Unraveled (Love in Salem, book 2) (20 page)

With shaky hands, she wrestled her keys around trying to find the one that would unlock Cassie’s door.  When she was finally able to open the lock, she launched inside and found Hayden still crying on the floor.

“I’m here now, baby.  You’re safe, you’re okay.  Shh.  Where’s your Momma?”

Carrying Hayden, his head tucked under her chin, she searched the two room apartment for the missing mother.  She was nowhere to be found. Journey sat on the couch, angry at the careless women who birthed this precious little boy.  She wiped the tears from his cheeks and looked him over, contemplating what to do. 

Hayden had stopped crying the second she picked him up, but the slight lethargy she saw in him now worried her.  He could just be extremely tired from all that crying, but then again she didn’t know how long he had been left there all alone.  She carried him to the kitchenette and filled a Sippy cup with water, not trusting anything in the refrigerator.  Hayden took it with little enthusiasm, but drank several pulls from it before falling asleep in her arms.

She knew what she had to do.  Knew how much trouble she was about to cause.  She couldn’t worry about how Cassie would respond or seek revenge.  This little darling in her arms was all that mattered.

Racing out of the apartment, Journey grabbed her car keys and loaded Hayden into the car seat she kept for when she watched him.  Buckling him in, she hurried into the driver’s seat and started the engine.  The engine stuttered a few times before finally rolling over and heaving a car’s version of a smoker’s cough.

“Come on, come on.”  She pleaded with the car.

The hospital was only a few blocks away, but she figured it would be faster to drive there than to wait for an ambulance.  This time of the day the morning rush hour traffic had already abated, people having already arrived at their destination to start their days.  The trip only took about five minutes.

Slamming the car into park near the Emergency Room doors, she leapt out of the car and scooped Hayden up in her arms.  A staff member saw her running up to the door and helped her inside asking a myriad of questions as he led her back to one of the exam rooms.

She couldn’t tell him much just that he was alone, crying, when she opened the door and found him.  The grim set of his mouth said more than words ever could.  The staff member, his badge said Jerry Hudson, RN, pulled supplies out of drawers, drew blood, and started an IV. 

By the time he was done, an old man with graying hair and stomach rounded from overindulgence had stepped into the room with a frown.  The nurse addressed him as Dr.
Scheidler and briefed him on the situation.  He called for more tests to be run and requested Social Services before turning to Journey.

“Do you know how long he may have been without food or water?”

“No.”  Journey hung her head as she was overcome by grief and guilt that she hadn’t acted sooner.  “He was crying when I walked past the apartment.  Once I got to mine, I took and shower and went to bed.  Once I realized that Hayden was still crying, I went over there and knocked on the door.  His mother didn’t answer, so I let myself in and found him alone.  She was home when I went to work last night, that’s all I can tell you.

A stout woman strode into the room with and air of confidence that Journey envied.  The doctor spoke to the woman off to the side of the room in a voice so quiet Journey couldn’t hear what was said.  Finally, the woman walked over and addressed her.

“Are you a relative?”  Her voice was sharp.

Journey shook her head.  “No.  I'm a neighbor.”

“Does his father live there as well?”  The Social Worker asked in an accusing voice.

“No.  I'm not sure where he lives.  I have his numbers though.  Home, cell, and work.”

The woman gestured for her to follow.  Journey hesitated, not wanting to leave Hayden alone.

“I'm sorry, but you are not a relative, and this is a case of abandonment.  I can see that you care for the child, but at the moment he is in the custody of Child Social Services and as such I can’t allow you to be with him.  You can help him, though, by coming with me and giving me information on his father so I can determine whether or not he qualifies to take over emergency custody of the child.”

“Hayden.”  She interjected.  “His name is Hayden.  Paxton, his father, is a terrific father.  He has a suit against Cassie and is trying to take Hayden from her.  Bill Bradshaw is his lawyer and –”

“All good information to have.  If you would just step into my office.”  She swept her arm forward, gesturing for Journey to precede and shut the door firmly behind them.

Chapter Nineteen

Aidan walked into the shop around nine in the morning.  Normally he didn’t arrive at the shop so early on Saturdays, but he and Atayla had fallen into an exhausted sleep pretty early last night, and as a result, they had woken up extremely early.  They had discussed his suspicions and luckily Atayla had readily agreed to stay with him for the time being.

Waving a hello at Paxton, he walked to the counter and checked the schedule for the day.  He hadn’t wanted to leave Atayla alone, but she had insisted that he not miss work because of her.  After a promise from her to call him if she needed anything, he kissed her and headed to the shop.

Paxton walked up to him and gave his brother a questioning look.

“What are you doing here so early?  Didn’t you play last night?”

Aidan shook his head.  “Atayla’s car was vandalized yesterday evening and I had to cancel to help her out.”

“Is she alright?”  

“Yeah.  She is still a little shook up, but she is alright.”

“Any idea who did it?”

Aidan looked at Paxton and hoped he wasn’t being paranoid.  He told him about seeing Brittney parked a few blocks away and the uneasy feeling he had because of it.  Paxton was quick to agree with his assessment.

“Brittney is definitely childish enough to do it.”

“The problem with that, though, is she doesn’t like to get her hands dirty.”

Paxton shook his head.  “That woman can get pretty crazy when she doesn’t get her way.  Better to be safe than sorry, bro.”

