Hush (11 page)

“And he knew where I lived.  Oh that’s so creepy.  How did he know where I lived?” I whined.  I crossed my arms over my chest.

“It’s not hard to find someone’s address online, even if they’re unlisted,” Callem said carefully.  “There are plenty of sites that charge twenty bucks or so to search by a name nationwide or something.  You can find a lot about someone if you do enough digging.”

“Oh that’s comforting,” Erin scoffed.  “Where do you think he’s going?”

“Hopefully back to Vegas,” I mumbled.

“Are you going to be alright here tonight?” Callem asked, rubbing his palm on my crossed arm.  “You can stay over at my place if you want.”

I strongly considered it for a moment.  “No, I’m on call and I work in the morning.  It’s best if I just stay here tonight.”

“I’d feel better about that if you had beefed up your security around this place when I first offered,” Callem pointed out.

I grinned.  “I know, but I don’t think he’ll come back, especially since he’s seen you.  He probably thinks you’ll be staying here.  I’ll be fine tonight.  I’ll call my old social worker, Carolyn, tomorrow and see if she has any information or suggestions as to how to handle this.”

“I can stay here tonight, if you want me to,” Erin stepped in.

I smiled weakly.  “Honestly, I’ll be fine.  That just really caught me off guard is all.  Thank you for offering.”

“Okay, well, I hate to be the party pooper, but that buzz kill is my exit cue,” Erin said, pulling her purse off the coat rack next to the door.  She hugged me goodbye.  “It was so great to finally meet you, Callem, and you too, Red.  Call me if you need anything tonight,” she said, turning to me.  “If not, call me after you talk to Carolyn about your mysterious visitor.”

“Will do,” I mumbled as she stepped out the door.

“I’ll meet you out at the car,” Red said to Callem, holding the door open.  “Thank you so much for dinner, Olivia.  Good luck with everything,” he said quickly before ducking out.  I watched him hurry to Erin’s car and stop her before she could drive off.

“Is he really trying to pick up my sister in my driveway?” I grumbled.

Callem spied out the window.  “Sure looks like it from here.”

I shook my head with a smile.  Callem stepped in and wrapped his arms around me from over my shoulders.  I wrapped my arms around his midsection, exhaling deeply.  “Did that really just happen?” I mumbled, my face pressed up against his chest.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come home with me?” Callem asked again.

“Well, I’d love to come over,” I said slyly.  “But I don’t know how much sleep I’ll be getting over there.”

“How much sleep will you get over here, by yourself, worried about that guy knocking on your door again?”

Touché.  “I’ll be fine and I’ll call you if I’m not.”

Callem stepped back.  “Alright.  Thank you for dinner tonight.  It was delicious.  I’m sad I have to skip dessert,” he cooed in my ear, planting a quick peck on my cheek.  “Have a good night and I’m serious, if he comes back, you call the police and then you call me.  Do not open your door for him.  Don’t engage.”  Callem pointed his finger authoritatively at me.

“Yes sir,” I whispered playfully before kissing him farewell.  “Thank you for coming.  I’ll call you tomorrow.”

I hung in the doorway as he strolled down my walkway.  Red noticed him leaving and hurried from Erin’s car to Callem’s.  When the two vehicles were out of sight, I shut my door, securing all three locks.

After a restless night, I was back in the office.  Ana was in for another check-up.  She’d been out of the hospital.  We had some testing and evaluating to do.  Plus, with patients like Ana, the ones I’ve seen most and grown a relationship with, we usually did a lot of chatting.

When I was at work, I didn’t think of anything outside of my work, which was a blessing and a curse.  I was so enveloped in my work that morning, I nearly forgot to call Callem, Erin, and Carolyn, not that I had an abundance of time to chat with all of them.  I quickly texted Callem and Erin, just to let them know I was good, I was busy at work, and I’d update them as soon as I talked to Carolyn.

“Carolyn Stephenson please,” I said to the receptionist at the DHS office when I finally had a moment to sit down and make a call.  I sighed heavily waiting for the call to be transferred.  I hoped she wasn’t busy, so she and I wouldn’t be getting into a giant game of phone tag.

“Carolyn Stephenson,” a familiar voice with a thick southern draw answered.

“Carolyn, hello, it’s Olivia Reinbeck.”

“Olivia!  My goodness, what a pleasant surprise!  How are you?  How have you been?” the woman gushed on the other end.

I smiled widely imagining the sweet woman doing the same from her office.  “I’m great.  Everything’s great, how have you been?  I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Goodness no.  Not at the moment, at least.  I’ve got an appointment coming in, but some time to spare.  I’d gladly spend it on you, my dear,” she laughed heartily.  “How’s the practice?  How are things going for you at work?”

