" I feel guilty." Cara sighed as she and Sky sat in the airport.
" Same, but you need to talk to your mom." Sky agreed. Bexley and Josh had recently learned that Penny's mother wanted her back, and nobody was taking it well. Penny built up all of her walls again and was hard to get through to.
" I know." Cara agreed. They heard the boarding call for their plane, heading on.
The plane ride wasn't outrageously long, granted they both slept the whole time.
The pair woke again as the plane landed, wandering into the airport.
" Cara!" Anni called excitedly.
" Anni!" Cara collided with her sister, giving her a tight hug. Anni and Karl were the only ones that knew Cara was back home.
" Karl's in the bathroom." Anni supplied, turning to Sky.
" I have mixed feelings about you, right now." Anni stated.
" Fair enough." Sky nodded.
" But I'm giving you a hug anyway." Ann shrugged, pulling Sky into a hug.
" Hey Cara!" Karl ran over, giving his sister a hug.
" Hi!" Cara beamed.
" I can't decide how I feel about you but, currently, I have more respect for you than my own mother." Karl shook Sky's hand.
They made their way out of the airport and loaded into the car.
" Oh, and Papa's home." Anni said from the passenger seat.
" He's not working?" Cara tilted her head.
" He has been feeling great." Karl shook his head.
" Oh, okay." Cara nodded.
oOOo
" This is gonna be fun." Cara muttered as they pulled into the driveway.
" Tons." Karl agreed, climbing out of the car. They made their way into the house.
" Cara?" Leon, her father, looked utterly surprised.
" Hi Papa." Cara grinned, giving him a hug.
" Your mother didn't tell me you were coming home." Leon stated.
" Mother doesn't know." Cara replied. Leon then noticed Sky. Him and Sly had actually gotten along really well before the engagement was called off.
" Sir." Sky nodded.
" Well, I'm gonna assume something was fixed, you wouldn't be here otherwise." Leon said.
" Yea, is Mother here?" Cara asked.
" Cara?" Greta made her way down the hall, confusion written all over her face.
" Hi Mother." Cara turned. Greta's eyes traveled to Sky.
" You are not welcome in this home." Greta stated.
" Greta, I'm sure he wouldn't be here if it weren't for a good reason." Leon interjected.
" Doesn't matter he-"
" Mother, you told Sky if he didn't cut off our engagement you'd cut me off?" Cara interrupted. Greta's eyes grew wide.
" I did no such thing." Greta stated.
" Really? You sure?" Cara challenged. Sky stayed silent, already feeling extremely guilty about the drama.
" Did he tell you this?" Greta nodded to Sky.
" Yes."
" He's lying." Greta said quickly.
" I'm not." Sky said firmly.
" Mother, I actually would've questioned this if I was surprised. You had tried to sabotage our relationship from the beginning." Cara crossed her arms.
" I..." Greta paused, unsure about how to continue.
" Greta, is it true?" Leon asked.
" Of course it's not!" Greta snapped.
" Mother, if there's one thing I know, its when Sky's lying, and he wasn't." Cara said.
" But, I would never-"
" You threatened to cut our daughter off if she married Sky? Even worse, you threatened Sky, not Cara?" Leon pressed. Greta ran out of excuses.
" If you really cared about her, you would've stay quiet. Instead, you're tearing apart a family. " Greta looked to Sky.
" I-"
" He did hide it from me, up until I asked him why he called off our engagement." Cara cut him off.
" He should've kept it to himself." Greta snapped.
" I can't believe you." Karl muttered.
" What?"
" Cara was happy. Really happy. But you decided Sky was not good enough simply because of his heritage." Anni said somewhat quietly.
" Cara, you must understand, you were supposed to be with Johnny. Not some actor you met while on tour." Greta sneered at Sky.
" Johnny? You mean Leanna's son? The one she was trying to set me up with at Albert's funeral? Yeah, no thanks Mother." Cara snapped.
" Cara-"
" Mother, what you did is forgivable. But my forgiveness will not be going out until you admit what you did is wrong." Cara stated. She hugged her family and mother goodbye before grabbing Sky's hand and leading him out of the house.
oOOo
" So, what are the chances we'll loose her?" Bexley asked as she and Josh talked to Penny's caseworker Shannon.
" Well, her mother was an addict. While Penny was never touched by her mother, her mother's boyfriend was a different story." Shannon stated.
" If her mother can prove to the court that she's gone clean and will stay that way, she might have a chance." She explained. Bexley sighed, leaning into her chair.
" What if Penny doesn't want to go?" Josh questioned.
" Unfortunately, they very well could just write it off as she's young and doesn't know what she wants. It'll all depend on who's there." Shannon replied.
