A Forever Kind of Guy: The Braddock Brotherhood, Book 2 (9 page)

Hayley had her wineglass ready. “Would you like some? Or a beer, maybe?”

“A beer. I’m not much of a wine drinker, myself.”

“Cheap white zin is not actually considered wine in many circles,” she informed him. After Ray filled her glass, Hayley stowed the bottle back in the refrigerator and handed Ray a beer.

In silent agreement, they made their way out to the front porch. Hayley lit what was left of the candle out there and settled into one of the chairs. She lit her cigarette and exhaled on a sigh, then took a sip of her wine. “Ah. Heaven,” she declared.

Ray lifted his beer bottle toward her, and she clinked her glass against it. “To simple pleasures,” he toasted. They both took a drink.

Hayley took another drag off her cigarette, finding her pleasure in her evening ritual increased with Ray nearby. She also found it increasingly easy to ignore those little warning bells in the back of her head that told her not to get too used to it, not to enjoy it too much.

“You were going to tell me what Ms. Maxwell wanted with you.”

“Nothing much. She asked if I knew you. I said I did. She wanted to know what my impression of you was. I said I liked you and a few other complimentary things.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Typical woman. Fishing for compliments.”

“Come on, Ray, don’t hold out on me. I’m in desperate need of a decent compliment.”

“I told her I liked you, and I thought you were smart and tough.”

“Well, that’s better than saying I’m stupid and weak, even if it’s closer to the truth.”

“Stop it,” Ray admonished her gently.

Hayley ducked her head. “I know. I know. But when you feel like all the world’s done lately is kick dirt at you, it’s hard to believe there isn’t a reason for it.”

“Maybe the world’s jealous. Did you ever think of that?”

“Not hardly. Though it’d be nice if it were true.”

“Hell, Hayley, think about it. You’ve got a lot going for you. Aside from your obvious physical attributes.” Ray coughed. “You’re no dummy. Look what you’ve done for Fletcher, taking him in, making a home for him. You gotta be tough to take that on.”

“Yes, well, but back to the physical attributes.” Hayley giggled.

“Don’t get me started,” Ray warned. He tilted his beer bottle toward his lips.

“Was that all?”

“She asked if I’d met Fletcher. I said I had. Had I noticed anything unusual about him. I asked her like what. She brought up his not speaking. I told her maybe he didn’t have anything to say.”

Hayley giggled again. “You didn’t.”

“I did.”

“I bet she thought you were a smart ass.”

“Maybe. I’m no expert, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with him. I think he’ll start talking when he’s ready.”

“They made me take him and have him tested. But they couldn’t find anything wrong with him, either. Maybe you’re right. What else?”

“Uh, she asked if I thought you were a fit foster parent for him.”

Hayley sat up straighter and stared at Ray. “Oh no, what did you tell her? That you don’t think I am?”

“No, no. I told her I thought you were as good as anyone else. That you were doing your best and wasn’t that what counted?”

“Oh great. What’d she say? That my best didn’t even come close to being good enough?”

“No, she didn’t say that.”

“Ray…”

“Nothing. She said something about DCW having standards is all. That was pretty much it.”

Hayley relaxed back in her chair. The cigarette was gone. She cupped the globe of her wineglass in both hands and gazed out at the near darkness. “It probably doesn’t matter. Once they finish their background investigation, I’ll be shocked as hell if they let me keep Fletcher until he’s adopted anyway. I’m not even sure if I should.”

“Why?”

“Oh, lots of reasons. Initially I thought at least Fletcher knew me. He wouldn’t be surrounded by strangers. But maybe strangers would have had a better idea of how to take care of him.”

“Again, I’m no expert, but it looks to me like you take darn good care of him.”

A ripple of disagreement ran across Hayley’s shoulders. “Like you told Ms. Maxwell, I do my best, but I never realized how tough it would be to be responsible for him 24/7. This is all temporary anyway. The state will find a good home for Fletcher, and then I can go ahead with the plans I made.”

“The job in L.A., right?”

Chapter Seven

Just a few blocks from the Y where Hayley worked was a city park with a fenced-in section equipped with playground equipment just Fletcher’s size. He loved crawling around in the small fort and a mini-maze of tunnels, bridges, ladders and slides. Every other Friday after she got paid, she would stop at the nearby McDonald’s for ice cream, and then she’d turn Fletcher loose at the park for a little while.

