Another Chance to Love Read online

  “Where were you, sir, when the fire started?”

  Brian stared angrily at the doctor. “You think I had something to do with my son being in this hospital bed?”

  “Sir, these are just standard questions,” Dr. Timbutu replied. “I don’t mean any offense.”

  “I live in South Carolina. Mickey is spending the month with his mother as ordered by our custody agreement.”

  “Oh, all right. Do you know if anyone was with your son when the fire started?”

  Brian shook his head. “Olivia was supposed to be with him.” Brian punched the air in front of him. “I knew I should’ve fought the judge on this decision. I should’ve kept my son with me!”

  The doctor touched his shoulder. “Calm down, Mr. Jackson.”

  Brian jerked away from him. “Don’t tell me to calm down. My son’s fighting for his life. He’s the one who’s going to have to live with these scars—not you or your child!”

  “I understand you’re upset. But there is an investigation into this fire and if the officials find out that your son was left home alone, I don’t think you will have any problem getting sole custody.”

  But my son had to suffer for this to happen, Brian thought as he walked away and into Paige’s arms, sobbing silently.

  Paige wrapped her arms around Brian, thinking the worse. Was Mickey dead? She couldn’t ask him that because she couldn’t bear to hear the answer if that was the case. She gently stroked the nape of his neck.

  Olivia walked over to them. “Oh my God, Brian, did something happen?”

  He looked up at her, nearly lunging at her. Paige struggled to hold him back.

  “Yes, something happened. You left my son home alone and he’s going to be scarred for life. That’s what happened, you stupid—”

  Paige put her hand over Brian’s mouth. “We all need to calm down.”

  Olivia glared at her. “Why don’t you mind your business? This has nothing to do with you.”

  Paige looked away from Olivia and kept silent. The last thing she wanted to do was argue with her when everyone’s emotions were so high.

  “Olivia, when Mickey gets out of here, you will never see him again,” Brian shouted.

  Paige was afraid that he was about grab his former wife, so she stood in front of him, blocking his access to her.

  “You can’t do that,” Olivia said. “I have a court—”

  “To hell with the court order! You left a five-year-old at home alone and now he’s in the hospital,” Brian boomed. “Our son is supposed to the most important thing to you. Isn’t that the lie you told the judge? And where was your so-called fiancé?”

  Paige pulled at his pants leg, silently trying to tell him to calm down. “Brian, Olivia, you two need to chill. Mickey is the only thing you should worry about right now.”

  Olivia stood toe to toe with Paige. “You aren’t his mother, so why don’t you stay out of this.”

  “At least I would have sense enough not to leave a child at home alone,” Paige snapped. “You’d best get out of my face.”

  Two police officers walked over to them. “Is everything all right?” one of the officers asked.

  “This woman needs to be removed,” Olivia said pointing at Paige. “She has no business being here.”

  Brian folded his arms. “If anyone is going anywhere it’s going to be you!”

  “Everyone, take a deep breath and calm down,” the officer said. “We need to talk to the parents of Brian Jackson Jr.”

  “That’s me and him,” Olivia stated.

  “And we’re divorced,” Brian interjected.

  “Who has custody of the child?” the officer asked.

  Brian cleared his throat. “We share custody of my son. He was in my ex-wife’s custody and she left him alone to burn in a fire.”

  “Mrs. Jackson, I need you to come with me,” the officer said.

  Olivia’s lower lip quivered. “But-but I don’t want to leave my son.”

  Brian rolled his eyes. “That didn’t matter to you last night,” he snapped.

  Paige watched what was unfolding before her. It was as if no one was thinking about Mickey. As much as she hated to admit it, he needed his mother and father by his side.

  “Officer,” Paige said. “Can you at least wait until the little boy regains consciousness?”

  Everyone focused on Paige. Different levels of shock registered on Brian and Olivia’s faces as Paige continued talking. “That little boy needs to see his mother and father when he wakes up. Afterward, you can sort out all of the legalities of the situation.”

