Losing Faith (23 page)

The security guard watched him pass through and handed him back his belongings. “Good. She’s probably out spending my money now.”

“I’ve got one of those myself.”

Seth followed Simon’s lead and emptied his pockets. His guitar case was too large to slide through the machine, so he held it up to the guard on the other side of the machine.

“Hey, man, what do you think you’re doin’ with that?” Gibbs pointed to the guitar case.

“I need to take this inside.”

“Actually, you need to carry that outside and leave it in your car. This isn’t a concert, man.”

“It’s not a weapon either.”

The large guard raised his eyebrows, but he said nothing as if waiting for Seth to provide a better explanation.

“It’s for the case we’re working on, Gibbs,” Simon interrupted.

Gibbs looked at Simon and then at Seth. He scanned him from head to toe and then said, “All right, but I’ll have to check it out since it ain’t fittin’ through the x-ray machine.”

Seth handed him the guitar case and glanced at Simon, who looked as though he was about to have a heart attack. Gibbs opened the case and pulled out the guitar. He inspected the inside of the case and then the guitar. “Be careful,” Seth told him. “It’s…old.”

Gibbs shot Seth a glare that said he had better not say another word. After a thorough inspection, he handed the case back to Seth. Simon waited until they were in the elevator before saying anything. “You definitely remind me of your father. He had a way of pissing people off, too. It was like a gift.”

Seth watched the numbers climb, his nerves growing with the passing of each floor.

Simon placed a hand on his shoulder. “Breathe.”

Seth exhaled, unaware that he had been holding his breath. The doors opened, and they walked into the hall, which looked much like the area near the entrance. Marbled floors echoed every footstep, and high ceilings allowed for the sound to travel freely.

Simon opened the door to the courtroom and pointed to Seth’s guitar. “You’re going to have to leave that thing back here,” he said.

Seth set down his guitar on one of the chairs in the back of the courtroom. It was smaller than he had expected. A few rows of empty chairs filled up the back of the room that led to a set of miniature swinging doors. They walked through to where there were two long wooden tables that faced the judge’s bench. Simon led the way to one of the tables, where he sat down and pulled out some files from his briefcase. The doors opened again, and Lexi’s parents came through with a thin man in a gray suit. Must be the other attorney, Seth thought. He looked for Faith, but she didn’t walk through the doors. Lexi’s parents had probably left her with Lily, Lexi’s sister. Disappointment filled him, but then he realized that it was probably best if she weren’t here.

He watched as Lexi’s father and mother made their way down the aisle. He could see that the loss of their eldest daughter had taken its toll on them. Her father, Matt, seemed thinner, almost frail. Her mother, Wendy, had a sad look in her eyes. Seth empathized with their loss. He knew how heavy a weight it was for him, and he could only imagine what it must be like for them. He tried to remember the people they used to be. When he first met Lexi, he had been working the local bars and living in a tiny, old apartment. Lexi had invited her parents out for dinner one night so that they could meet Seth. Her father took one look at him and determined that he wasn’t the man for his little girl. His questions turned into an interrogation, and before Seth could fire back, Lexi stood up and told her father what a wonderful person Seth was. Sure, he wasn’t a doctor or a lawyer. Not even an accountant like her father, but he was kind and caring and passionate about his music. Needless to say, the dinner didn’t end well. In fact, it ended with Lexi grabbing Seth by the hand and leaving her parents with nothing but a couple of plates full of pasta and each other.

Seth had hoped that things would get better, but before they did, he ended up moving Lexi down to Nashville when his music career began to take off, making it difficult for them to see not only Lexi, but their only granddaughter. Lexi and her father had exchanged few words after that. But her mother had always extended an olive branch to her daughter, maintaining a relationship with her even at the cost of making her husband unhappy. Even now, Matt wouldn’t look at Seth, but Wendy managed a faint smile before turning away.

Seth watched as they took their seats at the table next to theirs, separated only by the narrow aisle. He turned toward the large bench in front of them, which seemed so much more imposing in person than it did on TV. His heart raced as he pulled out the piece of paper that held his speech. He unfolded it slowly, trying to remember to breathe, trying not to ruin his one and only chance at getting his daughter back. At getting his life back.

A door at the far wall opened, and Seth closed his eyes. This is it, he told himself. You can do this. You’ve made a lot of mistakes, but you can’t take them back. You can’t change them. But you can start fresh. There was only one way he wanted to start over. And that was with his daughter.