Today the park was relatively quiet. Only a couple of mothers were there, keeping an eye on their small children. Several mature oak and sycamore trees shaded the area, and with the sun beginning its evening descent, it was almost pleasant to be outside.

Hayley took a seat on one of the benches in the shade, where she could watch Fletcher while she vegetated and dreamed of the future she envisioned once she escaped Perrish, Florida. As soon as Fletcher had a good home, she’d put her plan into action as she could have ten years ago.

It wasn’t too late to make the choice she should have made then. That’s what she kept telling herself. She could still succeed, still make something of her life.

Suddenly a man dropped onto the bench near her, yanking her out of her current fantasy, which included some nameless, faceless male escorting her out for the evening to a movie premiere or a charity event.

“How you doing, Hayley?”

That the man spoke to her and knew her name startled her even further out of her reverie. She recognized the voice, and that fact sent her into high alert mode. Panicked, she stared at the playground. Fletcher climbed out of one of the tunnels and stood up. He gazed across at her, his expression even more serious than usual when he saw the man next to her. She wondered if he remembered.

She raised her hand and waved to reassure him. She forced herself to smile.
Everything’s okay. There’s nothing to fear. Go on and play.

“God, Niko, you scared the life out of me,” she said when Fletcher turned away and crossed the bridge. She watched him slide down to the next level and then climb the ladder to the fort.

Niko chuckled, his gaze on Fletcher. “He’s getting big.”

The last time she’d seen Niko was outside the funeral home after the service she’d arranged for Steffie. Carlos had been in her face, threatening her, cursing her, out of control, mindless with anger, hatred, grief or possibly a combination of all three. He and Andre had almost come to blows by the time Niko pulled Carlos back, and with a couple of the others from their gang, or posse, or whatever they called the group of tough guys they hung with, got him out of there.

Hayley knew his presence here had something to do with Carlos. Niko and Carlos were related, half-brothers or cousins, perhaps. Hayley’d never known the exact nature of their connection. But she’d met him more than once when she’d visited Steffie. Always there were a couple of guys hanging out in the apartment, with little to say and that suspicious gaze in their eyes when they looked at her.

Niko was the only one she’d ever actually met, the only one who seemed to have any manners at all, the only one who didn’t appear to hate her or resent her presence. He was also the only one who ever noticed Fletcher and took time to play with him or talk to him. But still, she never let herself forget he was a part of Carlos’s world with Carlos’s agenda to follow.

In fact, it was through Niko that she managed to see Steffie at all that last year or so before she died. After the day Carlos kicked her out of the apartment, hurling curses at her and practically shoving her toward her car, Niko put himself between them, and whatever he said to Carlos forced him to back off. That day, Niko slid a piece of paper into her hand and gestured for her to get out of there.

On the paper was a phone number. Niko’s cell phone. He’d made himself a conduit between her and Steffie, circumventing Carlos’s watchful eye, at no small risk to himself, she was sure. She’d always wondered why he bothered, but she’d never asked.

“Yes, he is,” she agreed now, noticing Niko’s gaze fixed on Fletcher, following his progress in the play area.

After a few minutes, he turned toward her and said, “So how you doing?”

Hayley studied his face for a moment, deciding he could easily be Carlos’s half-brother. There was definitely a resemblance in their facial features and their eyes. Fletcher had the same dark eyes and similar bone structure.

Hayley knew Niko hadn’t shown up to find out how she was but she answered anyway. “I’m okay. How are you?”

Niko shrugged but said nothing. Hayley’s brow crinkled in thought as a memory suddenly surfaced. On one of her visits to Steffie, she’d seen him looking at Steffie just this way—wistful, defeated. Resigned. Her gaze had crossed his and he’d done the same thing then. Shrugged. Not with indifference, but with a kind of powerlessness to change what was.

“I got a message for you,” Niko said.

Ah, now they were getting to the reason for his visit. “From Carlos.”

“Yeah. He got some papers from the state. Want him to give up Fletcher.”

Callie Maxwell had mentioned this. If Carlos didn’t relinquish his parental rights, Fletcher couldn’t be adopted.

“He says he’ll think about it on one condition.”

