Chapter 16
Chelsea put a hand on Jagger’s shoulder as he sat down with Kaden at the breakfast table the next morning.
He’d worried himself all night about how to tell Kaden about his mom.
It broke her heart. While parts of her believed Tanya deserved a second chance if she’d really gotten her life on track, she could see and feel Jagger’s agony over the thought of losing Kaden.
He’d been in Kaden’s life since day one, and it would be a tragedy for the court to dismiss that simply because he wasn’t Kaden’s birth parent.
She wished she could wipe away his pain and worry.
“Chelsea and I have something we need to talk to you about.”
“Are you having a baby?”
Chelsea gaped.
“No.”
“’Cause Matthew said his mom and dad are having a baby.”
“I’m happy for them, but this is something else. Remember when you asked about your mom?”
“Yes. You said she couldn’t take care of me because she was sick.”
“That’s right.” Jagger paused.
Chelsea squeezed his shoulder for reassurance. “She’s gotten better, and she’d like to see you.”
Kaden’s brows drew together. “Do I have to live with her?”
Jagger stiffened. “This would be a visit, like when you spend the day with your friends.”
Kaden shrugged. “Okay.”
Jagger turned back to Chelsea, his eyes seeking guidance.
She shrugged. At five, Kaden had a limited ability to understand the scope of life.
Jagger turned back to him. “The first visit is today.”
“Will you go with me?” Again, worry tinged Kaden’s voice.
“Chelsea and I will take you. There will be some other people and your mom.”
“You’ll be there too?”
Jagger looked down and Chelsea knew he hated the idea that he couldn’t stay with him during the visit. That Kaden would likely be apprehensive about being with people he didn’t know.
“When you see your mom, Jagger and I can’t be there.”
“Why not?”
Jagger took Kaden’s hands in his. “I wish I could be, buddy, but this is time for you to get to know your mom again. It will be okay, I promise.”
Kaden looked from Jagger to Chelsea. “What if I don’t want to go?”
“We don’t have a choice. I’m sorry.”
“I bet they’ll have toys there. Your mom is probably so excited to see you. To see what a great, fun kid you are.” Chelsea hoped to reassure Kaden.
“Do you think she’ll like me?”
“I know she will.” Jagger pulled Kaden into a hug.
“You’re the best thing she’s ever done and she knows it.
” For all his broodiness, there was no doubt about his love for Kaden.
Chelsea admired how well he was able to relate to Kaden, and hold back his own feelings about Tanya in an effort to be supportive and reassuring.
Jagger could teach a class to divorced parents on how to be a better parent in a custody dispute.
She wished more than anything she could make this all go away for Jagger.
That he and Kaden could go on being the perfect little family unit they were.
She pushed away the wish that she could join them permanently.
Jagger and Chelsea flanked Kaden and held his hand as they walked into social services.
A woman about Chelsea’s age met them in the lobby. “Mr. and Mrs. Talbot?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Meg Carter, the guardian ad litem for Kaden.”
“This is my wife, Chelsea, and this is Kaden.”
Meg shook their hands and squatted down to talk to Kaden. “I need to talk to your guardians for a minute. Over there, you can see there are some Legos. Do you like Legos?”
“Yes. I have Star Wars Legos at my house.”
“How fun. I don’t think there are Star Wars Legos there, but you can go play with them for a minute while I talk to Mr. and Mrs. Talbot.”
Kaden looked at Jagger, who nodded. Kaden trotted off to check out the box of Legos.
“I know this isn’t an easy situation for you.”
That was an understatement.
“Miss Gilson is already here. There is a playroom set up for supervised visits. A social worker will be in the room with her and Kaden, and I’ll be watching through a one-way mirror.”
“What if he doesn’t like it?” Jagger asked.
“We’ll do all we can to make him feel safe and comfortable. I have your cell phone number if we need you to return sooner. Can I ask what you told him about this visit?”
“We told him his mom was feeling better and wanted to see him.”
“Feeling better?”
“When he was old enough to ask about her, I told him she was sick. It seemed like a better thing to say than the truth, which was she chose her drugs over him and left.”
Meg’s face remained impassive. Chelsea suspected she ran into many guardians and parents who weren’t too happy to be in a custody battle.
“It’s commendable you’ve been able to keep your resentment of Miss Gilson from him.”
“It’s not his fault.”
