“Well, obviously, I want to buy the dance studio but try as I might, I can’t see it. There are too many other things that will demand my time.”
He creased his eyebrows. “Like what?”
She continued before she could think too much more about this. “Like you, Garrett, Hexa, and Isabel.”
She saw his lips twitch. He was going to laugh.
“Who’s Isabel?” he asked.
“Our daughter.” She looked down so she couldn’t see the amusement in his eyes at her silly thoughts. He chuckled, and her cheeks burned. She stood up and tried to escape into the bedroom so she didn’t have to face him.
He caught her before she reached the door. “Hey, wait.”
“You promised you wouldn’t laugh.”
“No, I didn’t. I told you there wasn’t much you could say that would make me laugh.”
“Yeah, well now you know how I feel. I hope that doesn’t make you too uncomfortable.”
He chuckled again, and she looked up at him. She wanted to hit him, but she was afraid that would hurt her more than him.
“At least I told you. What does your future look like?”
He stopped laughing and looked deep into her eyes. She ached for him.
“Exactly like yours.”
Then he captured her lips with his. She pushed into the kiss. He wove his fingers into her hair. Hexa wiggled her way between them, and they both started laughing.
“See, she demands a lot of time,” said Bethany.
“That she does. How’d you know about Isabel?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Isabel is my mother’s name.”
“I didn’t. I just like the name.”
He nodded and ran a finger down her neck and leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I think it’s time we find out what’s underneath that robe and make this marriage official.”
The next afternoon, Bethany was reading on the couch with Hexa when her doorbell rang. Jamie was out for a run, so she moved Hexa and answered the door. On the other side was a very old woman with short bright white hair.
“Madame Pence, what are you doing here?” The woman had been her dance instructor when she was a child.
“I know I’m early, dear. I’m sorry. I always give myself way too much time. Can I come in?”
Bethany waved her in. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Iced tea please.”
Madame Pence sat at her kitchen table, and Bethany racked her brain, trying to figure out why she would be here.
Bethany set the glass in front of her.
“I’m sorry, Madame Pence, I don’t understand why you’re here.”
The front door slammed, and Jamie froze when he saw the two women sitting at the table.
“Dammit. I’m late.”
Jamie plopped down in the seat next to her. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“With what?”
Jamie raised his eyebrows at Madame Pence. “You didn’t tell her?”
“I’m afraid I didn’t have time.”
“Tell me what? And I thought you were out running.” He was wearing a button up shirt and nice slacks. And he wasn’t even winded.
He pulled some papers out of the bag at his side.
“I lied. I’m sorry. I was visiting with Mrs. Pence.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to negotiate for you. We came to terms we both are happy with, and all you have to do is sign here.”
He pointed to a line on what looked like a contract.
“I’m sorry. I still don’t understand.” She wanted to believe that this was her studio, but it seemed so surreal.
Jamie gave her a wicked grin. “Once you sign, you will be the new owner of the studio you grew up in.”
Bethany’s stomach fell out. This was more than she could ever ask for. “But that wasn’t supposed to happen until….” She let her words trail off. He was buying her studio now. Not after a divorce. Now.
He put his hand over hers. “I know you’re worried about managing the kids and everything, but if it’s too much, we can hire someone to take care of the studio. We’ll work it out. You deserve this.”
Bethany’s hands shook as she took the pen. She was finally getting a studio. Not just any studio either, but the one she wanted. She signed quickly, and he handed the pen to Madame Pence, who gave her a smile as she signed. “Whew. I’m so ready to retire.”
“Aren’t you going to sign somewhere?” Bethany asked Jamie.
“Why would I?”
“Because you’re buying it.”
“No. You’re buying it. In ninety days, to be exact. You ready?”
Bethany threw her arms around him. “Thank you.”
“I love you, Beth. I want to make you happy.”
And she was. Happier than she’d ever been.
Garrett practically ran to his car on Friday when Jamie picked him up. He threw himself in Jamie’s arms.
