Garland remained silent.
“My son has been through a lot, as you know. He can’t lose his daughters.”
Garland laid the menu down in front of her. “What are you getting at, Mrs. DuGrandpre?”
“It would be better for you to give Ryker sole custody of the girls. After all, he can generously provide for them. If this little pretend marriage between you two does not work out...well, then it’s all for the better.”
“I am not going to give up my children. Ryker and I can share joint custody, if it comes to that, but I’m never giving him sole custody.”
“I don’t think you’ll have any choice, Garland.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Ryker is a very wealthy man and you could exploit that, which is why he has papers ready for you to sign in the event the marriage ends in divorce,” Rochelle announced. “I know that you believe you are equipped to raise Kai and Amya, but you can’t give them what we can. You might as well know that I advised my son to do this before the wedding.”
The sting of betrayal pierced Garland. “Ryker has never mentioned any of this to me. Even if he had, I would’ve made it clear that I would fight him with every breath in my body for those girls. I may not have millions of dollars and my house may be the square footage of his bedroom, but none of that means anything. I am a good mother.”
She and Ryker had been living together all this time and he’d never once said a word. Garland was livid.
“Ryker is also a very good father and he loves those girls,” Rochelle pointed out. “I told him I would handle it...as his attorney. Garland, let’s be honest. I know that you are a nice young woman, but you are not the one for my son. He is with you out of some misguided loyalty to your brother. In the long run, neither of you will be happy in a loveless marriage.”
“What Ryker and I share has nothing to do with Parker,” Garland managed to reply.
“Garland, dear, you have a lot on your hands with your mother and your business. Just let Ryker have the girls. It’s not like you won’t be able to visit them.”
“Mrs. DuGrandpre, this conversation is over,” Garland stated. “I will talk to Ryker about the girls and these documents.”
“I am his attorney. You will deal with me.”
“I really don’t want to disrespect you, but if you keep pushing, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Your son and I decided to work this out without legal representation. If he changed his mind, then he should be the one sitting here and talking to me. I will deal with Ryker and only him.”
The waiter approached the table.
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay,” Garland said, rising to her feet. “Enjoy your lunch.”
“If you would put your feelings aside, you’d know I am doing the right thing. Just think about what I’ve said,” Rochelle said. “Think of the girls and their happiness.”
“It’s amazing how you can manage to take care of your clients while interfering in the lives of your children,” Garland snapped in anger as she walked out of the restaurant.
* * *
Her conversation with Rochelle was still at the forefront of her mind when Garland pulled into the driveway of her and Ryker’s home. Garland did not believe Rochelle entirely and she wanted to prove her wrong.
She headed straight into his home office. Garland did not like being a snoop, but she needed to find out if Ryker deserved her trust. And on the corner of his desk she caught sight of a manila folder.
Unable to resist temptation, Garland opened it.
She gasped in shock and tears filled her eyes.
The documents were a copy of the ones Rochelle had waved in her face. Apparently, she did not know Ryker as well as she thought she did.
A photo fell out of the stack of papers. Garland pulled it out and held it beneath the light to gaze at the image. It was of Parker, Ryker and her the summer before their senior year.
Garland forced herself to put away the worn photo. This was no time for old memories. The sooner she saw Ryker, the sooner she’d get the answers she needed.
* * *
“This is a pleasant surprise,” Ryker said with his trademark smile when Garland blew into his downtown office without knocking.
Dropping her purse into one of the empty chairs, she uttered, “You’re going to think different when I say what I have to say.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Yes,” Garland fired back. “Something is very wrong. I thought I could trust you of all people, Ryker.”
“I’m confused. What’s going on?”
“I saw the papers.”
Ryker merely shrugged at her. “What papers?”
“The agreement or whatever you want to call it. You know the one that states that I will give you sole custody of the girls in the event we decide to end our marriage.”
Ryker eyed her. “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about, Garland.”
“How can you lie to my face? The papers were in your office at home. I saw them.”
“Garland, I’ve never had any papers drawn up.”
“If you think you can take those girls from me, I will fight you until I take my very last breath.”
“Honey, calm down,” he pleaded.
“I’m moving out and I’m taking Amya with me,” Garland announced. “I can’t live with someone I can’t trust.”
Before she had the chance to take a few steps, Ryker rose to his feet, walked around his desk and grabbed her arm. She was suddenly standing too close to him. His smell was invading her senses, making the heat pool in her core.
“Don’t do this, Garland.” The second Ryker touched her arm, lightning shot through his fingertips, straight to his groin. “You are my wife and—”
At that moment his mother blew into the office without knocking. “What in the world is going on in here? Everyone can hear you in the hallway,” Rochelle admonished. “Keep your voices down!”
“You know exactly what is going on in here,” Garland told Rochelle.
