“She just wanted—”
I cut her off with a glare. “Don’t try to defend her. We both know your daughter plays games. She kept my son from me for almost four years, Sharon. She’s a liar, and I can guarantee you if these games continue, I’m going to make this a lot harder than it needs to be on her.”
“They shouldn’t be gone too long,” she whispered. I could tell she was torn. Stacey’s parents knew she was a conniving bitch. Hell, she gave them more than enough trouble before she ran off to L.A. But they were her parents, and they had no choice but to stand behind her and her fucking games.
“I’m not leaving. You can call her and tell her she has an hour to get her ass back here with my son, or I’m going after them myself.” I turned around on the heel of my boot and walked toward my truck. I sat behind the wheel, picked up my phone, and shot a message to Ryan, letting him know about the shit Stacey had pulled. I then called Bernie, my attorney and a longtime friend of my father. He answered in a worried tone, because it was a Saturday morning, after all.
“Get this shit moving, Bern,” I said through gritted teeth. “She’s kicking the games into high gear, and I’m running real thin on patience.”
“What’s going on, son?” He tried a calming tone then, and it had the opposite fucking effect I think he was hoping for.
“What’s going on is she fucking knew I was picking Austin up at ten. So she packed him up and went on a damn road trip with her dad.” I took a deep breath. “I know for a fact she didn’t want to go along, but keeping Austin from me sealed the fucking deal. Now I’m stuck. I don’t liking having no options, Bern. I don’t like my son being used as a goddamn bargaining chip in the fucked-up world she is living in.”
“Noah, you need to breathe,” he soothed.
“No, I need you to do what the fuck I am paying you to do. Get me rights to my fucking son, that’s what I need.” I hit End and gripped my phone tightly.
It vibrated not even a minute later, and Alena’s name lit up the screen, but talking to her right now was a bad idea. Talking to anyone was a bad idea.
I hit Ignore and tapped out a text to Stacey instead.
Me: Keeping him from his father, that’s low. I thought you were a better mom than that, but I guess I gave you too much credit.
My text went unanswered, but I convinced myself that meant I’d gotten beneath her skin.
***
I woke to the sound of a car door closing. Lifting my head from the headrest, I found Stacey standing at the side of her dad’s SUV ten feet away. She had her hand on her hip as she glared at my truck. Wasting no further time, I climbed from it and walked to her.
“He’s asleep,” she said as she stepped in front of the rear door, as if to block me.
“That’s fine, but I’m still taking him,” I replied.
Ed, Stacey’s dad, rounded the front of the truck, and I thought I was about to have a fight on my hands, but he shocked me instead.
“Let the man have his son for the day.” He shot his daughter an authoritative look. “It’s a cold move to keep them apart, Stacey. I didn’t raise you to be so manipulative. You lied to me and your mother when you said Noah canceled today.” He made eye contact with me. “Sharon and I aren’t part of this game. That boy needs the both of you, and I just hope my daughter can work out her issues and allow that to happen peacefully.”
He walked to the back door of his SUV and nudged a reluctant Stacey out of the way.
When he opened the door and Austin’s sleepy little eyes looked back at me, I smiled brightly. “Hey, bud, you ready to go see Storm?”
His face instantly brightened as he began to pull at his seat belt. Ed chuckled as he reached in and helped his grandson unbuckle. As Ed lowered him to the ground, Stacey shot her father a glare he chose to ignore. “Go on and have some fun with your daddy.”
The sound of the front door shutting caught my attention, and I looked up to find Sharon walking toward us. She held a Batman backpack that was so full, it was about to bust at the seams. When she stepped up to her husband’s side, she held it out to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I took it.
“I packed enough clothes for the night, and his favorite fleece blanket is inside too,” Sharon said, and I looked at her in surprise.
“No,” Stacey snapped as she reached for the bag.
I picked up Austin with a smile so big my jaws ached. “You wanna spend the night at my place, little man?”
He did that cute little bobble-head thing, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Sharon and Ed laughed as well, but Stacey crossed her arms over her chest, and her nostrils flared in irritation.