Red (Hell’s Jury MC #5)

41. Chapter 41

CHAPTER 41

Red

Stella looks amazing in her new skirt. I know her legs are long and shapely because I’ve seen her in shorts, and naked, with them wrapped around me. But the skirt, the whole outfit gives her a femininity I’ve never seen before.

She’s got makeup on too. Her fading bruise is hidden under concealer, she’s done her eyes and is wearing light copper lipstick.

Her new bra makes her tits look bigger and perkier, but I feel like I’ve wandered into a minefield. If I compliment her, will she think I didn’t like her tits before? If I don’t compliment her, will she think I didn’t notice?

“Beautiful,” I say to her, decidin’ to keep it generic.

Her eyes take a walk over me, my new suit, the haircut. “Right back atcha, handsome.”

We scowl at each other, then I laugh. “Feels unnatural.”

She nods. “But I guess if I’m gonna be a lawyer I better get used to it.”

I raise my eyebrows at her announcement, but don’t respond to it. If she wants to be a lawyer, I’ll support her every step of the way.

I take a little box from my bedside table and hand it to her. “I got it while you were buying your clothes.”

She opens it a crack, peeks inside, then yanks it fully open. “You got me a ring!” It’s barely a ring. A thin band with four small emeralds.

I get tongue-tied. “It’s not an engagement ring. It’s for… you. To wear on your ring finger. Not for court though. I mean, yeah, for court, but also because I love you and one day I’m gonna get you a real engagement ring. And then a wedding ring for when we get married.” I stop. I can’t remember if we ever discussed gettin’ married, let alone getting engaged for real. “I mean if you want to get married someday.” I pause. “I mean, I do…. To you, not anyone else.”

I press my lips together. I don’t think I could fuck it up more than I already have.

She slides the ring on her finger and looks at it. “I love it! It’s like a pre-engagement ring.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Oh, man. Wait’ll I tell Lexie.” Then her face reddens. “I mean, yes of course I want to get engaged to you. Like you do with me. Not anyone else.” She stops, stares at me. “Yes. I mean, yes. I do.”

I burst into laughter. “We’re both shit at this.”

“When we get married, I don’t think we should write our own wedding vows.”

We head downstairs as the doorbells rings. It’s Stuart.

“I’ll give you a ride. Neither of you has a decent car.”

What the hell? A restored 65 Mustang Shelby GT350 Fastback is the most bangin’ car in the world. And Stella’s 3 rd Gen Firebird comes a close second. Someday, I’ll tune him in.

While Stuart drives us to court in his Mercedes SUV, he talks about what to say again, what to expect, how we should act.

It makes me even more nervous than I was. He doesn’t have to tell me how much is at stake. I fuckin’ know.

When he parks and gets out of the car, Stella says, “You’re coming in with us?”

He nods. “As an observer.”

We’re early by a half-hour and when we walk into the room, Erin and Theo are talking to Trula. Whatever the conversation’s about, it’s intense. Erin and Theo see us and nod hello. Trula ignores us as her eyes stray to Stuart. She doesn’t look happy to see him.

Meredith bustles in five minutes before the hearing starts.

The three of us greet her. “You two look good,” she notes distractedly as she flips through a folder. I’ve never seen someone so disorganized who can also immediately find what they need.

“It’s Judge Gosling presiding, but you just call him sir or your honor and only speak when spoken to. No speaking for the other. He asks Lachlan a question, Stella, you keep your mouth shut.”

“We know,” I grumble.

She points me and Stella to chairs next to her. “Stay standing until after he sits.”

“Will do,” Stella says, slightly irritated. Stuart sits in a chair against a wall.

Judge Gosling walks in and sits, then nods to all of us, who follow suit.

“Stuart Leith-Proctor,” he says when he spies Stella’s dad. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“I’m here in support of my family.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Lachlan Faust is family?”

“Yes. He and my daughter live together.” In the few weeks I’ve known him, the one thing I can say about Stuart is that he doesn’t lie. I wonder what he would have said if Stella hadn’t made the announcement yesterday.

Judge Gosling says, “I see.”

Trula scowls as Meredith adds, “They live across the street from each other.”

“You’ll have a chance to say your piece, Meredith. Save it until then.”

“Right,” Meredith replies, pretending she’s chastened.

Gosling looks down at his papers. “We’re here for two reasons today. First to discuss the future of Mr. Faust’s sister, Sorcha Faust, who was recently orphaned when her mother was murdered.”

I flinch. This is the first time I’ve heard someone refer to mom’s death in that way. I struggle to keep my composure.

Gosling watches me impassively before he moves on. “Mr. Faust also has a daughter, Gabrielle Faust, who he currently has supervised visitation rights to. He is asking this court to give him unsupervised custody of her every other weekend.” He refers to the paper in front of him. “Starting Friday afternoons at 5 PM and ending Sunday at 7 PM.” He turns to Meredith. “That’s very precise.”

