Inseparable: A New Adult Erotic Romance (22 page)

"I don't need to hear anymore," the judge said as she signed and stamped a document and passed it down to her clerk. "After I reviewed the evidence you've provided, I went down to the playroom to speak to the girls. My first concern is
always
the children, whatever you all may think. Hearing what their own mother put them through..."

She paused for a moment to compose herself before continuing. "One thing really surprised me, though. Jen told me about a mural in her father's apartment. She and her sister love princesses and were so disappointed after the last hearing because they wouldn't see it anymore. Then, she told me, Miss Julie painted another one in their rooms at Mr. Mike's house while they were on vacation."

"What?" Sophie gasped as she turned to stare at Bonnie giving her a smug grin.

"Both girls insisted the prince and princess in the mural were their father and Miss Julie, but their favorite part was the secret message painted in the glow-in-the-dark stars that said, *Daddy loves you*. That was so kind of you, Miss Polk, and I am glad you will be part of their lives."

Turning to look at Julie, Sophie stared in horror as the judge issued her final ruling.

"I'm awarding full custody of the girls to their father, Jack Brousard," Judge Hightower said, "Sophie Brousard will be required to pay half of their reasonable expenses until they reach their majority. And because of her
demonstrated
negative influence I will require supervised visitations until Mrs. Brousard has been evaluated by a court-appointed mental health professional. The terms of her visitation may be updated after that report has been completed. The marriage of Jack and Sophie Brousard is hereby ordered dissolved pending appeals." She punctuated her ruling with a single bang of her gavel.

Jack gasped and gripped the table as tears rolled down his face. Owen pounded him on his back with a wide grin, but stepped back when Julie pushed through the gallery gate to kneel down by his side.

"Baby, you did it!" She hugged him and kissed his wet cheeks until he could stand up to hold her tight.

"
We
did it," he whispered. "Thank you for everything."

The next few minutes passed in a daze as Jack thanked each person who came to support him, inviting them back to his apartment later for an impromptu celebration. When the girls were brought in from the play area, they ran to Jack and he swept them into his arms. After kissing them both, he held them as they talked non-stop about everything that had happened.

The heated discussions going on at Sophie's table got louder until Mike stepped over and said, "That's enough. I ain't payin' for an appeal. It's over, Sophie."

"You promised me," she shrieked. "It's not over until I say it is!"

"Naw, it's
all
over. If you don't get your shit out of my house by Sunday, I'll throw everything in the dump. We're done, ya hear?"

Jack left Owen to finish up the final details as he and his friends walked his girls out of the courtroom and into their new lives together.

A
fter leaving the courthouse, Claire, Julie, and Polly went back to Mike's house for the girls' things while Mike kept Sophie from interfering. They'd told Jack it had been tense and ugly, but the girls now had their favorite clothes, stuffed animals, and toys in their new room in his apartment. By the time the guests began to arrive for the party, Jack was pleased to see the girls had grown comfortable around their new friends, Julie and Polly.

The party was a boisterous affair as the girls danced around the feet of the adults begging for affection and attention. Claire had cooked some rice dishes that made the apartment smell wonderful, including Jack's favorite family recipe of red beans and rice made with a hearty sausage. He tried to get Julie to try some, but she stuck to plain buttered rice despite leaning over to smell his plate a few times while they ate.

The change in Julie was astonishing. She'd been a wonderful lover and friend, but seeing her with his family was like watching the last puzzle piece fall into place. Her bright smile won over his mother and the two of them chatted like old friends, which Sophie had
never
managed to do. She'd even charmed Father Williams out of the stuffy personae he wore like armor, bringing out a ringing laughter Jack had never heard before.

"You're getting a little moist around the eyes," Polly whispered. "You keep looking at her like that, someone will say you're in love."

"I am," he admitted and looked away, tearing the label off of his Shiner Bock beer.

"I know," Polly said with a sly grin. "Have you told her lately?"

"Not yet, but I will."

She sighed and bumped into his shoulder. "I don't suppose you have a nice younger brother back home?"

