Chapter 28 #2
I swear they picked as near to the rodeo as possible to do this.
It is strategic, and underhanded. If the Montgomerys really believed that they are the best guardians for Sadie, they wouldn’t do anything but file the papers.
But filing them and having Landry served just two weeks before the rodeo?
Asking him to go to a custody hearing a week before the event he’s been training for?
I don’t like the Montgomerys.
But being in Landry’s life has shown me that we have people. I always have Mom and Lane back home, and here, we have people.
The moment Landry got off that practice ride last week, Tate called his sister Maeve over to watch all the girls, Love brought a basket of food and a pitcher of sweet tea over, and Elena Vargas and Mabel joined us.
Dr. Vargas had her Rolodex of contacts, and so did Mabel, though hers was all kept in her memory and Elena actually had a day planner. Still, the six of us had a plan in under three hours, and a lawyer on retainer in under four.
The lawyer apparently just happened to have connections to the judge in this case, and after just a five-minute phone call, she had the case moved from Dallas back to Sable Sky.
That in itself felt like a win, and not just because of the ease it will bring us during this hearing.
But because it feels like defeating the Montgomerys is just a little more possible.
Now, the hearing is today, and I’ve not stopped sleeping in Landry’s room since the other night.
It’s been a week of bliss, and while there hasn’t been much sex, it’s not because the desire isn’t there.
It’s because we can do real life together, too, and that’s what we’ve been doing.
Tackling this awful thing being thrown at him.
I’ve rubbed him down in lotions and oils, kneading his overworked muscles and sore body, and we’ve discussed the hearing, what we expect, all of it.
We’re focused, because we’ve been giving all our free energy outside of his training and my filming to this.
Focusing on this one-day hearing that can either steal his life or set him free.
Sadie’s got no clue about the gravity of this, because we didn’t want her to know.
Landry actually asked me my opinion, like my say of what happens means something to him. I don’t take that lightly.
Landry stirs next to me, but I’ve been up, wearing his readers, sifting through my notes on my phone for the last two hours.
“You up already?” he asks through a yawn.
My entire body lights up when he rolls over, muscled chest on display, sheet bunched at his waist, one thick thigh slung over the top.
Ignoring the thickness hardening behind the sheet as his cock wakes up is torture.
But you know what they say, we do crazy things for love.
“Yeah,” I tell him, sliding his readers down my nose. “Just antsy, is all.”
He kisses my arm, and I sift my fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp. “You sleep okay?”
I abandon my phone on the mattress and twist beneath the covers until my body is pressed tight to his. “Yeah, how about you?” I know I should have struggled to fall asleep with all this mess on my mind but I can’t help that the truth is, I sleep so well next to Landry.
He weaves our fingers together, and I kick my leg out from under the covers, draping mine over his. “You wear those boots so much, I forget how small you are.” He yawns. “I slept pretty darn good.”
We fall into a comfortable silence, lying there, his soft breath dusting my hair. Outside, Bertha and her friends are bickering, and I swear Petunia is out there yelling about something already. But still, it’s so peaceful, even on our biggest day yet.
Sadie opens the door, and the handle knicks the wall where there’s proof she’s done this many times.
“Daddy! Quinn! Come quick! Miss Mabel came over and she brought Mr. McCharger and he loves Big Bertha!” She jumps up and down, her bare feet thumping the worn shag carpets.
“We’re gonna have a weddin’ today when we get back! Miss Mabel says we can!”
She’s back out the door in a flash.
I look up at Landry. “Aren’t they… brother and sister?”
He nods. “Yeah. We split ’em up ages ago.”
The devil chicken wedding doesn’t keep our focus long, not with what’s stretched over the horizon of this day.
Landry runs a hand down his jaw. “I gotta shave today. Show up nice. Wear my good suit.”
I nod toward the closet. “The one you wore to our wedding is in there. I pressed it last night, along with the dress I’m wearing today.”
We sit up in bed, stretched against the headboard, and he kisses my lips, and then my bare knee. “Thanks, baby.”
Outside, the girls laugh, and Big Bertha sounds assaulted. Maybe the chicken wedding is what we need to take our minds off today. “Big B and McC, isn’t that, like… incest?”
Landry snorts, sitting farther up, adjusting his spine against the headboard as he tugs me onto his lap. He pushes my hair away from my face and kisses the tip of my nose. “Chickens aren’t like us. Charger and Bertha can breed. Charger can even hook up with Betty if she were still here.”
