“Hey, how are you?” I reach for her and pull her into a hug as she stands.
She holds me tight, lingering for a moment, and when I pull away, I see lines of worry cutting across her brow.
“What’s going on?”
She slumps onto the bench. “My ex is trying to get custody.”
“What? Why?” From what she’s told me, he has no interest in being a parent.
I put an arm around her because one thing I know about Evie is that she likes physical contact. She’s a snuggly person, which caught me off guard at first, but I’ve found I don’t mind it.
“I don’t know. He won’t actually talk to me. I didn’t think he would be out of jail this soon, let alone be vying for custody, and I don’t understand how it’s happening.” She inhales slowly, eyes closed, like she’s summoning calm or courage or both.
“This can’t be right, can it? What judge would let him have custody after he went to jail for kidnapping you and Jack freaking McKean?”
“I want to believe it won’t go anywhere, but I…” Tears gather in her eyes, but she sucks in a deep breath and squares her shoulders. “I’m not going to mope around about this, but I just had to vent and tell someone who understands about it. I don’t really have anyone else I can tell.”
“Dec doesn’t know?”
A pained grimace crosses her face. “I can’t tell him, Sam. I’m just too embarrassed.”
Someone else might wonder why she’s embarrassed by her ex’s bad behavior, but this strikes a bullseye in my heart. I know this feeling. I understand more than I’d like what it means to feel embarrassed and hurt by your own choices and then deal with the consequences of them in real time. I can only imagine that intensifies when you have a baby who’s affected by the choices.
I take her hand and squeeze it. “Davis will help. You said he did when you first got here, right?”
She nods. “He will. I can’t pay him what he’s worth, but he will.”
“Would Jack help?”
“Without a doubt and to an annoying degree if I let him.”
I’m not sure what she isn’t saying there, but I can almost feel her reluctance to involve the movie star. Same goes for Declan.
“I’m glad you told me. Please tell me when and how I can help, and I’m there.” I don’t know what I can offer her, but I’ll do anything I can.
We finally tuck into the lunch she packed for us, angelic woman that she is, and I tell her about my own plans to visitDavis. By the time we’re done eating and she has to get back, I’m anxious for her to get to the bottom of things with her criminal ex even more than I am for me to be done with mine.
“Are you going to talk to Grant?”
I told her about my realization that I want to try with him, and even that I think I do trust my judgement. After affirming this, she’s eager to know we’ve had it out and have decided to “get married, have babies, and live happily ever after,” which is wild.
But also… not terrible sounding.
“I am. He’s going to the meeting with Davis tomorrow, and we just ran into each other when I was on my way here and agreed we’ll talk after that.”
She scowls. “Why should you wait for after? Walk over there when he gets home and have your way with him!”
My laugh is not delicate—it’s sudden and surprised, and my cheeks bloom with heat. “Oh my gosh, woman, what the heck? I’m not about to come on to him when his girls are right there. And I need to make sure he’s still interested.”
She beams. “I don’t think that’ll be an issue, sweet friend.”
I glance at her. “No?”
She’s so confident when she shakes her head and gathers up her trash. “Nope. I’ve seen him look at you. He’s toast.”
Once I’ve walked her back to her work, I wander around the downtown streets. Mr. Khan greets me from where he’s talking with a delivery guy in front of his restaurant, then Mary Angela, who’s feeding a little bird and winks when she says, “Don’t tell.”
“Never,” I promise.
