Page 6 of Harts & Hurts

“I will.”

Soon, it was just Anistyn, Melrose, me, and Attorney Clark. He led us to his office. Once we were comfortable, he laid out exactly what we needed to know before we met with the judge.

Like he promised he would, my dad met me at my vehicle with Melrose’s car seat and baby bag. From the parking lot of the law office, I followed Anistyn to her parents’ home. Her mother invited us in, gave us lunch, and fed and changed Melrose while we ate. When it was time for us to leave, she loaded us up with baby essentials before sending us on our way.

I thought we would go to my hotel room, but we ended up at Anistyn’s apartment. I didn’t know much about Anistyn. We’d never had the occasion to interact while growing up in Fort Jackson. She was about three years younger than me, so we never had class together, and there was the obvious fact that she was a Melrose, and I was a Hart. Even though I didn’t really know her, when I stepped into her apartment, I could tell that it suited her. Everything was crisp and clean—the walls were white, the furniture and room decor were both neutral—but there were touches of warmth all around. The sofa was overstuffed, and there were way more throw pillows on it than were needed. She had a blanket draped across the back of the armchair and a basket of blankets situated next to the sofa. It was obvious that the girl liked to be cozy.

Melrose had fallen asleep once Mrs. Hurt had changed and fed her, and she was still sleeping. Rather than remove her from the car seat and risk waking her up, I just carried the whole thing into the house.

“Sit anywhere you like,” Anistyn told me, slipping out of her shoes. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Nah, I’m good.” I slipped out of my shoes as well and followed her into the living room. I took a seat on the sofa, setting Melrose’s car seat at my feet.

“Oh my goddess.” She let her head drop down into her hands. “This is so much.”

“No lie.” I agreed.

“I never saw this coming. I never saw having to bury my sister, let alone being asked to take in her daughter.”

“No lie,” I repeated because, as far as I was concerned, Anistyn was two for two.

“But that’s neither here nor there at this point. At this point, we have to figure this thing out. This custodial thing. We’re doing it because to not agree to do it would mean Melrose in a foster home for however long it would take for our families to act like they have good sense.”

“It’s us versus the world.”

She chuckled lightly. “But I live here, and you live . . . Where do you live, Griffin?”

“Jackson Island, South Carolina.”

“Oh, okay. So not far, just the next state over.”

“But a world away.”

“And I know you’re a whole hometown hero and stuff. I mean, every time the mayor gets a chance, he mentions you and your success in professional sports.”

“Yeah. He’s my cousin. Gotta make sure to promote that family name.”

She gave a small smile. “I know how that goes. Anyway, I don’t follow sports, but I remember in high school you played football. You played professionally, right? I feel like I heard something about you retiring.”

“I played football for eleven years and retired last year to host a show that follows professional and college franchises in the southeast from Virginia to Florida, from Florida to Texas, from Texas to Arkansas, and everything in between.”

“Nice.” She nodded her head. “The studio’s probably close to Jackson Island, so you probably need to stay there, huh?”

“The studio is in Charleston. It’s definitely more convenient to do this co-guardianship thing from Jackson Island. The commute would be a lot easier, but it wouldn’t be impossible for me to do it from here. Maybe the execs would be willing to let me do it remotely. Maybe they could set up a satellite office for me to tape from.”

She seemed to ponder the situation for a few moments. “The only thing about staying here is that those people Melrose is related to would be right here, . . . stirring up trouble and keeping score on which family is spending more time with her than the other family. They would want a say in who gets to keep her while we work, which pediatrician she sees, Dr. Hart or Dr. Melrose. They would never shut up about which church she could attend, Pastor Hart’s Church or Pastor Melrose’s church. Which day care center she could attend, the one your auntie owns, or the one my cousin owns. It would be never-ending.”

“Getting her outta Fort Jackson sounds more and more like the move.”

“Yeah.” She was pensive. “I’ll just need to relocate.”

“Damn.”

“Nah.” She shook her head. “It’s not a big enough deal for you to feel bad about it. I rent this little apartment, I take classes online, and I work a part-time job. My life isn’t some big, fancy production. I’ll just need to find a place to live and a new part-time job in Jackson Island. Do you think you could recommend a realtor or know somebody who could recommend a realtor?”

“How do you think the judge is gonna view us living in two separate residences? I mean,” I continued quickly, “Mr. Clark said that, based on our family history, the judge is gonna be concerned with us providing a unified home for the baby.”

“Do you think he’ll expect us to live together to provide a unified home? I’ll do what I have to do for the baby’s sake and to honor Ashlynn and Fisher’s wishes, but I would feel terrible about crashing your home. You’re a single guy. It seems kinda unfair to drop both a baby and a strange woman who happens to be from the family that your family despises into the sanctity of your home. That seems like a lot.” A thought seemed to occur to her. “Have you told your girlfriend that you’re being required to take custody of a baby, an infant baby? What does she think? Is she the maternal type?”