Baby, Baby

“I believe you, Faith,” Reed said, bouncing his fingers together again. “I hope the judge will. Either of the other two legal counsels could imply you want custody only for the money.”

Faith gasped. “Surely not! I’d planned to care for the babies out of my own savings. I doubt that whatever Michael settled on Lacy was a huge amount.”

“The living trust your sister set up is approximately half a mil. You, if made custodian, have access to the interest until the babies turn twenty-one. Add to that proceeds from the sale of a beach house. Another seven hundred and fifty thousand.”

Faith tried to keep her jaw from dropping but didn’t succeed.

“I see you had no idea,” David said. “I wish I’d gotten your reaction on video. Now you understand my concern. The Fielding team will surely make an issue of the money. And I’ve got no doubt that Dr. Cameron knows how much his ex-wife was worth.”

Clasping her hands tightly, Faith brought them up under her chin. “I don’t want Lacy’s money, Mr. Reed. Is there a way to put it completely in trust for the twins?”

“There is. But you might not want to be so hasty. If your aim is to win full custody of those infants, it could get costly.”

“Of course that’s my goal. As I explained, I have three bedrooms. I rented a larger place, assuming my dad would stay with me after he sold his house. In fact, he’s living in an assisted-care facility, so I have lots of space. I’ve already turned one bedroom into a nursery,” she said passionately. “I can’t believe either Michael or Kipp will offer the twins as much love and attention as I’m prepared to give.”

“Maybe not,” David said bluntly. “But one of them is the natural father. That’s why I wanted to talk to you face-to-face, Faith. Fielding’s team has demanded that the court order DNA testing. It takes four to six weeks after they give the go-ahead—and they will,” he added. “The test will establish paternity beyond any doubt. If we dig in and fight after that, we’ll be contesting a bona fide parent. I’m not saying we couldn’t win, considering the mother didn’t think highly of either Cameron or Fielding. It does mean that preparing our case will require a lot of expensive hours. I’ll need a full-time legal researcher and a legal secretary assigned exclusively to this.” He paused. “To be honest, the case intrigues me. Hell, I foresee it being a tremendous boost to my practice.”

For the longest time, Faith chewed the inside of her mouth and stared out the window. “I only want what’s best for Nicholas and Abigail,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I realize it’s a monumental decision. Maybe you’d like to go home and sleep on it. Those men both have the best counsel money can buy. I want you one-hundred-percent committed before we jump into a dogfight.”

Faith refocused and looked into his serious blue eyes. “I am committed,” she said. “You just hit on the whole point. Kipp Fielding has money coming out his ears and a Roman numeral after his name. Oh, he wants Nicholas all right. To carry on his prestigious family name. He doesn’t give a damn about Abigail. Michael has money, too. But my sister divorced him because he was never home. He’s a world-famous doctor, who’s completely consumed by his work. Lacy thought I’d be the best person outside of herself to raise her child, er…children. Unless the court can show something colossal to make me change my mind, I’m going to fight. I don’t need to sleep on it. If holding on to custody takes every penny of my portion of Lacy’s estate—so be it.”

Her impassioned speech set the wheels in motion. All the way to Lacy’s apartment, where—as she’d promised Reed—she’d handle the disbursement of her sister’s belongings, Faith prayed she was doing the right thing for the babies. Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake the image of the tears Michael had shed when he held the twins. A court fight would turn Michael against her. He’d most likely end up hating her. But she’d promised her only sister—and she’d lost her heart to those babies. What did it matter that she’d lost her heart to Michael years ago? That was then. This was now.

CHAPTER FOUR

THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER of the week, Faith dashed about town in search of the items left on her list. As she entered each store, she looked over her shoulder to see if Michael skulked nearby. After the third day had passed without incident, and since he hadn’t popped in at the hospital, she began to relax and enjoy her shopping sprees.

She bought a double stroller that did everything but talk. Before setting out to buy one, Faith hadn’t had any idea how many types were on the market. The one she selected was blue canvas awash with white daisies. It included sunroofs and a basket large enough to hold a sack or two of groceries plus a big diaper bag. Perfect for walks in the park. There was mosquito netting to drape over both infants during nice weather and clear plastic that zipped on to make the interior cozy if the weather turned blustery. The whole thing folded easily to fit into the trunk of a car.

Pleased by that purchase, Faith then bought what the clerk referred to as “a diaper system.” The microfiber bag had waterproof linings and pullout changing pads and removable totes.

The clerk insisted Faith needed two infant carriers. Those were in the event she had to take the babies in a cab—to their appointments with Dr. Sampson, for instance. Faith wondered if the fact that she didn’t own a car could be counted against her at the hearing. But if she purchased one, the men’s lawyers could say she was spending Lacy’s money on personal pleasures. Not to mention she’d have to take driving lessons.

In the end, Faith elected to drop the problem in David Reed’s lap. Let him argue that she’d lived in Boston for thirty-four years without owning a car. If the judge thought she needed one to be a good mom, the expense wouldn’t be her decision.

As her purchases arrived at her apartment, Faith assembled cribs and a changing table. She added two small chests of drawers and saw the room shrink. Later, when the twins were older, she’d give one of them the third bedroom. Right now, they needed to be together.