Their conversation was cut short when Paxton’s first client arrived.  Aidan busied himself with the regular cleaning of the shop and maintenance of the equipment.  Occasionally the phone would ring or someone would walk in with questions keeping him distracted.

Eddie showed up about the same time as his first client.  Bridger, Clint, and Knox arrived shortly after, each expressing their concern for Atayla.  Aidan did his best to assure them that all was well without going in to detail while customers were in the shop and listening.

Soon they were all immersed in work.  The days had been getting busier of late.  Business was picking up and they had been considering hiring a shop assistant.  Having someone there to answer the numerous phone calls they received throughout the day would help tremendously.

Paxton took in a deep breath and stretched as he finished up with his client.  He had been inking that tattoo for three hours straight and his fingers hurt, his back and shoulders were stiff and sore.  This was the worst part of tattooing, being stuck in the same position for hours on end tended to have nasty results on the body.

He wiped down the final result and waved the man towards the set of mirrors near the back wall.  The man turned right and then left to see it from both sides.  Paxton provided him with a mirror so he could see it full on.

Smiling as his client complimented his work, he set about spreading ointment and applying a dressing to the area he had inked.  The client, a repeated customer, took the care instructions and promised to call if he had any problems.

Cleaning his station took some time, sanitizing the area and sterilizing his equipment.  One couldn’t be too careful, infections occurred all too often.  Luckily, they never happened at Skinz.

The phone had been ringing off the hook for the last hour, much to Aidan’s consternation.  He hated answering the phone, but since his first client wasn’t expected to arrive until after one in the afternoon he had no choice but to suck it up and take care of it while the others were busy.

“
Yo, Paxton!”  Aidan yelled out.  “You have a phone call.  You might want to go take it in the office.  It’s some woman from Social Services.  Line 2”

“Damn, what now?  I haven’t seen Cassie in over a month.  What could she possibly accuse me of now?”  Paxton ranted as he exited the back of the shop and walked down the hall towards the main business office.

Pressing the flashing button he brought the phone to his ear.  “This is Paxton Aiello.”

“Mr. Aiello, this is Patricia McIntyre from the Division of Family and Social Services.  I’m calling to inform you that your son, Hayden, was brought to St Frances Hospital about two hours ago.  Now, he is going to be fine.  Please don’t be alarmed,” she stated quickly when he began to cut in.  “Would it be possible for you to meet me here at the hospital to discuss this situation in person?”

“Yes, absolutely.  I’m on my way.  What happened?  Are you sure he is alright?”  Paxton asked worriedly.

“Yes, I’m sure he is alright.  I will see you shortly.  Hayden was admitted to the Pediatrics floor, room 26
South.  I’ll meet you there so you can see for yourself that he is okay and then we will talk in one of the private rooms.”

He hung up, feeling a knot growing in his gut.  Paxton rushed back down the hall and into the shop.  Grabbing his keys from his work station, he asked Aidan to reschedule all his appointments for the day.

“Everything alright?”  Aidan asked with a concerned frown.

“Hayden is in the hospital.  I don’t know what is going on, though the Social Worker did say that he was fine.  I won’t feel better until I see him for myself.”

“Take your time, bro.  If you need a few days off let me know.  I can call Dexter to come in and take care of your new clients and reschedule your existing clients for a later date.  If you need anything else, you let me know that, too.”

“Thanks, bro.  I’ll call you later and let you know what’s up.” 

Chapter Twenty

The house was dark and quiet when Aidan returned home that evening.  He wasn’t sure what he expected, but this feeling of emptiness was not it.  He wandered through the house until he heard the soft cadence of music coming from the master bathroom.  The light was on dim and candlelight flickered making their illumination dance along the walls.

He walked into the bathroom and snorted at the sight of a gray ball of fluff lying curled up on the closed toilet lid, Pete’s head peeking out from under Jake’s neck.  It was an unexpected and amusing sight to behold.  Jake obviously hadn’t had any problems adjusting to this new environment.

“They have become the best of friends.”

Atayla’s voice drew his attention away from their tangle of pets and to the garden tub, or more specifically to the woman in the tub, in the corner of the bathroom.

“Really?”  Aidan was shocked.

Atayla chuckled.  “They have played with each other all day.  Once I came in here and laid down in the tub they curled up on the toilet and fell asleep.  I guess they wore each other out.”

Aidan admired her beautiful naked form as she once again closed her eyes and relaxed back into the water.

“This is what I wanted to do last night.  I was thinking about invading your house so I could soak in this tub while you were out with the guys.”

Aidan laughed.  “I would much rather have come home to you all naked and wet than to dealing with some asshole destroying your car and scaring you half to death.”

“Hmm.  Me, too.”  She opened her eyes languidly and looked at him.  “Do you want to join me?”

Aidan was about to say “Hell, yes!” when his phone rang.  He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the Caller ID. 
Pax
.

“Hold that thought, baby doll.  I need to take this call.”

He flipped open his phone and answered with “How is he doing?”

Atayla listened as Aidan leaned against the sink.  He watched her lustful eyes as he spoke to whoever was on the phone.  About two minutes into the phone call she realized it was Paxton and that something had happened to Hayden.

Sitting up quickly out of the water, Atayla drew her knees up to the chest and turned a concerned gaze at Aidan.  Aidan frowned, displeased that she had covered herself, but said nothing as he continued to listen to his brother’s distressed voice over the phone.