14. Courtney

COURTNEY

I sitin a conference room in Erin"s office, waiting for her to join me. My nerves are on high alert as the minutes tick past. Her assistant assured me she"d be right in. She was just finishing up a phone call when I arrived.

"Hello," Erin says as she breezes through the door a few minutes later. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but that call had to do with your case, so I needed to finish it before meeting with you."

"Everything okay?" I ask nervously.

"It will be." Erin smiles at me from across the table where she"s taken a seat. She opens the file folder she carried in with her and shuffles some papers around before turning a stack of them and placing them in front of me.

"Were you aware that Mr. Whittle was arrested a few weeks ago for drug possession?" Erin asks.

"He was what?!" I almost screech, but compose myself slightly.

"I didn"t think so. He"s been charged with possession, intent to distribute, and crossing state lines, among some other charges. The feds are also involved. They believe he"s involved with a larger ring."

"Please tell me this helps our case for denying him custody," I ask her, dumbfounded by this news.

"It does. I already sent a motion to the judge to throw out his petition and to sign ours based on the new details of Mr. Whittle"s current legal situation. I haven"t gone as far as to request his parental rights be stripped, as that"s extreme. Judges usually aren"t too keen on doing that as a first step, but we can keep it in our wheelhouse should things with his current situation get even worse."

"I"m in shock. Do you know how long it will take for the judge to make a decision?"

"It should be within the next couple of days. The motion I filed was an emergency injunction, so they make those a priority. I"ve asked for full legal and physical custody. If visitation is awarded, I"ve asked that it be supervised and only at a location within twenty-five miles from your residence."

"And what about child support?" I ask.

"That is determined by the state. He"s been served with paperwork to submit proof of his current income, along with copies of last year"s tax return. The state has a formula on how they calculate what he will be required to pay."

"And if he ends up in jail because of these charges?" I ask.

"Then he"ll become delinquent, and the amount will just accumulate. Whenever he"d get out and could start working, money would be garnished to start paying it."

"I"m still so shocked about today"s revelation, but also not surprised, either. He was always so secretive, and I thought it was just that he was cheating on me. Turns out it was even worse; he was selling drugs!"

"Don"t blame yourself for any of his behavior. He knew right from wrong and made his decisions."

"I can"t thank you enough for all the work you"ve done on my case."

"That"s what I"m here for. Once I get word from the judge, I"ll call you with the updates."

"And what happens after that?"

"If he grants our request, that will be the order until a new one is filed. If Mr. Whittle never files for a new one, then nothing has to change."

"It can really be that simple?"

"It can, but I also want you to know that he could still fight it, even with his current charges. Just because he"s facing jail time doesn"t mean he can"t also be fighting for custody. Until he"s found guilty, the courts could look beyond that or make a temporary order until there"s an outcome in that criminal case."

"Okay."

"On a more personal note, you"ve got a good thing going with Zack. I"ve had the pleasure of getting to know him over the years, first as a client and then as one of my husband"s teammates."

"I"ve known him pretty much my entire life. I just never thought I"d be where I am now. He was always just my older brother"s best friend, one I had the biggest crush on and thought was hot."

"Oh, girl, why do the brothers" best friends have to be so hot? I had the biggest crush on my brother"s best friend growing up. Turns out, he was a douchebag, but that didn"t stop my sixteen-year-old self from dreaming about him. Thankfully, they aren"t still friends, but I remember those days when I lusted after him."

"Sometimes fate has a way of making things work out."

"It sure does," Erin says. "Unless you have any further questions for me, I"ll let you get out of here and be in touch as soon as I hear back from the judge."

"I think I"m good. Thanks for everything."

"You"re welcome." Erin stands from her seat and motions for me to go ahead of her. She walks me out to the receptionist"s desk. "It was good to see you today. Will I see you at the next home game?"

"Um, I"m not sure. It"s Wednesday night, right?"

"Yep," she confirms.

