30. Jedd
JEDD
I heard everything.
More than that. I saw what Alex’s words did to Andy when she accused her of using me, of having me on the “hook.”
And just like Andy defending me before worrying about herself, I’ll do the same thing.
Finding an unfamiliar car in the drive when I got home—early, I might add—from my afternoon client told me I was right to come here instead of trying to get the client I rescheduled done before Alex was supposed to show up.
I didn’t see Andy’s text until I was already in the driveway, Piper running down the porch to tell me her mom was yelling at Andy.
The shouting in the kitchen had me seeing literal red, and I knew that Alex was exhibiting all her destructive glory.
Papa bear mode activated.
I’ll be damned if I let Alex traipse in here and accuse Andy of the things that she was, especially when neither Andy nor Piper have done anything wrong.
Piper’s tear drenched plea that I make her mom leave hit me like a hammer to the solar plexus.
My heart rate shot into the sky as I stomped to the kitchen, Andy and Alex too busy fighting to hear me coming.
Alex’s final claim that Andy’s been playing me for years so that I’ll continue to fix her problems was the final straw for my temper.
Pfft. As if the woman consoling her devastated niece would ever willingly let me swoop in and fix shit.
No, she makes me work for every single inch she gives me, and I say thank you, ma’am, may I have another?
Alex’s distorted view of our relationship is so wrong, so twisted, but Andy doesn’t see that. The look on her face right before I spoke told me all I needed to know. There’s still a part of her that feels like she’s using me. Like she’s taking more than she’s giving me by being mine.
And no matter what I tell her, she’s not going to believe me.
So I’ll keep showing her.
Until she’s right there with me. Until she knows that she deserves us, that she would never use me. Never be like her sister and mother. Until she’s here with me. In the present, looking toward our future.
Even if it takes years. I’m not giving up on her.
Andy’s in with Piper, and I need a way to work off some of this negative energy. I open the refrigerator, intent on feeding my girls, and spot the chicken. That goes into the oven, and then I start some veggies.
I keep my hands busy washing veggies and setting them to steam, doing the dishes, clearing leftovers from the fridge, and taking out the trash while I wait for Andy.
I’m just stepping back into the kitchen when I hear the shower in the guest bath kick on and the steady thumps of Andy’s feet come down the hallway.
I turn and wait for my woman.
Hearing her defend me was more than I ever thought I wanted in this life.
She comes around the corner and I just look at her—red-rimmed eyes, defeat lurking in their depths.
“That went well,” she says dryly.
“Come here, Mischief.” I open my arms and wait for her to wrap her arms around me.
She hugs me tight for a few minutes before pulling away when the timer on the oven beeps.
“Dinner is done. I’ll get it plated if you go get our Pipsqueak,” I say quietly.
Andy nods and disappears down the hall.
Dinner is a subdued affair. My girls are beaten down. I try to keep conversation light while I get Piper ready for bed, and she doesn’t make it through half a chapter before she falls into an emotionally exhausted sleep.
There’s muted light coming from under the bedroom door, and when I crack it open, I see that Andy’s fallen asleep. Her fingers are pillowed under her cheek, and her eyebrows are pinched like she’s still worried about today.
And I know what I have to do.
I have to protect them.
Even if it costs me everything I’ve worked for.
They’re worth it.
They’re worth everything.
I drop a kiss to Andy’s curls before leaving the room.
The packet of custody paperwork is on top of the fridge, and I flip through that to find the document I need.
The voluntary relinquishment of parent rights is close to the top.
Andy’s lawyer advised her that it would be the cleanest way to get custody of Piper at the start of the case, but Andy knew that Alex wouldn’t sign it.
Not without some incentive to give up her meal ticket.
And I’m fully convinced that’s all she sees Piper as now.
She may make noises about getting her life together, but her actions speak louder. Picking a fight with her sister who is caring for her daughter is a clearer indication of intent than any efforts she’s put in thus far.
And I won’t stand for it.
Like Andy started to defend me against Alex, I’ll do the same thing.
Her shit is my shit, and my shit is her shit. Even if she doesn’t truly believe that yet.
I pull my phone out after writing a short note to Andy in case she wakes up.
I need your help.
Duke: I’m here. What’s up.
I outline the dumbass idea that’s been circling my head to my brother.
Ten minutes later, I’m in my car and headed toward the pay by the week motel just outside of town. Harlan’s been keeping tabs on Alex since the custody case started because he’s a worrier. I can’t help but be grateful for that now, since his anal tendencies ensure I know where to find Alex.
Tracking her down requires more patience than I currently have.
Duke’s truck is already in the parking lot. I pull up beside him and kill the engine while I think of what I want to say to Alex.
“Hey,” Duke says when he comes around my truck to stand in front of me. “That bad, huh?”
I nod. “She tore Andy to pieces. Piper is shredded too.” The fury rises in me again at the memory of Piper crying and the stricken look on Andy’s face.
“Take a breath. We’ll take care of your girls. I don’t have to tell you how stupid this idea of yours is though, right?”
I shake my head. It’s a huge a risk. It could cost Andy the case.
I can’t stop myself though. The need to protect my family has me in a chokehold.
He claps his hand on my shoulder. “As long as we know what we’re doing is dumb as shit is all that matters, right? And that if Harlan finds out he’ll wring our necks.”
