A growl erupted from deep inside me.
“I feel the same way,” Gramps said. “But I know you, Landon, and everyone will do whatever they can so that dirtbag doesn’t see a day with our boy.”
I admired Gramps, but his next words really took my admiration to a whole new level.
“If they try any crap or come around here, they’ll find out what a good shot I am.” He gave me a no-bullshit look, and I had to choke back a chuckle. “And they have you at the condos. Now you should probably call your wife.”
When we got married, a marriage set up for her and Griffin’s sake, I’d thrown the word around without feeling. I wasn’t about to let myself think it was real. Over the last few weeks, the wordwifehad taken on its true meaning.
Hearing Gramps saying it solidified it even more.
I snatched up my phone and headed for the door. “I’ll call her from the car; I need to get to her.”
As I walked by Gramps, he patted me on the back. “Proud of you, son.”
Stopping in my tracks, I turned back toward him, closed the distance, and pulled him into a hug. Fuck, his words meant so much to me.
“I wouldn’t be where I am without you,” I mumbled. Then I pulled away before I got too emotional.
Keep it together.
My wife needed me to be clear-headed.
Chapter Nineteen
PATIENCE
I knew what was going to happen, and yet I still felt blindsided.
If I didn’t get my emotions together while at work, I might not have a job soon. The thought entered my mind, even though I knew it was ridiculous. Not one of the guys would do that to me. I was good at my job, and I loved working here.
As a teen mother, my priorities changed. My family didn’t have money for college; not that my mother and stepfather would have ever spent a cent on me, even if they did. I never really dreamed of going and wasn’t sure what exactly I would do if I’d gotten the chance.
Then came Griffin.
He was my priority and the brightest light in my world, which had been mostly lonely and sad. When Chaz noticed me, and all his friends acted as if they were mine, I’d fooled myself into believing it was real. And as hard as the situation was, I wouldn’t change a second of it because it gave me my son.
The same special little boy who Chaz had no right to afteryears of denying he was his and taking no part in helping raise him.
Landon had gotten the news of the paternity test, and we all knew what it was going to say, but now that it was official, I was scared. The gentle lawyer had taken me into his office, sat me down, and talked to me. It was as if a light had been switched. That gentle guy became fierce, something I’d only seen a few times.
Hope sparked in my chest when I got that glimpse of the hardcore lawyer he must be when his demeanor changed, and he told me that in no way would he allow Chaz or his family to touch a hair on Griffin’s head, let alone get any sort of custody.
Did I dare to believe him?
With him telling me he was going to take care of everything, I left his office trying to hold my head high, but fear was clawing at my chest. I got to the front desk and tried to busy myself with work, but I needed something.
Jett.
I needed to talk to him. To hear his voice. So, I tried calling him a few times but didn’t get an answer. The last couple of weeks had felt different. He wasn’t as distant, a bit more like himself. Jett was the one I always went to when I felt my world spinning out of control.
Why wasn’t he answering? I called Gramps’s house, and he answered right away, a smile in his voice when I told him it was me. I missed being there, but my place at the moment was as close to Jett as I could be.
When Gramps told me that Jett was in the garage playing, my heart fluttered with joy. He needed his music and had been denying himself that release that we both knew had gotten us through hard times.
I’d told Gramps not to bother Jett when he offered to go get him. I couldn’t disturb him when he was doing what hetruly needed. Always in tune with all of us kids, Gramps must have sensed something in my tone and wouldn’t let me off the phone until I told him what was wrong.
Unable to not do exactly what the old man said, I let it all spill out. With his encouraging and yet fierce words spoken on my behalf, I let him go and tried once again to dive into work, needing the distraction.