  The two officers looked at one another. “And you are?” one of the officers asked.

  “Paige Grayson, a friend of the family.” She folded her arms across her chest. “I’m also a licensed child psychologist and I know the devastating effects that something like this can have on a child. That’s why Mickey needs both of his parents.”

  “I tell you what, Ms. Grayson,” the officer said. “You stick to head shrinking and let us do our job.”

  Paige glared at him. “Do you have children? Do you realize that this child is in shock? He needs to see his parents when he wakes up. I guess you want to be responsible for causing him more pain.”

  The officers looked at each other. “All right, we’ll wait until the child wakes up. But no one leaves this hospital,” one of the officers said, looking from Brian to Olivia.

  Olivia looked at Paige. “That was a decent thing to do,” she mumbled. “Thank you.”

  Paige walked over to Brian, who had a deep scowl on his face. “You should’ve let the police take her,” he said. “If it weren’t for her, my son wouldn’t be in this hospital.”

  Paige stroked Brian’s shoulder. “I know,” she soothed. “But think about what’s best for Mickey.”

  “I don’t have a problem with that, she does,” he said, tilting his head toward Olivia, who was just within earshot.

  “You know what, Brian,” Olivia snapped. “I made a mistake. Sorry I’m not perfect like you.”

  Paige held his arm as Brian glared at his ex-wife. “Get out of my sight before I do something I regret,” he bellowed.

  Olivia dashed down the hall, sobbing. Brian and Paige walked inside and stood by Mickey’s bed. He was starting to stir. A different nurse walked over to his bed.

  “Mr. Jackson, if you put these gloves on, you can touch him. He looks like he might be waking up. But he’ll be in considerable pain.”

  Brian nodded and took the latex gloves from the nurse and put them on. He reached through the plastic and stroked his son’s forehead. Paige felt tears sliding down her cheeks as she watched them. If anything happened to Mickey it would kill her. She loved that little boy as much as she loved his father.

  What was Olivia thinking about, leaving that little boy alone? She should’ve gotten burned in that fire, not Mickey. She put Brian through hell so that she could bring him here, only to leave him home alone. Something is wrong with her, Paige thought as she watched Brian standing over his son.

  Paige crossed over to Brian and stood behind him. Mickey opened his eyes. He coughed and his body shook. The nurse adjusted the computer that regulated his medicine.

  Brian looked at the nurse. “Is this normal?”

  She nodded. “He’s not fully awake,” she said as she looked at him. Mickey stopped thrashing as much, and his eyes seemed to focus on Brian and Paige.

  “D-daddy,” he groaned.

  “Hey champ,” Brian said.

  Mickey began to cry. “It hurts, my arms hurt.”

  Paige tapped on the nurse’s shoulder. “Can you do something?” she whispered.

  The woman nodded. “I increased his medicine. It will take effect soon and he’ll probably go back to sleep.”

  Paige sighed and offered the woman a weak smile. “Will you get his mother, please?”

  The nurse gave Paige a look of incredulity. “I thought you were his mother. But sure, I’ll get her. What’s her na
me?”

  “Olivia.”

  The nurse headed down the hall to find Olivia. Paige turned back to Brian and Mickey, who was drifting off to sleep again. “Darling,” she whispered to Brian. “You need to eat something. Do you want me to get something for you?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t want to leave him,” he said.

  Olivia walked into the room. Out of respect for Brian, Paige walked out and headed for the cafeteria. The first chance she got to question Olivia, she was going to light into her.

  Olivia remained near the doorway. “The nurse said Paige sent for me. Did he wake up?”

  Brian shot her a hateful glance but didn’t say anything.

  The nurse walked into the room and handed Olivia a pair of gloves. “You can touch him with the gloves on,” she told Olivia as she pushed her toward the bed. Olivia looked down at the gloves but didn’t put them on.

  “Feeling guilty?” Brian snapped.

  “Why don’t you just shut up?” she said in a hiss.

  “I won’t shut up. This is your fault.”

  Olivia started crying, but it didn’t put a dent in Brian’s anger.

