Chapter Twenty
Evie
The babysitter had handed me an envelope before she left and mentioned something about it being delivered to the door. I didn’t think much of it because Larry, our postman, sometimes liked to just say hi.
I tore open the envelope, expecting something mundane—a bill, maybe a reminder for an appointment. But as I unfolded the papers inside, my heart sank. It wasn’t a card. It wasn’t anything close to mundane.
It was legal documents.
I’d been served.
And Tammi wouldn’t have known.
I scanned the top line, the words blurring together as if my brain refused to process them.
But there it was in bold, official lettering: Petition for Custody.
A cold sweat broke out along my hairline, and the room seemed to tilt on its axis. My fingers trembled as I flipped through the pages, each word cutting deeper, each paragraph ripping me apart.
The petitioner: Kyle Grayson.
Hayden’s father.
The man who had ripped so much away from me without so much as a backward glance when our son was born. The man who had made it abundantly clear that he enjoyed manipulating me more than loving me. The guy who wanted no part in Hayden’s life. And now, suddenly, inexplicably, he wanted custody?
I remember when our divorce was finally granted, he sent a message loud and clear. His cold eyes had locked on mine, and he told me he would take something from me that I cared about more than life itself.
And then I waited.
The first few years after Hayden was born, I’d readied myself for him wanting involvement. When that didn’t happen, secret relief trickled its way through me until I finally reached the point where I believed he just might leave us alone.
But there was always that worry.
That he’d show up announced and try to whisk Hayden away.
And now, this…
I gripped the counter to balance myself, the papers crumpling slightly in my hands. My chest ached. A dull ache spread down my arms as my breaths came in shallow and fast spurts.
This had to be a mistake.
It had to be.
But the black ink stared back at me with cold finality. He’d signed the papers. He was serious.
“Mom!” Hayden’s voice jolted me out of my spiraling thoughts. “The tower fell over again!”
It felt like I was in a room with no air where everything echoed into itself…my thoughts, fears, and son.
I sucked in a shaky breath and steadied my voice. “Coming!”
He couldn’t see me like this. He was too perceptive. I had to pull myself together.
Folding the papers back into the envelope, my hands shook as I tucked them into the drawer beneath the counter. Out of sight, but not out of mind.
Never out of mind.
When I entered the living room, Hayden looked up at me with his bright, trusting eyes, holding a LEGO piece in his small hand.
“Mom, can you help me fix this?”
“Of course, sweetheart,” I said, forcing a smile that felt more like a grimace. My knees wobbled as I crouched next to him, the weight of the envelope pressing down on me like a boulder.
He started explaining his plan for the tower. “The piece here. And then the yellow ones on this…” His voice bubbled excitedly.
I nodded along, murmuring encouragement as my mind raced.
Why now? After all this time, why was Kyle coming back into the picture? What game was he playing?
There was never a doubt in my mind that what bothered him most was that I ended things with him. That he didn’t do it first. Our relationship had been based on him calling all the shots.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry.
The thought of him in Hayden’s life, disrupting the little world I’d built for us, made my stomach churn. He didn’t know Hayden. He didn’t know the first thing about raising a child, let alone one as special as my son.
Hayden didn’t even know Kyle existed.
Not really, anyway.
“Mom?” Hayden’s voice brought me back again, and I realized I’d been holding the same LEGO piece for too long.
“Sorry, honey,” I said, handing it back to him. “You’re the expert. Where does it go?”
He grinned and pointed to the base of the tower. I helped him press it into place.
For his sake, I had to hold it together.
For our sake, I had to stay strong.
But the moment he moved to watching a cartoon, I stood up and walked into the kitchen.
I pulled the envelope from the drawer, staring at it as if it might burst into flames. My head spun with questions.
What was Kyle’s angle? Did he think he could just waltz in and take Hayden from me? Did he think a few years and a piece of paper could erase the abandonment, the silence, the complete lack of care?
I grabbed my phone and hovered my fingers over the screen.
I needed help.
I needed advice, but I had no idea where to start.
There was no way I was going to burden Liam with this.
In fact, this very predicament was my worst fear with him.
I needed my mom.
She’d know what to do.
She always did.
With shaking hands, I dialed her number.
The phone rang twice before her familiar voice answered.
“Hey, sweetie! How’s everything going?”
Hearing her warmth and steadiness almost broke me.
“Mom.” My voice cracked.
“What’s wrong? Is it Hayden? Is he okay?” Panic was in each syllable.
“It’s Kyle,” I said, my words tumbling out in a rush. “He filed for custody. I just— I don’t even know what to do. He hasn’t been in Hayden’s life at all. And now this?”
She was silent for a beat as the words sank in.
“Evie,” she said gently, “take a deep breath. We’ll figure this out.”
“How?” I whispered, gripping the counter again. “How do I fight this? What if he takes Hayden? What if—”
“Stop,” she said firmly but kindly. “He’s not taking Hayden. Not now, not ever. You’re his mother. You’ve been there for him every single day. Kyle doesn’t get to show up out of the blue and disrupt everything.”
“Tell that to the courts.”
“Oh, we will.”
“I can’t lose him, Mom,” I said, my voice barely audible.