“Good morning to you all.” A male voice interrupted Seth’s thoughts, and Simon nudged him to open his eyes and acknowledge the judge. But Seth had beaten him to it. His eyes had opened instantly when he heard the man’s voice. He knew that voice. And he knew that any chance he might have had in getting Faith back was forever gone.

Chapter 33

Seth

The Honorable Frank Goodman looked at Seth. He didn’t smile, didn’t blink, didn’t show a sign of ever having known him. His gaze told Seth all he had to know. He looked down at the speech he had spent hours preparing and realized that it no longer mattered. He crumbled his speech, squeezing the paper until his knuckles turned white. He wanted to scream, wanted to run, wanted to explain, wanted to erase the last few days.

Frank opened a file sitting on his desk. “This is case 005210. A custody hearing for one seven-year-old girl, Faith Storm.” He continued to scan the papers. “Her mother, Lexi Storm, is deceased, having died a little more than a year ago in an accident. Her father, Seth Storm, gave temporary custody to the maternal grandparents, Matthew and Wendy Frisk, on July 12, after voluntarily entering a rehabilitation program.” He folded his hands on the paperwork and looked up at everyone. “Now we are here to establish permanent custody. It is my understanding that the biological father believes he is ready to reestablish custody of his daughter and is fully ready to handle her parenting.”

“That is correct, Your Honor,” Simon answered.

Frank turned to Lexi’s parents. “And it is also my understanding that the maternal grandparents are requesting permanent custody as well.”

“That is correct, Your Honor,” the Frisks’ attorney answered.

“I am fully prepared to hear both sides of this case, starting with the Frisks.”

Their attorney stood up. “Good morning, sir. I am Aaron Nietert, and I represent Matthew and Wendy Frisk. It is our belief that Mr. Storm is not fit to handle the responsibility of parenting a seven-year-old little girl.”

Frank looked back down at the papers in front of hm. “I have a signed letter from Dr. Lattice stating that Mr. Storm has completed his rehabilitation and has not had a drink since July 12, the day of the incident.”

“Your Honor, our concern extends beyond the incident on July 12.”

His words cut like a knife into Seth’s gut. His hands squeezed the table as he started to slide his chair back. Simon grabbed his arm and squeezed, shaking his head.

Mr. Nietert continued. “We have reason to believe that Mr. Storm is unable to take care of the child financially as well. We have it on good authority that Mr. Storm has lost his car and is about to lose his house.”

Frank turned to Seth. “Is this correct?”

Seth bit his tongue and nodded. “Yes, Your Honor.”

“Your Honor, Mr. and Mrs. Frisk have provided a healthy and stable home for the past seven months. They’ve enrolled Faith in one of the area’s best private schools, and she has adjusted very well. We feel the best thing for Faith is to grant them full custody, allowing for supervised visits with Mr. Storm until a professional has had a chance to evaluate their visits and establish his readiness to continue such visits unsupervised. Thank you.” Mr. Nietert sat down.

Frank looked over at Simon. “I’d like to hear from your side now.”

Simon stood up and cleared his throat. “Thank you, Your Honor. I am Simon Hammond, and I represent Seth Storm. Yes, it is true that the Frisks have been very kind in taking Faith in under these difficult circumstances, and my client appreciates them for being there for his daughter when he couldn’t. He voluntarily checked himself into rehab and has remained sober since completing the program. As far as his financial status, Mr. Storm has proven his worth as a musician, singer, songwriter, and entertainer. Yes, due to the time away from the business, he has had some financial setbacks. However, Mr. Storm has another album out and should be fine once he gets back to his work.”

“Your Honor, that is yet another concern we have,” Mr. Nietert cut in. “How can Mr. Storm possibly care for his child when he is on the road, touring all the time? A seven-year-old girl, especially one who has recently lost her mother, needs stability. The type of stability that the Frisks can offer. The type of security that isn’t possible when traveling from town to town, staying in one hotel after another.”

Simon set down his papers, visibly annoyed. “Your Honor, surely Mr. Nietert isn’t suggesting that my client’s lifestyle makes him unfit to be a parent. If that were the case, then we’d certainly have a lot of work to do removing children from the homes of actors, actresses, musicians—”

“If they are also alcoholics, then I’d say yes, we do,” Mr. Nietert interrupted.