"Weeknights are tough. Jax goes to bed around eight thirty, and I don"t ever mess with bedtime when we"ve got an early morning the next day."

"I get it. I don"t make it to all of them, either, so don"t feel bad if you can"t."

I leave Erin"s office feeling cautiously optimistic about the future.

"Go, Zack!"Jax cheers at the TV as we watch the first period of the game. He really enjoys watching the games when we"re able to, much like I do. It makes me smile how easily he"s taken to Zack. He"s so much happier now that we"re in Austin and around my family once again.

My phone ringing pulls my attention from the game, and I glance at it to see who is calling. I see Erin"s name on the screen, so I grab the phone and head into my bedroom to answer the call.

"Hello," I greet.

"Hi, Courtney, sorry it"s so late. I had a dinner meeting tonight and couldn"t call earlier."

"No worries. Did you hear back from the courts?" I ask nervously.

"I did, and the judge did as we asked. You"ve been granted the emergency order. I was also made aware that Mr. Whittle has bonded out of jail. I know you had said he hadn"t been in contact recently, but I just wanted you to be aware that he is out. Please be safe and reach out if he tries to contact you directly. If we need to file for a protection order, we can."

"Thank you so much. I"ll stay vigilant, but I don"t think he"ll show up."

"Okay, I"m only a phone call away if you need anything. Have a great night."

I hang up from the call and drop to my bed. I grab my pillow, hugging it to my chest as I let the tears fall. I was so worried the judge wouldn"t sign off and I"d have to go through a long-drawn-out battle in the courts. All I want to do at this moment is call Zack and tell him, but I can"t since he"s on the ice. Instead, I call the next best person.

"Hello," I say when Ryan answers his phone.

"Hey, Sis, everything okay? It sounds like you"re crying."

"They are good tears," I tell him as more fall.

"Elaborate more," he says, and I can tell he"s on edge.

I word vomit everything to him. Everything I learned the other day at Erin"s office. What she just called to tell me.

"Holy shit," he says, probably just as shocked as I was when I first learned about everything going on with Chad. "Makes everything make so much sense now."

"I said the same thing. Do you think I should worry about him showing up now that the judge has ruled in my favor?"

"If he does, I"ll kick his ass. Are you worried about him showing up?"

"I wasn"t until she put the idea into my head."

"That"s a pretty long drive for him to make just to, what, piss off the judge to try to scare you?"

"Just knowing what all he"s involved in, I don"t want him to try to pull anything stupid that hurts Jax or me."

"Do you want to come stay here for a little while? That way, you aren"t alone?"

"That"s an idea. Let me think about it tonight, and I"ll get back to you tomorrow."

"Okay, if you need anything before then, no matter what time it is, you call me. Understand?" Ryan says.

"Yes, of course. Thank you. I love you."

"Love you, too, Sis. Give that nephew of mine a hug and kiss from me."

"Will do. Talk tomorrow."

Courtney

Can you call me when you"re out of the rink? I have some news.

I slip my phone back into my pocket and join Jax out in the living room. The game has gone into the first intermission, so the broadcasters are talking about the game on the TV.

"Are you ready for your shower?"

"Yes," he says, but doesn"t attempt to move. He"s being kind of fidgety, so my mom spidey senses go on alert.

"Is something wrong or bothering you?"

"When will I see Dad again?" he asks. He hasn"t said much about Chad since we left, but I knew he"d eventually ask about him.

I take a seat next to him and mull over what to say. I take his hands in my own. He brings his eyes to mine and stays silent so I can talk.

"I don"t know. Your dad loves you. I know that, and you know that," I tell him. I don"t ever want to paint Chad in a bad light to Jax. He knows what it was like to be in the same house as him, and he knows what it"s been like without him. "I knew when I decided to move here that it would mean not seeing him often, but I had to make what I felt was the best decision to keep us safe and happy. That wasn"t something I made lightly. Does that make sense?"

