’s all my fault that Chalmer was even able to get —”
She put a finger over his lips. “For your family. For you. I... I would be dealing with this on my own if it weren’t for you. I don’t know what you saw in me, I don’t know why, but thank you. For taking me. Marrying me. Giving me your family.”
His eyes glowed, as he understood what she was saying, and knew that his family had accepted her, and she appreciated it.
“Alright. I guess you’re welcome, although I can’t really take credit for them. That would be my parents.”
“You are the big brother,” she whispered.
“Well, it looks like everything is in good shape here. I would like to know what the police say, but I have some work to do, and think Ezra has things well in hand. I’m heading out,” Phoebe said, with Priscilla beside her. Ada left with the girls as well, and Caleb came over and put a hand on Ezra’s shoulder.
“I’ll keep an eye on things. I’m sorry I wasn’t more diligent, or I should have made sure that we all were more diligent.”
“It’s my fault. But we’re not going to blame anyone, we're just going to try to do better.” Ezra nodded his head, and Caleb jerked his chin before he left.
Tobias came over, standing silently in the room. He was a bit of a mystery to Alaska, but she couldn’t be anything but grateful to him because he’d offered them so much money, just to get her child back. The child that he had no attachment to, other than his brother wanted to adopt her.
“What did the lawyer say?”
Alaska listened as Ezra explained the different tactics the lawyer said would work. While he didn’t feel that Chalmer had any parental rights, he could sue for them, demand a paternity test, and make their lives generally miserable.
The lawyer had suggested that if they could use some kind of buyout to entice Chalmer to give up his parental rights, that would be the easiest, and potentially least expensive way. It would also be foolproof, because once Chalmer signed his rights away, he could not get them back. And he could not have any say or presence in Alice or Eugene’s life unless Alaska said it was okay. He also said that he would start proceedings for Ezra to be able to adopt both children.
There were a few additional details, but Alaska didn’t care. Everything was going to work out. She could hardly believe it.
“All right. You just let me know what you need. The money is sitting in my account, and I can’t think of a better way to spend it.”
“You probably were interested in building a house.”
“What for? There’s just me.” He didn’t say anything else, but turned and walked out.
“It seems like he’s hurting,” Alaska said as the door closed behind him.
“Yeah. He... He’s had some hard times. With some people that he trusted I guess. It was painful, and I don’t think he ever really recovered.”
Alaska was curious for the details, but Ezra didn’t seem inclined to give them to her at the moment, and she really didn’t care. She just wanted her family together.
It felt like forever until the police pulled in. Ezra went to the door to open it and let them in, while Alaska moved from the couch in the living room to the kitchen. Eugene would have been happy playing in the room, but she convinced him to bring his toys out, so he could play at her feet and not be separated from her.
When Ezra came in, carrying Alice in her car seat, Alaska jumped up and ran over, looking at her baby who slept so soundly, so peacefully, like the entire morning hadn’t been an emotional roller coaster for her mother.
“My goodness. I knew she was okay, but it makes my heart so happy to just lay eyes on her.”
The officer looked familiar to her, and she’d probably seen him before, perhaps under circumstances where she was not quite on the right side of the law. Not that she had a criminal record, but up until this point in her life, the police were not the good guys. They were the ones who tried to keep her from doing what she wanted to do.
“Thank you so much, Officer. And thank you for bringing her to me. I’m so grateful.”
“Not a problem. We were on the verge of drawing straws to see who was going to have to change her diaper. Then we just decided that if we could find a car seat, we’d bring her out. That seemed easier than doing the diaper thing.” He seemed like a friendly person, with a fresh ruddy face and bright blue eyes. His back was straight and he obviously took his job very seriously.
“We have Chalmer in custody, and we’re going to try to throw the book at him if we can. Keep him as long as we can, and hopefully that will give you guys time to put some kind of plan in place in case he tries it again. I obviously can’t keep him any longer than what the law allows.”
“We understand. I... I might be in to talk to him. We do have a plan, and basically what he wants is money, so we’ll give him that if he gives up any right to the children.”
