Page 93 of Derecho

Christ. One reason I scheduled this stupid appointment at lunch time was so I wouldn’t have to deal with a waiting room full of people. But looking around at all the empty seats, I realized there weren't any other people. Just us.

“Were you not able to bring the baby with you today? I spoke with a nurse last week, and she said a baby could attend the postpartum checkup.”

“He’s at home with his father,” I said, holding my voice steady. “I didn’t realize you were receiving care here. I thought you were staying in Dallas?”

“No, I’m not a patient here.”

Sweat dripped down my spine. Something was wrong here. And I wasn’t going to stay and find out what it was. “Alright, well, if you’ll excuse me, like I said, I need to get back to my son and his father now.”

“Well, now I know that can’t be true.” Jasmine smiled, reaching over to the chair that was holding her rather large purse. “You probably should unlink your calendar with my husband's if you don't want us to have access to your information. It was far too easy to track you down, although I will say, I'm sad we won't be able to take Greg’s son home with us today. I wish you would have brought him.”

My stomach flipped, a cold panic drenching me from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. I must have swayed, the room going fuzzy for a moment while Greg snickered. “You⁠—”

“Yes, I know. About the way you seduced my husband while he was in his hometown for a bachelor’s party. The way you took what was mine without a second thought. How you blackmailed him for months during your pregnancy. He showed me the texts. Of you begging him to come back to you. Begging him to marry you. To be a family for your bastard son.”

I glared at Greg. “He's lying to you. I thought we were engaged. I thought we were going to be a family. He is the liar⁠—”

“Enough,” Greg sneered. “It's about time you learned to shut the hell up, Lainey.”

“Greg!” Jasmine snapped. “Remember why we're here today. Why we're here, still together. You promised me you'd do whatever it took to keep our family whole.”

He slipped his arm around Jasmine’s waist, pressing a kiss to her head. “You're right, baby. I'm sorry. Our family will always come first.”

I was dead. Having an out of body experience. In a completely different universe from the one I woke up in today. I needed to get out of here before I threw up…

“You see, Lainey. He is my husband. I was commanded by the vows I took in front of my family and God himself when I married Greg to forgive his transgressions. But I was not commanded to forgive yours. And sadly for you, family is everything to me.”

My head shook, the tension in my shoulders making my neck ache and my heartbeat pound in my temples. “I don’t want anything from either of you. Greg can be all yours. I just want to be left alone.”

“Oh, you will be. There is just one more thing we need to see to, before you never hear from us again. This is our petition for full legal custody of Reid Lachlan Calloway—we will be changing his name—and our request for a complete absolution of your parental rights to him. I will be adopting Reid. Greg and I will be raising him as a part of our family, even if he wouldn’t hear of it at first. He now understands it’s what all of our boys deserve. Don’t you, honey?”

Greg’s eyes moved to Jasmine. “Yes, baby. You know I want to make this right. If you think the boys should be together, then I’ll make sure that happens.”

I was going to be sick. I didn’t say anything, just staring down at the thick paperwork being held in Jasmine’s hand. The hope I’d held onto that Greg wouldn’t want his wife to know, evaporated in a single heartbeat.

“It doesn’t matter if you take it or not, because the petition has already been submitted to the court. Lucky for me, Greg’s private investigator was already monitoring you, so it was easy-peasy to present our plan to our lawyers with photographic evidence of your emotional instability, lack of financial means to take care of Reid, and poor judgment around those with access to him. Honestly, you having this paperwork is not in our best interest, but our lawyers said you’d be notified of it anyway. A part of my heart knew I needed to be the one to give it to you. Take it.” She sighed. “And enjoy your last few days with our son. Oh, and don’t think about doing anything silly, like leaving the state with him, or trying to hide. We’ll be able to find you. I almost feel bad, really, that you messed with the wrong bitch, Lainey. I really do love my family.”

My jaw ached from the tension of grinding my molars, trying to hold my tongue as Jasmine smirked at me. “You are both so fucking delusional. You’re not getting anywhere near my son.” I grabbed the papers and left the waiting room as calmly as I could muster. The damn things shook in my hand as I walked out of the office and down the front steps. I watched the sidewalk pass by in a blur as the pressure inside my chest built, but I didn’t fall apart. I couldn’t. They had someone watching me, maybe even now. Especially now, waiting to see how I would react.

My body slid into the driver’s seat of Lach’s truck as I tossed the packet over into the passenger’s seat. I rummaged through my purse, frantically searching for my phone. I thought I’d tucked it in the pocket with the zipper, but it must have fallen.

I needed to find it…

Where could it⁠—

There. My fingers clasped around the cool metal and I yanked it toward me. The screen illuminated, and I clicked into the five new text messages I had from Lach.

Thanks for letting me know you got there okay. I’m proud of you for taking this step.

Reid loved his bottle! Our little guy has a full belly and is zonked right out. He’s doing that thing where his mouth is open and I think he’s dreaming about eating more…

*Video clip of Reid sleeping on his chest.*

We can’t wait for you to be home.

Let me know how it went and when you’re on your way back. Drive safe.

I pressed the phone over my heart, biting down hard on my lip to stop the panic from coming any closer to the surface. Jasmine and Greg were certifiable if they thought they would ever get their hands on Reid.