“It’s to protect my client. However, he understands the need for flexibility. The relationship between Gabrielle’s parents is positive enough to discuss different arrangements without needing a moderator.”

“Providing the court grants his request,” Trula says.

I grope for Stella’s hand, which she takes and squeezes, then sets back in my lap.

Right, no childish holding of hands.

“Ah Trula,” Gosling says, “Always a pleasure.”

Trula doesn’t miss the sarcasm. “Likewise,” she replies dryly.

“Have I missed anything?” Gosling asks.

Meredith and Trula shake their heads.

“Okay then, let’s get going. We’ll start with the question of custody of Sorcha Faust. I imagine most of what’s said regarding her custody will apply to the visitation issue of Gabrielle Faust, which is why I’ll allow Mr and Mrs Schuster to stay, understanding that whatever is discussed in this courtroom regarding Sorcha Faust is confidential and may not be discussed beyond these doors.” He turns to Trula. “The floor’s all yours, Ms. Hyack.”

Trula takes a breath as she looks down at her papers.

“Family services has concerns about Mr. Faust assuming full custodial rights to his sister for several reasons.” She outlines them yet again: I’m an ex-convict who served an 18-month sentence. I have recently been arrested for assault on Stella. The charges were subsequently dropped for reasons unknown.

Stuart shifts and clears his throat.

Gosling looks his way. “Do you have something to add, Stuart?”

He smiles slyly. “Lachlan’s part of the family. Anything I say would be considered prejudicial.”

Trula seems unimpressed by the interruption. “And any fool can see that despite the makeup Stella’s wearing today, the bruise on her jaw is obvious.”

Gosling turns to Stella and scrutinizes her. “How did you get the bruise?”

Stella locks eyes with her dad for a beat. “I was punched, but it had nothing to do with Lachlan. He wasn’t even there when it happened.”

“Who punched you?”

She hesitates. “I don’t know his name. He was angry because I wouldn’t do what he wanted and I shoved him away.”

“How did you come to be in the situation?”

“He accosted me in the street. He was a stranger. I didn’t know him and he didn’t know me.”

“Why did he accost you?”

“I think he thought I was someone else. I don’t know for sure.” Stella blinks her eyes, then wipes a tear. “I’ve not seen him since.”

“Did you file a report with the police?”

“No,” she whispers.

“Why not?”

She slides her thumb under both of her eyes to stem the tears. “It was a personal choice.”

Meredith hands her a tissue.

Gosling softens his voice. “Did he try to rape you?”

Stella glances at her dad. “I don’t know what his intentions were towards me, but I can honestly say that Lachlan was not with me.”

Gosling looks at Stuart. “I trust you support this version of events.”

Stuart nods. “Lachlan was not with Stella at the time.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Gosling says.

“Perhaps you should ask Mr. Faust where he was at the time of the incident,” Trula says.

Gosling narrows his eyes. “Perhaps you should not tell me how to do my job.” He waves his hand at her. “Carry on.”

She starts to sound like a broken record as she rambles on. I carry a concealed weapon. I’m a member of Hell’s Jury, a one-percenter motorcycle gang; my mother was murdered while with the president of the gang, Luke Morgan, also known as Hangman.

The wills come up as does her observation that my relationship with Stella is recent. She talks about Stella’s basketball career and her inability to be a full-time parent if the relationship with me is legitimate. She talks about my dubious employment at Hawkeye’s and the fact that it’s a Jury-owned business suspected as a source of money-laundering.

She acknowledges that I’ve recently bought a home in a quiet family neighborhood, then adds a big BUT. The house was paid for outright so there’s no mortgage associated with it. She questions the source of this money given my history of employment and status as an ex-con.

She looks down at her file. “That’s all for now.”

“Thank you, Trula,” Gosling says. “Very comprehensive.”

I’m nervous now, because everything Trula has said is true. I’m not sure I’d give myself custody of Sorcha after that testimony.

“Over to you, Meredith,” Gosling says.

Meredith stands. “Every single element of Trula’s statement is accurate when it is without context. There are many ex-convicts who have custody of their minor children which Family Services overlooks. Of course, the staff are perennially over-worked and children fall through the cracks.” She nods to Trula like they’re best friends. “Which makes me question why Mr. Faust is singled out. Sure he has an affiliation with a motorcycle club, but unlike so many other fathers and mothers, my client is neither an alcoholic nor a drug addict. His arrest two weeks ago was a misunderstanding and regarding his carrying a concealed weapon, Trula failed to note that he has a permit for it.

