She was sitting at the kitchen table, silently crying when Mark and Trevor walked through the door. They were laughing and talking about how funny the new horses were while learning to walk around. One of the puppies, which was now huge, was trailing at Trevor's feet. The sight of them made fresh tears fall.
She turned away and wiped her face, not wanting to upset her son. She hated she was going to have to pull him away from the ranch and the entire family. Was she a terrible mother to do it to him? It was the only way to keep them together, she reasoned with herself.
Mark immediately could tell something was wrong and sent Trevor upstairs to clean up and change for dinner. Once he was safely out of ear shot Mark sat down and waited for Emily to tell him what was wrong.
"They found me," she simply said.
"Who did?" Mark asked her with confusion. She realized at that point she hadn't told him anything about her custody issues.
"It's kind of a long story," she said to him.
"Well there's no time like the present to start then," Mark reassured her. Emily took a deep breath and then began the story.
Mark never said one word as she explained her terrible marriage and the controlling husband she'd been with. His eyes turned to slits as she talked about her ex in-laws and how they had tried to take her son from her. When she finished with the part about the Judge being in their pocket, he simply nodded like he understood.
"I didn't have any other choice but to get away from there. I had to keep Trevor with me. I know they can provide him with everything money can buy but they would never give him love. They only want him because they lost their only son and are trying to look like the loving and concerned grandparents. They've barely acknowledged his existence before, though. They are nothing at all like your family Mark," she finished.
"I'm sorry you've been through all of that Emily," Mark said, as he took her hand in his. "I wish you would've shared with me sooner, so I could've been there for you. We could've already had this dealt with as well," he continued.
"Mark I can't beat these people. They know where we are now. I have no choice but to leave," she said, on a little sob, as new tears started running down her flushed cheeks.
Mark said nothing for several minutes, as her tears continued to fall. He sat next to her, rubbing her back, as she got the last of her emotions under control. He then lifted her chin up so she was looking him in the eyes.
"Emily do you want to leave?" he asked her. He needed to know how she felt. He was going to help her no matter what the answer was but he needed to know she wanted to be there with him.
"Of course I don't want to leave. Trevor is so happy here and I love you. I just can't lose my son," she said, exasperated.
In the heat of her passion and frustration she hadn't noticed she'd told him she loved him for the first time. Mark let it wash over him and felt his heart growing. They were going to be okay.
"Emily you don't have to leave. I want you and Trevor here. We are going to get married and have the custody hearing moved up here, where the judge can't be bought. First we will try and get the Jackson's to settle but if they want to fight, we will fight them. If Trevor's grandparents want to fight you, they are going to have to go through me," he said to her.
Emily stared at him with a mixture of horror and hope. He'd just proposed, or more like, demanded marriage and promised to keep her and her son together. She didn't know what to say to him.
"Mark I can't ask you to do that," she finally responded.
"Emily, I love Trevor already as if he were my son. My family loves him too and we protect our own. I also can't imagine waking up each day without you. I want you here and I won't let these people pull us apart." He said.
He wasn't quite ready to actually express his love. He knew he couldn't imagine his life without her but if he told her he loved her and she rejected him, it would kill him. He couldn't go there.
"Emily, I'd never planned on marrying before. Then I watched as both my brothers got married and had children and I realized it wasn't such a bad thing. We could be really good together if you'll just give it a chance. If things don't work out for some reason, it's not like you would have to be stuck with me forever," he said with a shrug like it was no big deal.
It hurt her more than he would ever know to have him talk about them ending like it was nothing but he was right. If them marrying would keep her with him longer and keep Trevor safe, she had nothing to lose. She loved him and he said he cared about her, so maybe that would turn into love someday.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked him, giving him a last chance to back out.