Chapter 43 Heather
Heather
The house is quiet except for the sound of Colin vacuuming upstairs.
I’m standing in the kitchen, staring at the new security panel on the wall and trying to remember the code Grant showed me last night. It was either April’s birthday or mine. Or it could’ve been some combination of both, now that I’m thinking about it.
Before I can try either option, Colin appears in the doorway with his cleaning supplies.
“Everything good down here?” he asks, setting down his caddy.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just trying to figure out this system.” I gesture at the panel. “Grant installed all of this a few days ago, and I still can’t remember half of what he showed me.”
Colin walks over and glances at the panel, then at the camera mounted in the corner of the kitchen. “The whole place is locked down like Fort Knox now. I’ll admit, it took me three tries this morning to remember the new entry code.”
I let out a small laugh. “At least I’m not the only one.”
“Not at all.” He leans against the counter. “But I like to see Grant taking such good care of you and April. This is exactly what he should be doing.”
Colin has always been kind to me, but there’s something almost paternal in his tone now.
“He’s been incredible,” I say carefully. “Almost too incredible. I keep waiting for it to feel like too much, but it doesn’t.”
“That’s because it’s not too much. Not for him.” Colin crosses his arms, studying me with the same gentle expression he always has. “I’ve known Grant for a while now, and I’ve never seen him care about anyone the way he cares about you.”
My chest tightens at his words.
“I don’t know if he’s told you much about what his life was like before,” Colin continues. “But that boy was alone for a very long time. He kept everyone at arm’s length and lived in this big house by himself with nothing but hockey to keep him company.”
I nod. “He’s mentioned some of it.”
“Then you know he’s not the type to let people in easily.
Which is why what’s happening here is such a big deal.
” He gestures around the kitchen, at the security panel, at the house that’s slowly starting to feel like home.
“Grant doesn’t do anything halfway. When he commits to something, he’s all in. ”
All I can do is nod again, because I know Colin is telling the truth.
I’ve seen it with my own eyes. When Grant Parker turns his attention to something, he’s laser-focused until he gets the results he wants.
Whether it’s his training, his diet, his save percentage, or these security cameras, he doesn’t half-ass anything in his life.
“And you, Heather? You and that sweet girl upstairs? You’re it for him.” Colin’s tone is serious, but still wrapped in warmth and kindness. “I’ve been watching him fall in love with you both, and I have to tell you, it’s been one of the great joys of my life.”
My heart stutters in my chest. Love.
Colin just said love.
“I don’t—” I start, then stop because I’m not sure what to say. Colin is speaking from his own perspective, but that doesn’t mean he’s speaking for Grant. We haven’t said those words to each other, and I can’t predict what will happen when—or if—we do.
“Sorry,” he says quickly, obviously reading my expression. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just thought you should know how much he cares about you and how serious he is about this.”
“No, I know. I do know.” This is safer ground, because Grant clearly cares for me and April, just like we care for him. None of this madness would make sense, otherwise. “He’s made that clear. The security, the way he’s been with April, everything he’s done to help us—I know this is real for him.”
“But?” Colin prompts gently.
“But love is…” I trail off, searching for the right words. “That’s a big word. A serious word. And we haven’t been together very long.”
“Sometimes it doesn’t take long to know.” Colin shrugs as he picks up his cleaning caddy. “But that’s between you and Grant. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“I’m glad you did,” I tell him honestly. “Really. It’s just a lot to process.”
He nods and heads toward the stairs, then pauses. “For what it’s worth? Grant is like a son to me. In all the time I’ve been taking care of him and this house, I’ve never seen him as happy as he’s been these past months. That’s all because of you.”
After he disappears upstairs, I stand in the kitchen with his words echoing in my head.
This thing between us is real. It’s not just sex or convenience or some temporary arrangement while we figure out our housing situation. It’s deeper than that. More important than that.
But does he love me?
The sound of the front door opening pulls me from my thoughts. I glance at the time and see that Grant is home a little earlier than usual.
His footsteps are quick and purposeful as he crosses the entryway, and then he’s in the kitchen, still in his athletic gear with his hair damp from a post-practice shower.
“Hey,” I start to say, but I don’t get any further than that.
He crosses the distance between us, wraps his arms around me, and kisses me like he hasn’t seen me in days instead of hours. It’s not the gentle, sweet kiss we usually share when Colin might be around. This is hungry and desperate and full of relief.
When we finally break apart, I’m breathless and laughing.
“Well, hello to you too.”
“I missed you,” he says simply, like that explains everything. Like it’s the most natural thing in the world to sweep me off my feet in the middle of the kitchen.
“Grant,” I say, still laughing, “Colin is here.”
“I know.” He doesn’t let me go. “And I don’t care.”
From somewhere upstairs, I hear Colin chuckle. “Don’t mind me!”
I bury my face in Grant’s chest, half mortified and half delighted by how little he cares about appearances right now. This is exactly what Colin was talking about—Grant being all in and not holding anything back.
“How was practice?” I ask.
“Better. Noah talked some sense into me.” He pulls back just enough to look at me. “I’m working on not being so—”
My phone rings, cutting him off.
We both freeze.
It’s sitting on the counter where I left it and the screen lights up with an unknown number. My stomach drops. I know it has to be Steven before I even look at it.
“Don’t answer,” Grant says immediately.
But I’m already reaching for the phone with a shaking hand. “If I don’t, he’ll just keep calling.”
“Then let him.”
My finger hovers over the screen. Part of me wants to do exactly what Grant says—ignore it, block the number, and pretend Steven doesn’t exist. But the other part knows that ignoring him won’t make him go away.