He nods his head, but I don"t know if he really understands. "I like it here better, Mommy. I can play and make noise, and he isn"t here to get mad." Tears prick my eyes because he"s right. No one will be mad at him for being a kid here.

"Exactly, baby. I will do everything in my power to keep it like that."

"I love you, Mommy," Jax says. He pulls his hands from mine and wraps them around me in a big hug. I hold him tightly to my chest and hold back the sobs that threaten to break free from my chest. What I wouldn"t do for this boy. I might not be fond of his dad, but I wouldn"t change my past for anything because that would mean I wouldn"t have Jax.

Once we"ve had our moment, he jumps down and heads for the bathroom. I get the water turned on and the temperature where he likes it. He takes care of washing himself, only needing me to check and make sure he rinses his hair all the way.

"Fuzzy jammies with feet or ones without feet?" I ask from his bedroom as he"s drying off in the bathroom.

"Fuzzy," he calls back. I pull out a pair with clean underwear and set them out on his bed for him to change into when he gets in.

"Get dressed, and I"ll go make us a bedtime snack."

I head to the kitchen and pop a small bag of popcorn to share. He loves this stuff, and the mini bags are the perfect amount for a snack.

Once we"ve finished our snack, he goes in and brushes his teeth, then picks a book for me to read.

"Froggy Goes to Camp again?" I ask.

"Yep!" he confirms.

"I"ve read this one so many times, you could probably read it from your memory," I tease before opening the book and reading it using the funny voices I"ve adapted for each character over the hundreds of times we"ve read these books.

"Good night, Jax. I love you to the moon and back."

"Love you to the moon and back," he replies.

I pull the covers up and tuck him in, pressing a kiss to his forehead. He rolls over onto his side, and his eyes quickly drift closed. I stay still, watching as his little body moves with each breath he takes. He looks so peaceful, and I hope he stays that way. I hope that everything I"ve done in the past six months is worth it and that he doesn"t hate me one day because of it. I eventually turn and put his book back on the shelf before heading out of his room. I stop in the doorway and glance at his sleeping form one last time. "To the moon," I whisper before closing the door and heading back to the living room. The game is still on TV, and the second period is almost over, at this point. Thankfully, the Fusion has added to their lead.

I jolt awake to the sound of my phone ringing. I must have nodded off on the couch watching the game because when I look at the screen, it is no longer playing, and the name flashing on my phone is Zack.

"Hello," I groggily say, pausing to clear my voice of the sleep.

"Sorry to wake you. Your text said to call. Is everything okay?" Zack asks.

"I must have fallen asleep watching the game. Did you guys win?"

"We did. Seven to three," he confirms.

"Nice."

"What was your text about? What"s your news?"

"Erin called. The judge finally signed off on our emergency filing."

"That"s fantastic!"

"It is, and I"m so relieved," I tell him, and that"s the god"s honest truth about that portion of my call with her.

"What"s wrong? You don"t sound elated about that."

"I am, don"t get me wrong. But during our call, she brought up something else, and it just has me on edge."

"What is that?" he asks.

"She let me know that Chad had bonded out of jail. She just wanted me to be aware. We don"t have any reason to believe he"d come here and try anything, but she just wanted me on alert. And now that is all I can think of. Jax also asked me about Chad out of the blue tonight, and I had to figure out what exactly to say to him."

"Do you want to come stay at my place? It"s secure. I have a state-of-the-art home security system, plus, he"d never think to look for you at my place."

"Ryan offered the same thing when I talked to him. I don"t know if that"s necessary right now."

"The offer stands if you change your mind. Even if that happens while I"m gone this week, I can give you the garage code to get in with."

"Thank you," I simply say.

"You"re welcome. Why don"t I let you go so you can get back to sleep and call me tomorrow."

"I can do that."

"Night, Courtney," Zack says.

"Night, Zack," I tell him and end the call.