“Mr. Faust is not a violent man, has never hit Stella or any other woman. Considering he had no priors and the crime he was convicted of was victimless, his sentence was excessive and unfair. I can’t speak to what the underlying reasons were for such a harsh verdict, but I speculate that it was in part based on his size and intimidating appearance.”

Gosling scrutinizes me. “He’s big, yes. But he doesn’t look intimidating.”

“He cleans up well,” Trula interrupts.

The judge ignores her.

Meredith continues, “Last week, he ended his association with Hell’s Jury. He recognizes that it is not the lifestyle he wants to expose to his sister and daughter. At the time he was recruited, his parole had ended and he was drifting. Hell’s Jury offered him employment and stability. He was a member for less than two years. Since then, he has matured. He understands what’s at stake and how much he has to lose.”

She takes a breath and continues, “Mrs. Faust’s will is irrelevant. It is ten years old which precedes Sorcha’s birth. The money Mr Faust used to pay for his house is not in the purview of this court unless my colleague can prove rather than speculate on the source of it. Lachlan is no longer employed at Hawkeye’s Auto Shop, which doesn’t make it dubious, it makes him unemployed. That has no bearing on this hearing whatsoever. Maybe he’ll stay home and be the primary caretaker of Sorcha while Stella travels the country playing basketball or maybe he’ll pump gas or work in a corner store or maybe he’ll get a university degree. Whatever the case, the world is his oyster.”

She glances at my dad. “Lachlan is a good man who got caught up in some destructive activities. He should be commended, not punished for rising above his dysfunctional childhood.”

She looks at Trula. “I’ve nothing more to add.”

Gosling nods his head. “Trula? Anything else.”

“No,” Trula replies.

“Okay, then. That covers Sorcha. Let’s move on to Gabrielle. I’m assuming everything just said applies to the visitation rights of Mr. Faust. Is there anything either of you would like to add?”

Trula shakes her head, but Meredith stands. “One thing. Mr. Faust has regularly visited his daughter in her home. He has never entered into an argument with the supervisor from family services or with his ex-wife and her husband.” Meredith nods toward Erin and Theo. “He has never raised his voice or threatened violence.”

“Is that correct?” Gosling asks Erin.

“Yes,” Erin says faintly.

“During your marriage, did Mr. Faust assault you or threaten violence?”

“No. He didn’t.”

“I’m interested in hearing what your reasons are for restricting his visitation to supervised home visits.”

Erin’s nervous and Theo takes her hand and squeezes it. Stella gives me a shoulder bump. I bump her back.

“Gabby didn’t know Lachlan because he was in prison when she was a baby and I didn’t want her traumatized by a stranger taking her home with him. When Lachlan tried to assert his rights, I got family services involved. They intervened on my behalf.”

Gosling nods. “Has Lachlan missed visits without advance notice?”

“No,” Erin replies.

“Does he miss many visits?”

“No,” Erin replies again.

“Does your daughter recognize Lachlan as her father? Is she comfortable in his presence.”

“Yes.”

“And you and he have an acceptable relationship?”

“Yes.”

“And your husband?”

“Also, yes.”

He looks to Theo. “And Mr. Schuster, your thoughts on the fate of your stepdaughter.”

“It’s not up to me, it’s up to family services,” Theo replies. “But if it were, I suggest that Gabby would have no problem with Lachlan taking her out for a few hours unsupervised. Then as her comfort level grew, an entire day, until we work our way up to overnight stays. Lachlan has Gabby’s best interests in mind, so if she wanted to come home before the visit was up, he'd bring her home.”

Gosling nods as he stands. “I’ll need a few minutes to consider all the information.” He leaves and I look across at Theo and nod my thanks.

Theo shrugs. “I was only stating the truth.”

Less than thirty minutes later, Gosling returns.

He says to me, “On the matter of Sorcha Faust, I award full custody to you. On the matter of Gabrielle Faust, there will be no further supervised visits. You are granted two weekend visits with your daughter at the residence of your choosing.” He turns to Theo. “Your suggestion regarding the transition is sound. I expect that the three of you will work out the schedule accordingly.”

To Trula, he says, “This is not a judgement on your due diligence, Trula. I know how effective you are and how much you care about the children in your care. Thank you for that.”

He stands. “The paperwork will be couriered to you by end of the week.” He eyes Stella’s dad. “May I see you in my office, Stuart?”

“Holy fuck,” I say once Gosling and Stuart have left. “It’s over.”

Stella squeals and throws her arms around Meredith first, then me. “I’m so happy for us!”

Trula, Erin and Theo approach. Meredith moves off with Trula, while Theo shakes my hand.

“Thank you,” I say. “To both of you.”

I see Erin’s uneasiness, but Theo replies. “Should’ve happened a long time ago.” He takes Erin’s hand and walks away.

Stella picks up mine and squeezes it. “Well if they can do it, so can we.”