  “Why are you crying now?” Brian asked as he stared, shooting icy daggers at her. “I hope you go to jail. You know, people in lock up don’t take kindly to child abusers.”

  Olivia trembled as she sobbed. “I wish I had taken him with me,” she said through her sobs. “I swear I forgot he was there. He was upstairs sleeping and I was so excited about Monica calling me that I wasn’t thinking.

  “I ran out of the house and I guess I didn’t extinguish the candles that were burning in my room. But I had to go and meet with her. I knew it would really put my career on the map. You understand—”

  “Stop,” Brian said, throwing his hands up. “What I understand is that when you have a child, a career is secondary. I gave up my undercover work for Mickey.” He walked over to her and grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the room. Brian pushed her against the wall in the hall. “You’re a hypocrite and if I were you, I’d turn myself in to the police because if I’m around you for a second longer, I’m going to do something that will land you in a hospital bed.” Brian let her go and walked back into the room.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Mickey spent three weeks in the hospital and underwent three skin graft surgeries. Brian, Paige and Olivia were at his side the entire time. Although Paige had rented a hotel room at an extended stay hotel, Brian never left the hospital.

  The Atlanta Fire Department determined that candles left burning had started the fire. According to the report, Mickey was found near the front door. The fire started on the second floor, which meant he’d run through the flames to get downstairs. Brian could imagine that his son was calling for his mother the entire time.

  Olivia was charged with child neglect and abandonment. Her arrest made headlines and ruined her chances of designing a gown for Monica Kauffman. Brian had his attorney, Gerald Johnson, file papers to reverse the shared custody agreement. The day the papers were filed, Brian and Paige brought Mickey home.

  Most of his burns had healed, but he walked with a slight limp because of the skin grafts on his left leg.

  “Are you happy to be home?” Paige asked as she fluffed a pillow for him to prop his leg up on.

  Mickey nodded. He hadn’t talked much since they returned to Elmore. Brian wondered if he needed to send the little boy to therapy. “Hey, little man, I got some snacks for you,” Brian said as he set the tray on the coffee table. “You want some juice?”

  The little boy nodded. Brian hoped to lift Mickey’s spirits with his favorite snacks, Goldfish crackers, apple slices and peanut butter.

  Paige stood up. “I’ll get it,” she said, and then disappeared into the kitchen.

  Brian sat down beside Mickey. “Champ, why don’t you say something? What’s wrong?”

  Mickey looked up at Brian. “I told you I didn’t want to go to Atlanta.”

  Brian pulled the little boy into his arms. “I know and I’m sorry this happened to you, but I promise you, it will never happen again. No one will ever hurt you again.”

  “What if Mommy tries to make me go back?”

  Brian shook his head. “Not going to happen. Your mother, if she wants to see you, will have to come here, all right?” He kissed him on the forehead and Mickey seemed to relax in Brian’s arms. Paige walked into the living room holding three glasses of apple juice.

  “All right, guys, here’s some apple juice,” she said.

  “Thank you,” Mickey said meekly. Paige kissed him on the cheek. “You’re so welcome.”

  The three of them sat on the sofa munching on the snacks and watching the Cartoon Network’s marathon of Scooby Doo, Mickey’s favorite show. Brian looked at Paige, who had draped her arm around his son’s narrow shoulders. This felt like a real family and he wanted to make it so. Paige loved him and his son. Mickey began to yawn.

  “Do you want to go lie down?” Paige asked.

  Looking at his father, he nodded. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. Paige stood up and held her hand out for Mickey and then led him down the hall to his bedroom. Brian cleaned up their glasses and leftover snacks. When he was walking back into the living room, so was Paige.

  “I’m worried about him,” she said quietly. “He may be suffering from post-traumatic stress.”

  Brian sat down on the sofa and patted the cushion beside him. She sat down and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I was thinking earlier that I should take him to see a therapist. Mickey was already having a hard time dealing with his mother leaving before she pulled this crap. I hope Judge White is having nightmares.”

