The Sheriff's Mail-Order Bride (The Watson Brothers #2)(40)
“But you left him alone, Gina.” Rory walked toward her.
“I had no choice.”
“What if there was a fire?”
“There wasn’t. But, if there was, I would have run in to rescue my son, regardless. We all make choices, Rory. Some are harder than others, I get that. And I understand some people will judge me on that alone but I was on my own, no support apart from an elderly lady who needed more help than I did, so I had to do what worked for me.”
She sighed. “Look, I’ll understand if you want me to leave, I will. This is all too much to throw at your family.” Gina stood up, smoothed down her skirt, thinking it had been good while it lasted.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Callie pushed back her chair and stormed around to Gina, grabbing her around the waist and stopping her in her tracks. “You did what you had to, I get that. Now we have to make sure everyone else understands as well.” She tipped her chin at her husband and brother-in-law. “Think carefully before you two have another meltdown and wonder what you would have done in her place.”
She nudged Gina back to sit in her chair and stood watching the men. “Well, got over your precious moment?”
“It wasn’t safe to leave him like that.” Rory stepped toward her, anguish on his face and Gina knew exactly how he felt. Hadn’t it broken her heart to leave her baby for even a minute? They couldn’t possibly understand how it had been for her. But because of that, her future was now on the line.
“I get that, really I do, but given the circumstances, would you have taken a sick baby out in that kind of weather and risked him getting sicker especially when you didn’t have the money for hospital bills or medicine?”
Rory looked down at his shoes. “Probably not.”
“If we’re finished here?” Layla’s gaze flickered over them, then back down to the papers in her hand.
Rory sat down beside Gina again, reached tentatively for her hand. His warm fingers closed around hers and her heart raced. Did this mean he wasn’t going to let her go?
“Your father died as a drug addict who had never sought rehabilitation no matter how many times the courts ordered it. He is classed as being an undesirable influence on you growing up and therefore they think you are unfit to raise their grandson. There is also speculation of your own drug use.”
Stars formed in front of her eyes and her breathing turned ragged. She clutched Rory’s fingers.
“You are accused of being the person who introduced their son to drugs and also supplying him as well.” Layla flicked her hair back and looked at Gina. “This is another serious charge and you’re going to have the battle of all battles on your hands. These guys pull a lot of weight and have the money to hire the best there is. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start a smear campaign against you just to help leverage things in their favor.”
“That’s not legal, surely?” Callie glanced between Gina and the lawyer.
“No it’s not, and if it’s their lawyer doing it, dropping snippets to the media from ‘an undisclosed source’—and you can be sure they won’t dirty their hands personally like that anyway—they can claim no prior knowledge and get away with it. Besides, by then the public will be on the grandparents’ side and no jury would hand a child back to someone who’s looking like a drug dealer. Would you?”
Callie frowned. “That’s not right. Gina would never do that, look at her.”
“We have to deal with facts so this is what we do.” She turned to Gina. “Do you even know who you’re dealing with here?”
Rory spoke up while squeezing her hand reassuringly. “I googled them. He is in his early sixties, she’s only in her fifties. One child, Aden. They own half of the West Coast by the look of their bio. Not used to losing, by all accounts, if you can believe those he’s burned along the way in business deals. They play to win and don’t seem to care what it costs them.” He glanced at Gina. “There are also reports of their good deeds, philanthropy, and support of minority groups. Looks like they can play with the big boys or get down and dirty with the charities that matter making them look good.”
“Exactly. This is what you’re up against. They have some very powerful connections. This isn’t going to be easy by any means.” She shuffled her papers. “I know this is hard on you, Gina, but I have to do this to you if we have any possible chance of winning. I want to do a drug test first. How long did you know Aden?”
Gina licked her lips, trying to get moisture back in her mouth before she answered. “Um, I met him about eight months before I became pregnant. Fisher is nearly eighteen months old now so almost three years ago.”
“Right.” She made notes on her legal pad. “Did you do drugs in the time you were together or the time prior to meeting him?”
“I’ve never done drugs.”
“Ever? Not even tried them at a party, even just once?” Layla stared at Gina as if she didn’t believe her.
“No. Not even once. I saw what they did to my father.”
A smile curved Layla’s lips. “So long as this is proven by the test, it will go a long way to saving your ass. How long did it take you grow your hair that long, four, five years?”
“I guess that’s about right.”