“Hi, Dad!” He beamed up at Jamie. All his reservations from Monday night were gone. Jamie couldn’t quite believe the difference. This was what he imagined having a son would be like. His son. Those words still didn’t feel real.
“You ready to go?”
Garrett looked around him to the car. “Yeah. Where’s Bethany?”
“She’s at home. I thought we’d go to dinner just the two of us.”
Garrett frowned. “Okay. Can we get pizza?”
“Sure. You wanna go to Chuck E. Cheese’s?” Jamie had never been there before, but they had pizza and games for kids.
Garrett’s eyes widened. “Mom’s never taken me there. Let’s go.” He rushed around Jamie to the car.
Jamie wondered what else Garrett missed out on because his mother never took him anywhere. He soon pulled into the parking lot. Sure, she didn’t have a lot of money, but there were things like the beach and the ice cream stand that weren’t expensive. Hell, the beach was free and less than a half mile to her house.
“You ready to play some games?”
Garrett jumped out of the car. “Yeah. And pizza. And Chuck E. Can I get a picture with him?”
“Sure thing, kiddo. My camera is always ready.”
He wanted to document every part of Garrett’s life. He had six years of no pictures and no memories. That was about to change.
They played games, listened to the fake Chuck E. sing songs, and ate horrible pizza, and the smile never left Garrett’s face. When the night was finally over, Garrett turned in two thousand tickets and got a stuffed Chuck E. Personally, Jamie would have nightmares of that thing, but Garrett seemed to like it.
After they got home, they put on a Disney movie in the master bedroom, cuddled in bed with Hexa lying at Garrett’s feet. Garrett was out in seconds, but Jamie and Bethany watched the whole movie anyway. When it was over, he put Garrett to bed. For the first time in his life, he saw his future, and he loved it. Everything was perfect.
After breakfast, Garrett ran upstairs to put on his bathing suit, and he was waiting by the door with Hexa when Jamie and Bethany finally emerged.
“Come on. I wanna go swimming.”
“We’re coming. Calm down.” Jamie was so pleased with the kid’s eagerness. He didn’t know if he’d be able to give him back on Sunday night.
Bunny was lying out on the beach when they got down there. She stood up when she saw them.
“Oh, is this Garrett. I’m Miss Bunny.”
Garrett cocked his head. “Like the Playboy bunny?”
Jamie felt his face go bright red. “Garrett, how do you know about Playboy bunnies?”
“Ray told me. Showed me pictures too. They’re pretty. Like Bunny and Bethany.”
Jamie clenched his fists. Garrett was six. Jamie figured Ray would think it was funny. They would have words about this on Sunday.
Bunny crouched down in front of Garrett. “When I was born, my daddy had a pet bunny that was eaten by an alligator, and he was so sad that he named me a
fter the bunny.”
Garrett blinked at her. “What was the bunny’s name?”
“Bunny, duh.”
A seagull flew by, and Hexa went barking after it, and Garrett chased after her, apparently bored with Bunny.
They swam for hours, and had one scare when Garrett went under the water, but otherwise, it was an uneventful day. Comfortable as Jamie had ever been though.
On Sunday night, Bethany curled up on the couch with Garrett reading him stories. The kid was insatiable. Every time she stopped reading, he would beg for her to read another one. Of course she couldn’t refuse.
The doorbell rang, and Jamie answered it. Bethany continued reading The Cat in the Hat and looked up only when Zoe cleared her throat.
“Come on, Garrett, time to go.”
“After this story.” He patted Bethany’s arm. “Keep going.”
“I think you need to go home with your mom.”
“No.” He started to sniff.
Zoe crossed the room in two strides and grabbed Garrett’s hand. “Let’s go.”
He jerked his hand out of hers. “No. You can’t make me. I’m going to stay here forever.”
