Chapter 2 shifts entirely to Chip Proctor’s point of view, and it does excellent work establishing him as more than the jet-setting hedge fund playboy he first appears to be. Arriving at his late brother’s home after the funeral with his supermodel girlfriend Mia in tow, Chip’s carefully guarded composure cracks the moment he senses his grieving four-year-old niece, Sadie, needs him. Their scene together, a knight-and-princess routine to coax her into eating lunch, is warm, funny, and genuinely moving.

Underneath the tenderness, though, the chapter builds real tension. Chip’s unexplained irritation at Rose caring for the children, a feeling he can’t quite justify to himself, hints at something deeper than ordinary in-law friction. His well-meaning but tone-deaf comment about Rose’s delayed arrival sparks a sharp, honest exchange between them that neither one backs down from, laying bare the grief and guilt both are carrying without either one saying so directly.

The chapter’s real hook comes when Chip’s parents casually raise the question of who will raise Sadie and Addison now, and both Chip and Rose reject the idea in unified, instinctive refusal, surprising even themselves. It’s a small but pointed moment that sets up the custody question at the heart of the book, and leaves readers, like Chip, sensing something is being kept from him about his own role in his niece and nephew’s future.

📖 Meet the Fae royal family — get Unlikely Guardian on Jamie Davis’s site:

jamiedavisbooks.com/books/unlikely-guardian/

 

Unlikely Guardian — Chapter 2

I pulled my Tesla to the curb in front of the unassuming two-story home. The normally quiet cul-de-sac had filled with vehicles today as the funeral goers returned to the family’s home following the graveside ceremony.

Mia, my girlfriend, tapped me on the arm as I stopped. “You don’t have to be all brave with me, Chip Proctor. It’s okay to let your walls down when we’re alone.”

“I suppose you want me to cry and let it all out.”

“If that’s what you feel inside, then yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do.”

I turned in my seat to face her. Damn, she was hot, even in the plain black dress she’d selected for today. Of course, hot was what supermodels did, even at somber moments like this one. “Mia, I can’t let this get to me right now. You know everything I have going on. I’m in the middle of the biggest mutual fund release of my career. If I let Bobby and Lili’s deaths in a fiery crash pull my attention away, even a little bit, I could miss a detail that would put the whole deal at risk.”

“That’s what you have a partner for. Eddie can handle it. You always say, ‘Eddie can handle anything,’ so let him deal with it for a few days. The final release isn’t for a month or so anyway. You know he’d agree with me. I’ll bet he even told you exactly that.”

I stared past Mia through the window at the mourners walking into the front door of what had been his little brother’s home. The service at the funeral home had been packed with friends from the community as well as the expected family members from both sides.

“I need to get inside. I have to check on the kids, Sadie especially. She’s old enough for this to scar her if we’re not careful.” At four, my niece was asking awkward questions of the adults around her about when she’d see her parents again. The heart-wrenching anguish of having to tell her each time that her mommy and daddy weren’t coming back, that they were in heaven, still ached inside. My nephew, Addison, at almost six months old, was lucky enough to be mostly oblivious to the loss.

“Go, be with them,” Mia said. “I’ll be right there, nearby if you need me. I have to check in with the agency to make sure they’ve cleared my photo shoots for the next few days. I think we should stay here a bit longer than we’d planned.”

“You’re the best, Mia. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through this without you by my side.”

“I’m not the heartless supermodel they make me out to be in all the tabloids, darling, at least not with those I love.”

I smiled and popped open the door to head inside. As I got out, I spotted the candy-apple red restored Pontiac Firebird parked in the driveway. A twinge of annoyance pulled at my attention. Rose had gotten back first from the graveside. She’d been staying with the kids since the accident. I shouldn’t be angry about Lili’s sister stepping in to care for the little ones, but something about it struck me as wrong. I don’t know why it bothered me. It wasn’t like I’d ever been the type to settle down and have kids. That had always been Bobby’s path in life. He took to it like a fish to water, which made me the perfect rich uncle, who visited often and spoiled the kids rotten.

