Chapter thirty-five
Chapter 35
Rachel
Ican’t stop crying.
Not sad tears. Not scared tears. Just pure, overwhelming relief pouring out of me in ugly, gasping sobs that I can’t control, even though we’re still in the courthouse hallway and people are staring.
Jake’s arms are around me, and I’m soaking his shirt, and I don’t care. I won. I get to keep my son. Derek can’t take him away.
“You’re okay,” Jake keeps saying. “You’re okay. It’s over.”
Cole appears beside us, his hand on my back. Theo’s there too, and Marco, and they’re all just standing there letting me fall apart because they know I need to.
Patricia packs up her briefcase. “Rachel, we need to file the official custody order within forty-eight hours. I’ll handle the paperwork and send you copies. Derek’s visitation is contingent on him scheduling through me, so any communication goes through my office, not directly to you.”
I pull back from Jake enough to look at her. “Thank you. For everything.”
“You made it easy. You’re a good mother, and any judge with eyes could see it.” She shakes my hand. “Take care of yourself. And congratulations.”
She leaves, heels clicking on the marble floor.
“Where’s Tommy?” I wipe my face with the back of my hand.
“Still at the park with Sophie.” Jake checks his phone. “She says he’s on his third round of feeding the ducks and asking when he can get a pet duck of his own.”
That makes me laugh through the tears. “Of course he is.”
“You want to go get him?” Cole asks quietly.
“Yeah. I really do.”
We walk out of the courthouse into afternoon sunshine that feels brighter than it should. The parking lot is half-empty, and the town square is visible across the street, with its benches and flower beds. Normal. Ordinary. Like the world didn’t just tilt back into place.
Jake drives me to the park. The men follow in their own vehicles.
I spot Dorothy on a bench near the park's pond, Tommy beside her with a bag of duck feed. He’s chattering away, wholly absorbed in the ducks fighting over breadcrumbs.
“Mama!” He sees me and drops the bag, sprinting across the grass.
I catch him and lift him, holding him so tight he squeaks. “Easy, Mama! You’re squishing me!”
“Sorry, baby. I just missed you.” I kiss his forehead, his cheeks, and his nose. “Did you have fun with Dorothy?”
“So much fun! We saw seven ducks and two geese, and one goose was mean, but Dorothy said he’s just protecting his family.” He wiggles down. “Can we come back tomorrow?”
“We can come back whenever you want.”
Dorothy approaches with her cane, moving slower than she used to but steady. The fire took something from her. Not herstrength, but her ease. She’s more careful now, more aware of how fragile things can be.
“I take it the news is good?” she asks, eyes twinkling.
“Full custody. Derek gets supervised visits every other Saturday if he bothers to show up.”
“Which he won’t.” She pats my hand. “Men like that don’t actually want the responsibility. They want the control.”
“Thank you for being there. For testifying.”
