Page 103 of Kane's Awakening
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ryker
“Due to the newly discovered evidence against the defendant, I rule in favor of the plaintiff. Court is adjourned.”
With the banging of the gavel, we were dismissed, and everyone stood and began talking amongst themselves.
“Thanks a lot, asshole,” Billy Davidson, my client, spat. “You just lost me custody of my kids.”
“No,youlost custody of your boys,” I disagreed, throwing my papers back in my briefcase before looking up into his angry, bearded face. “You should’ve thought about them while you were out getting wasted and arrested the night they were with you. During a custody battle, that’s handing it over to the other side… which you just did. Hope the drinks were worth it, Mr. Davidson.”
I wasn’t bothered that I’d lost the case; my client wasn’t the best candidate for children. I was more upset that he’d thrown away his kids so carelessly. The mother didn’t seem like the best fit either, but she was better than him.
When I’d accepted his case, he had come into my office crying, saying how much he loved his boys and how his wife was filing for full-custody; begging me to help him because he’d be devastated without them. They were in the middle of a divorce, and things were nasty.
As a father myself, I understood that need to have your kids, and I took on his case, not knowing that he was a damn lowlife drunk and compulsive liar.
On my way out of the courtroom, I bumped into Michael Kingston. He was standing outside when I came around the corner.
“Rough day?” he asked in his deep voice.
His light gray suit fit him like a glove, hugging every inch of his tall, strong body. His dark green tie set off the color of his eyes.
“Other than the fact a client got drunk and decided to go driving with his sons in the car the other night, got pulled over and arrested, and therefore losing his custody case? Not at all.”
“That’s one hell of a way to start the morning,” he commented, looking at his watch. “I’m due to be in there in about twenty minutes.”
Just as I was about to tell him bye, I remembered something.
“Oh, it’s actually a good thing I ran into you. I need to run something by you.” I moved to the side as a group of people walked past me, and I moved closer to Michael. “I know it’s early, but do you know if you’re going to call Kane Matthews as a witness for the Martin case? Felicia asked me to co-counsel, and since I have a relationship with Kane, I thought it best to ask you if it was all right for me to take it on.”
“I’m not sure yet,” he answered, pinning me with a stern look. “And we shouldn’t be discussing the case, anyway.”
“We’re not discussing it, only sorting out a few details. I need to be prepared if you decide to light a fire under my ass in the courtroom for dating a witness.”
Michael chuckled. “Fair enough. I’ll have to take another look at the reports from that night, but if he wasn’t the arresting officer, I doubt I’ll call him to testify. There’d be no need for him.”
“Good to know,” I replied in a lighter tone that matched his. “The judge has approved my Entry of Appearance. It looks like we’ll be going up against each other once again, now that the possible conflict of interest is resolved.”
“Good luck,” he said as a smirk curved his lips and he checked his watch again. “You’ll need it.”
***
When I got off work, Anna called to confirm our dinner plans; plans I had already confirmed about ten times already. Her excitement was palpable, though, even over the phone, and it was hard not to let it soak into me as well.
Meeting my family was a massive step for Kane. A step I never imagined would happen, especially in the beginning of our relationship when he’d been more interested in pushing me away than learning about my life.
“Oh my god, I just can’t wait, Rye,” she said as she turned the sink on and then off, talking to me and cooking at the same time. She shouted something to Brian, and I smiled. Anna got cranky when she was stressed.
“You’ve been crazy about this guy sinceJanuary,”she said back into the phone. “And it’s almost May.That’smonths. And oh my god, now he’s your boyfriend and he’s meeting me and the kids. What should I wear? I have jeans and a blue top on right now. Do you think I should change?”
“You look beautiful, no matter what you wear, Anna banana.”
“So, my red blouse with the jewels and my Miss Me jeans, right?”
I laughed and rolled my eyes at her, despite the fact she couldn’t see. “Sure. Red goes great with your complexion and dark hair.”
Once I got off the phone with her and pulled into my driveway—parking beside Kane’s truck—I entered the house and was greeted by Molly. Over the months, I’d become attached to the German Shepherd and couldn’t imagine not seeing her every day, either. She was like a third child.
