He slipped the ring onto her shaking hand.
She pulled him up into a kiss that said everything else didn’t matter—because she had her whole damn sky now, and he was right there under it with her.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Shane drove to the courthouse.April sat in the passenger seat, purse in her lap, fingers twisting the most beautiful ring in the world on her finger. Clouds gathered on the horizon as the forecaster on the radio promised rain throughout the day. April watched the landscape roll past the window without really seeing it.
"You okay?" Shane asked for the third time.
"No." April looked at him and smiled. "But I will be."
They pulled into the courthouse parking lot, and April's heart kicked into overdrive. This was it. This was where she either kept her son or lost him to the man who'd tried to destroy them both.
Shane cut the engine and turned to her. "Whatever happens in there, we're in this together. You, me, and Kevin. Nothing changes that."
April nodded, not trusting her voice.
They walked into the courthouse together, then through security and the metal detector—Shane had to leave his weapon in the SUV, and she could see how much he hated it. Then down the marble-floored hallway, their footsteps echoing.
Gabriela was waiting outside the courtroom with her briefcase and her game face on. She'd asked her parents andsister not to come—they were watching Kevin at Riversong because she'd wanted something normal for him today.
So she was shocked to see her family there—her Watchdog family.
April stopped short. Rochelle and Gabe. Wren and Elias. Waylon with Frankie and her baby bump. Ellie and Bear with Star in his arms, her tiny hand curled around one of his fingers. That sight alone was enough to make April cry a river to rival the St. Vrain. Gina and Lach. Arden and Kyle. Ben, who smiled when he saw her wearing the ring Shane told her he’d spent a week crafting just so she could wear it today.
Her throat went tight.
"What are you all doing here?" she managed to squeak out.
"Supporting you," Rochelle said simply. "What else?"
April's eyes filled with tears. Seeing her friends here, seeing the people who'd become her family?—
"Thank you," she whispered. “Thank you.”
And then her fortress of friends converged on her and she was literally surrounded by love. One hug after another, after another. A thousand words of encouragement. And from Mountain Division, whispered promises of protection, no matter what.
Then came the cheers when she held up her left hand. “I said yes!”
She hugged Ben a second time, kissed his cheek, and thanked him.
Shane's hand was warm on her back. "You ready?"
April looked at the courtroom doors. At Gabriela with her briefcase full of evidence that might not be enough. At her friends who'd shown up to bear witness.
"I am now."
Vince arrivedten minutes later with a lawyer who looked like he charged more per hour than Riversong made in a month.
Where is he getting the money for this?
As if to mock her, Vince was in a Louis Vuitton suit—charcoal gray, perfectly tailored. His hair was perfectly gelled and styled. His shoes were polished. He looked like a successful businessman, not a convicted felon fresh out of prison. He smiled when he saw her. That same smooth, confident smile that had fooled her once.
April felt sick.
Vince took out his phone. His thumbs tapped quickly. Who was he texting? His lawyer glanced at him and frowned, said something low that April couldn't hear. Vince pocketed the phone with a shrug.
Shane's hand tightened on April's shoulder.