" And there's nothing we can do?" Bexley asked.
" I'm afraid all you can do is be the best you can be, and hope for the best." Shannon replied.
" We wanted to adopt her eventually." Josh stated.
" I could tell." Shannon nodded.
" Momma?" Penny wandered out of her bedroom.
" Down here, Penny." Bexley called gently. Penny made her way down the hall, climbing into Bexley's lap.
" I think it'll all work out." Shannon assured Bexley.
oOOo
" Penny, my baby!" Talisa Kilns called as soon as she spotted Penny. Penny jumped behind Josh as they entered the courthouse, hiding from her biological mother.
" Penny." Talisa called again.
" It's okay." Bexley knelt down. She didn't want to, but she had to let Penny interact with her biological mother. Penny slowly stepped out and gave her mother a stiff hug.
" Were they good to you?" She asked.
" Yes." Penny answered, not looking at Talisa.
" Why won't you call me mom?" Talisa questioned.
" Because you're not my mommy." Penny stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
" What?" Talisa looked utterly shocked.
" That's Mommy, and that's Daddy." Penny pointed to Josh and Bexley. Talisa's expression hardened as she scooped Penny into her arms.
" Thank you, but your services will no longer be required." Talisa tried to cradle Penny against her but the young girl fought.
" Down! I want down!" Penny pushed against Talisa. The woman almost dropped her. The second Penny's feet hit the ground, she scrambled to Bexley and Josh. Josh crouched down to give her a hug.
" Don't let her take me Daddy." Penny whispered. Bexley looked to Shannon as they heard that, heartbreaking.
" Penelope, is that how you treat your mother?" Talisa called.
" Hold on Ms. Kilns, Penny is obviously afraid right now, how bout we leave her be a bit?" Shannon got between Tailsa and the other three.
" Leave her with them? They've plagued her mind. I am her mother!" Talisa tried to shove past Shannon.
" If you want to ever get custody of your daughter, this is not the way to do it." Talisa's lawyer swooped in. She called down, backing off.
" It's okay, baby." Bexley smoothed out Penny's hair.
oOOo
" Mr. and Mrs. Burrage, are you two not actors?" Talisa's lawyer, Richard, questioned.
" We are." Bexley nodded.
" So, the public eye is not a good place for a child." Richard turned to the judge.
" Hold up." Shannon jumped up.
" Is nobody gonna ask Penny what she wants?" She asked. The courtroom was silent.
" So, you can come to no conclusions without Penny's opinion." Shannon stated.
" I absolutely agree." Judge Mathers nodded.
" Penny, how about you come and talk to me for a little bit and we'll see what you want." He gestured for her to go into his office with Shannon.
" So, how do you think this is going?" Josh whispered. Bexley threw him a look.
" Yep, I agree." He nodded, taking her hand.
A few minutes later, Judge Mathers, Penny, and Shannon came out of his office.
" Now with Penny's words in mind, I can only come to one viable conclusion." Judge Mathers began.
" We do indeed like to keep biological families together but young Penny raised a good point Ms. Kilns, you tore apart your family when you started drugs and brought an abusive man into your home."
" I'm clean!" Talisa shouted.
" Let me finish." Judge Mathers said.
" You may be clean but, Penny associates a lot of bad things living with you. While the family she is currently with, loves her unconditionally. And while they aren't exactly normal to the eye, they are good for her. I simply cannot imagine removing her from her situation. With that, I am denying you,Ms. Kilns, legal custody of Penelope Kilns." Judge Mathers declared. Bexley let out a breathe she didn't know she was holding.
" Momma! Daddy!" Penny raced over to Bexley and Josh. Bexley pulled Penny into her arms as Josh hugged them both.
" Thank you." Josh turned to Shannon.
" I did nothing, simply told the truth." Shannon smiled.
oOOo
" Did court go okay?" JoJo and Ben basically sprinted to the door as Bexley, Josh, and Penny entered.
" I'm gonna go with a yes." Ben smiled, looking at everyone's grins.
" Yeah, you're stuck with me." Penny beamed.
" I wouldn't have it any other way." JoJo laughed.
The door behind them opened and closed again.
" You're back already?" Bexley turned to Sky and Cara.
" Someone," Sky threw a pointed look at Cara," Might've stormed out on her family."
" Yeah." Cara shrugged.
" Everything go well?" Sky asked.
" Yep!" Penny bounced.
" That's wonderful." Cara grinned.
" We're such a dysfunctional family." JoJo laughed.
" But a family nonetheless." Bexley agreed.
So, I was skimming through With Love and I realized how many plotlines I left open for me to continue in this book. This is gonna be wild. Hope you guys enjoyed. Until next time.