Jack chuckled. "Sorry, I was the youngest, but I've got some nephews we could try."

"Good, I'd like that."

He looked over at her and smiled. "You'll get yours, Polly, don't worry."

"Oh, I'm not worried, just impatient. Seeing you guys the last few weeks makes a person jealous. Now that you're free of Sophie, you going to make it official?"

Jack shrugged. "I'm Catholic. I'd have to get an annulment before I could marry again. That's what Sophie was so hung up on, but I honestly don't know if I care that much. I mean, we can get a marriage license from the courthouse, but I'm already hers in every way that counts."

"You're probably right," she said and finished off her beer. "Want another?"

"I'm good, thanks," he said and watched the kids playing with their Meemee.

Julie left Bonnie and Father Williams and approached with a grin. "How are you doing?"

"Still in shock, I guess. How about you?"

"Relieved. Happy." She leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "Listen, I'm going back to stay with Mom for now."

His heartbeat raced. "Why?"

She shook her head at him and said, "Your Mom is sleeping on the couch and you've got your girls back for the first time since I've known you. Spend some time with your family."

"I don't want you to leave," he said, taking her hand with a panicked look in his eye. "There's something I need to ask you."

"We've got time, Jack," she said as she touched his cheek. "Don't worry about this right now. I don't want to spring me and the baby on the girls. Give them some time to get used to living here with you first."

The room had gotten quieter as they spoke, their serious expressions letting the adults know that something significant was being discussed. The girls sensed the tension as well and finally came to stand next to Jack and hugged his legs.

Jen was looking at Julie with a suspicious expression as she held on to her father's leg. "Miss Julie, do you love my Daddy?" Jack saw Julie swallow hard, then she let go of his hand to kneel down and look Jen in the eyes.

"Would that bother you, sweetheart?"

"Not really. You painted him kissing your hand in our playroom at Uncle Mike's house, so I kind of knew. Mommy kept telling us he didn't want to be our Daddy anymore, but I didn't believe her. I saw you painted
Daddy Loves You
in the stars, so I knew he still did." Jack felt tears rise as Jen spoke.

"Jen, I think your Daddy is a very special person who loves you and your sister more than anyone else in the whole world."

"Yes, but do
you
love him?"

Julie seemed to struggle with how to answer, but then looked up at Jack as he nodded slightly in case she was seeking his approval. When she looked back down she said "Yes, Jen, I love him very much."

Jen gave her a satisfied nod and said, "Good."

D
espite her expanding stomach, swollen ankles, and crazy cravings, Julie decided she loved being pregnant. In the two months since Jack's divorce was finalized, her life had turned completely upside down, but she was happier than she'd ever been. Jack was devoted to her, the girls had accepted her into their family with more enthusiasm than she expected, and her job with Baker Creative was challenging and rewarding.

As she finished frying their bacon that Saturday morning, she couldn't stop smiling at the chaos all around her.

"Daddy! Lisa won't give me my princess wand!" Jen cried into the open bedroom door where Jack was still getting dressed.

"Lisa?" Jack called. "Give the wand back to your sister."

"No!" Lisa screamed as she ran back into their bedroom to slam the door shut.

"You can come help me set the table if you want," Julie suggested to Jen.

"Fine," she huffed and dragged the little step stool over to the cabinet with the dishes. "Are you going to make pancakes?"

"Not today. Your mom is coming early and we don't have as much time as usual. It's either toast or frozen waffles."

Jen sat the plates on the table and went back for silverware while Julie took the cooked bacon out of the frying pan to cool. Jack came out of the bedroom wearing shorts and a t-shirt, his hair still damp from his shower.

"Is the coffee ready?" he asked as he sat at the table.

"Yup," Julie said as she poured a cup and brought it to him. "Here you go."

He gave her a peck on the cheek and grinned as she walked away. "How's the little man this morning."

"Playing soccer with my bladder," Julie said with a laugh. "I think he wants some bacon because he's been moving around the whole time I've been cooking."

"Doesn't that feel weird?" Jen asked as she sat down next to her father.

"It does a little," Julie said with a smile at her squeamish expression. "But that's the price to pay to get a little brother."

