Chapter 26

twenty-six

“He’s been served.”

“Right.” Savannah held the phone tightly to her ear. Everything had a million moving parts to it lately, and this was one large chunk of those moving parts. “Was he…mad?”

“Yes.” Kevin Brock’s voice echoed through the phone at her.

Savannah wanted to shake, but she couldn’t allow herself to do that. Not yet. This was her worst nightmare coming true. Going back to court with Forrest, fighting again for custody, it was going to open every wound she’d thought she’d closed. But it had to be worth it in the end. It had to be for Brinley, to make her life better, to give her what she needed—stability.

“And the protection order?”

“It’s been filed. Everything is in place. These next seventy-two hours are going to be the most trying while he processes the new information, and while he reacts to it, but I’m not convinced he’ll show up at your door. Not now.”

Were all good lawyers this cocky? Athena certainly was, and Kevin Brock seemed to be, at least the few times Savannah had met with him so far. Taking on two lawsuits at once was taxing, and the weight of both was so heavy that Savannah had struggled to even get out of bed that morning. Her life had become lawyers and paperwork. She longed for the days when she could simply go to work, watch a few practices on the rink, and come home at the end of the day to spend some one-on-one time with Brinley.

Savannah’s phone buzzed in her hand. She pulled it away from her ear and winced at Forrest’s name popping up on the screen. “He’s calling.”

“Don’t answer it. Don’t respond to any texts. And keep records of absolutely every interaction the two of you have. This is one of the most intense times you’re going to have, Savannah. But I’m confident we’ll win this case.”

“Right.” She closed her eyes and leaned against the kitchen counter. If she didn’t deal with the dinner on the stove soon, it’d burn. But she couldn’t bring herself to grab the spatula. Not yet.

“You have the officer’s name I gave you?”

“Yeah, I do.” Savannah glanced toward the living room, barely managing to see the edge of her couch through the kitchen doorway.

“Keep it close, and call me immediately if something else happens.”

“I will.”

“Stay safe, Savannah.” Kevin hung up.

Cast into silence, Savannah stayed still. There was no going back now. She’d served him, she was suing him, and she had to win because if she didn’t, the consequences were going to be detrimental to everyone in the family, but especially Brinley.

“What’s for dinner?” Brinley’s voice startled her.

Savannah immediately snagged the spatula and moved the chicken around the skillet. “Uh… chicken parmesan.”

“How much longer?” The added extra whine in her tone was nearly too much.

“Maybe ten minutes.”

“Okay!” Brinley stepped forward and looked over the food cooking on the stove before she skittered off to the living room. She should probably be doing homework or something, but Savannah didn’t have the heart or the energy to chase her down for it. Not tonight. Not with that phone call from Kevin.

If only Conrad were alive. Then Savannah would have at least one person who understood the entire situation and was able to give her sound advice. But it really wasn’t advice she wanted. She’d made the decision. She wanted the support. She could call Kyla, but something held her back.

It wasn’t just burdening Kyla with more of her drama than necessary, but Kyla had been distant at best since she’d agreed to sue the hospital. In fact, talking to her had been so hard that Savannah hadn’t done it—not outside the normal check-ins and random memes and videos that she’d send via text message.

“Dad won’t stop calling.” Brinley handed the phone to Savannah.

Frowning, Savannah stared at it. “When did you take my phone?”

“I thought I’d watch a video.” Brinley shrugged and bounced out of the room again.

Thank God she hadn’t answered the call. That’d go against everything Kevin had told her to do. But that didn’t mean Brinley hadn’t seen any obnoxious text messages from Forrest either. Fuck, Savannah was going to have to lock down her phone again and force Brinley not to use it throughout the course of the lawsuit, wasn’t she? Sighing, Savannah ran her fingers through her hair and pulled on the ends. The shot of pain that moved through her scalp was as good a reminder as any that she was here, she was alive, and she would live to see another day.

“When’s Fallon coming over again? I miss her.”

Savannah winced. She hadn’t even broached that subject with Brinley and now she supposed she didn’t have a choice. “I don’t know when Fallon will be coming again.”

“Well, what’s she doing tonight? Ask her to come over.”

“Brin…” Savannah bit the inside of her cheek. This was the last thing that she needed. The pain from her last conversation with Fallon, the struggle to walk through the mess of a friendship they’d created, and the fact that Savannah hadn’t protected Brinley from that friendship was exactly what was going to put her over the edge. “Not tonight.”

“Okay. Then when?” Brinley grabbed the plates from the cabinet and put them onto the counter, even though Savannah hadn’t asked for them.

“It’s probably going to be a while.”

“Next week?”

Savannah wanted to growl and groan, but she held it back, thankfully. The last thing Brinley needed was to think that Savannah was mad at her. “I don’t think Fallon will be up for coming next week.”

“Is she on a trip?” Brinley grabbed forks from the drawer.

“No, I don’t think she’s on a trip.”

The forks rattled on the plate. Brinley stilled, and it scared Savannah. She was never that quiet. “Is she mad at me?”

“What? No, baby, not at all.” Savannah immediately bent down to look into Brinley’s eyes. “Fallon and I had… a disagreement.” She’d almost said an argument, but that would set Brinley off in another direction. “And we’re just trying to work through that before she comes over.” Or doesn’t come over. Savannah didn’t add that last bit.

“What did you disagree about?”

Savannah bit the inside of her cheek. This was the last thing that she wanted to talk to Brinley about. Rolling her shoulders, Savannah took the food off the stove and plated their dinner. She handed Brinley her plate and shooed her off to the living room to eat in front of the television. It might buy her a few minutes, but that’s all she’d get.

