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“So did I.” Mark beat his fist against the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding setting off the horn. He should have told Isaiah. Weeks ago. Worked it out with him. Made Isaiah see reason that this was the best thing for all of them. But he’d been so overworked...
Don’t make excuses, Chief. You were having fun and didn’t want to end it. That’s the root of it.
“Y’all will work this out,” Clancy soothed, like he knew the half of what Mark was going through right now. “And if you don’t, well then you’ll know that you did the right thing, filing. The court will sort it out for you. You’ve got the much stronger case here.”
“I still would have liked some notice this was coming,” Mark grumbled.
“Tell you what, I’m going to put you back on with Rhonda, make sure we’ve got an email for you. Any further notices or action, we’ll send you an email along with a text and voice mail. Cover all our bases.”
That was sad consolation for having completely fucked up his life, but Mark went through the motions of ending the call before he called his uncle next.
“Mark! Not on duty today?” His uncle’s phone was crackly, like he was outside somewhere, probably playing golf as was his habit.
“I’m off,” Mark said curtly. “What the heck are you doing intervening in the guardianship case?”
“Now, Mark, let’s take a rational view. There is a lot of money at stake here. Our family’s money. And chances are the court will appoint you as guardian, but we can’t take any chances. That’s all. I’m just offering to step in if the court feels that your work schedule or whatnot is adverse to your case. Have you considered early retirement like I suggested in an email a few weeks back?”
“Not even for a second. I love my job. And I didn’t know I had a case until forty minutes ago. Isaiah is pissed, as he should be. This complicates—”
“Now, son, take a breath. I know Tom Yates suggested your current living arrangement. But that was before he had all the facts. I’ve had a full investigation done on James.”
“You did what?”
“Had my investigator look into him. We can’t be too safe with the kids. And it’s unsavory stuff. He’s gay, as I suspected, and promiscuous. Different man every weekend. Can’t keep a job. Dropped out of his degree program. Finances are dwindling. Of course he wants his hands on this money. But we can’t let that happen.”
“Isaiah’s not...unsavory. He’s a great guy.” But even as he said it, all Mark’s old fears about Isaiah came storming back. He had been really into the party scene before. And while Mark wouldn’t say promiscuous in the same disgusted tone as his uncle, it was true that prior to this, Isaiah had made no secret of getting around. Maybe Mark really couldn’t be everything he needed or wanted. Maybe a relationship between them was doomed...but he also couldn’t let his uncle talk badly about him either. “He’s starting a landscaping business. That’s why his finances are...in flux.”
“Yard work?” His uncle said with the tone of a guy who had never once pulled a weed. “All the more reason to do this, secure the children’s future. We can’t have someone like that managing the children’s money.”
“He’s incredible with the kids. You should see—”
“I have strong feelings about...people like him being around children.” His uncle made a scoffing noise. “It’s not right.”
Mark rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe there were still people out there who believed such nonsense. “You’re wrong—”
“And you always were more liberal, like your mother. If you want him around them, supervised preferably, then that’s up to you once you have custody. Let him visit or even help you with childcare if you don’t think it’s a gamble—”
“The kids love him. It’s not a gamble. He’s been the only thing holding everything together here—”
“A good nanny could do the same.” Mark could practically hear his uncle shaking his head. “You’ll manage just fine. And I told you, the baby could go—”
“No.” Mark seriously couldn’t imagine his life without Liam in it, without getting to carry him around and make silly faces for and rock to sleep. “I’m keeping this family together.”
“Fine, fine. But so am I,” his uncle said, tone ominous. “Your great-grandfather did not make his fortune for some interloper to walk away with a big chunk. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a tee time about to start.”
“Fine.” Mark hung up and tossed his phone to the passenger seat. Fuck. Things were a mess. And now he had to go talk with Isaiah, who was probably murderous by this point. He pulled out of the school parking lot, heading home with his adrenaline pounding, just like it did before a mission. Sure enough when he got to the house, Isaiah had Liam in his car seat and a diaper bag by the patio door. Liam was snoozing. Man, Mark envied him his nap. He wouldn’t mind zoning out of this confrontation himself.