Ryker stared at his mother. “Are you responsible for this?” he asked, holding up the legal documents in his hand.
“I’m only looking out for the children,” she told him. “This woman is not the one for you and I’m not going to let you bind yourself to her just because of a child.”
“Mom, I love you, but you have no right to interfere in my life.”
“I’ll leave you to deal with your mommy issues,” Garland stated. “But I think that maybe she’s right this time. We should explore our legal options.”
“I will not have the girls separated,” he said. “My mother has nothing to do with this.”
“They are my grandchildren,” Rochelle argued. “If you’re not careful, you are going to end up losing both girls.”
“Mom, this is between me and Garland. Please leave.”
“I—”
“I want you to leave my office,” Ryker ordered. “I will talk to you later. You can count on that.”
“She can stay,” Garland interjected, her hands clenched at her sides while she tried to pull herself together. “I’m the one who’s leaving.”
“We need to finish our discussion.”
“There really isn’t anything to talk about.”
“We have a lot to discuss.”
Garland shook her head. “This was never going to work out for us. I don’t know you, Ryker.”
She grabbed her purse and took quick steps across the carpeted floor. “Right now I’m too disgusted with you and your mother to stay here any longer.”
Garland made what she deemed a dignified exit, but as soon as she left Ryker’s office, she raced down the hallway and into the ladies’ room, where she cried hysterically.
> After she gained her composure, she slowly made her way to her car. Garland allowed herself a total of about five minutes to pull herself together enough to make the drive to the school to pick up the girls and take them home.
The day felt as if it had been the longest of her life. How was she going to keep her self-control for the rest of the afternoon, let alone the evening?
Her heart had been broken before; it was not such a big deal. Besides, Garland acknowledged, she was healthy enough to move forward alone if necessary. She took a deep breath.
By the time Garland pulled into the three-car garage, she had banished Ryker from her current thoughts; however, he continued to linger in the back of her mind. Each time he tried to take over, Garland pushed him back into the recesses again. It did not help knowing that she would have a terrible time now getting rid of him. After all, Ryker was the father of her children. He was the one with all of the money and the power.
In reality, what could she do if he decided to sue for full custody of the girls? He had no legal rights to Kai, but she wouldn’t tear her daughter out of his arms like that.
After the girls went to their room to play before dinner, Garland slid down to the hallway floor outside of their room, fighting the urge to sob out of anger and frustration. She did not want the girls raised separately but she had no other choice.
* * *
“You did the right thing by letting her leave. Don’t go running after her now,” Rochelle urged when Ryker headed toward the door. “Son, she’s not the woman for you. Why can’t you see that?”
“I am a grown man,” he snapped in anger. “You can’t control my life. When are you going to understand that?”
“Garland has blindsided you.”
“She has done nothing but be a good...no, great mother to our daughters. How could you go behind my back and have custody papers drawn up?” When their eyes collided, Ryker felt as if he had been punched in the gut. “Aubry’s right. You know nothing about boundaries.”
“I was only trying to help.”
“No, you weren’t,” Ryker countered. “You were trying to control this situation like everything else.”
Rochelle blew her breath out in frustration. “You don’t know women—”
“I know Garland. I’ve known her for a long time and she’s not manipulative. You are the one who’s been doing the manipulating if we’re to be honest.”
“It’s obvious there’s nothing I can say to you to make you understand.”
“You’re right about that.” It was time to put his mother in her place.
Ryker packed up his laptop. “Did it ever occur to you that I am in love with Garland? She is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, Mom. If you’ve ruined this for me, I’m not sure I’ll be able to forgive you. I could even lose one of my daughters behind what you’ve done.”
“She means this much to you?” Rochelle asked, clearly stunned by his words.
“Yes, she does.”
Her shoulders slumped, and Ryker was surprised not to feel joy at her defeat. Then she said quietly, “Would you like for me to go talk to her?”
Ryker shook his head. “That’s the last thing I want from you. I’d rather you stay as far away from her as possible.”
“You don’t have to be so rude, son.”
“It seems it’s the only way we can get you to understand anything, Mom.” He brushed past her and walked toward the door. “I need to find my wife.”
Chapter 22
Garland wiped away a lone tear as she packed her suitcase. She had changed into a pair of sweatpants and a sports bra. She had little energy to care about her looks.
“I don’t want you to leave,” Ryker said from the doorway. “You’re my wife, Garland, and I want a real marriage with you.”
“We can’t always have everything that we want,” she uttered in response. Garland was hurt and angry.
She removed a stack of shirts out of a drawer. “You didn’t need to come home. I can move out all by myself.”
“I didn’t have those papers drawn up. Why won’t you believe me?”
She met his gaze. “It really doesn’t matter anymore, Ryker. Your mother doesn’t like me and I’m not going through life with her constant interference.”
