Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
There was a reason Mack had chosen not to go to college, and the spread of paperwork that was laid out before him was a big part of it. His head pounded, and his eyes burned as he settled back in his chair and scowled at the documents he’d printed.
He was still reeling from the confession Lacey had made regarding her parents. How could someone threaten to take away their child’s child? Granted, he would have understood if Lacey was involved in anything shady or dangerous.
But she was a good mother—more than good. There wasn’t a luckier kid in the world than Bridger Tipton. That boy was more loved, more cared for, and more protected than most children in the country.
The idea that Lacey’s mother would threaten to take Bridger from her was laughable, but also incredibly cruel.
Mack wasn’t sure it was even legal.
Which was why he had decided to pour over the custody laws of Montana. Right about now, he was really regretting it.
A sigh burst from his chest, and he arched his back to stretch it out. Noah wandered into the kitchen and stopped when he noticed the pages littering the table. His brows dipped together as he approached and picked up the closest piece of paper. “You thinking about going into law?”
Mack scrunched his nose in disgust. “Absolutely not. If I never step into an educational building, it will be too soon.”
Noah smirked. “What about when you have kids?”
A few months ago, Noah’s words would have made Mack laugh. Whenever he’d thought about the future, he had never seen himself as a father. His reasons were similar to the points Lacey had made when they’d had their argument. He simply hadn’t been the responsible type.
Now, it was different.
His first thought was Bridger.
Mack had long since gotten over how strange it was that he considered the kid his own. The more time he spent with the boy, the more he loved him. Mack already knew he’d give his life for that child. He’d do anything for him.
“You realize you’re smiling like an idiot, right?”
Mack blinked and stared at his brother, his smile falling.
If Lacey got her way, Mack wouldn’t get anywhere near her son.
They wouldn’t have a future together. Mack could daydream all he wanted about taking Bridger to his first day of school, taking him to his first football game, or watching him graduate.
He frowned, and his eyes shifted to the papers on the table.
When he didn’t speak up, his brother pulled out a chair and took a seat.
“What’s going on?” Noah already knew that Lacey was trying to push him away.
Both of his brothers did. Mack wasn’t thrilled with that notion, but it was hard to keep a secret when Lacey still checked in with Sammie every so often.
Mack’s scowl deepened.
Noah didn’t move. In fact, he seemed to just make himself more comfortable by lacing his hands behind his head. “What’s the verdict?”
Arching a brow, Mack stared at his brother with suspicion.
Had Noah figured out what was going on? How much could Noah know, anyway?
Mack hadn’t known that Lacey’s parents were so backwards that they’d take Bridger away from her.
But now that he did, it wasn’t difficult to put two and two together and figure out that they were more than annoyingly involved. They were completely overbearing.
Noah gestured toward the papers. “You’re researching custody issues. I take it that Lacey is worried Bridger might get taken away from her.”
Mack froze.
“Granted, I don’t know how that would happen. There’s a lot of red tape when it comes to changing custody. At least, that’s what would make sense.”
“Yeah, well, none of my research has helped.”
“Why were you researching it?”
Mack really didn’t want to discuss this with Noah. He didn’t want to talk about it with anyone—maybe not even Lacey. He got the feeling that if he brought up what he found, she would twist it against him.
Yes, Montana allowed a change in custody under three conditions.
The first was a change in circumstances for the child or the parents.
The second regarded new information coming to light after a court already ruled on a custody agreement and allowing for a change.
The last was the one that forced Mack to accept that Lacey’s fears could be warranted.
A court could change parental rights if it was in the best interest of the child.
He knew enough about corruption within the law to know all it would take was someone to do a favor for Lacey’s parents in order to ruin Lacey’s life.
If her parents got a decent lawyer, then they could spin the information to tell the story they wanted.
How hard would it really be to make Lacey look like a bad mother?
He couldn’t say.
Mack ran a frustrated hand through his hair and flung a hand in the direction of the table. “I’m trying to figure out if Lacey’s fears are warranted.”
“What… fears, exactly?” Noah leaned forward and picked up a paper. “Why would she lose custody of her kid?”
It was difficult to rein in Mack’s frustration as he forced himself to explain the situation. It was too late to go back. He’d already told Noah too much. But he needed to talk to someone. “She had Bridger when she was a teenager.”
Noah shrugged. “Yeah, so? I knew she was a young mother.”
“And her parents raised him for his first five years of life.”
That got Noah’s attention. “Like… what are you saying?”
“I’m saying, they wouldn’t let Lacey raise her own kid. Not even when she officially became an adult and moved out. Lacey had to literally fight for custody of her own child.”
Noah let out a low whistle. “That’s harsh.”
“It was controlling, is what it was,” Mack muttered bitterly. “And apparently, they hold it over her head all the time, now. They threaten to fight to regain custody if they think she’s doing a bad job or if Bridger isn’t getting what he needs.”
“You’re kidding,” Noah whispered. He stared hard at the papers on the table, then his brows shot upward. “That’s why she broke up with you, isn’t it?”
“We’re not broken up,” Mack snapped. He might be in denial. He knew that. But he wasn’t going to let her just walk away from him. He was going to fix this.
Noah chuckled, then his expression sobered. “You realize that a relationship only works when both people are active in it.”
Mack shot him a warning look. He wasn’t going to humor his brother with a response. “Her mother found out about the year I spent here.”
Noah’s shock reflected Mack’s own feelings. “Do they think that you…”
Mack shrugged. “Would it matter? This isn’t just about her .
” He spat the word, not willing to speak Kayla’s name aloud.
“It’s about the whole thing. I only spent the year here because I was in trouble with the group of friends I had back home.
