Chapter 34

thirty-four

The old theater was a stunning place to hold the recital. Tia had mentioned it a few times when Savannah had picked Brinley up from rehearsals, but she hadn’t quite described its beauty. Savannah had gotten there early with Brinley to make sure that she knew where to go and could warm up properly.

But Savannah waited for Fallon so she wasn’t by herself. Especially when Forrest arrived, since he was supposed to be here tonight.

The worst part about suing him for custody was the fact that now he wanted to be father of the year, so he was coming to all her events, he was playing the role the best he knew how. At least so long as it didn’t interfere with Savannah. If he could make a mess of things for Savannah, then he would—and that, Kevin assured her, would be his downfall.

Savannah could only hope.

“I know I’m early,” Fallon said, sliding her fingers into Savannah’s grasp.

“Thank you,” Savannah whispered, her breath rushing out of her. She hated that she felt so much better with Fallon right here with her, but she did.

“I thought you might need me here before you told me.”

Savannah hummed an answer. She hadn’t thought Fallon had picked up on that, but she should know better than that by now. Fallon had always been astute when it came to Forrest and his wake of drama and hyperbole. Fallon would want to be there to protect Savannah as much as possible.

“You always do think of everything, don’t you?” Savannah leaned into Fallon’s side, grateful for her ability to do that, especially tonight.

It was the first time that she and Forrest would be stuck in a room together since she’d filed against him, and she knew it was going to be a doozy. When it came to anger, he played the long game as well as the short one.

They found a seat together in the far back corner. That way Savannah could see Forrest when he came in and make sure that she stayed as far away from him as possible. If he would stay on the opposite side of the theater, then maybe they could survive this night unscathed.

The program started fine, and it moved quickly. Savannah kept her hand clasped in Fallon’s except when Brinley ended up on the stage and she snapped a bunch of pictures. For only starting dance a few months ago, Brinley had improved dramatically. But she was still behind the other kids in her class for sure. She probably needed more practice time, but Savannah didn’t have the heart to force her to practice with everything going on.

Clapping loudly, Savannah beamed at Fallon as Brinley bowed and walked off the stage. Fallon seemed just as happy about being there tonight. The rest of the recital was about the same as the first half, some dances amazing and others—well, it was a recital full of kids. So they did what they were supposed to do and some put in their full heart and others didn’t.

“Come on, let’s meet her outside.” Fallon snagged Savannah’s wrist and pulled her toward the exit.

It was probably a good thing to head that way. More parents would mean more of a buffer with the nasty things Forrest could say to her. Rolling her neck, Savannah stayed right by Fallon’s side as she waited for Brinley to make her appearance.

“There’s no reason you should be here for this.” Forrest’s voice was deep, quieter than normal, but he wasn’t talking to Savannah. He was looking directly at Fallon.

Savannah squeezed her hand tightly. “She’s here because Brin asked her to be here.”

“Doesn’t mean she had to show up.” Forrest sneered at them. “She’s my daughter. I have a say who will be in her life.”

“Actually, you don’t,” Savannah snapped back at him. She glanced around the lobby area—no one else was looking at them, so they hadn’t quite made a scene yet. She wasn’t going to add what she was really thinking to her comment because that would absolutely land them both in a screaming match. So Savannah chose not to respond instead.

“This is putting such a hardship on Brinley. You have to know the pain you’re causing her to go through, all because you’re such a selfish bitch.” Forrest’s face was back in an ugly sneer.

Savannah’s hands went clammy. Cold rushed through her body. He would never stop, would he? He’d always find some way to pull her back into the drama. Well, she knew better than to engage by now, and she wasn’t going to allow him to take control of this conversation.

“The only thing making this custody case hard is bringing it up in front of her and sticking her in the middle where she doesn’t belong.” Fallon shot Forrest a dark glare. “I suggest you avoid talking to Brinley about adult things. Let her be a kid a little longer.”

Pride bloomed in Savannah’s chest. Fallon was always there to protect both of them, no matter what. Forrest’s lips parted, the retort on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t get very far. Tia stepped into their tight circle, snapping the tension like a rubber band.

“Hey! I’m so glad you were able to make it!” Tia looked at Savannah first, then Fallon curiously, then she landed her gaze on Forrest. “Brinley said she was surprised to see you out there. She was so happy that you were able to come after all.”

Had Forrest tried to bail out on the recital?

Savannah wouldn’t put it past him.

Or maybe he’d told Brinley that Savannah had told him he couldn’t come, and that she was the reason he wasn’t allowed to be there. That sounded more like the Forrest she knew, and she wouldn’t put it past him to try and get one over on Tia.

“There was a conflict of whether or not I’m allowed in the same room as Savannah. So I wasn’t sure if an exception would be made to allow me to be the father I know my daughter needs.” Forrest puffed his chest out.

So he was taking it that direction.

Tia shot Fallon a shocked glance before slowly focusing back on Forrest. “Well, I’m glad that was able to be resolved at least for tonight. Brinley’s one of my best students. She picks up the moves quickly, and she’s so sweet with everyone.”