I shook off the feeling of wrongness. Despite our history, I wouldn’t let Rose get under my skin today. She was the better option to care for the kids despite her usual penchant for traveling the globe to dangerous places on her archeological expeditions. If she had stepped in to take over full time, I should be glad the kids had family there to watch over them. I had to be strong for Sadie and Addison, and that included not letting Aunt Rosie push my buttons.

As I approached the house across the freshly cut grass of the front lawn, a strange sensation tugged at the awareness at the back of my mind. It was like I knew what the kids, especially Sadie, were doing and feeling at any given moment. I’d been having these feelings for days now, ever since the accident. Right now, I had a vision of Sadie crying alone in a room full of adults who could do nothing to soothe her pain.

She needed me.

I picked up speed and burst through the front door, my head swiveling as I searched for my niece. I spotted her sitting on a chair placed in front of a wooden snack tray. A paper plate with a half a ham and cheese sandwich and a dollop of macaroni salad on it sat in front of her. She hadn’t touched the food. Her eyes searched among all the faces around her, adults in conversation with each other and paying no attention to the sad little girl in their midst. Her big, wide eyes brimmed with tears.

In an instant, I found myself down on one knee next to her, my voice taking on a bad British accent. “My lovely Princess Sadie, your loyal knight Sir Chip is here to deal with any who would do you harm. Tell me where the dragon is, and I’ll slay it.”

Her sad eyes brightened, and she flung herself from the chair, wrapping her small arms around my neck. She squeezed with surprising strength for a little girl. I worried she’d started crying all over again until I heard a light giggle escape her. She let go and settled on my knee.

“Uncle Chip, you’re silly. There are no dragons here.”

I gave her a wide-eyed expression of shock. “No? Well, that’s because you don’t know where to look. Dragons can disguise themselves, you know. Why, any of these people could be monsters of one sort or another. Let me stay close and protect you while you eat your lunch.”

Sadie giggled again and slid off my knee to climb back into her chair. She took a bite of her sandwich and pointed across the room. “There’s a monster, Uncle Chip. Protect me.”

I glanced toward the door, following her pointing finger. Mia had just entered. “Surely not Aunty Mia? She’s the nicest lady in the whole world.”

Sadie shrugged and picked up her cup to drink some milk, her four-year-old mind already distracted and on to something else.

I marveled at how easily she was able to shift her mind away from things. It must be something all kids were able to do. I wondered where it went by the time people became adults. Being able to forget, even for a moment, would’ve come in handy at times like this.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t hear Rose walk up behind me.

“Sadie, dear, don’t let your uncle distract you from eating your lunch. You haven’t eaten a thing all day, and I don’t want you telling me you have a tummy ache later on.”

“Yes, Aunt Rose. See, I took bites already.” Sadie held up her sandwich to display how much she’d eaten.

“Well, good. Keep it up. You want to grow up big and strong like me, don’t you?”

Sadie nodded and took another bite, washing it down with more milk from her cup.

I stood and leaned close to Rose. I inhaled a whiff of her sweet perfume as I said, “She wasn’t eating anything and looked like she was about to cry when I came in, Rose. I was just trying to distract her from her sad thoughts so she could eat something. Is that so bad?”

“She’s been through a lot, Chip. All these people here are disrupting her day even more. Soon they’ll all be gone, and then she’ll be all alone to go to bed and try to understand why her mommy and daddy aren’t there to sing her to sleep.”

I felt the same strange ire I’d experienced outside in the car at the thought of anyone but me taking care of the two kids. I tamped it down once again. “Look, Rose, I know you’ve been here since everything happened and have stepped in to take care of Sadie and Addison. I know everyone in the family is thankful for that. But don’t take it out on us that you have to do it. I know it’s been hard.”

“No, Chip, you don’t. That’s the point. You got the news and put off coming down here until last night. Your latest business venture couldn’t be put on hold, I suppose. Now you’re here and you want to tell me what to do when I’ve been the one who’s been here doing what was needed the whole time.”