“Betty?” That’s a name I haven’t heard.
“His mother,” Landry says. “See, it’s called line breeding.
In small flocks, sometimes farmers line-breed in order to keep the traits similar.
Same size chickens, same coloring, stuff like that.
” He peers out the window, and I enjoy the way his chest and neck flex when he does.
“The thing is, Vaughn Ranch sells eggs. And if you line-breed too often, sometimes you can get some… well, bad eggs, I guess.”
“So while they can have sexy times, they shouldn’t.”
He nods. But that’s as far as casual conversation can stretch.
Together, we get out of bed and start pulling clothes on. Landry wears a T-shirt and blue jeans, and I tug my overalls over my tank top. I stop him in the doorway. “Hey, everything is going to be okay. Today is going to go in our favor. I promise.”
He nods, and we head down, and spend the morning with Tate and Love going over all of the possible questions and our answers as Mabel keeps the kids occupied.
When we leave for court, Landry keeps his hand on my thigh for the entire drive, and Sadie plays with Daisy Two quietly in the back seat, and I realize that this is definitely, without a doubt, where I’m meant to be.
I had no idea courtrooms were so small and stuffy. It smells like pencil shavings and mothballs in here, and I swear to goodness, half the people I’ve interviewed or interacted with in Sable Sky are here. I lean over to Miranda, our lawyer, and ask a few questions to put my nerves at ease.
“They won’t call Sadie up, right?” I glance back to where Sadie is sitting with headphones on, watching cartoons on my laptop, her hands nervously plucking at Daisy Two’s cotton mane as she watches.
She shakes her head. “Absolutely not.” Miranda glances at the yellow legal pad covered in notes, written in a cursive so sharp it’s unreadable to me.
“This hearing is about proving that Landry, and you, are the best place for Sadie to be. All of the other character witnesses have already given their testimony.” I look back at the sea of familiar faces, then at Miranda. She nods.
“They started at eight. Everyone who we called showed up to sing Landry’s praises.”
My eyes water, and she passes me her linen embroidered handkerchief. “Save those for the stand.”
I nod, but feel a little uneasy, and add, “I don’t plan on being disingenuous.”
Her expression flatlines. “You won’t have to. These things are… intense. And even if you’re prepared and you guys have gone over all the questions I gave you, still, it’s gonna be hard.” She pats my hand. “You’ll do great. Your heart is in the right place.”
A moment later, Landry is called up. He squeezes my hand, glances back at an oblivious Sadie, and strides through the small space until he finds his seat.
He’s sworn in, and just watching him hold his hand up for any reason but bareback bronc riding makes me so angry.
This man works so hard, relentlessly, tirelessly. He does not deserve to go through this.
After getting through his name, where he lives, and his occupation, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomerys lawyer, a man that looks like he’s wearing a toupee and should be selling luxury cars to people who can’t afford them begins pacing the worn carpet in front of Landry.
It becomes a blur of monotone questions and short answers.
“How do you support Sadie in her daily activities?”
Landry looks perplexed, but tells the courtroom that he shows up for Sadie all day.
Takes her to the bus stop, makes her breakfast, lunch, and dinner, rides with her, teaches her how to tend to the animals, explains that she’s a good student and a Girl Scout and that he cares for her every single need.
It’s a great answer, and the truth, and yet Mr. Uppity Suit says nothing, and only continues on.
“Who typically handles the grocery shopping, meal preparation, doctor’s appointments, things of that nature?”
Landry’s eyes come to mine, and he winks. I’m not sure he means to do it because he then focuses on the question, answering, “Mostly me. But since I’ve remarried, my wife does a lot of cooking, too. She gets groceries, she helps with everything. We’re a team.”
My throat burns and I want nothing more than to indulge myself in tears at the way Landry sees me. But not yet. I can’t do anything or even react until I know for sure that Sadie is ours.
The questions become more intense, focusing on Landry’s lack of funds, and his troubled ranch. Landry explains how he got in debt, and judging by the reactions from Sable Sky townsfolk in the courtroom, he really hasn’t told anyone this.
Women bring their hands to their mouths, hushed awe spreads through the room, and the men tip their hats, nodding, acknowledging Landry’s sacrifice and bravery.
When it’s all said and done, I’m called up.