Page 1 of Keeping Score

Chapter One

Maggie

There was something different about him. I could tell from the moment I met him that he wasn’t going to be like the others.

So many of them didn’t care, not really+. They sought me out because of some suspected obligation, or maybe to avoid being thought of as a ‘bad guy’ if they didn’t make some attempt.

But hey, if they showed up for a few meetings, put in some type of effort for a couple of weeks before realizing it was going to be a longer, more time-consuming process than they thought, then they could walk away with a guilt-free conscience, telling themselves, at least they tried.

If you could call it that.

But this man?

It was clear from the darkness beneath his eyes and the hollowness to his very presence that he lived and breathed for his children.

That the past few weeks without them had haunted him more than any words could express. The same could not be said for so many of the ones who came to me before him.

“Mr. Reilly?” I asked, staring at the man in the chair outside my office, whose face was cradled in his hands.

His head popped up, back straightening, as if he were ashamed to be caught in a moment of human vulnerability.

I couldn’t say I didn’t know the feeling.

“Ms. Brynn.” He stood to his feet immediately, straightening himself out.

I could tell that he’d tried his best to look presentable for our meeting, with his button-up shirt that was in dire need of an iron, and the trousers that might’ve fit him a few years ago, but were now past the point of being considered ‘snug.’

And to top the whole look off, a worn-out, raggedy scrap of a Red Sox cap sat atop his head, as if it were such a staple to who he was he might’ve forgotten to take it off.

Yes, he was different. I could tell.

“Hi,” I held my hand out to him, “it’s nice to officially meet you after all the emails.”

“Thank you for meeting with me.” He stood, grasping my hand in a firm shake.

He was thanking me—and he meant it. That alone was a good sign. So many men who came through here carried a quiet resentment toward me, as if I were the one keeping them captive for these custody meetings, rather than them choosing to give up a few hours of their week to fight for their children.

“Come into my office, we can talk about your case there.”

I held the glass door open, gesturing for him to go first. He hesitated, as if he might have some notion that a lady should enter first, before heading inside.

“I know we’ve discussed the basics of your case during our phone call, but I’d like to go over it again, if that’s okay.”

I smiled, trying to convey to him that he could relax, ease the tension set in his shoulders. I was here to be his ally, after all. I was fighting for his side.

“Is that your daughter?” he asked, knee bouncing as he nodded towards a photo on my desk.

I looked down, smiling at the picture of the little blonde clutching a piece of watermelon with a wide grin.

“My niece,” I corrected. “Lily.”

“She’s cute.”

“She takes after her aunt.” I laughed.

It was a lie. She didn’t look like me at all—except for those green eyes. The Brynn eyes.

Besides that, she’d managed to come out as the perfect combination of both her parents, though I still had hope she’d inherit my sparkling personality, at the very least.