Remember Me (22 page)

“Look, the doctors asked me not to tell her the truth. I’m only bein’ quiet until the time is right. You think Sky wants me stoppin’ by the hospital like that? She hates it, but I’m not doin’ it for her. I’m doin’ it for you, Shayne, because the more active her brain is the faster she’ll remember that I’m not the man she’s in love with. Now, you can sit here wastin’ away to nothin’, or you can fight for them, because this is where the three of them belong.”

I shook my head. “Parker told everyone he’s the father. It’s never goin’ to be the same. Nobody is goin’ to want to help me get them back. Hell, the whole family thinks the idea of me bein’ a father is ridiculous.”

“Ash didn’t have to put your name on that birth certificate. Even if you asked her, it was ultimately her decision. She knew all along who she wanted their father to be. Don’t get me wrong, Shayne, but I don’t understand how you’d let a blood test
or her bastard father keep you from your kids.”

He was right.

Nothing should have stopped me from being with the twins. “So now what can I do? Her dad said he’d take me to court. I have papers issued against me. I could go to jail.”

“You get this fuckin’ old house perfect and you march your ass to that court house and file for custody.”

“I won’t win and you know it.”

“How do you know if you don’t try? Fight for what you want. Stop bein’ a pussy for once.” He meant that to calm the mood and for a second maybe it did.

“I ain’t a pussy. I just know that I don’t stand a chance against that man. Besides, he’s even got my dad on his side.”

Ford raised one brow. “I wouldn’t go that far.” He paused. “Have you ever tried to have a normal conversation with your dad about the twins? I mean, sure he knows the truth, but don’t you think it’s time for him to hear why you did what you did?
”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. No matter
what I say he’s not goin’ to support me. This was as much his idea as it was Ash’s dad.”

“I get that you’re hurtin’, but I still think it’s worth a try. Here’s how I see it. You’ve got two choices. You can give up, stop goin’ to work and let the bank take this house from you. You’ll find s
ome shit job or end up back at your dad’s shop, livin’ in a one bedroom apartment and wakin’ up to women that you can’t even remember their names. Or you can fight for what you want and maybe even get it. At least if you tried and fail, you can look back and know that you didn’t give up.”

His advice was fantastic. The only problem was that I didn’t know where to begin. “I don’t know how to make that happen.”

He stood up from the table and grabbed a piece of paper off the counter. “Get a pen and make a list of all the shit we need to do to get this house completely done.”

He sat back down and watched as I listed everything left to do. I slid the paper toward him. “Here.”

“Alright, so since we’re both off for the rest of the day, we’re goin’ to drive to Salisbury, stop by the hospital and see Ash before they move her, and then we’re going to the Home Depot and pickin’ up the rest of the stuff. I can’t be here every night, but you can count me in for a couple nights a week and at least Saturdays.”

“You don’t have to help me, Ford. I got myself into this mess. I can figure out how to get myself out.”

He laughed at me and took a drink of his coffee. “If I was in trouble, you’d be there for me, wouldn’t ya?”

I looked over at my cousin, feeling overwhelmed. Of all the people in my family that had given up on me, it was him that was pulling me off the ledge of giving up on my life. “Yeah, I would. No matter what it was, I’d be there, but I already owe you so much, Ford. You’re the last person I deserve to get help from.”

He leaned forward. “You’re my family, my kin. I don’t give a damn what’s happened in the past. This is more important than any of that. It ain’t about boyfriend-girlfriend bullshit. This is about your future and those twins deserve to be a part of this family, no matter who knocked their mother up.”

“Well that’s one way of puttin’ it.”

“You get what I meant by it.”

I did.

I completely understood why it was necessary to stop feeling sorry for myself and do something before it was too late.

I didn’t talk much during the ride to the hospital. Seeing Ash was difficult for me. Even though her hair was starting to grow back,
the scars were apparent. It always took me back to the days before it all happened. She’d complained of a headache and I was too stupid to think that it could have been something worse. Had I said something or forced her to go to the doctor we could have prevented all of this. I think in some ways I held myself responsible. Though indirect, I knew if I’d have made her, she would have gone.

Neither of us were sure about the time she was to be discharged. I’m sure her father had fought tooth and nail for her to be cared for privately, at home. With all of the technologies available, I didn’t understand why he thought taking her home was a good idea. If it were up to me I would keep her where she could receive the best care, but I wasn’t
a doctor and it certainly wasn’t my call. Besides, it had been months since her accident.

I think I knew something was wrong when I reached the outside of her room and heard her dad arguing with the medical staff.

“No, I was told that my daughter could come home.”

“Sir, the doctor thinks it would be a better situation if she was temporarily moved to the
rehabilitation center. He discussed this all with you last night. It’s only been eight weeks since she’s been taken off the ventilators. Your daughter needs constant supervision. The facility is fully equipped and we have a full staff that will be able to work with your daughter as often and she’ll allow us.”

“Hun, maybe we should just listen to them. If it will help her get better, don’t you want to try?”

His next words pissed me off so much that Ford had to grab my arm to keep me from kicking his ass. “We talked about this already. What if she doesn’t get better? What if that kid keeps pushing himself on her and she remembers? Do you really want to lose her again? She never has to remember her last words to me. She’ll be safe in our home. We’ll take care of the twins.”

I shook out of Ford’s hold and walked into the room. “Sorry for interupptin’.”

“Shayne, this ain’t a good time and you and I both know you aren’t allowed to be here. Don’t make me call security.”