I laugh. “Right.” I’m more worried about how much of my ass Andy’s going to chew when she finds out.
“For the record, I think you’re doing the right thing.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I’d do the same thing in your shoes. Now, let’s go end this bullshit.”
With another slap to my shoulder he starts into the lobby of the motel. A twenty-dollar bill later, and we know the room Alex is staying in.
Duke climbs the steps ahead of me, and when we reach her room, raps his knuckles on Alex’s door. There’s a muffled curse and the sound of something hitting the floor before the door opens.
Where I left Andy and Piper emotionally exhausted, Alex looks unconcerned when she answers the door.
And that fucking pisses me off.
That is … she looks indifferent until she sees Duke, all six foot, four inches of muscles standing at her door. He’s bigger than the rest of us, probably because he spends most of his time throwing furniture around that shop of his.
She grins in a way that she probably thinks is seductive but just creeps me out.
“What can I do for you ?” she murmurs throatily.
Gross.
“Cut the shit, Alex,” I say, and she finally sees me there. She tries to shut the door, but my hand shoots forward and I put my foot in the crack to keep it open.
“We’re just here to talk.”
She pushes the door against my foot for a second before opening it. Apparently Duke’s face isn’t enough to distract her from smashing my foot.
“What do you want?” She sneers.
Duke’s hand slashes through the air. “Knock off the attitude. Or I’ll find a reason to get Harlan into this room. The way you shut your door so fast is a bit suspicious for someone who’s supposed to be on their best behavior right now.”
I wipe any astonishment at his threat off my face. I know my family loves Andy and Piper, I know they’d do anything for them, but seeing it in action is something different.
I pull the document out of my back pocket and hand it to her. “You’re going to give this to your lawyer and sign it before a judge.”
She scans it, her eyebrows pinching before lifting. “You want me to give Piper up.”
“I do.”
She glances at me. “And what’s going to make that worth my while?”
Of fucking course she’d want something in return for ensuring her daughter is safe and cared for.
But then, it’s never been about her daughter.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and log into my banking app. Clicking on my business savings account I turn the screen to show her how much is in there.
Acid coats my throat as I watch her eyes bug out and a greedy gleam enter her gaze.
My business’s future is shining from the screen of my phone.
But my family’s future is worth a million times the number on the screen.
“How fucking valiant. You’re offering to buy my daughter from me.”
I shake my head, ignoring the jab. “No. I’m not offering to buy Piper.
We’ll win the case either way. I’m paying you to disappear from Andy and Piper’s life.
To give them some of the peace that you’ve stolen with every broken promise.
To give them the ability to heal the cracks you caused. That’s what I’m paying you for.”
She scoffs, and I continue, “If you get your life together—because you’re not fooling me with this—” I wave my hand at the defensive way she’s standing guard at her door. I’d bet every cent in that same savings account that if Har were to gain access to her room he’d find drugs in there.
“If you get your shit together, and prove it after keeping it that way, then maybe you can be a part of Piper’s life. But until then, if that day ever comes, I want you to leave them alone. You’ve done more than enough damage.”
Alex’s hands clench at her side as she glares at me.
“Or I could call in a welfare check to the sheriff,” Duke says affably, baring his teeth at her.
“That would sure speed the request for custody along—right? And if you think about taking the money and fucking my brother over, there’s not a rock in this county you could hide under that I wouldn’t find you. ”
I hold up a hand. “Okay there, Cujo, calm down,” I say to Duke.
“You give me this money and all I have to do is disappear?” Alex asks, suspicious.
I nod at Alex and the sick knowledge that she’s going to take the money from me sinks in my gut.
“Yeah.”
“Fine,” Alex says with a huff. Like the future of her daughter is an inconvenience.
I open the checkbook I stowed in my back pocket before leaving the house and write out the details.
I haven’t written a damn check in years.
Just like that, Alex gives up the fight for her daughter. The money is worth more to her than the little girl who’s inserted herself into my soul.
Not wanting to be in her presence for a second longer, Duke and I leave quickly after that.
I don’t say a word to my brother as I get in my truck and drive home to my girls.
“This is weird.” Andy is looking at her phone like it’s a snake about to bite her on Monday morning.
I still haven’t had a chance to tell her about meeting her sister, so I feel like I’m walking on eggshells.
“What?” I ask as I start coffee.
“Mr. Rupert says we have a court hearing Wednesday morning.”
I stifle a wince.
Alex sure didn’t waste any time.
I’ll have to text Chance to get him to hold off until we can talk about reducing the expansion to what the loan will cover now that I can’t afford the entire projected cost.
I throw mushrooms and onion in the pan to steam for a few minutes before I start the omelets I have planned for breakfast.
“What do you think it’s for?” Andy’s fear-filled eyes find mine. “Do you think she’s going to try to cause trouble because of what happened here Saturday?”
I shake my head. “I doubt it.”
I know what the hearing is for. I just don’t want to suggest anything to Andy until it’s all said and done.
I wouldn’t put it past Alex to try to throw a wrench in our plans.
Which is why I covered our asses the best I could.
Duke recorded the whole conversation with Alex for us if she tries to pull any shit and turn it back on us.
“Let’s not borrow trouble. We’ll go to court Wednesday and see what’s what.” I turn back to the stove, a sick feeling taking up residence in my gut at the secret I’m keeping from her.