Page 70 of Angel's Smoke

Anna adjusted the file folder of notes tucked beneath her arm and eyed the courthouse that stood stories above the little law office. With its prominent bell tower and cold authoritarian block lettering, there was no hiding what it truly meant.

There be dragons.

She immediately marked it as the Bad Place. The place she’d have to go to convince total strangers that, despite not having the shiniest or most abundant stack of pennies in her piggy bank, her handful of dingy copper-crusted pennies still mattered and she’d somehow turn them into whatever she could to support her baby.

But first, she’d likely have to turn over a sizable portion of those pennies to an attorney in order to represent herself before said dragons.

Anna met the receptionist with a cheerful smile she didn’t feel. “Hi, I’m Anna Malone. I have an appointment with Ms. Wahl at ten thirty.”

“Malone, yes. Perfect. Please have a seat. We’ll be right with you. Would you like anything while you wait?”

Oh, let’s see . . . The ability to take what I’m about to pay you guys and redirect it back toward my budgeted hospital costs for when I actually have this kid.

A refund of the only available time I’ve had to myself instead of spending it pulling every document, bank statement, and pseudo-tangible proof that I won’t be a terrible mother for your perusal.

A Diet Coke and happy dreams.

And the man I can’t stop thinking about.

“Nope. I’m good.”

Her terseness followed her as she took a seat in the waiting room, clutching her manila folder to her chest as though its meager confines were a plate of armor capable of shielding her from anything Travis could throw her way.

It had been a solid week and a half since that terrible phone call, which had provided the perfect amount of time for her to downward spiral into an abyss she was pretty sure she’d never be able to surface from again if she sank much deeper.

Rose had been the dutiful friend Anna needed, allowing her to at least unburden some of her anxiety onto someone else’s shoulders regarding the whole Travis nightmare. But even that came with a reciprocal weight that had been inadvertently tossed back onto Anna’s plate.

She couldn’t escape the gnawing feeling that she was, in essence, an abandoned baby on someone else’s doorstep. Before Iron left, he’d neatly deposited her among a family that was so freaking heartwarming and aligned, it made Anna feel like a donated secondhand jigsaw puzzle who was expected to be enjoyed and cared for despite her missing pieces.

There was heartache, and then there was heartbreak. Neither made for a lovable human for very long, and Anna feared she was quickly reaching the end of her rope as far as palatable social consumption was concerned.

Fuck, she missed him. So damn much.

A door opened. “Ms. Malone, come on in.”

Francesca Wahl, Esq., was all serious kindness as she shook Anna’s hand and welcomed her into her office. “Now, I’ve read your intake form about your former partner Travis O’Neil. You say he’s located out in California now. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“And he’s seeking joint custody of your child once it’s born.”

“That’s what he said over the phone.”

“How often have you spoken with him since that initial phone call?”

“I haven’t. It was just the one time. But he’s not the type of person to make empty threats, and I’d rather have my ducks in a row and be ready.”

“I understand, and I support that entirely. If you can’t be proactive, being reactive is the next best thing.”

Anna clenched her back teeth and wondered what the cost differential was between proactivity and reactivity in the family law circuit. She couldn’t say for certain, but she’d bet her Subaru’s three good cylinders that it came with a price tag well north of equitable, given her circumstances.

But again, unfortunately, she wasnotspoiled for choice.

Ms. Wahl set her glasses down on the desk and steepled her fingers, and Anna tried not to be jealous over the fact that the woman’s glasses were clearly optional. “As I’m sure you’d been made aware when you booked this consultation, our firm tries to do everything we can to mediate and reach an agreement with both parties first. Family court is not a fun place, Ms. Malone, and we do our best to stay out of it whenever possible.”

Is that why you require a method of payment to be placed on file for a freaking complimentary consultation?

“I can imagine.”

---