A Family Name (7 page)

When the plastic cup was pressed into her
hand, Charlotte sucked down the cold liquid hoping for relief. The
cough abated but was replaced by anxiousness that made her throat
constrict. She wasn't ready to give Lexi up, but this man was her
father. On top of that, Charlotte hadn't thought she'd actually
have a reason to see him again. Sure she'd offered to listen if he
needed to talk but he hadn't taken her up on it. She liked Will
from what she knew of him. He seemed like a caring guy, and as
Lexi's father he'd be able to give her a good home. But that's what
Charlotte had wanted to do too.

"Let's try this again, shall we? What I meant
to ask before is what steps do I have to take to gain custody of
Lexi? I want my daughter to live with me. Naturally." Will leaned
against the side of the sofa.

Charlotte found the throw pillow Lexi had
discarded, and ran a finger along the braided edge. "Well, I assume
a judge would want a DNA test for conclusive proof, and a social
worker will interview you and your family. Talk to Lexi. That kind
of thing."

"A DNA test seems like pretty conclusive
proof that she's my child. Will they talk to Mary? Find out why she
didn't tell me about my child?"

The words sounded strangled, and Charlotte's
heart broke a little for him. "Probably not. Mary's parental rights
were terminated when Lexi was three."

"How soon can Lexi move here? I don't want to
waste any more time without her."

Her head was beginning to ache from the back
and forth nature of the conversation. "You'll have to contact a
lawyer to get things moving." Charlotte heard the autopilot words,
but all she felt was her heart breaking then going numb. She had
come to care deeply for Lexi in the past three weeks, and had even
begun to imagine a future for them.

Will shook his head. "You're her guardian.
Can't you do anything to speed it along?"

Charlotte shook her head. "I'm not her social
worker any more. Someone else was assigned to her case once I
became the foster parent. For now she has to live with me."

"Then you could move in here," Will said, his
voice bright with excitement. "If you live here, Lexi can live
here. I have plenty of space. Then I could get started on a
relationship with my daughter. My daughter, it's amazing isn't it?
So… what do you say?"

"What do I say to what?"

Charlotte stared at him as if he had grown a
third eye. He felt himself squirm under her gaze. Was he being
unreasonable? Try as he might, Will couldn't bring himself to see
the situation in any other way. Lexi was his daughter. She needed
to be home with him. Not only was that his responsibility, but his
right and privilege. To have a daughter appear in his life, while
certifiably crazy, seemed like a dream come true. Although it was a
dream he didn't know he harbored until they'd showed up at his
door.

Will moved to sit on the sofa beside
Charlotte. He hovered a moment before easing himself onto a cushion
at the opposite end. "What do you say to moving in here? You and
Lexi. I'm sure the move will only be temporary. Just until I can
get custody of Lexi, then you can go back to your own life."

He watched as Charlotte clenched her jaw. He
wondered what was going on in her head. Something told him to keep
his mouth shut, which was proving far harder than he had ever
imagined. Walker had always been more of the strong, silent type.
Wyatt served in the role of family goofball. Will, on the other
hand, had prided himself on being the serious one, the honest one,
the shoot-from-the-hip one. Now he shut his mouth and decided to
keep it shut until Charlotte answered him.

"That could take awhile." Charlotte kept her
eyes down, no matter how much he wished she would look up at him.
"The courts can be so slow. I just don't know how I feel about
living here, just the three of us."

"Sierra and Shane will be here too."

The look on Charlotte's face told him that he
might have said the wrong thing. Or at the very least confused her.
As he thought through the events of the past half hour it dawned on
him why Charlotte's brow was furrowed. In the shuffle of the news
that he had a daughter Will had forgotten to mention his
guardianship of Sierra and Shane.

Will took a deep breath. "My best friend and
his wife named me temporary guardian of their children. They'll be
living with me until their grandparents come for them."

"Oh."

He watched as Charlotte pinched lumps of
stuffing under the fabric of the throw pillow. She had long,
graceful fingers, but short, unpolished nails. Refined, yet
practical. The paradox of this woman intrigued him, and Will found
himself mentally shaking himself to bring the conversation at hand
back into focus.

