They nod and I watch her dad rolling his shoulders. It’s a familiar gesture for a man to do, it’s the one we all make before we start causing terrible violence.
I pull the folder close to me and flip the cover. There is a thick set of photographs. Grace and I are the predominant feature in them but they also have her with her friends. The one thing that stands out about them all is that she, or I for that matter, don’t seem to be aware in any of the pictures that the pictures are being taken. Someone was tailing us. It makes my blood boil. My hands release the photos, I can feel them making hard tight fists.
Rolling my shoulders to get the tension out, I try to relax myself. All three of them are staring at me. Each must have their own thoughts as to what we should be doing, but no one is saying anything yet. Guess I will take lead on this.
Pulling my phone from my pocket I scroll through the contacts list. Picking one, I put the phone up to my ear.
The phone rings twice as I wait then I hear a strong male voice come on the line. “Max, my boy. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, Dad, can you schedule a couple of hours tomorrow for me in the afternoon? I’m having some legal issues I need to consult with you about.”
“What kind of legal issues are we talking about?” My dad asks, his tone worried
“Nothing too serious but I’ll need a good family law lawyer.”
“Hmm, I’ll call Alice Hammonds in...”
“Thanks, Dad. I really would love to talk but there is more to do. See you tomorrow.”
“Got ya, son. Love you and I will see you tomorrow.”
We disconnect and I look at the table. “That’s my dad, Jack Harper. I don’t know if you guys have heard of him….”
“I have,” Grace’s mom says. “He’s that really big lawyer guy right? The one they wanted for governor a couple years back?”
I nod my head. “Yeah, that’s him. Alice Hammonds is probably the top family law lawyer in the state if she is working in his law firm.”
Grace squeezes my hand. “Max… I can’t… Lawyer’s like that are really expensive… I bare—”
Shaking my head, I tell her, “Don’t worry, I got this.”
“But.”
“Grace, I said I will handle this. You just worry about what all we need to do to get Hope comfy in her new home.”
“Her what?”
“You are moving in with me. It will be safer and it’s easier that way.”
Eyes going wide, she stares at me for a long minute before she finally asks, “What?”
Glancing over at her parents, they look stunned as well but respectfully remaining silent.
Rubbing her knuckles with my thumb, I say, “Grace I have been thinking about this for a while. I want you and Hope living with me. I want my home to be yours. I want you close where I can protect you and provide for you…”
“But—“ she starts up again and I shake my head.
“No buts. I love you. Life is short, baby. Let’s do this.”
Chapter Nineteen
Grace
I know that Max and my parents aren’t concerned in the least that Carson could take Hope away from me, but there’s a real fear inside of me that he’ll somehow figure out how to pull it off. The way custody is determined is changing these days, many judges are objectively looking at the bigger picture, not just giving preference to the mother.
There’s also the issue of money. Max is insisting on helping me but Carson has always had more money and the better lawyer which has always given him more power. He was never in the picture before so it was never a worry that he would be awarded full custody, let alone want it, but now that he’s making an effort… I’m scared.
He’s painting me as some kind of irresponsible party girl who never went to college and still lives with her parents—and that’s just from the pictures he showed me. Who knows what else he has? Or what kind of spin he’ll put on it? I wish more than anything that I didn’t bend over backwards for him. That I kept records of every time he called me to drop her off early or didn’t want me to drop her off at all.