Her phone buzzed again, loudly this time, vibrating against the countertop. Savannah reached over and immediately put the phone on do not disturb . If Kyla needed to get hold of her, then it would come through, or her parents. But she didn’t need to be looking at the calls and texts from Forrest for the rest of the night. It was clear Brinley needed her attention, and she needed to sit down and explain what was about to happen to her daughter.

Again.

Savannah sat heavily on the couch next to Brinley but then relaxed. She could do this. Lowering the volume on the television, she took one small bite of her dinner before she started. “Your dad is calling because he’s upset with me.”

Brinley frowned.

“I’m taking him back to court,” Savannah said slowly.

“What?”

“Some things have happened, Brin, some that you’re aware of and others you’re not, and I need to know that you’re safe and that you have a good home to grow up in.”

“But he’s my dad.” Brinley’s eyes widened, water filling them. “You’re trying to take me away from him.”

“I’m not.” Except she was, at least to an extent. She didn’t want him to have such unlimited access. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“From Dad?” Brinley nearly screeched. “He told me you’d do this. He said you’d take me away.”

“Fuck,” Savannah said under her breath. She should have known better. She should have guessed that Forrest was feeding Brinley stories and lies. “I’m not taking you away, and I’ll never force you to not see your dad so long as he treats you respectfully.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know you don’t.” Savannah scratched the back of her head. “Do you remember the other month, when Dad brought you home and Fallon was here? Some of the things he said?”

Brinley nodded, her lips pressed together, and she wouldn’t look at Savannah.

“Those types of things are what I’m talking about. Or when he got mad because you were with Aunt Kyla and I was out at Saylor’s birthday party. It’s not okay for him to get upset by those things.” Those were the few moments Savannah was willing to mention, and they weren’t even half as bad as what Forrest had texted or done in private just between the two of them.

“So you want to keep me all to yourself.”

“Ideally, I would love for your dad and me to be able to communicate and raise you together. But that’s not always possible, and I’ve made the incredibly hard decision that what you need is to be here, where you’re safer, where you’re protected.”

“But dad won’t hurt me.”

Savannah bit her tongue hard, because as much as Brinley might believe that, Savannah deeply disagreed with it. Forrest had already hurt both of them, and she was afraid it would continue.

“I know you believe that,” Savannah finally answered. “And I’m so sorry that I have to do something that’s going to upset you.”

“It’s not fair!”

“It’s not,” Savannah agreed. “It’s really not.”

Brinley pouted, but she didn’t continue to argue. Savannah wasn’t sure why, because any other time something like this had come up, Brinley had thrown a fit the size of the sun. It had lasted for days, and she was fairly certain she hadn’t seen the end of this argument.

“I’m not worth you fighting with Daddy.”

“Brin! Of course you are.” Savannah moved swiftly, wrapping Brinley in her arms and dragging her in for a tight hug. “You’re worth every fight and more, trust me on that. I love you so much.”

Brinley sniffled, but wrapped her arms around Savannah’s middle and hugged her back. Savannah held on tightly until Brinley shifted to move away. She wiped her face and then grabbed her plate. “Does this mean Fallon can come over more?”

“What?” Savannah frowned.

“I know Daddy doesn’t like Fallon, so if I’m staying with you all the time, does that mean Fallon can come over more?”

God bless the logical mind of a nine-year-old. Savannah shook her head instantly. “No. I don’t think Fallon will be coming over anytime soon.”

“Why not? Did Dad do something to her?”

“No.” Well, yes, he had. Savannah ignored that. He wasn’t the reason Fallon was avoiding them, at least not from Savannah’s understanding. It had far more to do with what Fallon thought Savannah should be doing about the situation and what Savannah wasn’t doing. “Like I said before, Fallon and I had a disagreement.”

“About what?”

“It’s really not something you need to be worried about.” Savannah shoved a forkful of food between her lips, chewing rapidly. She hated talking about this. She just wanted to move on. If Fallon was going to hold her ground that Savannah should be doing things that she wasn’t, then that was going to be an argument they would continue to have.

Fallon wasn’t Brinley’s parent, and she didn’t understand the situation fully. She’d stated very clearly since they’d met that they were to keep each other at an arm’s length, and they weren’t dating, they weren’t in a relationship, so the personal things had to be kept to a minimum.

And that landed them exactly where they were.

On a pause—an indefinite pause.

Savannah wasn’t sure that Fallon would ever budge from her position, and really, what right did she have to judge Savannah’s parenting and decisions? She hadn’t been there when Savannah had chosen to leave Forrest or the fight that happened just to win fifty-fifty custody the first time. She had no idea how broken Savannah had been from day one.

The knocking was sharp on the door.

Savannah tensed, her entire body a live wire, waiting to strike the nearest object. “Brinley, go to your room.”

“But Mom—”

“Room, now.” Savannah put her plate down. Her hands shook as she stood up and made sure that Brinley had scampered to her bedroom and shut the door. Savannah snagged her phone off the coffee table and started the long, slow walk toward the front door.

There wasn’t another knock.

There wasn’t pounding.

But Savannah was ready for whatever Forrest had in store for her. She had the police dialed in, and she was ready to make the phone call and leave it on so they could hear absolutely everything. Savannah sent one last glance back toward Brinley’s bedroom as she reached the door. Leaning forward, she put her face to the peephole and instantly relaxed.

Fallon.