"They're great kids. Sierra's five, and Shane
is three." Will felt a knot of emotion rise up in his throat, and
he stopped talking. This grief he felt was so out of character for
Will, and while he knew it was fine to feel it, he couldn't stop
himself from being embarrassed. He certainly didn't' want Charlotte
to see this weakness.

To his surprise, a moment later Charlotte's
hand curled over the top of one of his fists. She didn't say
anything, simply held on to him. The connection Will felt to this
virtual stranger nearly overpowered him. When he looked up and
their eyes met in a gaze that caught something deep inside Will, he
let go of Charlotte's hand like it was on fire. Grief was making
him soft.

"I just don't know," Charlotte said
softly.

Silence settled over them as Will watched
Charlotte. Her teeth caught at her bottom lip, and he could read
her nervousness no matter how hard she was trying to hide it.
Emulate Walker. That would be his new motto.

"I'd have to take a leave of absence from
work, and I don't think that's even possible," Charlotte continued
after a few minutes. "And Lexi would have to leave her school. She
just started there a few weeks ago. How would that make her
feel?"

"We could ask her," Will said, glad to hear
his voice sounding even and like himself again.

"She's thirteen and desperate for a
relationship with her real parents. I can guarantee she'll happily
agree, but I can't let her make this choice. She's a child, and I'm
still responsible for her well being." Charlotte leaned back and
crossed her arms.

"And I'm her father, so I think I should have
some say in her well being."

Charlotte laughed a short laugh. "You just
found out that you are her father not even thirty minutes ago."

"There's no doubt in my mind that she's
mine," Will said, knowing that he meant it. "I can see my family in
her."

"But how does that qualify you to make
decisions for her so soon?"

Irritation rankled Will. Many retorts came to
mind, but he bit them back instead only shrugging. "I'm her father.
That's all the qualification I need, in my mind anyway."

The look Charlotte gave him actually made
Will shiver. Her eyes narrowed, and her mouth became a line so thin
it appeared to disappear into her face.

"So… I'm guessing this isn't something you're
really considering?" Will felt defeated, and confused. Defeat
wasn't in his nature, but he couldn't very well bully Charlotte
into moving to the ranch. He'd feel guilty even if it did mean
having his daughter there with him. Still there had to be a
way.

"We can come visit you as often as you would
like," Charlotte said, breaking into his thoughts. "And you can
stop by my house after work whenever you want."

Will frowned. "That's really not enough. I
know you're reluctant, but I think all the negatives of the
situation will be outweighed by the good. The fact that Lexi and I
can start to build a relationship. And it will give you and Lexi
extra time together if you take off work. Please consider moving
out here."

The gasp at the doorway made both of them
turn. Lexi and Bill stood in the doorway. Will could tell by the
ecstatic look on Lexi's face and the pensive one on Bill's that
they had heard everything.

****

"Please say this is true."

Charlotte's stomach tightened as Lexi threw
herself onto the sofa. As the girl's arms snaked around Charlotte,
the cushions bounced. Will had been presenting his case, the same
point over and over, for the past twenty minutes. No matter what he
said, she knew that he was sincere. He wanted a relationship with
his daughter, and no matter what shock and anger he felt over the
situation, he was willing to put it aside. And even if it was hard
to admit, she admired him for it. Her own selfish reasoning for
wanting to keep Lexi at home with her had begun to fade away.
Still, she couldn't find the words to tell him that. Now that Lexi
was in the room and had heard the plan, Charlotte felt her resolve
strengthening again.

"Lexi, we can't just pull up and move here,"
Charlotte said, her words firm but soft. "You have to finish the
school year, and I have work."

Lexi's eyes widened and got shiny. Her lower
lip trembled almost imperceptibly. Charlotte wondered how on earth
she was supposed to stand up to that. She had a responsibility to
Lexi. Her job was already in jeopardy from these unorthodox visits
with Lexi's birth parents. She couldn't risk what little
professional credibility she had left by moving to the father's
home no matter how much she wanted to.

