Chapter 17
Tate
Lucy’s hand held tightly in mine, I hold my cell up to my ear with the other.
“Sounds good,” I say to my lawyer on the other end as he reiterates our steps for serving Lucy’s ex with divorce papers as well as a restraining order.
“Thank you.” He says he’ll contact me if anything goes awry, but that papers should be served by Monday morning.
We end our call, and I turn, wrapping my arms around Lucy and pulling her into my lap on the couch. “It’s all settled,” I tell her as I squeeze her tightly.
A warm calm settles over me at the prospect of her being free from that shitbag. And as much as I’d prefer to beat the living hell out of him, I know that this is more powerful. A clean break. A restraining order. She’ll never see that son of a bitch again.
It had taken every ounce of my self-control not to fucking kill him where he stood yesterday after I’d learned about all the terrible things he’d done to her.
My heart still breaks a bit, wishing Lucy could have felt safe enough to confide all this in me, but I also understand her hesitancy.
Her fear. How my mom probably felt like a safer place in that moment in time—especially after I’d stormed out without giving her a chance to explain herself.
I feel so much guilt about it. Guilt I’ll probably hold for the rest of my life.
But this is a good start. Matthew is gone. And Lucy is safe. And I’ll make sure it stays that way for the rest of our lives.
“So this means I’m a divorced woman?” Lucy says with a soft smile, staring down at me from where she’s perched in my lap.
I squeeze her waist. “Almost. Very, very close.”
“Well, how do you feel about being with an almost-divorced woman?” She smirks playfully.
I grin, straightening up to brush my lips softly against hers. “I feel pretty damn good about it,” I murmur, pulling her in for a kiss.
After we break away, I hold her gaze for a moment and then finally say, “You know … it’s probably time you make that call.”
Her expression becomes serious, and she bites her lip.
We’d spoken about this last night. After I’d carried her home, wrapped her up in my arms, let her cry on my shoulder, and simply held her all night long.
I’d asked her what she wanted to do. It started with divorce—something she’d never had the money to do until now, not that I was going to let her pay a damn cent for it.
And then she wanted to call her family. Let them know she was okay.
I reach for her cell that’s lying on the couch cushion beside us. I hold it up for her. “I know they must be worried, Luce,” I say softly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
She nods, taking the phone from my hands and then climbing off my lap, sitting beside me. She crinkles her brow as she stares down at her lap, and I know what she’s thinking. She’d relayed it all to me last night. That she’s worried they’ll be angry. Mad that she left without telling anyone.
But I also know that once she tells them everything, they’ll understand.
And that’s a hurdle all on its own.
I see her pull up a contact and hit “call.” She takes a deep breath and puts the phone to her ear, waiting. The click of someone answering.
“Mom?” Lucy says hesitantly. “It’s me, Lucy. I’m okay. Everything’s okay.”