“Exhausting and challenging, but wonderful, thank you.”

“That’s good.  That’s good.”

“Carolyn, the reason I was calling was because a man came to my house last night claiming to be my biological father.”

“You’re kidding me,” Carolyn gasped.

“No.  I wish I was.  It was very strange and completely caught me off guard.  He said he’d been looking for me and was from Vegas so he drove all the way to Huntington to see me.”

“Did he tell you his name?”

“Michael Drake.”

“Well, you know what, I know I’ve got your file stored around here somewhere.  Back when you were still in foster care, we had all paper files.  Now everything’s on this stupid computer.  I know they didn’t convert the old files over to digital so I’m going to look, give me a second.”

I heard crackling on the other line and drawers being opened.  “Well, look at that,” Carolyn said, exhaling deeply.  “There’s your cute little picture from when you were just a little girl.”  She giggled lightly.  “Okay, let’s see, well, your mother never did put your father’s name on your birth certificate,” she noted.

“Right.  She told me she didn’t know who my father was,” I said.

I listened to papers shuffling on the other end as Carolyn lightly hummed to herself.  “I don’t see anything in here that would indicate who your father was.  The fact is, unless he was denied custody of you and you were turned over to the state that way, he would have been the one who would have raised you.  Since we didn’t even have a paternal unit in your file when your mother passed, you were automatically put into the system.”

“And there isn’t anyone else who would have access to that information would there?  I mean, it’s not public record?”

“Oh goodness, not at all.  No, and again, since it’s still an actual file and not a link on DHS’ system here, I’m the only one who has access to this information.”

“So this guy must have known my name all along and he just searched for me one day or something.”

“I’m not sure.  It’s hard telling how people track other people down these days.  It’s so easy for anyone like you and me to do it since nearly everyone has one of these computers and can get on the internet.  He didn’t tell you how he found you or how he knew you were his daughter?”

“I didn’t really give him the time of day.  I was a little freaked out by it all.  He just mentioned my mom and that he’d seen me when I was a baby.  Are there any rights protecting me from this?”

“Unfortunately no.  You’re an adult now.  Any court order that may have been on you when you were a minor, like a restraining order or a court ruling suspending his parental rights, wouldn’t be any good now, but I know you didn’t have any, because he never existed back then.  Did he threaten you?”

“No, not at all.  It’s just the principle of it.  He came out of nowhere and sprang this on me.  He came to my home.  He stood in my doorway.  That’s sending up more flags than one, as far as I’m concerned.”

“I hear you.  What do you think?  We never really talked about it, but would you want a relationship with your biological father?  Let’s say he hadn’t come to your door last night and scared you like that, if the possibility had been there last week, would you have taken it?”

“No.  I wouldn’t have.  I have a father in Downy and two others in Mississippi.  This Michael Drake is a complete stranger to me and to be honest, I’ve got to keep my guard up.”

“You’re absolutely right.  There’s not much you can do about him coming to your house.  Unless you told him not to come back last night, then he’d be trespassing.  He has to be breaking a law in order for the police to get involved and since you’re no longer a ward of the state, they’re the only authority that can protect you.”

“Is that what you’d suggest?   Does this happen a lot, parents laying low until the child is older before resurfacing?  I have to say, I’m doing well for myself right now and my biggest concern is getting taken advantage of.”

“You know, I’ve heard of it happening, not too often, but it happens.  Sometimes it’s mutual; both parties accepted the reunion.  Sometimes it’s a negative experience.  And you’re right, the only reason he may have surfaced is because he found out about your situation and may only want a piece of it.  I don’t know the man either and I don’t want to pass judgment, but you’re right.  He could just want money from you.  He may want to get access to your home and rob you.  As sad as that fact is, it happens, it has happened, and it will continue to happen to unsuspecting people.  You just need to be vigilant.  Keep your distance and be firm, if that’s how you decide to go about this.  Did you ask him not to come back last night?”

I shook my head.  “No, I just asked him to leave.”

“If you happen to run into him again and you’re sticking to your guns about the no-contact idea, make sure to tell him you do not want to see him, you do not want him coming around, and you will call the police if need be.  If it comes to getting the police involved, you can file a restraining order.  Are you afraid for your safety?”

I smiled lightly.  “Not at all.  Like I said, it was just a little unexpected.  I’m actually seeing someone who’s in the business of personal security, so I feel pretty safe.”