“Right. Well, I’m going to take him back to the playroom. You can return at four.”
Jagger went rigid. The moment had come. Chelsea looked at him; his face was as hard as granite while his eyes shone with pain. Her heart broke for him. She reached out to rub his arm, offering comfort even while knowing it wouldn’t help.
“Hey, Big K.” Jagger’s voice was tense.
Kaden looked up from digging in the Lego box.
“Miss Carter is going to take you to another room to see your mom for a couple of hours.”
“Are there Legos in the room?”
“There are. I’m sure your mom would love to see what you can build,” Meg said.
Kaden walked over to Jagger and took his hand. “Will you be back?”
Jagger squatted down so he could look Kaden in the eye. “I’ll always be here, buddy. Always.”
Chelsea chanced a glance at Meg, who again remained impassive. Chelsea wondered how she could close her heart to this and yet, knew she probably had to in order to do the job. Kaden threw his arms around Jagger, the first sign since they’d left that afternoon that Kaden might be nervous.
Jagger hugged him tight. “You’ll be okay. Afterward, maybe we can get some ice cream.”
“Dipped?” Kaden eyes widened in excitement.
“Whatever you want.”
“Okay.”
Kaden turned to Meg, who held out her hand.
“Let’s go see your mom.”
Jagger watched Kaden as he walked through a door to a back hallway. “I hate this.”
“I know. I do too.”
He turned to her, his expression lost. Intellectually, Chelsea understood Tanya’s desire to reconnect with her son, but in heart, Chelsea hated what she was doing to Jagger.
“Why don’t we get some coffee?”
He nodded and they walked back to his SUV.
They drove the short distance to the local java joint, where he ordered a regular coffee and Chelsea ordered iced tea to cool off from the heat of the June day.
They sat outside at an umbrella-covered table that offered shade but little to protect them from the humidity.
Jagger sat silently, his expression gloomy. Chelsea was still unsure how to respond to these moods. She’d only been able to break him of it one time, by having sex with him. That was no longer an option.
“Jagger, if you want silence and to be left alone, I can do that. But brooding doesn’t really fix or change anything. So, if you want, I can distract you from your doom and gloom and talk.”
He leaned his forearms on the table. “What do you want to talk about?”
She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She scrambled for something. “Why did you decide to rescue horses?” It was a dumb question, because she had already asked and knew the answer.
He stared at her for a moment but then sat back.
“I own a horse farm. It seemed like it should have horses, but I didn’t want to train or breed them.
Alexis suggested I could offer boarding.
In researching and talking to Denny, he suggested taking in retired horses.
The rescue started after a local animal control called looking for a place to care for several neglected horses they’d taken into custody. ”
“Do you like it?”
He toyed with his coffee cup. “Yeah, actually, I do. It’s really the first thing I’ve done that’s mine.”
She smiled and, at the same time, felt sad for him. He was over thirty and only recently did something that was all his. Though he’d hinted earlier about the expectations placed on members of the Talbot family. “Your dad doesn’t like it.”
“My dad doesn’t like anyone or anything except money.”
“When we went to pizza after Kaden’s conference, you said you weren’t really settled in here, but seeing you in New York with your people, you didn’t seem to fit there either.”
He shrugged. “I don’t belong anywhere.” He turned away, his jaw clenched as if he didn’t like that he’d said so much. He turned back. “I left that life on purpose. I can’t complain. I’m rich, I’ve got my looks, and I’m raising Kaden. I’ve got everything anyone would want.”
“Belonging is fairly high on the hierarchy of needs.”
Jagger laughed but there was no humor in it. “You learn that in teaching school?”
“I was a psych major in college.”
He shrugged.
The nurturing part of her longed to soothe him, but another part of her was growing annoyed.
He was right. He had a lot going for him.
Yes, this situation with Kaden was difficult, but there was still a lot Jagger could do besides lament over the current state of things.
“You know, if you got out more, like we did the week of the engagement, people would know you and include you.”
“I tried that.”
Chelsea scoffed. “A date with Dana Dalton doesn’t count as trying to assimilate into Charlotte Tavern living.
” Her comment reminded her that she and Mitch had failed him by not trying harder to include him.
“Maybe we can take Kaden to the park or city pool sometime. Or the library has some great summer programs he’d probably enjoy. ”
“Actually, that’s a good idea. It could help my case too.”