  Paige stroked Brian’s cheek. “You know, Mickey isn’t the only one I’m worried about. When’s the last time you slept for more than two hours?”

  Brian looked into her golden eyes. “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks and I won’t until I have sole custody of my son.”

  Paige nodded and squeezed his hand. “You’re certain to get it now,” she whispered. “But you won’t be any good to that little boy if you don’t take care of yourself.”

  Brian brushed his lips against her forehead. “I don’t know. Sometimes I feel that it doesn’t matter that I’m a good father because the system is set up to make sure mothers win, even when they don’t deserve to. I’d always heard that, but I never believed it.”

  Paige stroked his arm. “It’s not often that fathers fight for their children. I mean, my father left my mother and didn’t bother to even set up visitation. But you’re a good father and the judge can’t ignore that,” she said.

  “He did before. I knew she shouldn’t take him. I mean, Olivia loves her son, but ever since she’s been on this ‘my career’ kick, her priorities have seemed off. How did she go from wanting to put our family back together to leaving my son to nearly burn to death?”

  “Brian, you can’t dwell on what happened the first time around in court. You can’t walk around mad all the time, either. That anger will eat you up inside and make you bitter. That’s not going to do you or Mickey any good,” she said.

  Brian gave her a lopsided smile. “I used to wonder how you got your job. But now I see why. You make sense,” he said.

  “I should be offended by that, but I’ll let you slide today,” Paige replied.

  “You know what I mean,” he said, trying not to start an argument.

  “I hear you.” Her voice was peppered with annoyance.

  Brian squeezed her tightly. “Come on, babe, don’t be mad at me. I don’t need any more conflict in my life right now.”

  “Brian, why don’t we sit here and not talk,” she retorted as she looked out the window.

  Knowing that he’d messed up, Brian stood and headed for the kitchen. He opened the freezer and pulled out a half a gallon of butter pecan ice cream. He filled a bowl and stuck two spoons in it. He returned to the living room and held the bowl out to Paige.

  “Peace offering?
”

  She smiled warmly. “All right, I accept.”

  Brian set the bowl on the table and scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and fed it to her.

  “Will you stay with us tonight?” he asked.

  Paige nodded and took the spoon out of his hand. “I’m sorry about before. I’m just a little tired and my fuse is short.”

  Brian wanted to ask her when wasn’t her fuse short, but for the sake of a peaceful night, he just scooped some more ice cream and popped it into her mouth.

  They sat in a comfortable silence listening out for Mickey in case he had another nightmare. His sleep had been plagued by horrible dreams that caused him to wake up screaming in the middle of the night. Although he couldn’t take Mickey’s pain and nightmares away, Brian was going to make sure that when Mickey woke up crying for someone, he’d be there.

  Paige stretched and leaned against Brian. “Do you want me to go check on Mickey before we go to bed?” she asked.

  “I’ll do it,” Brian said. He stood and headed down the hall. Paige followed him, wrapping her arms around his waist as he stood in the doorway of Mickey’s room. Brian patted her hands. Being here like this felt so natural.

  “Paige,” Brian murmured. “Marry me.”

  “What?” she asked, dropping her hands.

  Brian spun her around and looked deeply into her eyes. “Marry me. I love you and my son loves you. You’ve already become a part of our family. Let’s make it official,” he said.

  Paige shook her head from side to side. “Brian, I don’t know if— Is this about your custody case?”

  He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Forget it, I’m just tired. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Brian, I do love you, but marriage is a big step,” Paige said.

  He threw up his hands, “Fine, I’m going to bed.”

  Paige climbed into bed beside Brian, who had his back turned to her. She couldn’t help wondering if Brian’s proposal was motivated by his quest to win sole custody of his son. But maybe it wasn’t. What if this was simply about him wanting to spend the rest of his life with her? While she wasn’t sure if she was ready to be a wife and a mother, Paige loved Brian and Mickey with everything inside her. She couldn’t imagine her life without either of them. She reached out and ran her finger down the center of his back.