“Well that’s good to hear,” Carolyn said.  “And listen, I wish I could help you out a little more.  I wish I could stay and chat about your job and your new beau, but I have an appointment just outside my office.  If you need anything else from me, Darlin, just give me another buzz and I’ll see what I can do for you, okay?”

“You’ve been a great help, Carolyn.  Thank you.  It was great talking to you,” I said before hanging up the phone.  I’d spent about three minutes too long on the phone anyway.

The afternoon moved along quickly.  I’d texted both Erin and Callem with updates and was going over some test results with one of the lab techs when Amanda informed me there was a gentleman waiting for me in the lobby.  “He said he didn’t have an appointment, but he was hoping you’d see him.”

I smiled.  This wasn’t the first time Callem had pulled that line.  “Thank you, I’ll be out in just a minute.”

I found myself hurrying to the lobby with excitement.  When I pushed the security door open, rather than seeing Callem waiting for me, I found Michael Drake standing near the receptionist’s desk, fidgeting as much as he was last night.

My lips got tight and my pace quickened, moving towards him.  “Hi, there,” he said with a smile as I ushered him over to the corner of the lobby.  Thankfully, there was only one young boy and his mother waiting.  I would have been more embarrassed if the lobby had been full.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him when we were out of earshot of any eavesdroppers.

“I’m sorry for dropping in like this.  I was hoping we could go to lunch?”

“No, no we can’t go to lunch.  Listen, I don’t want to be rude.  I don’t want to be cruel, but I don’t know you and I understand you traveled a long way to see me, but there’s a reason why I never came looking for you.  There’s a reason why we hadn’t ever met before last night.  Quite frankly, it’s very selfish of you to decide when you want to be a part of my life.  Where were you the past 20 years when I was bouncing from family to family?  Where were you when my mother died?  I made it just fine on my own.  I’m sorry, but I don’t need you in my life.  Now I have to ask you to leave.  This is my place of business.  This is my office.  You can’t come here again.  Please leave.”

He looked at me for a long minute.  “I hope you’ll reconsider.  I’m staying at the Pacific View, room 113 if you change your mind,” he said.

“Please don’t expect me to reach out to you.  I won’t come looking.”  I wanted to make sure he understood my intentions, or lack thereof.

With large eyes, he gaped at me speechlessly.  He hesitated, gauging whether or not he should retort, but I held my gaze firm until he stepped back and slowly turned.  I sighed as he retreated out the door of the office, though my hands were shaking.  “Amanda,” I whispered, turning to the front desk.  “If you see that man again, please ask him to leave and if he doesn’t, call the police,” I said, working hard to control my trembling voice.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, looking at me with a twisted brow.

I inhaled deeply before plastering a smile on my face forcibly.  “Absolutely.  Yes, everything is fine.  Just please ask him to leave if he returns and then inform me immediately, please.  Thank you,” I managed to say cheerfully before hurrying back to my office.

“You have to understand,” I started.

“Don’t,” Olivia snapped quickly, keeping her eyes out the car window.  “I don’t want to hear you.  Just the sound of your voice makes my skin crawl.”

I swallowed hard.  I’d have to keep my cool.  I knew getting her home would be the hardest part.  If I could just do that, give it a few weeks, things should start to turn around.  She’d get past the idea and start to remember why we were together in the first place.

“I’m sorry you missed dinner.  I’ll call out for some delivery,” I added, hoping if I kept it casual, she’d start to come down from her rage-filled high.

“How do you plan on paying for that food?” she asked, eyes still out the window.

“With my card,” I stammered, wondering why she had asked.

“Then I’m not eating.  I don’t know where that money came from,” she whispered coldly.

“Baby,” I cooed, reaching over for her thigh.

She batted my advance away in an instant.  “I mean it, Cal,” she spat, turning to glare at me, practically baring her teeth.  “You wanted this.  You want me home?  You want me back?  It’s going to come with a price.  Though I haven’t put up a fight, you and I both know, hell even Red knows I’m not coming willingly.  You painted me into a corner then threw me the only rope I could reach whether it was the one I wanted or not.  You make me sick.  Do not expect a single thing from me.  Nothing.  You broke my heart so badly that you’ve killed the best of me.  Now, this is what you get.”

There was a fire in her eyes I knew I wouldn’t be able to put out.  I backed down as she returned to the view out of her window.  I looked up at Red, who was eyeing us in the rearview mirror from the driver’s seat.  I knew what he was thinking.  I could almost hear him saying the words though he remained silent.

This was nothing like last time.

I’d let her sulk and sputter for a few more days.  Then I’d show her.   Then, the games would begin.