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Grant made her feel alive.
Bella shook her head, crushing the paper cone in her fist. Grant also reminded her too much of her own past and the problems she’d had with her own missing father. Watching him with Nick made her wish she’d been lucky enough to have a father who cared about her. And her broken past wouldn’t let her forget it.
Whatever, it didn’t matter. Grant had said he was going to leave. She didn’t know when or how far, but he’d made it clear they weren’t an item. He wasn’t interested in her anymore. She’d pushed him too far.
She leaned against the wall and stared off at her computer. A small logo for the department bounced around the screen, indicating she’d been gone too long from her desk. She needed to get back to work before she got fired and had to explain herself to her old boss in the city.
As she headed for her desk, feet shuffling against the tile, one of the other deputies rushed at her. “The sheriff needs you to hurry over to Sagebrush Ranch.”
“I was there a few days ago…” She frowned, hating how her whole body reacted to thinking about seeing Grant again. “Did Mr. Shaw want to change his mind about the fire?”
“All I know is that they have requested that someone go with a member of Child Protective Services.”
There was only one child that Bella had met on that ranch, and she prayed this wasn’t related to him.
She couldn’t move. It was as if she’d been glued to her spot with just the thought of Nick being in trouble. Her worried heart couldn’t take it, the bad feeling wouldn’t go away.
“And you’re sure they didn’t say anything else?”
“Just that they’re doing an emergency custody evaluation, and they anticipate that the father isn’t going to make it easy.”
Bella’s heart jumped into her throat. She shouldn’t be going. Her logical brain screamed that she needed to request someone go in her stead—she was too close to Grant. She cared too much about Nick. Whatever was happening, she wouldn’t be impartial, and she didn’t know what she would do if it didn’t turn out in Grant’s favor.
But she didn’t make that request.
Instead, she nodded to the deputy and hurried toward her desk. As soon as she had her full uniform put together, she grabbed her radio and her keys and headed for the door. There was a chance it wasn’t Nick. Grant had said he wanted to leave. Bella couldn’t exactly pray that another child was in danger, and yet she feared Nick was at the center of it all.
Bella arrived right behind a small black sedan that had driven up to the house moments before she had. A petite woman with a clipboard approached before Bella could climb out of her squad car. She smiled, looking a great deal less intimidating than she probably was.
“Thanks for coming, Officer…”
“Whitfield,” Bella offered.
This had to be the CPS worker. Based on her slacks, the way her hair was pinned back at the nape of her neck, and the lines around her eyes, Bella could surmise that this woman had seen enough to make her job far less enjoyable than she’d likely thought it would be. She extended her hand. “I’m Tish. I hope you’re ready for this one. When they called, they told me there was a belligerent man who wasn’t abiding by the legal custody agreement.”
That didn’t sound like Grant at all. And he was Nick’s father. He had the legal right to raise Nick the way he wanted to. None of this made sense.
Bella followed Tish, her mind in a fog. When they arrived at the group, it looked more like a Western standoff than anything. Charlotte was on one side, holding Nick against her with her hands on his shoulders. The poor kid looked distraught as he stared across a small distance to where his father stood with a handful of other employees who worked for Eli.
Everyone was on edge. It was almost like there was an electrical, sour taste in the air.
Charlotte’s expression was one of mild triumph, smugness, and irritation, while Grant could have morphed into the Incredible Hulk at any moment in order to save his son from her clutches. If this scene didn’t involve people Bella cared about, she would have found a small degree of humor in it. On the one side was the broken woman she’d had to give the terrible news to. On the other was the man she’d developed strong feelings for. And the poor kid in the middle who had been used as a pawn in this war.
Between the person who was targeting Grant and this new development with Charlotte, she could only imagine what this family was dealing with.
Charlotte’s eyes cut in their direction. “Good. You’re here. Will you please tell Mr. Shaw that he has no legal claim to Nick?”
Bella’s head spun. “What?”
Charlotte flung a gesture toward Eli. “He’s got the legal documents. Dee never officially named Grant as Nick’s guardian. She gave that honor to me. All she wanted was for Grant to get some letters. He got them.”
“And they said she wanted me to know our son!” Grant shot back. The pain in his eyes ripped a hole right through Bella. He glanced at her. “The letters say she wanted me to raise him but that she wasn’t going to upend my life. The document Eli has is vague at best. I have every right to raise my son.”
Charlotte snorted. “How are you going to do that? You have no job, no home. As far as I can tell, you can’t take care of him the way she would want.”
Grant took a step toward her, and her eyes widened with fear before she composed herself. His hands were balled into fists. “Technically, no, I don’t have a job right now. But there is one waiting for me in Nashville, so that shouldn’t matter. As for a home?—”
Charlotte sliced a hand through the air. “I’m not going to argue with you. Eli was right. This needs to be settled in court. I was nice for as long as I could be, letting you play house with Nick, and…” Her demure gaze drifted to Bella, indicating she didn’t need to finish her statement. “I never got any appreciation for what I’ve done for your family. Not from Dee, and not from you.”