Garrett’s tears started then. Hexa jumped on the couch between Garrett and Zoe and growled at Zoe with bared teeth. Bethany had never seen Hexa act that way.
“Get that thing away from my son,” Zoe said.
“She’s protecting him. She thinks you’re going to hurt him.”
Bethany looked past Zoe and saw Jamie come into the room holding Garrett’s bag. He took one look at Hexa, dropped the bag, and raced for the dog, who was still growling like mad. He grabbed her collar.
“Sorry, Zoe.” He dragged Hexa out of the room, ears pressed flat against her head as she continued to growl.
Bethany wrung her hands. “Really, she’s very fond of Garrett.”
“Looks like she’s a little dangerous. My attorney will hear about this.”
Garrett’s tears had turned into a bawl. “No, Mama. I love Hexa more than I love you.”
Zoe reached down and grabbed Garrett by the arm and dragged him off the couch. His hip hit the ground with a thump, and Bethany reached for him, but Zoe stopped her.
“Don’t you dare touch my son.”
“You’re hurting him. Let him go.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” She pulled Garrett so hard, Bethany was surprised she didn’t dislocate his shoulder.
Bethany’d had enough. She hauled off and slapped Zoe across the face. Zoe released Garrett and put her hand to her face. Bethany reached for Garrett, and he climbed into her arms. He clenched his arms around her neck and buried his face in her shoulder. “Don’t make me go home with her.”
“Garrett, you have to. I wish we could keep you here, but she’s your mom. You live with her.”
“But I don’t wanna. I want to live with you and Jamie. You can be my mom.”
Bethany squeezed her eyes shut. She had no idea how to explain to a six-year-old that he was making it worse. Especially a sobbing, sad six-year-old.
Zoe glared at Bethany. “Lots of things to tell my lawyer about. Now give me my son.”
Bethany put Garrett gently on the floor. He held tighter.
“Listen, your dad and I will see you on Wednesday. We’ll make cookies. Would you like that?”
He nodded into her shoulder.
“Okay, but I need you to be a good boy for your mom and go home with her now.”
He let go and looked at her with his face still screwed up. Zoe grabbed his hand and dragged a sobbing Garrett out of the house.
Bethany’s heart broke watching him go. But she didn’t know how she could stop her. Bethany waited until they were gone before she went and found Hexa and Jamie.
“I’ve done something bad.”
“What’s that?” Jamie asked, not taking his eyes off Hexa, who was finally starting to relax. At least the ridge on her back had gone down.
“I hit Zoe.”
Jamie jerked his head up. “What? Why?”
“Because she was manhandling Garrett. I got mad. I’m sorry. I don’t usually behave like that.”
“You and Hexa both. I’ve never seen her so protective.”
“Well, now you have. Hopefully this won’t hurt too bad in the case.”
He put his arm around her shoulder. “I’m glad you two look out for him. If Zoe wants to bring it up, she’ll have to explain why. I don’t think she’ll do that. Come on, let’s go to bed. We’ve had too much excitement for one day.”
“I’ll say.”
Two weeks later, Annabelle informed Jamie that the petition for custody would be served. On Wednesday when Jamie went to pick up Garrett, Ms. Wendy informed him that Garrett was sick and hadn’t come to school. Then Jamie showed up at Zoe’s house, but no one answered.
He wasn’t surprised. This coming weekend was hers, and so he didn’t expect see Garrett until after the next court date, but he’d make sure the judge knew she was being difficult.
On Monday, he and Bethany were holding hands when they got to Annabelle’s office. He wanted to give her secretary the photo he printed for her, but she was out, so Jamie left it on her desk.
Annabelle was exiting her office. She had her phone in one hand and was yelling at whoever was on the other end. She slammed the phone down on the counter.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Not a good day for my secretary to call in sick. Come on, I don’t expect this is going to be a happy visit.”
“Why not?”
She looked at her watch. “We’ll talk and walk. We’re going to be late.”
She looked between him at Bethany when she spoke. “Did you really slap Zoe?”
