Tyler
I tortured myself that night with thoughts of how I was going to acquire Honor. Joe didn't seem like he would budge unless I found a way to murder him in his sleep. It would be easy. I'd hire a hitman and get the job done, but I couldn't bring myself to watch Honor go through that trauma. No matter what, she considered them as her parents.
I threw the rubber ball against the wall and it bounced back.
I could write Joe a check of ten million dollars, and I think that would be plenty of money to cover Honor's expenses so far and the adoption price, but then money wasn't an issue for the Crandall's. They weren't billionaires, but he ran a multi-million dollar company.
I could kill him myself, but again, I didn't think I could look Honor in the eye and lie about it where he was.
There had to be another way. I could try to persuade Alison to take the money in-exchange for Honor.
I went back to Cold-Bay that week because I couldn't stay in Boston for more than a week. I had to force myself to leave, but the idea that I could continue to play silly games with Vicky made my mood lighter.
I returned to Boston two weeks later. This time the private investigator had done a good job of digging deeper.
Turns out he had a lot of scoop.
Joe Crandall had connections with the Miami Mob boss Mario Abruzzo. It wasn’t uncommon for wealthy people to have connections with the mafia, heck; I had a friend who was a crime lord too and I wouldn’t fuck with them, you never make enemies with the mafia. Not that my family or I were particularly scared of them, the Lockhart’s had enough reputation for being on the wrong side of the law.
It appeared that Joe had some beef going on with Abruzzo because apparently, he’d worked for the crime syndicate until he was caught for some double-crossing and money laundering. He had been shitting where he’d been eating; I hadn’t pegged him as that stupid.
It seemed to me like Joe was wanted by these people.
I called Alison for a meeting. She was reluctant at first but agreed. She sat in front of me with her proper dress code and prim ‘Karen’ haircut, and her nose was touching outer space. It was evident she regarded me as someone who was here to steal her adoptive daughter.
I offered her the money, I had the checkbook and the pen ready to sign whatever amount she wanted that spewed from her duck like mouth but she declined. She called me disgusting and said I didn’t have any rights over Honor anymore since she was their child.
That ticked me off big time. I managed to stay calm throughout our conversation, plastering a polite smile on my face. Inside I was seething.
How dare she say she would never let me see my child?
Vicky and I had been very young when Honor was taken away from us; we weren’t adults and hadn’t known how devious her mother had been.
I’m not that self-destructive teen anymore and I have my mother and Vicky to thank for. Sometimes I also wonder if I would have seen this change if Vicky hadn’t removed herself from my life. I’m a good guy, and I think with time I’ve learned to separate my priorities and my urges but occasionally those suppressed emotions try to get out of the box I’d crammed them into. It’s suffocating to a point where I want to go back to my nature.
Alison brought that out of me. She was making those wrong choices and making it harder for me to be the man society needed me to be.
Nevertheless with extensive therapy, I’ve learned to keep appearances.
I was giving her one single option because of the goodness of my heart. She could keep Honor but share joint custody with me and Vicky and that meant I would visit Honor whenever I wanted and she would come live with me during her school vacations. Vicky and I would be a large part of Honor’s life.
I gave Alison an ultimatum, I was ready to throw my weapons and do what was best for both the parties. It was a sensible arrangement, one I didn’t particularly agree with but I was sure any normal person would do this. But she climbed to her feet and yelled obscenities again saying there was “no chance in hell” that she would share Honor’s joint custody with us. She flipped her short glossy hair and stormed out of the hotel without a backward glance.
That night I’d screamed into my pillow and stopped myself before reaching for that gun to put bullets in her head.
I then tried to get in touch with Joe again but then he blocked my number.
I wanted to meet Honor again and I couldn’t stop myself when I drove to her school. The teacher wouldn’t let me see her when I told her that I was her uncle.
“TYLERRRRR!” Honor screeched when she saw me talking to the teacher.
“Honor, he says he’s your uncle.” The teacher said.
Honor looked between me and her teacher. She said, “Yes, he’s my uncle.”
A while later, she was settled in my car and I was driving her to the amusement park. I sent a quick text to Joe from another number telling him that Honor was with me. I didn’t give him the location, but I assured him to drop her home safely later that evening.
Throughout the ride, Honor bombarded me with questions that I didn’t have answers to.
“Let’s be honest here, Honor. Joe’s gonna be mad that you’re with me. He might even stop me from meeting you.”
“I will tell Joe that I like you.” She said cheerfully. “Are you really my uncle, Tyler?”
I grinned. “What do you think?”
She pouted her lips adorably, and it reminded me of Vicky again when she was a kid. My heart splintered.
“I think we are related because you and I have the same color of eyes,” a pause later she continued, “but then Aly said all my actual relatives were dead.”
“Did she?”
“Yeah.” She said.
I didn’t contradict her observation neither did I agree to it. I couldn’t just drop the bomb on her and tell her I was her father. That would have opened a huge can of worms and I didn’t know if I was ready to handle them yet.
We were sitting in an ice-cream parlor and eating a tower of waffles topped with whipped cream. She had a sweet tooth like me so I knew she would love Vicky’s cakes.
“Honor, as someone older than you and as your friend, I need to tell you something.”
She nodded shoving a large spoon of chocolate ice-cream into her mouth.
“It’s not safe for you to get extra friendly with just anybody. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“But you’re my friend.”
“I’m not talking about myself, sweetie. I’m talking about other people. If anyone gets too friendly, tries to touch you, it’s a bad sign. I hope you’re not usually ditching Joe and agreeing to hang out with someone you recently met.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t. I’m not sure how to explain this.” Her blue eyes cut through mine, “When I met you, I thought you were a kindred spirit like me. I know we don’t know each other too well but I like spending time with you.”
