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Owen parked, and we got out, staring at each other blankly on the sidewalk.
He rubbed my arm. “I’m so fucking sorry, Devyn.”
“Yeah. Me, too.”
He brought me into an embrace. I closed my eyes, relishing every second of being in his arms. As down as I felt, I was still eternally grateful for Owen and his support.
I looked up at him. “Thank you for everything. Even if it didn’t work out, I will never forget what you did for me.”
He nodded and exhaled. “What are we going to do now?”
We.
“I don’t know.” I rubbed my eyes. “Maybe grab that Key lime on ice and eat our worries away upstairs after I round up the kids?”
“That sounds like a plan. Though I have to go into the office for a couple of hours first.” He smiled, lifting the bag he’d been holding. “But maybe they can help us finish off these road-trip snacks, too.”
I smiled. “Pretty sure we can share those with the whole building and still not make a dent.”
CHAPTER 11
Owen
Later in the afternoon, I had to go into the office for a few hours, but I couldn’t seem to concentrate. I kept looking at my watch, feeling stressed about how fast the minutes were ticking down to Monday morning. I tried to remind myself it wasn’t my problem—Devyn was just a friend, nothing more—but this was about more than just Devyn. In a very short time, I’d started to care about Frick and Frack, too. I couldn’t stand idly by while the state did God knows what with them. So I decided to call my friend Marcus, a family law attorney. We’d gone to undergrad together and still kept in touch.
Marcus picked up on the first ring. “O-man. Are you calling me from happy hour at a bar where you’re chatting up a beautiful woman and her equally hot single friend and you need a wingman—I hope?”
I chuckled. “Close. I’m sitting in my office annoyed that someone ate the yogurt I left in the fridge. I’m getting old.”
“Yeah, no shit. Yesterday I threw my back out leaning to put an empty can in the garbage. But how’s it going, man? How’s business?”
“Pretty good. The market’s on an upswing, so I can’t complain.”
“When are we going for happy hour? It’s been a minute…”
“Soon. I promise. But listen, I have a friend who has a family issue, and I was hoping I could pick your brain for some legal advice.”
“You do know this is the brain located inside the skull that holds the record at Kappa Sigma for most cans crushed against it, right?”
I laughed. “Sadly, you’re the best choice I’ve got.”
“What’s going on?”
Over the next ten minutes, I filled Marcus in on the crap going on with Devyn. I told him about her mother’s history of taking off, our unsuccessful trip to find Vera in Boston, and the recent CPS visit.
“Is the sister a fuck-up, too?”
I got defensive. “No, she’s nota fuck-up.She’s a good person, shit-for-brains. I wouldn’t be calling you for help on a Saturday if she wasn’t a good person.”
“Alright, well, then the best bet would probably be for her to go to family court and file a petition for emergency custody. I’d do it bright and early Monday morning, as soon as the courthouse opens, so when CPS comes back, there’s already a pending petition. It’ll show CPS that she means business, and emergency orders usually get heard within twenty-four hours, maybe even that afternoon.”
“Does it matter that she lives in California?”
“She’s there now?”
“No, she’s here in the City with the kids. But her permanent residence is out there.”
“Would she want to leave the state with the kids immediately?”