Bethany flushed. “Yes. She was hurting Garrett.”
“Regardless, that was a stupid move. She’s going to bring it up to the judge. You better have a good story. Also, I should’ve heard that from you, not Zoe’s attorney.”
“Sorry.”
When they entered the courthouse, Bethany broke away. “I’m going to go get a water. Do you want one?”
“Yes. Annabelle?”
“No, thank you.”
Jamie watched Bethany walk away.
“You guys are pulling it off well, you know.” Annabelle clutched at her briefcase.
“What?” Jamie took his eyes off Bethany and met Annabelle’s.
She gave a forced smile. “The happy married couple thing.”
“Oh, yeah. She makes it easy.”
Annabelle scowled. The court doors opened, and they took their places at the table. Bethany joined him before Zoe arrived. Zoe wouldn’t look at him.
The judge entered, and without so much as a how do you do, she zeroed in on Jamie.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you back in my courtroom so soon, Mr. Green. Why on earth would you petition for full custody after just receiving visitation.”
Jamie stood up and met her eyes. “Your Honor, I believe that Zoe’s home is not a good environment for Garrett. Ray smokes in the home, they don’t require him to wear a seatbelt, and Zoe is aggressive with him. Not only that, but Ray has exposed him to pornography. I worry for his safety.”
“Where is your proof?”
“Only what I’ve witnessed.”
“You better be telling the truth. I would find it hard to sympathize with a man who would want to take a child from his mother for no reason.”
Jamie sat down, feeling a little chastised, but still glad he was fighting for Garrett.
Zoe’s attorney stood up. “Mr. Green is exaggerating. But that is beside the point. My client expresses concerns with his visits any way. He comes home whiny and tired. Mr. Green has a dog that nearly attacked him, and his wife physically assaulted my client. We counter petition that Mr. Green be revoked his visitation.”
“Do you have proof?”
“No, Your Honor, only the testimony of my client.”
The judge looked back and forth between the two of them
. “Not good enough. You petition is denied. But, Mrs. Green, would you please explain.”
Jamie nudged Bethany, and she jumped up.
“I’m sorry. Yes. I slapped Zoe when she hurt Garrett. I worried for his safety.”
The judge shook her head. “Very well. We will allow the officers of the courts two months to gather evidence. We will reconvene on July seventh. A couple of other matters first. Zoe, you must allow Jamie to see Garrett. If I hear any more reports of you denying him his rightful visitation, he will go live with Mr. Green until final custody is determined. And Mr. Green, you employ an Andres Fletcher?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“Any evidence collected by him or any other private detective will be inadmissible. Court dismissed.”
Jamie took a deep breath. That wasn’t as horrible as he expected. Except all the evidence he had on Zoe was collected by his PI Annabelle would have to be more resourceful.
Jamie woke up slowly and reached for Bethany, but all he found were cold sheets. He cracked his eyes open. She was gone. Damn. He had gotten used to cuddling with her in the morning. Usually she didn’t get up before him. He lay there for a few more minutes.
He had to admit he liked marriage. In the nearly three months since they tied the knot, he’d been happier than ever. If he had known it would be this good, he would’ve done it years ago. Having someone to share everything with had filled a hole he hadn’t even known was there.
He didn’t bother getting dressed before he went downstairs. Bethany was in the kitchen on her stepstool reaching for something too high for her. He chuckled. He wrapped one arm around her waist and reached into the cupboard with the other one.
“You could’ve asked for my help.”
Bethany laughed. “If I bothered you every time I couldn’t reach something, you’d get nothing else done. Besides, you were sleeping. I’m not that rude.”
“Nonsense. Part of my husbandly duties is to reach for things you can’t. What are you doing anyway?”
“Making breakfast. I couldn’t sleep. I’m a little nervous meeting all your friends tonight.”
“Don’t be silly. They’ll love you.”
Folly and Forever (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 3) Page 14