“I know that she’s controlling and manipulative, but she is still my mother and I love her. And she is Amya’s grandmother.”
Garland shrugged. “You have to deal with your mother. I don’t.”
“Yes, you do,” Ryker argued. “Garland, you are a member of this family whether you like it or not.”
“Can’t you see that this isn’t going to work out between us? The writing’s all over the wall, Ryker.”
“Why do you believe that?” he asked.
“Because I’m a realist, Ryker. We wanted it to work because of the girls.”
“I wanted it to work because I want us—all of us—to be a family.”
“Why can’t you just be honest with me, Ryker? This is only about the girls.”
“Stop saying that,” he uttered. “Garland, it’s not true. Maybe in the beginning, but you know that things have changed between us. And I’ve made sure that my mother won’t be bothering you again.”
“You think it’s going to be that easy?” she asked him.
“Garland, please give us a chance.”
“I can’t stay here right now. I need some time to think.”
“Why do you have to take Amya?”
“I don’t trust your mother. Right now, I just want to go home. It’s a safe place for me and Amya. I would take Kai with us, but I know you’d object.”
“You’re right. I’m not happy about Amya leaving, either.”
“I need to do this, Ryker. This will give you some time to think about our marriage, too.”
“I can move into the guest bedroom,” he told her. “You don’t have to leave the house.”
“Ryker, we need some time apart. We rushed into this marriage. I’m not trying to rush into a divorce, but I just need time alone—I need to be away from you.”
* * *
Garland pulled the folds of her sweater together as she and Ryker wandered along the beach in tense silence. She had been away from the house for almost a week before he’d driven out to talk to her. He had called daily to check on Amya, however.
“Cold?” he asked, breaking the tension.
“It’s a little brisk out here, but I’m fine,” she responded.
“I have to admit that I never saw this day coming. We were supposed to be enjoying our life together.”
Garland glanced over at him. “I didn’t see this, either.”
He stopped walking. “It doesn’t have to be this way, sweetheart.”
“Ryker, don’t do this.”
“Kai is upset. She doesn’t understand why you and Amya aren’t there. She’s been having accidents again.”
Garland stopped in her tracks. “You think it’s my fault?”
“I think blame can be placed on both of us,” he responded. “How has Amya been?”
“She wants to see you and Kai. She said ‘sister’ for the first time today.
“Ryker, I need to know something,” Garland began, “and I want you to be honest with me. Would you really fight me for the girls?” She could hardly look at him because she was hurting so badly.
His silence seemed to be the answer to her question.
Garland had done the best possible job she could as a mother. But Ryker had the money for the best attorneys—he had his mother in his corner and she was the best family law attorney in all of South Carolina. If they ended up in court, Ryker would probably win. Deep down, Garland felt defeated and devastated.
Finally, Ryker answered. �
�Sweetheart, I would never fight you for custody. If things do not work out with our marriage, we will always share joint custody and work on being the best parents we can be,” he responded. “I’m sorry my mother put you through this mess, but I give you my word—it won’t happen again.” He paused a moment. “Come home, Garland. I won’t take you to court. I won’t hurt the children by keeping them away from you. You should know that I’m not that kind of man.”
Ryker was not doing this for her, Garland realized. This was strictly about the girls. Sadly, she shook her head. “I think your mother is right, Ryker. I’m not the type of woman a DuGrandpre marries. More importantly, I know that you have not gotten over Angela. You may have taken off the wedding band, but your heart still belongs to her.”
“Garland, talking about Angela has not been easy for me, but I’m ready now. I want to tell you about her.”
She almost objected, but remained quiet, watching the expression of anguish on his face.
“Angela loved life and loved people. No matter where we went, she’d always run into someone she knew. Sometimes she would just strike up a conversation with a complete stranger.”
“She sounds pretty special.”
He smiled. “When they told me she was dead, I didn’t believe it. I kept staring at her, waiting for her to open her eyes and give me that huge smile of hers. Only she didn’t.” Ryker swallowed hard. “They worked to deliver Kai...no, Amya, safely, and then things happened so quickly. They took the baby to the nursery and gave me some time to say good-bye.”
Garland took his hand in hers. “I’m so sorry.”
“A part of me was angry with Angela for leaving me. We—she—had made all of these plans for our daughter, but she never even got to meet her. Instead, I was left with a new baby and no knowledge of how to be a father.”
“No one is born knowing how to be a parent, sweetheart,” she said in a low tone. “It’s trial and error.”
“When you came back into my life, I had so many mixed emotions. I felt guilty for being angry with her leaving and guilty for having feelings for you. Since I’m being honest, I think I fell in love with you the day we saw each other at the hospital. I just wasn’t ready to acknowledge it.”
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