Savannah beamed. She loved when people praised her daughter like that. She wished they’d do it in front of her more often so that she’d understand she was as good as people saw her, but Savannah would have no problem repeating what Tia had said as soon as Brinley was changed and out in the lobby with them.

“She really is such a good kid,” Savannah said, wanting to focus every morsel of energy she had on her daughter and ignore the fight with Forrest. Because he wasn’t supposed to be within five hundred feet of her, and she definitely wasn’t supposed to be talking to him alone. So it was a good thing Fallon and Tia were here to witness this.

“She’s wonderful. Everyone loves her,” Tia added. “You’ll have to excuse me. I need to talk with another parent.”

Tia moved off to the side, but not before she brushed a hand down Fallon’s arm quickly. No one else probably would have noticed it. Savannah gripped Fallon’s free hand tightly, keeping herself centered through that touch.

“Mom! Dad!” Brinley bounded toward them, her face lit up with excitement and joy.

How Savannah had missed that look lately. She’d been too bogged down with the custody suit and the pain that it brought up for all of them. Savannah hadn’t ever wanted that for her. She’d wanted to protect her, but it was going to be impossible to protect her from Forrest and not drag them all through the mud a little bit. But she would do as much as she could.

“Did you see me do my spin?” Brinley threw her hands up into the air and immediately showed off the spin that they were supposed to have seen.

“Yeah, baby, I saw you do it. You were amazing.” Savannah held out her arms and Brinley ran into them, giving her a hug.

When she stepped back, she looked at Forrest like she was expecting him to hug her, but he didn’t budge. He’d never been one for physical touch. Savannah had always worried that he’d be disconnected from Brinley because of that. And she still wasn’t sure if she was right or wrong about that.

Or if Brinley was just a pawn to him, a way to manipulate Savannah into doing what he wanted her to do.

Savannah had to pray that Forrest hadn’t always seen Brinley like that, that at one point he’d just loved her for being his child. But she’d been wrong before, and she’d probably be wrong again. Savannah gripped onto Fallon’s hand tightly. She didn’t want Fallon to go more than half an inch from where they were standing. She needed the support, and she knew that Fallon would give it to her.

“Did Aunt Kyla come?”

Savannah shook her head slowly. “She couldn’t because Evie had a concert tonight and it went long. She texted and was so sad that she was going to miss it, but I sent her pictures and a video. I promise.”

Brinley nodded, although Savannah wasn’t sure that she fully understood. It was the problem of being an only child while her aunt had a bunch of kids. She didn’t understand that pull of scheduling conflicts and prioritizing. She’d always been the center of Savannah’s world since the moment she was born.

“I think Brinley should come home with me tonight,” Forrest said, breaking the moment.

Savannah jerked her chin up, her entire body ready for a fight. “What do you mean?”

“It’d be a better place for her, with less…” Forrest stopped talking and dragged his gaze over Fallon, landing on their joined hands “…inappropriate relationships.”

“No,” Savannah stated firmly. “You won’t be taking Brin home. It’s my night, and she’ll be with me.”

Forrest’s face reddened, as she knew it would. He always looked like this when she pushed back with him, and she wasn’t sad about it either. Not this time. Inappropriate relationship? Fuck him. Savannah was going to fight with everything she had in order to win her lawsuit against him. It was going to be a long battle, but she’d make sure it was worth it in the end.

“Brin, give your dad a hug and tell him goodbye. You’ll see him on Monday after school.”

“Bye, Dad!” Brinley, to her credit, simply did as she was told with the energy that she would have done it with anyway.

Turning quickly, Savannah ushered Brinley toward the front doors of the theater and headed out with Fallon right next to her. This was exactly what she’d needed. The courage to put her foot down, and the energy to tell Forrest where to shove it. She had no doubt that Forrest was behind her still, spluttering, because she’d actually just walked away from the fight for the first time in as long as she could remember.

Power was good.

It felt amazing.

And to know that she could do this without facing uglier consequences—or at least that she was far more willing to fight those consequences—was astounding.

“Do you want to get ice cream?” Fallon asked quietly in Savannah’s ear. “It was a thing Tia used to do after all our recitals growing up. Some way to celebrate it.”

“That sounds like a brilliant idea.” Savannah bent down and smiled at Brinley. “Ice cream to celebrate?”

“Yes!” Brinley fist pumped the air and jumped up and down twice. “I want chocolate chip cookie dough, with rainbow sprinkles and hot fudge.”

“Whoa there, slow down. We have to actually get there first before you just start rattling off your order.” Savannah took hold of Brinley’s hand as they started to walk toward the parking garage. This could turn out to be a good night.

No, scratch that.

Savannah would make this the best night she possibly could.

Brinley deserved it. So did Fallon, and so did she. So she’d do everything in her power to make sure that they were all in.

She was going to stop living in fear of her past from this moment forward, and she was going to fight for the future she wanted. One that had Brinley with her all the time, and one that had Fallon right where she belonged, next to her, partnering with her, hand in hand as they walked through the ups and downs life was going to throw at them from here on out.

She didn’t want it any other way.