Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
April’s lawyer had an office in Boulder that felt more like a cozy living room than a legal firm.
Soft gray walls, comfortable chairs in warm fabrics, plants on the windowsill catching afternoon light.
A framed photo of Gabriela Vasquez with her family sat on the desk beside her diplomas—three kids and a golden retriever, all smiling.
April had gotten the referral through Arden.
Thanks to her therapeutic animal ranch for kids and vets with PTSD, Arden knew the best lawyers practicing family law in Boulder County.
Gabriela was sharp-eyed and no-nonsense, and April liked her immediately—right up until she started talking.
"No video,” Gabriela said, her hands folded on her desk. “You have to be there in person. I’m sorry.”
“This shouldn’t be happening at all,” April said. “He’s not on the birth certificate.”
“He has biological rights. Without documented abuse—police reports, hospital records, restraining orders—it's your word against his."
April's stomach dropped. "But he hit me. Multiple times. He tried to—" She couldn't finish the sentence. Tried to hurt our baby. Tried to make me lose Kevin.
Gabriela reached for April’s hand. "I believe you." Gabriela's voice was gentle but firm. "But family court requires evidence. And Mr. Romano has served his time for his crimes. A judge may see him as rehabilitated."
"He's not rehabilitated. He's—"
"Dangerous. I know." Gabriela leaned forward. "Which is why we're going to fight this. But I need you to understand what we're up against and get ready to fight."
April nodded, her throat too tight to speak. Then she thought of Kevin and a calm resolve filled her.
Shane's hand found hers under the table. “We’ve got this.”
She smiled fiercely. “We’ve got this.”
April barely slept for the next week.
Every night with Shane's arm around her, she lay awake staring at the ceiling worrying about Kevin as he slept just down the hall.
Every night, she imagined a judge ruling in Vince's favor.
Imagined Kevin being forced to spend weekends with a man who'd wanted him dead.
Imagined losing her son to the monster she'd run from, who only wanted Kevin to get back at her.
Kevin had asked twice if he'd have to see Vince.
The first time, April had been making dinner. Kevin was at the table playing with a fidget spinner, and the question came out of nowhere, small and scared.
"Do I have to see him? My bio-dad?"
April's hands stilled. She set down the knife she'd been using to chop tomatoes. "I don't know, baby. Maybe."
"I don't want to." Kevin's voice got smaller. "He’s not my dad. Not my real one."
Tears in her eyes blurred the cutting board on the counter. April went to him, pulling him into her arms. "I know. We're going to fight this."
"But what if the judge makes me go with him?"
April held him tighter, her heart breaking. "That's not going to happen."
He was quiet for a moment, and in a soft voice, he said, “If we have to run, can we take Shane with us?”
“Oh, baby, we’re not going to run. It won’t come to that, I promise.”
It was a promise she hoped she could keep.
The second time, Shane was there, too. They were all on the couch watching a movie, Pete sprawled across their feet, Benny curled up in Kevin’s lap.
Kevin had been quiet all evening, and then suddenly he was crying—big, silent tears rolling down his cheeks.
Benny woke and tried to lick his face. Kevin gently set him on the floor.
"What if I have to go?" he whispered. "What if the judge says I have to live with him all the time and I never see you guys again?"
Shane pulled Kevin onto his lap, and April wrapped her arms around both of them.
"Listen to me, bud," Shane said, his voice steady and sure. "He’s not going to win full custody. The judge won’t let him take you from us. In the meantime, I'm not letting anything happen to either of you."
"But what if—"
"No what-ifs." Shane's hand was gentle on Kevin's head. "Your mom and I are going to fight for you. And we're going to win."
Kevin fell asleep between them that night, and they carried him to bed.
Later, in the bedroom after making love and safe in Shane’s arms, April whispered into the darkness.
"What if we do lose him?"
She felt Shane’s jaw set. “We won't." He kissed her temple. "If somehow the impossible happens and they grant Vince custody, I'll burn the world down to get our son back."
The morning of the hearing, April stood in front of her closet trying to figure out what a good mother was supposed to wear to fight for her child.
Professional. Put-together. Respectable.
She pulled out a navy-blue dress—conservative, knee-length, the kind of thing a PTA mom would wear. Added a cardigan. Took it back off. Stepped into heels, then flats, then back into lower heels. She picked up her grandmother’s pearls. Her hands were shaking so badly she had trouble with the clasp.
Shane appeared behind her and fastened it without a word, then smoothed his hands down her arms. “You look perfect.”
April stared at herself in the mirror. She didn’t look perfect, she looked terrified. Like someone who was about to lose everything.
Her gaze drifted to the top shelf of the closet.
To her Lucky Louis purse sitting exactly where she'd put it after Ellie’s party.
She’d pulled it out of storage to impress Claudia, or at least not appear completely impoverished, and look how that turned out.
Not only was Claudia a new friend, but relations continued to thaw between April and Yvonne.
What'd you do, hock it to keep this shithole running?
"Fuck him," April said quietly.
Shane followed her gaze. Without a word, he walked over to the closet and pulled it down.
She took it out of its dust bag and transferred her essentials—wallet, keys, phone, lip gloss—into the purse.
It felt strange in her hands, like holding a piece of her past. A reminder of who she'd been when life was nothing but one gamble after another, when she thought love and security meant expensive things and penthouse views.
Now she knew better.
Now she knew the fierce love of a man who'd burn the world down for her and their son.
She knew the innocent love of a boy who trusted her with his whole heart.
A family who'd turned an old empty building into a coffee shop that added something beautiful to the community.
Friends who stuck by her, surrounding her with love so strong she felt surrounded by a fortress wherever she went.
She looked at Shane. "I'm not ashamed of who I was or what I survived."
His smile was fierce and proud. "Damn right you're not."
“I’m ready.”
Shane’s fierce smile turned softer. “You need one more thing.” He touched the old purse. “This tells Vince who you were. When you walk into that courtroom, I want you wearing something that will show him who I hope with all my heart you want to become.”
April tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean this.”
Shane reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little velvet box.