Before I can decide, Grant takes the phone from my hand.
“What are you doing?” I mouth, but he’s already a step ahead of me.
He answers it and puts it on speaker. “Stop calling this number.”
There’s a pause, then Steven’s voice fills the kitchen, dripping with false pleasantness. “Wow, it’s the infamous Grant Parker. I was hoping to talk to Heather, but I suppose you’ll do.”
“I said stop calling.”
“Or what? You’ll send your security guards after me?” Steven laughs. “I’m not breaking any laws by calling my daughter’s mother.”
“I have nothing to say to you, Steven,” I call out, using every bit of strength I have to keep my tone firm. “And neither does April.”
“That’s about to change.” The smugness in his tone makes my skin crawl. “I’ve already spoken to a lawyer and we’re filing for custody.”
The room tilts sideways. “You can’t.”
“I can, and I will. You think you can just take my kid and shack up with some millionaire hockey player? Live in his fancy house and play happy family while I’m forgotten? That’s not how things are going to be anymore, Heather.”
“You haven’t been in April’s life for nine years,” I say, my voice shaking. “You have no right to swoop in now and mess things up for her.”
“I have every right as her father. I’m on the birth certificate. And when the court hears about your unstable living situation—moving from place to place, living with a man you barely know, exposing April to who knows what—”
“That’s bullshit,” Grant cuts in with the kind of calm intensity that should make Steven very, very worried. “And you know it.”
But Steven never has been good at reading a room.
“Is it? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like Heather is an unfit mother.
Dragging April around with no permanent home while her mother shacks up with strangers.
That’s not exactly stable parenting.” He pauses.
“And you, Parker? You’re part of the problem.
What kind of role model is some athlete who is gone all the time?
What kind of partying do you get up to on the road, hm?
I’m sure the court would love to hear about it.
In the meantime, April needs a real father figure. Someone consistent.”
Someone consistent. I can’t believe he has the nerve to even say those words out loud after everything he’s put us through. My legs feel weak, and I have to reach for the counter to steady myself.
“You took something from me, Heather,” Steven continues. “So now I’m going to take something from you. Let’s see how you like it.”
“Over my dead body,” Grant says. “Don’t call here again and don’t even think about going near April or Heather. You’ll have to get through me to get to either of them, and I don’t think you want any of this.”
Steven just laughs. “We’ll see about that. My lawyer will be in touch.”
The line goes dead.
I stare at the phone in Grant’s hand, unable to move or breathe. The kitchen feels too small as Steven’s words repeat over and over in my head.
You took something from me, so now I’m going to take something from you.
He’s going to try to take April. He’s actually going to fight me for custody of my daughter.
My daughter. The child I’ve raised alone for nine years. The most important person in my entire world. And he thinks he can just waltz back into our lives and claim her like she’s some kind of prize to be won.
I can feel the panic rising in my chest until it’s almost choking me, and my hands are shaking so badly I have to grip the counter to keep myself upright.
Steven will never stop. He’s never going to leave us alone. This is what he does—he finds ways to hurt me, to control me, to make me feel small and powerless. And now he’s threatening the one thing that matters more to me than anything else.
But I don’t cry. I won’t give Steven that power, even if he’s not here to see it.
“Heather.” Grant’s voice cuts through the spiral. His hands are on my shoulders, steady and warm. “Look at me.”
I force my eyes to focus on his face.
“Come here.” He pulls me into his arms, and I willingly, gratefully press my face against his chest. His heart is beating fast, and I know he’s just as shaken as I am, but he’s holding it together for me.
“I’m going to help you take care of this.” His voice rumbles against my ear, and any other time it would be enough to soothe my frayed nerves. But this is bigger than anything I’ve dealt with since I left Steven in the first place. “You’re not doing this alone.”
“He’s going to try.” I shake my head, still in disbelief. “He’s going to take me to court and try to prove that I’m a bad mother.”
“And he’s going to lose.” Grant’s arms tighten around me.
“Because you’re not a bad mother. You’re the strongest person I know.
You’ve raised an incredible kid on your own, and you’ve built a life for the two of you from nothing.
And no one—no judge, no jury, no one in their right mind—would ever believe that April would be better off with Steven than with you. ”
I want to believe him. God, I want to believe him so badly.
“But what if he’s right about the instability? What if the court looks at how much we’ve moved around? The judge might decide Steven looks better on paper than I do.”
“No.” His voice is firm. “Steven is trying to get in your head. That’s what he does, right?
He makes you doubt yourself until you think you’re not good enough.
But he’s wrong. He’s always been wrong about you, and it’s probably eating him up inside that you’re standing your ground against his empty threats. ”
A tremor runs through me, but I still don’t let myself cry.
“I’m scared,” I admit. “I’ve never been this scared in my life.”
“I know.” He holds me tight, almost too tight, but I don’t want him to let go. “But you can do this. You’ve faced worse and come out the other side. And this time, you’re not alone.”
“I know. And I appreciate you. I just don’t know how we’re going to fight him.”
“I’ll tell you how. I’m going to use every resource I have,” he says. “Every lawyer, every connection, every dollar I have—it’s all going toward making sure Steven never gets anywhere near you or April. I promise you that.”
I search his face, looking for any sign that this is too much to ask. That he’s going to realize what a mess I’ve brought into his life and decide it’s not worth it.
But all I see is determination and certainty.
Steven might have the legal right to file for custody. He might have a lawyer and a plan and all the manipulation tactics he’s honed over the years.
But I have Grant. And that makes me feel a whole hell of a lot better about my odds in this fight.