” He dragged a hand down his face and blew out a hard breath.
“Lacey’s mother thinks I’m a bad influence or some nonsense.
I guess she believes that if Lacey dates me, then Bridger isn’t in a good situation. ”
“That’s bull?—”
“ Noah .” Caleb’s warning voice drew their attention, and they both looked to see Caleb entering the kitchen.
Their older brother noticed the paperwork and paused, then frowned. His gaze flicked up to Mack, and he heaved a sigh. “She told you.”
Mack stiffened. “She told you?”
Caleb’s focus shifted from Mack to Noah and back before he moved across the room and opened a cupboard to retrieve a glass.
The room had gone eerily silent, as if the very air was holding its breath to hear Caleb’s response.
If Lacey had been willing to tell Caleb, what did it mean that she’d kept it from Mack?
He stood and stared hard into the back of his brother’s head. “Did she tell you?”
His brother put the glass under the faucet, filling it before he turned to face Mack.
“Not really. She didn’t even tell Sammie outright when they were living together, but there were signs that something was going on between Lacey and her parents.
And the fact that she was so overly protective of Bridger to begin with was a big sign, too.
Sammie asked Lacey about it after they knew each other for a while, and Lacey just said her relationship with her parents when it comes to Bridger’s well-being was complicated. ”
The more Mack thought about it, the more what his brother said made sense.
If he’d been paying attention, he would have been able to put the pieces together.
Lacey had to fight for custody of her own kid.
The only people who would have held it from her would have been parents because of her young age at which she had Bridger, or Bridger’s father.
Seeing as the latter was completely out of the picture, that wasn’t likely.
Slowly, Mack lowered himself into his seat and let out a heavy breath.
Pressure weighed down on him from all directions as he surveyed the documents in front of him.
“From what I can tell, her parents could attempt to take Lacey back to court to regain custody if Bridger’s life changes for the worse. ”
Noah scoffed. “How is having a strong male influence in his life worse than having no one? Wouldn’t the court be able to see that more support is better?”
Mack shrugged, feeling like he was losing this battle with each passing second. “It doesn’t matter, does it? If Lacey’s parents—who had been raising the kid since he was born—think he’s at risk, all they have to do is convince the judge of it.”
The silence pressed down on them once more, each of them lost in their own thoughts.
“What if you had character witnesses? I highly doubt that Lacey’s folks would have proof that you’re a bad influence.”
Mack offered his younger brother a wry smile. “They don’t need proof. Not really. They just need a good lawyer who’s worth his weight in gold. Corrupt men are everywhere, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes as long as they get the paycheck in the end.”
“You really think that Lacey’s parents are that… controlling?” Caleb murmured quietly.
“Lacey does.” He sighed again and raked a hand through his hair.
“And it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t. The fact of the matter is that she thinks I lied to her.
” He could feel the stares of his brothers like their eyes were high-powered lasers.
Questions hung in the air, demanding to be answered. They wanted to know what Mack meant.
His whole family knew about his problems. Heck, apparently the town did, too. No one had corrected the narrative when it had come out. And Mack had been too stubborn to bother with it, either. He’d let Kayla spin her web of lies mostly because she wasn’t worth a second thought.
She grew up in this town. She had to contend with the nose, busy-bodies of Rocky Ridge. Mack had only had to move back home, and the lies hadn’t followed him.
“Mack…” Noah murmured.
Lifting his head, Mack scrubbed at the stubble on his jaw. “What?”
“What do you mean?”
He shook his head.
“Don’t make him talk about it if he doesn’t want to,” Caleb chided.
Mack shot Caleb a thankful look, but he knew he wasn’t going to keep this sort of thing from his brothers.
Keeping it bottled up wouldn’t do any good, just like ranting and raving wouldn’t.
But talking things over seemed to be helping him keep his head.
“Remember that year I spent here for school? That girl I dated?”
Both of his brothers scowled, and Noah growled, “You mean that cheater who blamed her pregnancy on you?”
Mack nodded. “The very one.” He leaned back in his chair. “Turns out, people in this town don’t ever forget a story like that. Turns out… when you have that hanging over your head, and people see you walking around with a kid…” He shrugged.
“You told her the truth, right? You told her that Kayla was a liar and a manipulator, right?” Noah insisted.
He didn’t meet his brother’s eyes. “That’s the thing. She never confirmed that she heard the story. All she said was that I had a sordid past, and that she couldn’t be with me if it threatened her life with Bridger.”
Caleb muttered a quiet curse under his breath.
Noah’s face turned red. “If she’s tossing you out on the curb because you were a stupid teenager, then maybe you should just give up on her. I don’t care if she’s doing this for what she feels are good reasons, clearly, she needs to pull the stick out of?—”
Mack shot him a dark glare and launched from his seat, his palms slamming on the table.
“No. And don’t you dare talk about her that way.
She’s been through more in her life than any of us.
I don’t know if her fears have any merit, but I’m going to do everything in my power to protect her from it.
” He kept his brother pinned with his stare for a moment longer then dropped into his seat.
“If she wants to confront me about Kayla, then she can. Whatever she wants to talk about—I’ll do it.
I’m not going to abandon her just because she’s scared.
She doesn’t need another enemy in her life. ”
Both of his brothers watched him with concern in their eyes. They didn’t think he’d be able to change anything, and knowing that only pushed the dagger deeper into his heart. No one believed in him. Not his parents. Not his brothers. And not Lacey.
Well, he was going to prove them wrong.
He’d prove them all wrong.
Mack was worthy of love— Lacey’s love. And he wasn’t going to back down until he proved it to everyone.
Including himself.