"I can't wait to hold him," Jen said wistfully.

"Just a couple more months," Jack said with real excitement in his voice.

"I bet you'll be a great big sister," Julie said. "And speaking of sisters, Lisa breakfast is ready!"

The girls' bedroom door flew open and Lisa ran down the hallway wearing her tall, conical princess hat and tapping everything she passed with a sparkily wand. "Pizzazzy! Pizzazzy!" she shouted with each tap.

Jack intercepted her with a hug and said, "No toys at the table. Go put them back for now."

"No!" she said with a frown of defiance, but it withered under Jack's parental glare until she sighed and muttered, "Fine."

By the time Lisa returned, Julie had put the plates of scrambled eggs and bacon on the table and sat down to join them.

"Will you get me orange juice?" Jen asked with a mouthful of bacon.

"You can pour it yourself," Julie said. "Just be careful and use both hands."

Jack and Julie shared a smile as they both sipped their cups of coffee. The girls would be going out with Sophie for a day at the zoo, leaving them some welcome alone time. Late-night sex was sometimes hard to arrange with frequent nightmares, trips to the potty, and thirsty girls. Julie didn't begrudge them anything, but she and Jack had been looking forward to spending the day together.

It would be Sophie's first unsupervised visit since court. After losing full custody, Jack found out Sophie had a breakdown and spent a week in a private facility paid for by her parents. After being released, she'd moved back to her parents' house to live while she sorted out her life.

After breakfast, Julie cleaned up the kitchen while Jack got the girls dressed for their trip to the zoo. The giggles and excitement were infectious, so after she started the dishwasher, Julie went into the girls room to join in the fun. She found them pretending to fight a daddy dragon who roared like the real thing. The girls had on their princess shoes and tall hats, but were wielding pretend swords to smite Jack.

"Save me, Julie Dragon!" he called as he struggled not to laugh.

"She's not a dragon," Jen declared. "She's a princess like us!"

"Three against one?" Jack cried, feigning horror. "That's not fair. Now I'm going to breathe tickle-fire!"

He attacked with wiggling fingers until both girls were rolling on the floor in helpless laughter. Julie got down on the floor with them, then attacked Jack with tickles of her own.

"Come on girls, let's get'em," she cried as her fingertips wormed under his arms.

"Yay, Julie-Mom!" Lisa cried as she jumped across Jack's legs to get his bare feet with her little fingers.

The shock of hearing Lisa's inventive name for her didn't stop Julie from digging into Jack's sides. When Jack began to buck and wiggle to get away from Jen's pursuit of his belly button, Lisa stuck her chubby little fingers under his chin making him give up.

"I surrender! Stop, I can't breathe!" He curled up in a ball to protect himself as the girls panted and laughed at him.

Jen withdrew first, sitting back to smile broadly at the scene and gave Julie a wry look. "Julie-Mom," she said as if practicing the name.

Lisa crawled up next to Julie and put her ear against her belly. "Jackson says he likes that name, too," she announced. "And now he wants to come out and play."

"Oh, not yet, Lisa," Jack said as he sat up against the wall. "He's still too little to play with us yet. We need him to get bigger first, but it won't be too much longer."

Lisa sat up and climbed into Julie's lap. "When we go to the zoo, I want to pet a monkey."

"You
are
a monkey," Jen said and scratched herself to mock Lisa.

"Am not!" she cried.

"Ooo! Ooo!" Jen said and climbed up to jump on the bed.

"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" Jack said as he pulled her into his lap.

Jack and Julie stared at each other for a moment, both grinning as they hugged the girls on their laps. When the doorbell rang, Lisa and Jen jumped up to run out of the room shouting, "Mommy's here!"

Jack got up first, then pulled Julie up from the floor with a sideways grin. "Come on, Julie-Mom."

When they got into the living room, the girls were jumping up and down around Sophie, showing their best monkey impressions. Julie forced her smile, but it was hard when Sophie glanced at her belly with a frown. Even though the words
white trash
weren't uttered, Julie could almost hear Sophie's thoughts.