Restoration Teaser

“Nessie, why don’t you come with me and we’ll get some candy from the vending machine,” Carlisle smiled, offering her his hand.

“I want to stay with my Daddy,” Nessie grumped.

“Vanessa Lynn, go with Mr. Carlisle,” Jacob said sternly, kissing her forehead. “We’ll go out for lunch after we talk, okay?”

“Anywhere you want, Miss Nessie,” Marcus grinned. “My treat.”

“Gameworks?” Nessie asked.

“It’s a date, Miss Nessie. You’ll have to show me your mad skills with Dance, Dance Revolution. I’m the reigning champion in the Volturi family,” Marcus said with pride.

“You think your all that,” Bella quipped. “I beat you the last time we had a staff outing, Marcus.”

Marcus glowered at Bella, causing Nessie to giggle. Bella held out her fist to Nessie, who promptly bumped it. With a kiss to Jacob’s cheek, Nessie went with Carlisle while Essie stayed in the conference room.

“Marcus, what did you find out about Leah?” Jacob asked once Nessie was out of the room. “And why can’t I take her home?”

“Our private detectives, working in concert with the Port Angeles Police Department, found out about Leah’s boyfriend. He is a drug dealer. He’s using Leah’s apartment as his stash house. What we’re trying to find out is if Leah is using drugs. If she is, her visitation rights will be permanently revoked and possibly, her parental rights removed. Additionally, Leah’s boyfriend is also on the sex offender registry. His flavor of choice is little boys, but in my mind and in Bella’s opinion, we refused to put Nessie back into that environment, even if it was supervised,” Marcus explained.

“But, why can’t I take her home? Leah is most likely going to lose her parental rights. I want to take my baby girl home with me and start fresh,” Jacob said, his arms crossed over his massive chest.

“Jacob, Nessie has finally settled into her new school. She has friends and a support system with Carlisle, Essie and their daughter, Alice. Not to mention you. I’m not a psychologist, but uprooting her now, especially since she will be losing her mother, would be detrimental for her. It would be best to keep her with the Cullen’s, letting her finish out the school year with them. There’s only a few months left,” Bella reasoned.

“Why do I think there’s more?” Jacob asked, narrowing his eyes at Bella.

“The statement about a fresh start,” she responded, staring back at him. “Knowing what you do now, do you want to take your daughter and run?”

“Honestly? Yes,” Jacob said, his brows furrowed. “But, I also want to be divorced from that bitch.”

“As a parent, though, you want to ensure the safety of your daughter. You want to take her away from the dangers in life. In this case, your ex-wife and her creepy boyfriend,” Bella rationalized. “It’s my job to look out for Nessie. That’s why Marcus asked me to represent her. You are not thinking with your head, but your heart and your fear. I get it. I do, but this is what’s best for her. You can see her every day, every night.” Bella gave Jacob a smirk.

“Shit. You know I’ve spending nights at the Cullen’s,” Jacob grumbled. 

Restoration Teaser

“We’re almost done with the restoration, Esme,” Garrett said. “I can’t believe how quickly we got this done.”

“We have the right impetus to get it done,” Essie smirked, waggling her brows. Garrett chuckled. 

“The furniture will be delivered tomorrow and that way, you’ll have the whole weekend to reunite with Bella. I’ve spoken with her and she hates deceiving Edward, but figured it would be the only way to make it work. They’ve been texting back and forth, but he’s hesitant to meet her and Bella is afraid that he’ll reject her.”

“Pfft,” Garrett snorted. “Once he sees her, he’ll crumble. He’ll swoop her into his arms and kiss her stupid. The fact that they’re talking says a lot. Okay, texting. Your conversation with him a couple of weeks ago really helped him understand what she was dealing with. And her conversation with Marcus helped her stop thinking so much. She’s following her heart. Speaking of Marcus, how’s that little girl you’re fostering?”

“She’s amazing. So sweet,” Essie smiled. “It’s so sad that she has to stay with us since her mom is an epic bitch.”

“Huh?”

“So, long story short, Nessie is the only child of this couple that is in the middle of this horrific custody battle. Nessie wanted to live with her Dad. Nessie’s mom said she’d rather drink hydrochloric acid than let her daughter stay with him. Nessie doesn’t feel safe with Mom since Mom’s boyfriend is a perv. Anyway, Bella came up with an alternative that both parties were agreeable to. Nessie is staying with us until the judge could make a decision about custody since mediation did not work. Hopefully by summer, Nessie will be back with her family, her dad. He wants full custody and for his ex-wife to have minimal supervised visitations,” Essie explained. “Marcus and Bella are working on finding Mom and boyfriend in the act of doing something stupid to make it happen. Their private detectives have been trailing them since the mediation.”

Restoration Teaser

Bella was in a meeting with Marcus, his client, Jacob Black and his daughter, Nessie. She felt her cell phone vibrate on the table. Picking it up, she recognized the number and the handsome face that went along with it. I miss you ~ E. She smiled softly, running her fingers down the picture of the most handsome man. “Is that your boyfriend?” asked Nessie.

“A friend,” Bella replied. “A very good friend.” She smiled at her young client, running her fingers through her dark, chocolate hair. Turning back to the phone, she responded. I miss you, too ~ B

“Bella, are we all set for our meeting with Mrs. Black with the mediators?” Marcus asked.

“Yes, Marcus. Nessie and I discussed at length what she wanted. I told her that she had three options. The first one was to stay with her grandparents in La Push while her parents figured out what was best,” Bella said. “But, their age and disabilities are significant challenges that can’t be ignored.”

“I don’t want to go there. It smells in their house,” Nessie grumbled. “Old and nasty.”

“The second option was to stay with her mother,” Bella said. Jacob growled at that. “Nessie said no to that, too. She told me about what happens at her mother’s house and I don’t feel like it would be an appropriate placement.”

“Mommy’s boyfriend looks at me funny,” Nessie shuddered. “Like he wants to kiss me.” Nessie was seven and clearly afraid of her mother’s boyfriend. Bella did not feel comfortable sending her into that environment.

“And the third option is to stay with you, Mr. Black,” Bella explained. “That’s what Nessie wanted, but I also prepared another option if your wife raises a ruckus. Nessie could stay with a friend of mine in Forks. It’s close to your parents in La Push and near your place of employment in Port Angeles. My friend, Esme Cullen and her husband, Carlisle, are upstanding members of the community. They have a teenaged daughter that just turned sixteen. They are registered foster parents with the state and have fostered children before.”

“I want to stay with you, Daddy,” Nessie pouted. “But, Miss Bella said that if Mommy is being mean, it could be a … What’s the word?”

“Compromise,” Bella laughed. “We know that your wife is also spinning some sort of sordid tale to get Nessie back in her care. As Nessie’s lawyer, I think that this could be the best for all involved if that is thrown out there as a compromise. In regard to visitation, you can see her any time, no stipulations on when. For your wife, her boyfriend cannot come and the visitation will need to be supervised.”

Jacob

Nessie