I didn’t budge.
“Not a good time? Isn’t it, though? Her moving to better facility is a good thing. I mean, surely you want Ash to recover, right? You aren’t just tryin’ to take her home to keep her away from me, are you?” He stood there, shocked that I’d heard his conversation. “You know, I always knew you were an asshole, but I never believed that you would put your daughter’s well-being at risk to keep her away from the life that she loved.” I’d had it with him trying to keep me away from her and from the look on his wife’s face, she didn’t know half of what he’d done to me. “What happened when she visited you that day? Did she tell you to leave us alone? Did she tell you to stay away from us? You’ve got no right to do this to her!” I was more than angry.

He pointed towards the door
, but Ford walked in, having my back immediately. “I agree with my cousin.”

Ash lit up when she saw him and I wondered if she even understood what was going on. “I want both of these men escorted out of here, right now.
Call the police if you have to.” The truth hurt and he wasn’t about to admit that he was in the wrong.

The nurse rushed over towards us. “Maybe you should both wait outside.”

“We’ll go, just as long as we know she’s goin’ to the rehab center.”

The nurse smiled. “The doctor won’t release her to her father. He told him that yesterday and all last week. I think he thought he could pull strings, but for the sake of the doctor keeping his license, there’s no way he would release her,” she whispered.

It also helped that she’d seen me visiting Ash. I’d explained to her that Ash was my girlfriend and that we had twins. She wanted to help me, unlike the nurse from the shift before her.

Once outside of the
hospital I looked at my cousin. He shook his head. “That is some messed up shit, right there.”

Ash was still inside, probably dealing with more of her father’s bullshit
. I put my hand on his shoulder. “Maybe you should go back in and tell her everything’s okay.”

“I don’t need to tell her that, Shayne. Somewhere inside of her head, she already knows it. There ain’t no reason to give her false hope. If you’re goin’ to fight for her then we need to approach it with honesty.” He looked back toward the door and pushed me along. “Come on, lets get out of here. I’ve got a feelin’ that Ash will be
at the rehab center by nightfall. Then you can visit her whenever you want. Think about it Shayne, even if she doesn’t remember what you have, you can always show her all of the reasons why she fell in love with you. This ain’t the end, cuz.”

“So I should just ignore the protective order?”

“No!”

“I don’t want to go to jail and if I did I’d lose my chance of ever gettin’ the kids.”

“There’s got to be a way around it all. The first thing you need to do is call the courthouse and see what rights you have. Obviously it’s a phony charge. You’ve never been a threat to anyone. Your dad used to be good friends with the sheriff. Do they still hunt together?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea what my old man does with his free time.”

“You need to talk to him, Shayne. You’re goin’ to need as many people on your side as you can get.”

I couldn’t tell my cousin that I’d thought about ending my life.
He needed to see that I was strong, not someone weak and willing to give up.

My dad had never been in my corner and now more than ever he was pissed at me. I couldn’t count on him being on my side, but it was at least worth a try. If there was one thing I did know about my dad it was that he didn’t like being lied to or looked down upon. There was a chance that Ash’s dad actions could set my dad over the edge, and with his help I’d be able to finally take him down.

I suddenly smiled, realizing that maybe, just maybe, I could get them all back.

I thought about having Ash at home with me. I imagined coming home to her and the twins.
I’d be able to make her love me again, even if I had to start over. That thought gave me the motivation that I needed. Suddenly my hope was returning and I had a lot of convincing to do to make it all happen.

Chapter 28

Shayne

I walked into the office and saw him sitting there. He noticed me right away and crossed his arms. “I was wonderin’ if you were goin’ to ever talk to me again.”

“I need to get some things off my chest.”

“I’ve got a bunch to say to you, too, son. It seems I was wrong about a lot of things. It took some balls to do what you did for your brother and for this family. Had I have known the impact of what it would have done to you, maybe I could have done things differently.”

It was the nicest thing he’d said to me in as long as I could remember. “Dad, I’m not here to dredge up what could have been. I’m here because I can’t live without
Ashley or those kids. I’m the only dad they’ve ever known. I did it for Parker at first, but the longer I spent with Ashley the more I knew it was what I wanted. I know you could never understand, but it’s the truth. I love them. I’d die before I let anything to happen to them. I don’t care if I’m the uncle or the biological father. They’re my blood and I want to be their dad. Can’t you understand that? It’s never been about pride. Now, her dad is doin’ all he can to keep me away from them. I need to do somethin’.”

He
placed his hand flat against the desk. “Why couldn’t you come to me with this, Shayne? Why’d you let it get so out of hand? Your brother,” he cleared his voice. “He’s really disappointed your mother and I. I can’t say that I’m happy you took the blame, but I feel real bad for treatin’ you like you didn’t deserve to be a father. If all of this has taught me anything it’s that you’re completely devoted to those kids and their mother. I just wish I’d seen it sooner.”

“Dad, I’m not hear
for apologies. I’m here because I’m not givin’ up. I’m gettin’ a lawyer and I’m bringin’ my kids home. Ash would want it that way. She’d want them with me, livin’ in that house that I bought for them. She’d want them to grow up happy, not feeling like prisoners in that big house with that monster. To make matters worse, he had me served with a protective order. I can’t go within five-hundred feet of her.”

He started wiping his face with the palms of his hands. “
Jesus Christ. Are you really prepared to go against someone like him, son? He’s got a lot of friends in high places.”

I stood and paced around the room. “I don’t give a shit what he’s got. I’m gettin’ my kids back.”

I think it was at that moment where he knew that he couldn’t say or do anything to scare me out of it.

“I’ll support whatever you want to do, and if I need to get up and tell that judge you’re a good man, I’ll do it with pride, because I’m real proud of the man that you’ve become, Shayne. I don’t know when it happened, but you’ve changed.
Let me make some calls and find out how to get that protective order dismissed. He can’t use the law like that to his advantage.”