I held up a hand. “You’re right. I’m sorry. You’ve done so much. I know you and Lili were as close as Bobby and I were. Can we declare a truce for the next day or so? Honest. I don’t want to fight with anyone. I just want what’s best for them.” I glanced down at Sadie who sat carefully stabbing a piece of macaroni with her plastic fork before shoving it into her mouth. She didn’t need to see her two closest remaining adult relatives bickering at a time like this.

“Where’s Addison?” I checked around the room, expecting to see someone holding him.

Rose nodded toward the stairs. “He’s up in his room, down for a nap. At least he’s keeping to his usual schedule pretty well, despite all this mess.”

I smiled. “At least one member of the family is sleeping well.”

Rose’s mouth quirked up in a half smile of her own. “The gods will always bless the little ones at times like this.”

I let her strange turn of phrase pass by. I knew their family wasn’t particularly religious, but I’d never looked into what they believed. I didn’t really care. It wasn’t like I was up to evangelizing anyone. I hadn’t set foot in a church since I was a teenager. I still remembered the fight with my mom and dad about being old enough to choose my own spiritual path.

As if on cue, both my parents walked up at that moment.

“That was such a lovely tribute to your brother at the funeral home, Chip,” my mother said, pulling me close for a one-armed hug while she held her plastic cup in the other. I wondered if she’d raided Bobby’s liquor cabinet to spike her iced tea or if she was drinking it straight for once. I couldn’t detect any alcohol on her, but that didn’t mean anything. She’d always been good at hiding that part of her life as a mostly functional alcoholic.

“Thanks, Mom. I only said what was true. Bobby had it all, the perfect wife, family, and kids. It was too sad it all had to end so suddenly.”

My father clapped a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “She’s right, son. What you said set the tone for the service. I guess I should say you both did.” He smiled and reached out to take Rose’s hand as well. “Your words about Lili said so much about how much you looked up to your big sister, Rose.”

“Thank you, Mr. Proctor. It’s hard to know what to say at a time like this. I hope I was able to memorialize her in a way that did her justice.”

“I think everyone here would say you did,” my father said. “And please, remember to call us Chuck and Nancy. We’re all family after all, especially at a time like this.”

“Yes, dear,” my mother added. “By the way, has there been any word about a will or who will look after the children? Surely, they left some instructions on who they’ll live with now.”

Rose stiffened a little at the question. “It’s not been determined for sure that I know of. I think there is supposed to be a Counselor around later this afternoon to dispose of at least some of that.”

“Well, Chuck and I want to throw our hats into the ring. We would love to be the ones to raise the two of them if no one else is available. I mean, your parents are dead as well, Rose, and you have your career.”

“No.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise as both Rose and I echoed the same response to the suggestion simultaneously. While my parents wouldn’t do anything to overtly harm the kids, they were getting older and both had underlying health issues, not to mention my mother’s drinking problem.

“I’d assumed Rose would be taking on the job,” I said. “I mean, she’s been here since the accident and the kids seem to love her.” Even as I said it, something about it felt off to me. It left a bad taste in the back of my mouth. I pushed past the odd feeling and put on a smile of support for my sister-in-law.

Rose returned my smile. “Thank you, Chip. I hope I’ll have your support when the Counselor arrives. I’m unsure how things will shake out.”

A tug on the sleeve of my sportscoat pulled me away from the conversation. Sadie stood at my side again.

“Uncle Chip, can you come out back and push me on the swing?”

“Sure, kiddo. I was finished talking with Gram, Pop, and Aunt Rose anyway.” I let her lead me away from the others and walked out into the yard to play in the fresh air and sunshine. Maybe I’d forget about the events of the morning for a little while.

📖 Loved Chapter 2? Keep going — get Unlikely Guardian on Jamie Davis’s site:

jamiedavisbooks.com/books/unlikely-guardian/