CHAPTER 26 Penny Calloway
Heather
The bliss of the weekend wears off nearly the second I land back in Chicago.
Truth be told, I fell in love with San Diego in the short time I was there. It’s a beautiful place, and it’s so different from Chicago.
I love my hometown, but I don’t love that I’m tethered to it for the rest of my life because of Brent. It doesn’t seem fair. I marry a guy, we have kids, he cheats on me, and now I’m the one being punished because he’s the one with a bigger wallet.
It sucks, and nothing showcases that more than when I pick up the kids from the house we once shared on my way back to Liam’s.
“Mama!” Benji yells when Brent opens the door to me.
“Baby boy!” I say, and I grab him up into my arms even though he’s nearly too big for me to pick up anymore.
“Mama!” Sammy yells next, rounding the corner as he races toward the front door.
“No running in the house,” Brent scolds sharply.
“You can always run to Mama, Sammy,” I say, glaring at Brent.
“He’s going by Sam now,” Brent says.
I raise my brows and look at my little boy. “You tell me, kiddo.”
He glances between his father and me, and ultimately, he scoots in a little closer to me. “I like Sammy.”
Brent scoffs and walks out of the front hall, leaving the three of us to our reunion.
“Did you boys have fun with Daddy?” I ask them.
Benji twists his lips, and I press a kiss to his cheek.
“No,” Sammy says. “We were with Heather all weekend.”
“Heather?” I ask even though I’m pretty sure I know.
“The lady who takes care of us when Daddy has work. He had a trip out of town, and Heather stayed with us.”
“He went out of town when it was his weekend?” I ask.
“He was working,” Benji says.
I get that we have things to do, but to leave our kids with a virtual stranger for the weekend and not let me know seems out of line.
It seems like something I should tell my lawyer. Something I should track.
Honestly…does he even want to spend time with our kids? It seems like a burden to him, and I can’t help but wonder how he’d really take the idea of me moving out of the state with the boys.
I decide to float the idea to see what he says. I should have my lawyer do this, but I guess I mistakenly believe I can use my charm to convince my ex-husband.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” I ask while the boys run upstairs to grab their backpacks.
“Sure, go.” He pauses a beat, and then he says, “Second’s up.”
I force a fake laugh. “I, uh…I’m considering moving away from Chicago. It’s just so expensive, and I thought we could maybe work out some sort of agreement so you still get plenty of time with—”
“Absolutely not,” he interrupts.
“You didn’t even let me finish,” I say.
“Next you’re going to tell me it’s San Diego so you can keep running around with that Bradley kid.” He tuts. “What exactly is going on between the two of you anyway?”
My instinct is to jump to the defensive. “None of your business.”
“Ah, so definitely something.”
I feel caught. Exposed. We let him think we were together, but suddenly I get a sick feeling that he’s going to tell Everleigh. He has her number. All it would take is one little text to completely blow up my friendship with my best friend.
I know I need to be honest with her—now more than ever. I can’t keep hiding this from her.
But at the same time, I don’t even know where Liam and I are at. I don’t know if we are going to be able to make this work when I have Brent actively rooting against me and so many other challenges in our path.
“Look, I’m trying to build the best life I can for the boys. Can we focus on that?”
“By shacking up with a football player?” He rolls his eyes. “Give me a break.”
I don’t admit that’s where I want to go, but it’s not like he won’t find out the truth eventually anyway. I’m just trying to find out if there’s any way I can make this a possibility for us. “Can you honestly say that to me when you weren’t even here this weekend?”
He glares at me but doesn’t seem to have a quip at the ready.
“We’ll figure something out, Brent. More virtual calls, weekends, whatever you want.”
“Hard no. He’s not their father. I am, and it would do you all very well to remember that,” he hisses at me.
The boys choose that moment to race into the room, ready to go home—back to Liam’s place, the man who Brent just reminded me is not their father.
I wish he was.
But I can’t change the past. I can only do my best to make a better future for both myself and my children.
Once I’m home and dinner’s done and the boys are in bed, I’m surprised when my phone rings with a number unknown to me.
I immediately drop the number into a search while my phone rings to find that it’s a lawyer calling me.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Hello, is this Penny Wade?”
I chuckle, immediately knowing who gave this particular lawyer my number.
“It is. May I ask who’s calling?”
“Alexander Voss of Martin, Voss, and Klein. Liam Bradley connected me with Ms. Pierce, and with your agreement, I will join as co-counsel. Ms. Pierce briefed me on your case, and I will be able to attend your June fifteenth hearing. I’d love to push this toward a quick resolution that’s in the best interest of you, Sammy, and Benji. ”
My eyes fill with tears—not just at his words and his promise, but at the fact that Liam hired a shark.
I’ve heard of Martin, Voss, and Klein. This isn’t some small firm.
They’re one of the top firms in all of Chicagoland, and they’re representing me against Brent.
They make Brent’s lawyers look like small potatoes.
He’s looking out for my best interests. I mean Alexander, but also Liam.
For the first time, it feels like I have a chance.
“I wasn’t going for full custody, Mr. Voss, but after a conversation I had with my ex a little while ago, I think it’s back on the table. I’m considering moving to San Diego with the boys, and Brent is not what I’d call amenable to the idea.”
“We can certainly discuss it with the judge at the hearing. Can you tell me about the conversation you had?”
I recount in detail what Brent said along with what the boys told me when I picked them up.
“I think we have an excellent case, Ms. Wade, and I’m ready to give Mr. Calloway exactly what he has coming.”
Hell. Yes. Now this is who I need working for me in my corner. Someone who doesn’t give a fuck that he illegally recorded me without my consent and goaded me into saying things out of anger.
This guy is ready to give him what he has coming?
So the fuck am I.