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Would a nanny and a part-time dad be enough for a kid to feel the same level of love and contentment I had?
So that’s why I lifted my chin and stared back at every single one of those men, my eyes lingering on River Cooper. I wasn’t here for a pissing match. I was here so that my brother could have a life filled with love and understanding. Safety and consistency.
After staring at him for a good ten seconds, I lifted my hand in a wave. We might be adversaries today, but I didn’t want to be enemies. They obviously cared for Huey, and his mother, and I didn’t want to cut Huey off from any family he still had, even if they weren’t blood relatives.
It didn’t help that they were stupidly good-looking, though. Honestly, River Cooper was gorgeous. A square-cut jaw, and light brown wavy hair that he’d styled back from his forehead. He had arms the size of my legs, and thighs the size of my whole torso.
He spun away without acknowledging my wave, as did the guy on his left. That guy was wiry, but just as tall and strong, his skin a soft tan that seemed to make the brown of his hair look even darker under the overhead lights.
It was only the last guy—a huge man with longish honey-blond hair and a clean-cut face—who lifted his hand back, his eyebrows raised.
Well, I guess he's the nice one.
I sat down at the table beside Mr. Lief, and the hearing got underway. The lawyers argued. CPS gave their report. Most of the legal jargon went over my head but it came down to this in layman’s terms:
1. I could provide a home and around-the-clock care for Huey.
2. I was his actual blood relation. His sister. That counted for a lot, apparently.
3. I was financially stable and would be able to provide for all of Huey’s needs.
But, on the other side, it was just as good.
1. River Cooper already knew Huey. He was his uncle in everything but blood. He had supported Alana, Huey’s mother, throughout her pregnancy as he’d considered her a sister.
2. He could provide a standard of living and opportunities that Huey would never get with me.
3. He could have the best medical care money could buy.
In the end, even I was almost convinced he’d be better off with River Cooper.
I’d tried hard not to think of Huey’s mother, Alana, over the last week. The woman who had seduced my dad into cheating on my mom. I mentally pulled myself up before villainizing her, though.
My dad had been a grown-ass man, not some innocent teen. He’d had a successful business and a mountain of life experience; he wasn’t lured unwillingly by some Jezabel, no matter what popular media would have you believe. He had a choice and he’d chosen badly.
Alana may or may not have known he was married. The point is,shewasn’t the one who had stood at an altar twenty-five years ago and made promises to my mom. The fault was firmly on my dad’s shoulders.
Still, when I saw the grief around River Cooper’s eyes, it was hard to hide from the fact that she’d been special to someone. Several someones, if the palpable sadness of their small group was anything to go by.
After a long hearing, the judge granted me full legal custody of Huey. My heart thundered, and my eyes misted over. Now it was real. I was the parent of a six-week-old baby.
What the hell had I done?
ChapterThree
RIVER
My hands curledinto fists where they rested on my thighs as the judge ruled in favor of the girl. My heart twisted in my chest as I failed Alana one more time. I’d promised her that I’d take care of the baby if anything ever happened to her, and I’d lost him before I even had him.
I spun to look at Nova Stone as the judge finished his closing speech. She was looking at him as he spoke, absolute terror on her face. It was like she didn’t evenwantHuey; she was just fighting for him for the sake of it.
I squeezed my fists harder, and Rigby’s hand patted me on the shoulder from where he sat behind me. Rigby was my teammate, but more than that, he was one of my best friends. We were family. He knew when I was about to blow my shit better than any other person on the planet, except perhaps Devan. And Alana.
My heart squeezed like it did every time I thought of her death, and I pushed those feelings back down. Instead, I stared at Nova again.
She wasn’t what I’d expected, though I really didn’tknowwhat I’d been expecting. Someone who was immoral, like her father, who’d knocked up my best friend and then ghosted her?
If anything, Nova was almost angelic looking. Her hair was straight and hung just past her shoulders, like chestnut silk. She had olive skin, but freckles right across her nose, which made her seem even younger than her twenty-four years. Her curvy little body was wrapped in a severe, almost matronly dress, and she looked like she was playing dress-up in her mother’s clothes.