Hayley already knew what the one condition was.

Niko turned to look at her. “You don’t be the one that adopts him.”

Still it came as a bit of a blow. Even though she’d told herself she wasn’t equipped to parent Fletcher, even though she had no intention of adopting him, the fact that his low-life father didn’t want her to didn’t set well.

“I don’t know why he cares,” she flung out, not bothering to hide the bitterness in her tone.

“He don’t. He don’t care what happens to him. He don’t know it, but Fletcher ain’t his kid.”

“What?” Hayley couldn’t hide her astonishment. “You mean Steffie…?”

Again that shrug. “Not like he treated her decent, either. Not like he ever cared what happened to her.”

His tone turned subtly bitter. There was a slight catch in his voice.

Hayley stared at him, the biceps bulging out against the sleeves of his tee-shirt, the baggy jeans and big sneakers. He wore his dark hair cropped close to his head. Tattoos swirled along every bit of skin visible from his neck down. One earlobe sported a diamond stud, and an oversized cross dangled from the heavy gold chain encircling his neck. He exuded a tough guy persona, and yet there was something vulnerable about him, something that made Hayley sad.

“You were her friend, though,” she replied softly. “You cared about her.” No matter what he said now, she knew it was true.

“Didn’t do no good, caring about her, not after he got hold of her.”

Hayley had no reply to that truth. “Is he still in jail?”

“For now.” Something in Niko’s tone told her he didn’t expect Carlos to stay there for long. “Anyway, you got to promise you won’t keep him. Carlos says anyone but you, okay. You keep him he’ll make you sorry.”

“Nice. He’d come after me because I try to take care of his son. And he doesn’t care what that would do to Fletcher.”

“Carlos don’t care about him,” Niko repeated. He turned again to look at her. “You disrespected him. You tried to get his woman to leave him. You ain’t getting her kid. That’s how he sees it.”

“Basically, I wouldn’t follow orders, so he’s going to make me suffer if he can, and Fletcher in the process.”

“He’ll go after Fletcher first.” Niko’s voice was low, calm and deadly serious.

A sick feeling descended on Hayley. “That’s how he’ll pay me back. By hurting his child. A child I failed to protect.”

Niko nodded. “Except Fletcher ain’t his kid.” Niko smiled. His face transformed. His white teeth shone and his dark eyes crinkled. Hayley thought if Fletcher ever smiled, this is what it would look like.

They both looked back at the playground. Fletcher’d had enough play time. He paused at the gate, his gaze fixed on them. Wariness and suspicion rose off him in waves. Already he viewed the world as an unfriendly environment. More than anything, Hayley wanted to rid him of that idea. She wanted to get him to a place where he wouldn’t be hurt anymore. Where he could be loved. Someplace he could at least have a chance to be happy, to succeed.

Niko’s next words came out in a rush. “You do what you have to do. Find a safe place for him.” He put a hand on her arm. “Promise me.”

Hayley knew she had no choice but to do as Niko asked. She’d never had a choice. She had to protect Fletcher. “Tell Carlos I agree to his terms.”

She stood and strode toward Fletcher, holding her hand out to him. “It’s okay, Fletch. Come on.” He met her halfway ,and she swung him up on her hip and turned back toward Niko. “That’s Niko,” she told Fletcher. “Do you remember him?”

Fletcher gazed at Niko somberly, making it impossible to tell if he had any recollection of him or not.

Niko reached into his pocket, dug out a roll of bills and offered them to Hayley. “Here. Take this.”

Hayley didn’t know what to make of the gesture. She made no move to take the money.

“It’s not from Carlos. It’s from me. For him.” He nodded at Fletcher. “Take it.”

When Hayley hesitated, he stepped closer and tucked the cash into the side pocket of the purse she had slung over her shoulder. “If Carlos gets out.” He held her gaze with his, as if debating with himself about what else to say. “You take him.” He nodded at Fletcher. “Someplace far away. Someplace safe.”

Hayley stared at Niko, clutching Fletcher closer to her. His warning made the threat from Carlos to both her and Fletcher real.

Niko bent and brushed his lips against Fletcher’s temple and whispered something to him in Spanish. Niko stared at them both a moment longer then raised a hand in a half wave before he strode off to the parking lot.

Chapter Eight