“You won’t,” she said with certainty. “You’re stronger than you think. And you’ve got a whole community behind you—friends, family, people who love you and Hayden.”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“We’ll start with your lawyer,” she said matter-of-factly. “And we’ll go from there. You don’t have to do this alone, Evie.”
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “Thank you, Mom.”
“Always, sweetie,” she said softly. “Now, take a deep breath. Hug Hayden. And remember—you’ve got this.”
As I hung up, her words lingered in the air.
I didn’t feel strong, but I had to be.
For Hayden.
For us.
Always us.
I wiped my eyes, squared my shoulders, and turned back toward the living room.
One thing was certain. I wasn’t going down without a fight.
I stood in the doorway and watched Hayden as he carefully placed another LEGO piece on top of his tower while watching a cartoon.
His face was a picture of concentration, his small tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth as he worked. His whole world was this moment, this little task, and he had no idea the storm brewing just a room away.
Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, and I swallowed hard, trying to push them down. I couldn’t let him see me unravel. Not when he relied on me to keep everything steady, safe, and cozy.
Without thinking, I stepped into the room and knelt beside him.
“Love you,” I said, pulling him into my arms before he could protest.
His little body squirmed at first, then relaxed against me.
“Mom,” he said, his voice muffled against my shoulder. “You’re squishing me.”
I laughed. “Sorry. I just needed a hug.”
He tilted his head back and looked up at me with those wide, innocent eyes that always managed to pierce right through me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just…extremely proud of you. And I love you so much.”
He gave me a dubious look, but his lips curled into a small smile.
“I love you too, Mom.”
I held onto him a second longer than necessary as my heart ached with a mix of gratitude, fear, and the unknown.
He was my whole world, and the thought of anything threatening that world made me feel like I couldn’t breathe.
“Now, go finish that tower before it topples over.” I nudged him gently toward his masterpiece.
He went back to work as his focus shifted effortlessly back to his LEGOs. I stayed on the floor for a moment longer, watching him as everything weighed on me.
How had my quiet, happy little life gotten so complicated?
I’d worked so hard to build this home for us, to create a space where Hayden could thrive and grow without worry. The house wasn’t big or fancy, but it was ours, filled with the love and laughter of our little family of two.
The walls were painted in colors we’d picked out together, his drawings were taped up in the kitchen, and every corner held a story of how far we’d come.
Now Kyle wanted to bulldoze through all of that.
I stood up and wandered into the kitchen, needing something to do with my hands. I opened the fridge and stared at its contents without really seeing anything but a blur.
This was going to change everything. No matter how it played out, my life wouldn’t be the same.
And Liam—oh, Liam.
The thought of him sent a sharp pang through my chest.
He became a steady light in my life. He made me laugh when I didn’t feel like laughing. He made me feel seen in a way I hadn’t felt in years. And then there was Hayden, who had taken to Liam as if they’d known each other forever.
But this moment right here was exactly why I kept trying to keep him at arm’s length.
Now, all I could see was the mess ahead of me. Legal battles, stress, sleepless nights—dragging Liam into this chaos wasn't fair.
He deserved someone without the kind of baggage I carried, someone who didn’t have to fight tooth and nail just to keep their life from falling apart.
I closed the fridge and leaned against the counter.
My fingers tapped nervously on the surface, and I could already feel myself pulling back, retreating into the walls I’d built to protect myself and Hayden. It was instinctive and automatic.
I didn’t want to let Liam go. But how could I ask him to stay?
Hayden's laughter in the other room pulled me out of my thoughts. I peeked around the corner to see him carefully balancing the last piece of his tower, his face glowing with pride.
“It’s done!” he shouted, throwing his hands up in victory.
“Let’s see!” I said, forcing a smile as I walked over to admire his work.
The tower was a little lopsided but undeniably impressive for a seven-year-old.
“That’s amazing, Hayden. You’re an architect in the making.”
“Can we leave it up for a while?”
“Of course,” I said, ruffling his hair. “It’s a masterpiece.”
As he turned back to admire his creation, I couldn’t help but think about the future. What would Hayden’s world look like a year from now? Would it still be just the two of us, or would Kyle find a way to force himself into our lives? Would Liam still be here, or would I have pushed him away by then?
The uncertainty was crushing.
But one thing was clear.
I had to protect Hayden. No matter what it took or how hard it got, I had to fight for him. And if that meant keeping Liam at arm’s length, so be it. He didn’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire of my past.
“Mom?” Hayden’s voice broke through my thoughts again. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I blinked, realizing I’d been staring into space.
“Yeah, sweetie. I’m fine.”
“You look sad.”
I crouched down to his level and took his hands in mine. “I’m not sad. Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you.”
He gave me a big, toothy grin. “I’m lucky to have you, too.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away, pulling him into another hug.
“Alright, go wash up for dinner. I’ll get it ready.”
As he ran off to the bathroom, I stood in the quiet of the kitchen. My heart ached for the life I wanted, for the happiness that felt so close but just out of reach.
And for Liam.
The man who made me believe, for a fleeting moment, that maybe, just maybe, I could have more than this quiet little home.
But tonight, I couldn’t let myself dream. Tonight, I had to focus on what mattered most: keeping my son safe.