Fear filled Kyle’s eyes. “I hope not.” He leaned forward again, then got to his feet and paced toward the bookcase. “I’m such an idiot. I was so concerned about getting out of there that I never thought about Addison changing her mind. Which is exactly something she’d do. If she comes after Ruthie—”
“We need to be prepared. Which means we need to get proactive about this and go after custody. Sole custody. If she really doesn’t want Ruthie, it should be simple.”
Kyle turned and shook his head. “Nothing with Addison is ever simple. If she thinks there’s some way to make this work for her…” He looked sick to his stomach. “Dad, I have an awful feeling she’s going to want money.”
Mitch nodded calmly. “I’ve considered that. And if that’s what it comes to, so be it. I’ll pay her. But not until she signs over custody. I’ve already reached out to one of the best family law attorneys in the state. I hope you don’t mind, but this has been on my mind a lot since you arrived.”
Kyle returned to the couch and sat. “I don’t mind at all. I’m glad you thought about it. I cannot lose Ruthie. It would kill me.”
Mitch had no intention of losing that child, either. “I’ll need Addison’s information. Her address, her phone number, that sort of thing. We’ll get a custody agreement drawn up and have it sent to her as soon as possible.”
“Okay.” But the worry had yet to leave Kyle’s face.
“I know this is a lot to think about, but don’t get lost in what-ifs. Ruthie ishere. And we’re going to keep her here. It might sound crass but there are times when having money really does make a difference.”
Kyle nodded, still looking miserable. “I’m sorry about all of this. If I hadn’t left after mom died…”
“If you hadn’t left, you wouldn’t have Ruthie. Good things in life rarely come from choosing the easy path. This is all going towork out, you’ll see.” Mitch needed to believe that just as much as his son did.
Getting sole custody of Ruthie might be the hardest battle they’d face, but they’d do it together.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Ishouldn’t have taken this.” Frankie stared at the check in her hands, mainly at the amount on it. And then at Buck’s confident signature. Never in a million years had she imagined he would give hertenthousand dollars. “It’s too much. It’s way too much.”
Harper was behind the wheel, driving them home. “He wouldn’t have given it to you if he wasn’t able to afford it. You heard him. He’s been saving up a long time.”
“Even more reason I shouldn’t have taken it. This is years of scrimping and saving on his part.” Frankie sighed. “And for me to just take it. I feel like…like he’s going to think I’m using him. Or something.”
“Mom,” Willa said from the back seat. “You seriously need to stop overthinking this. Buck even said himself that if you didn’t take the money now, you’d just get it when he passed. And this way, he gets to enjoy the happiness of helping you now. He was practically laughing as he wrote that check. And Aunt Harper’s right. If he couldn’t afford it, he wouldn’t have offered.”
Frankie rubbed her temple. “Willa.”
“What? I’m right,” Willa said. “Aunt Harper, tell her I’m right.”
“She’s right,” Harper said. “You feel bad about it because you aren’t great at asking for help and you’re even worse at taking it.”
“That’s not true,” Frankie shot back, except even as she said it, she knew Harper was right.
Harper pursed her lips. “You mean the way you asked me for help when you were going through your divorce?”
Frankie sighed. “Point taken. But it’s a lot of money. It’s a game-changing amount of money.”
“I’ve never seen anyone look so happy as Buck did when he was writing that check.” Harper put the turn signal on and got around a slow-moving eighteen-wheeler. “And part of the reason that check is for so much is because part of that would have gone to me.”
“I know. Which also makes me feel bad. You want half of this? You should take half of this. It’s as much yours as it is mine.”
“No.” Harper laughed. “I don’t want it. I don’t need it. Just like Buck, I’m happy for you to have it. That’s why I told him to give you my share.”
“What if he expects…I don’t know. For us to be best friends after this or something?”
Harper shook her head. “Frankie, stop making more of this than it is. You needed help. Buck provided it. He’s our biological father. That’s what fathers do. Granted, we just reunited with him, but so what? He’s been thinking about us all of his life. Doesn’t that mean something? It’s more than Sharlene did.”
“Don’t get me started on her,” Frankie muttered. “She made a fool of me.” Frankie wanted to cringe every time she thought about how excited she’d been about that meeting. Only to find out they’d been an afterthought to their biological mother. A part of her past she would just as easily have kept behind her.
“She made a fool of herself, not you,” Harper said. “But Buck? He’s the real deal. There’s no reason not to make him partof our family. He is our family, no matter what happened all those years ago. Glenda’s a good person, too. Just seeing them together, the way they clearly love each other, that was really nice.”
“It was,” Frankie admitted. “They seem perfect for each other.”