Simon turned to the other attorney. “I believe that we have already established that my client has completed an extensive rehabilitation program and taken the appropriate measures to ensure he maintains his sobriety.”

“That’ll be enough, gentlemen.” Frank’s voice boomed through the room like a clap of thunder. “I’ve heard enough from both of you.” He turned to Seth. “I’d like to hear what you have to say, Mr. Storm.”

Seth looked down at his speech, which was no more than a tiny ball of crumpled paper at this point. He stood up and looked at Frank, wishing he had a clue what he was thinking and wondering why on earth he had never mentioned being a judge. He turned to Lexi’s father, whose eyes had narrowed on him as if he were a target to be taken out. Then he looked at Wendy. He could see Lexi so clearly in her mother. Seth took a deep breath. “I came here today with this speech prepared.” He held up the crumpled ball and then let it fall to the table. “But none of it says what needs to be said. After all, we’re here for Faith, and she deserves the truth.”

He paused and swallowed. “I know why you’re holding on to her the way you are. And I’m not mad at you for it. Not even a little. I get that you love her. How could you not? Faith isn’t just an adorable, sweet little girl. She’s the very best of Lexi. For the past year, I’ve blamed myself for a lot of things. And Lord knows, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes, but Lexi is the one thing in life that I did right. Loving and marrying your daughter were the best decisions I ever made.”

He put his hand on his chest. “And together, we made that perfect and beautiful little girl. Like you, I’ve wanted to hold on to Lexi because letting go…well, it’s more painful than anything I’ve ever had to do. But no matter how hard I hold on, Lexi isn’t coming back.” Tears welled in his eyes, blurring his vision. “Nothing I do will ever change that. Faith is the last and best of what remains of Lexi. And like I said, I understand why you are holding on to her the way you are. But Faith is my daughter. The last thing Lexi said was for me to take care of her. And the truth, the real, honest, pure, and vulnerable truth is that I’m scared. I’m scared that I won’t be good enough. I’m scared that I will let that little girl down. But most of all, I’m scared of losing her. I can’t lose Faith. She’s all I have. And I’ll do whatever it takes to take care of her. Whatever it takes.” Seth wiped tears from his face. “I refuse to let Lexi down. I refuse to let Faith down. I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone. Not only is Faith the best of who Lexi was, but she’s also the best of who I am, too.”

The courtroom remained silent as tears rolled down Seth’s face. He took a seat, emotionally drained. Frank sat back, staring at Seth. He looked down at the papers in front of him and then turned to the attorneys. “I’d like to call a short recess and have a word with the counselors and the Frisks in my chambers.”

Seth turned to Simon, who shrugged his shoulders. Simon stuffed his papers into his briefcase and rose from the table. Seth watched as Frank led Lexi’s parents and the two attorneys into the judge’s chambers.

Time ticked by slowly. Seth wished he could hear what Frank was telling them. Was he telling them about the time Seth lost it and knocked the lamp onto the floor at the bed and breakfast, or the time when he told Frank the story about when he tried walking a shoeless Faith to a liquor store before passing out on the side of the road? Was Simon going to defend him against any such stories? Would he fight for him?

After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened. Seth stood and watched as they all came back into the room and took their places.

“What just happened?” Seth asked Simon.

Simon placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll tell you later.”

Seth shot him a confused look.

Simon smiled. “I’ve known Frank for a long time. He’s not only a good judge, but he’s a good man.”

Frank looked at the papers in front of him again and then looked up at Mr. Nietert and the Frisks. “Given these unusual circumstances and events that have taken place recently, I must recuse myself from this case. Another hearing will need to be scheduled.” He paused and let out a long sigh. “That is, counselor, unless you and your clients have another proposal.”

Mr. Nietert looked at Lexi’s father, who nodded. Wendy placed a hand on her husband’s arm and smiled. Mr. Nietert turned to Simon and Seth. “Your Honor, Mr. and Mrs. Frisk have agreed to release custody of Faith Storm to Mr. Storm under the condition that they be allowed one weekend a month visitation, one week during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday, and four weeks out of the summer. They would also like Mr. Storm to attend parenting classes. And if Mr. Storm is touring and requires childcare that exceeds more than two days at a time, the Frisks would like to have first consideration. If Mr. Storm can agree to these terms, then my clients see no reason to pursue permanent custody.”