I was speechless. I didn’t even know how to answer her because I felt the exact same way about her, and not having her around wasn’t an option.
We spent the afternoon together, went on rides that she was allowed to, and then we played in the arcade and I got her a teddy bear.
My head felt lighter, and I wished that Vicky was here with us. I wish she could meet our baby too.
“Can I ask you something else, Tyler?” She asked me suddenly during our drive home.
“Sure,” I said.
“Are you British?”
I chuckled, “What makes you think that?”
“I’m not sure. Your accent’s a little different and some of the words you pronounce.”
“I spent the better half of my years in England so yes, I have a bit of an accent but I always thought it wasn’t noticeable.”
“What did you do there?”
“I studied.”
“What did you study?”
“I studied business management and then dropped out and took Flight school. I’m a Captain.”
“Wow. I’m impressed. I’m kinda hoping you really are my uncle.”
Honor was fun to be with and I didn’t mind feeding the child’s curiosity.
When it was time to take her home, I almost chickened out. I didn’t want Honor to leave me. I wanted to book another flight and take her back to Cold-Bay with me. Screw the consequences, but I couldn’t do that. It had to be done legally.
I met her almost every week until Joe pressed a restraining order against me. I politely requested him to give me five minutes with her to say goodbye and I knew it was going to be hard.
I stood on the Crandall’s porch, holding her little hand in mine.
“When can I see you again?” she asked.
I ruffled her hair and kissed the top of her head. “I’m going back home tomorrow, Honor so I won’t be able to see you again for a few weeks.”
“Oh.” Her face fell. “Would you at least call me?”
I couldn’t.
“Yeah.” I lied.
“When will you be back?” she asked.
Before I could pull her into my arms and do more damage and fucking brawl my eyes out, I said. “I’ll see you soon. I promise.”
I didn’t have it inside my heart to tell her how her fake father was making his life mission to keep me away from her. She was sad when she saw me leave.
I was forced to take drastic measures. Joe left me with no choice.
I had someone call one of Abruzzo’s men and gave them Joe’s information in exchange for keeping the girl safe. Honor was left with the babysitter when the car accident happened. Both Joe and Alison died on impact.
There was blood on my hands even though I wasn’t the one who’d caused the accident. It was either that or I would lose my baby girl forever. Abruzzo’s men would have eventually hunted the family down sooner or later; it was only a matter of time. It was inevitable and I didn’t need Honor to get caught in the crossfire.
Honor was transferred to an orphanage since there were no relatives ready to take her in.
Fast forward two weeks, I got all the paperwork done for Honor’s adoption. She was not aware that I was coming to get her.
*~*
“She’s a sweet little girl, Mr. Lockhart. It’s a miracle that you say the child was lost when was she was a baby and you managed to locate her now.”
I laughed, “Indeed. Tell me, Mrs. Fraley, was she told who is here to take her home?”
The matron nodded, “Yes. I told her that her father is taking her home. Why don’t you wait here and I’ll bring her to you.”
I waited patiently as the matron said that she would bring Honor to me, and then a few minutes later I heard the sound of footsteps walking towards the waiting area. I stood up and the sound of soft conversations drifted from the passageway.
“I don’t have a father!” Honor insisted. “Joe told me my parents are dead. I don’t want to go to any father that I don’t know about.”
“But sweetie, he has proof that he is your Dad. He has proper papers to take you home with him. He’s been trying his best to get in touch with you.”
“I will not go with any strangers!”
“He’s from a good family, Honor. He is your dad. You look like him.”
It was the first time I heard Honor scream. “NO! Please Mrs. Fraley! I don’t know this person. I have an uncle in Cold-Bay, maybe you should call him.”
“Sweetie, my hands my tied. I don’t have any authority to do that.”
They turned the corner and we came face to face with each other.
“That’s your Dad, Honor.” The matron said softly.
She stared at me, frozen in place when I raised my hand towards her.
Relief crossed Honor’s features when she saw me and I’d always wondered if she was like me, if she was unable to feel anything and then the most beautiful thing happened. She burst into tears of relief as she ran to hug me. I picked her up into my arms when she threw herself at me. I patted her head slowly as she sobbed into my suit jacket and then I put her down on her feet. She looked up at me, anger flashing in her expressions. “So you weren’t my uncle, were you? You lied to me!”
I shrugged. “I’m sorry I had to.”
“Why was I living with Joe and Alison if you’re my dad, Tyler?” she frowned.
“We’re going to have a long conversation on our flight back home.” I told her. “I have another surprise for you.”
She was mad at me but the promise of a surprise lit her eyes up. “What is it?”
I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture. “Do you know who this might be?”
She scanned the picture for a long moment, staring at the woman with silver-blonde hair and gray eyes, smiling gleefully into the camera. Honor’s eyes went wide, “OHMYGOD. She’s my mom, isn’t she?!” she exclaimed.
I laughed at her reaction. “Yup.”
“Boy, you have a lot of explaining to do.” She sassed, her tears were already dry.
That made me laugh harder, “yes, ma’am. So what do you think? You’re ready to pack?”
“Hell to the yeah!” she said and the turned to the matron who was watching our exchange curiously. “Mrs. Fraley, I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to my real home with this fine gentleman.”
Mrs. Fraley laughed. “Okay, let’s go pack young lady.”
She started leaving when she stopped and turned around to look at me.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?”
She gave me one of her signature ‘Vicky’ smiles. “Just making sure this is not a dream and you’re really here claiming to be my Dad.”
“It’s not a dream. I can assure you of that.”