Cole
Fuck.
I answer the call, forcing myself to keep my tone civil. “To what do I owe this pleasure, Evelyn?”
“I heard Jane had an issue at school.”
How the hell did she hear that? Mrs. Knucklebreather—I mean, Mrs. Knucklehorn—swore she didn’t tell the Labelles anything. “You’ll have to be more specific,” I state in a neutral tone. If she’s fishing for information, I won’t give her any.
“So you don’t know anything, yet you claim to be an attentive father.” She sniffs. “Although you know my stance onthat,so I’m not surprised youdon’tknow.”
She’s made it clear more times than I can count that she thinks running the brewery and being a father are incompatible.
I grit my teeth so hard my jaw aches. “Is there a purpose for this call besides trying to insult me?”
“We want Jane for the weekend.”
“We have plans.” We don’t, but like hell I’m going to hand over my daughter to this woman after she’s purposely insulted my parenting skills.
“You work on Friday and Saturday nights, either letting her hang out in that germ-infested swamp you call a brewery, around drunks and derelicts, or festering upstairs with a babysitter. Why won’t you let her be withfamily?”
The word is like a spike to my heart after all my in-laws did to drive Millie away. They never understood her and never tried. They only tried to force her into their mold, and I know deep in my marrow that they’ll try to do the same to my wild, free-spirited daughter, who is so much like her mother it makes my heart ache with loneliness at times. They tried to break Millie. I’ll be goddamned if I let them do that to Jane.
“No.”
“Excuse me?” Evelyn screeches in my ear.
“I’m not sure how to be any clearer and more direct. No. Jane will not be spending the weekend with you.”
Evelyn is quiet for several seconds before she says in a controlled tone, “Do you have something to hide, Cole? Does my granddaughter have unexplained bruises or injuries you don’t wish for me to see?”
The implications are clear, and I jerk upright in my office chair. “What the fuck?”
“Language,” she states in a disapproving tone. “Your crudeness only reenforces my belief that you are not providing a stable, loving environment for my granddaughter. Are you hiding something from me, Cole?”
The threat behind her words is also clear. She’s inching closer to pulling the trigger on seeking custody of my daughter. Her implication is that I should fall into line to keep it from happening.
Fuck that. I’m done playing her game.
“Go to hell, Evelyn. Millie left you and your family for a reason. The same reason you only saw Jane once before my wife’s funeral. Millie wouldhatethat you’re seeing our daughter at all, so the answer is no. You will not be getting her this weekend, nor any weekend in the future. I won’t risk you contaminating my daughter with your prejudice and snobbery.”
“You will only be forcing me to seek legal action, Cole,” she says, her words barbed with ice. “I’m not sure you want that. We have a lot more capital at our disposal than you do.” She pauses. “A little birdie told me you have less than a thousand dollars in your savings. You can barely afford the retainer for a shyster, let alone a good attorney.”
How the fuck does she know how much money I have in my bank account?
“Unless you want to risk us getting full custody and me doling out visitation with your daughter whenever I see fit, you’ll take my words to heart.” She inhales sharply. “I’ll send a car to pick up Jane on Friday at five. Have her ready.” Then she hangs up.
What the actual fuck?
I get up and pace my office, fuming for the next fifteen minutes before I need to go pick up Jane. Should I call one of Rory’s attorneys again? They’ll only tell me what they told me before:Play nice. But I don’t want to play nice. Playing nice only makes Jane a pawn in Evelyn’s twisted game of control. As her father, I need to do everything in my power to protect her.
I’ve calmed down by the time I park in front of the school along with several other vehicles. I have a few days to figure this out, so I decide to shelve it for now. I’ve had plenty of practice shelving issues, so even though this one is bigger than most, I still manage to shove it to the back of my brain.
A few minutes later, a group of kids exits the building, Jane taking up the rear. Holly’s not with them, which should be a relief—the last thing I need right now is to be on the receiving end of her sassy barbs—so I’m disgusted by the twinge of disappointment that hits me.
What the hell is wrong with me? Do Iwantanother woman to rip into me? Evelyn Labelle already took out a big chunk of my ass.
Jane climbs into my truck and fastens her seatbelt.
