Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes

Author:Gina Holmes
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2010-08-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-two

We stood in the wide, marbled vestibule of the largest and busiest law firm in all of Duncan County. David’s attorney had asked us to come to see if we couldn’t work out “this whole mess,” as he called it, rather than leaving it to a judge who didn’t know what was really what in our lives. As angry as I was with David, the thought of taking my chances with Judge Hendrickson didn’t leave me feeling as confident as I would have liked, and so I’d agreed to at least listen to what they had to say.

Well-groomed men and women came and went as we waited to be called into the office. Hushed chatter whirled around us, intermingled with the clicks of heels and an occasional cough. Isabella’s fingers wriggled restlessly in my grasp. My father sat by my side. With his charcoal suit, silver hair, and wire-rimmed glasses, my father still looked every bit the lawyer, but he would not be representing me today. He’d instead hired an up-and-coming hotshot his ex–law partner had recommended. A lawyer who apparently was quite popular, as he kept running into old friends. At that moment, he had left us to walk a pretty redhead to her car.

“Dad, thank—”

“Genevieve, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” He checked his watch for the umpteenth time.

I might have argued that there’d been plenty he hadn’t done for me. Instead I said, “I know you hate being here.”

“Not as much as you do, I’m sure.” He glanced at me, pity glinting in his eyes.

It was a look I’d come to hate almost as much as the cancer itself. When I turned away, my gaze fell on David and Lindsey, who occupied two chairs on the opposite side of the waiting room. He wore an expensive-looking three-piece suit and an expression that hinted he had better things to do with his time. In contrast, Lindsey appeared meek and mild with her hair pulled neatly back. Her pink dress was patterned with checks. Over it she wore a matching cardigan. Cashmere no doubt. Probably a gift from her doting husband.

When hatred filled me, so did shame.

Her doe eyes looked everywhere but in my direction. Her bony fingers clutched her husband’s arm. I hated that she clung to David, my David, as though she were being thrown around in an angry sea and he alone could save her. Of course, I had done the same, but when our storm came, he simply pried my fingers off and swam for shore alone. It seemed I’d been treading water ever since.

My father gave his earlobe a rub. “Now, remember, we’re just here to talk. See if we can’t decide outside the courtroom what’s best for Bella . . . which of course is staying with us. ”

“I get it, Dad. Honest. What if they won’t compromise?”

“Then a judge will decide.”

My heart ached. “Judge Hendrickson?”

He didn’t answer.

Isabella yanked my arm in an attempt to escape. I knew she wanted her father, but I just couldn’t let her go.

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