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“What does that mean?”
He waved him toward the shop. “Just head inside and tell the nice person behind the counter that you want three brownies. Then give them the money. I’ll be right out here.”
A group of boys looking to be about ten years old moved past them to gain entrance to the store. It didn’t look like any adults were with them, but they seemed to know what they were doing—and based on what Grant had seen in this slow-paced town, there wasn’t much to worry about.
Grant found the contact information for his lawyer and nodded to the store once more. “Go on, then. You don’t want to wait too long. Those boys looked pretty hungry.”
Nick’s eyes widened and he darted toward the door just as the lawyer picked up his phone.
“Grant, thanks for calling back so quickly. We have some updates on your custody case.”
“Didn’t you submit all the paperwork? I thought you said this would be cut and dried. Montana law would trump her wishes.”
His lawyer sighed. “Her will stipulated that you get the letter that tells you Nick is yours. But she never updated it to reflect that she wanted you have sole custody. We’ve recovered some information that suggests she wanted her mother to share custody.”
Grant’s brows furrowed. “Charlotte is involved. That’s why I moved here. I planned on raising him close to his grandmother for a reason. Heck, I took an extended leave of absence from the business I own and sold everything I had back home, all to come out here to raise him in the place he already knows as home.” He heard the frustration entering his voice with each sentence he spit out. “Is it the business? That’s the only thing tying me to Nashville. We can tell the judge I’ll sell if that will help.”
“Take a breath, Grant. This isn’t the end-all. Charlotte loves her grandson. I don’t think we’re going to get much pushback. The only thing you need to know is that this will make the process take a bit longer. We’re going to have to sit down with Charlotte and have her sign some documents.”
“Why? As long as I agree to let her be Nick’s grandmother that should be enough.”
“With child custody, that can be tricky. If she’s got any reservations over handing you full custody, that will come out when we get to court.”
“Reservations?” Grant dragged a rough hand down his face and groaned. “Do you hear how bad that sounds? I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. I’m his father, for heaven’s sake. That’s all that should matter.”
John continued to pile it on. “That’s the thing, though. Yes, we can see that the two of you were married. But you got that marriage annulled. And when she had Nick… well, she didn’t put you as the father on the birth certificate.”
“Yeah, I know all of that. What difference does it make?”
After a brief pause John sighed. “The difference is that some judges won’t award you anything without a trial period. You weren’t in the kid’s life for his first six years. You’re not listed on the birth certificate, and besides that letter, there’s no other proof?—”
“Proof? You want proof? Do a DNA test. I don’t care how you get this to work, but you need to figure it out.”
“I understand this is frustrating for you?—”
“Frustrating? This is?—”
“But I’ll remind you no one is trying to take him away from you. Nick is in your care, and that’s all that matters. We will get this sorted out. I promise.”
The door to the shop opened and the group of boys hurried out. Shortly after, Nick burst from the building.
“Hey, Dad, those guys are going to play at the statue in the square. Can I go with them?”
Grant followed his son’s gesture in the direction where the boys had run. About six different stores gave a perfect view of the statue. Grant didn’t want his son running off, but he knew how important it was for Nick to have friends.
His hesitation was brought to a quick end when John’s voice broke into his thoughts. “What do you think? Can I move forward with that plan?”
“Look, John, I’m doing something with my son today. Can you call me back on Monday when I have more time to think about it?”
“Of course. I’ll put you down in my calendar.”
Grant hung up the phone without saying goodbye and crouched down next to his son. “Those boys look to be a little older than you. Are you sure you can keep up?”
Nick straightened as tall as he could. “I bet I can. Besides, one of them asked me if I wanted to come. He said he has a brother who’s going to be there, too.”
Grant shot a look toward the statue, and sure enough younger children mixed with the older ones. While it was strange to be called “dad” by a child, he already knew what kind of father he wanted to be. He wanted to instill independence in his son. He wanted Nick to learn through his experiences. Did that mean he was going to leave his kid to do whatever he wanted? Of course not.
“Okay, kiddo. I’ll take you over there.”