"But… but… but why?" Lexi's whisper cut right
through to Charlotte's heart. She couldn't look at the girl or at
Will. Guilt smacked her hard upside the head. Was she being
selfish, or was she being responsible? Right now she wasn't sure
she could differentiate between the two.

Charlotte swallowed a sudden lump in her
throat. "I just don't think it will work, sweetie. My job as your
foster mom is to make sure everything is in your best interest. I
definitely think getting to know your dad is important, and until a
judge can make it permanent, we'll visit as much as we can."

The tears that Charlotte had been waiting for
spilled down Lexi's face. The thirteen-year-old turned back into a
child and buried herself in Charlotte's arms. As Charlotte smoothed
back Lexi's hair her eyes met Will's solid gaze.

"This is hurting her more," Will said.

From the doorway Bill cleared his throat.
Charlotte forced herself to look away from Will to his father. Bill
Wright was a big man. How she had overlooked this information
before, Charlotte didn't know, but looking at him now she could see
nothing but his height and girth. The door to the kitchen was
blocked by Bill's frame. With his arms crossed and his hat pulled
low over his eyes, the man commanded an intimidating presence.

"William, I think Charlotte is right."

Charlotte's breath caught in her throat. The
tickle turned into a cough that sent embarrassing spasms through
her body. She sounded like she was ready to hack up an internal
organ. Just what she needed. Instead of responding to his father,
Will got up and hurried to the kitchen. He returned a moment later
with a glass of water. Charlotte let go of Lexi and gratefully
accepted the water. After a few sips, she managed to calm her
lungs, and take a few normal breaths of air.

"Why don't I take you girls outside and show
you around a bit?" Bill's suggestion cut through the room with a
swiftness that startled Charlotte.

Beside her on the sofa, Lexi shifted her
weight causing the cushions to dip. Charlotte set the glass on a
coaster, and glanced at the girl. Lexi's long dark hair hung
forward over her face, but Charlotte could just see her eyes.
Through the fringe of bangs, Charlotte could tell that Lexi's gaze
was solidly on Will. When Charlotte turned to look at Will, she
wasn't surprised to see him glaring at his father, eyes narrowed,
mouth set in a thin line.

"That's a good idea, Dad, but I think I'll
take them." Will took a step closer to Charlotte and Lexi.

"Will you really show us around?" Lexi
sounded so hopeful that Charlotte felt her resolve cracking. What
would she have given to have a relationship with her real dad
growing up? Especially if her dad had been anything like Will.

Charlotte stood. "I'd love to see the
ranch."

"You would?" Lexi asked sounding
surprised.

"You would?" Will's echo almost made
Charlotte laugh.

With a quick glance at her watch, Charlotte
nodded. "No matter what else we decide, I want to know where Lexi
will be spending her time."

Lexi grabbed Charlotte by the arm,
practically bouncing in her excitement. Even Will seemed to perk up
slightly as he led the way out of the house.

Charlotte just hoped that she was making the
right choice, and not getting Lexi's hopes up for something she
couldn't provide.

****

Her dad walked really fast. Not like her
grandpa who sort of strolled. Lexi thought that the appropriate
vocabulary word was ambled. She might have been remembering it
wrong, but she liked the way it sounded. When her grandpa had taken
her out to the barn, he had ambled across the yard to the large red
structure with a pretty white roof. Her grandmother had been
shocked, that was plain to see, but when she gave Lexi a hug
everything seemed to be right.

Lexi couldn't believe that these people were
her real live grandparents. They were all she had ever dreamed of
and more. The two little kids in the barn were her dad's foster
kids, or something like that. Lexi had been too excited to pay any
attention. When she and her grandpa had gone back inside, her heart
had nearly stopped when she heard Charlotte and her dad talking
about them moving to the ranch.

Charlotte had said no, but Lexi knew that
she'd change her mind. She just had to. If she didn't, Lexi's whole
life would be ruined. All the years that she had spent searching
and hoping and praying.