Three days of learning to trust that "together" doesn't mean "controlled."
Three days of falling even deeper for the man who married me to save my nephew and ended up saving me too.
"Mrs. McKenna?" Rebecca appears at the bottom of the courthouse steps, looking professional and confident in a way that makes me stand a little straighter. "Are you ready?"
Mrs. McKenna.The name still sends a little thrill through me, even now, even when my stomach is tied in knots and my palms are sweating.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I say.
We walk up the steps together, Sawyer's free hand warm and steady on the small of my back, and Rebecca briefing us on last-minute details. The judge is known for being fair but thorough. Derek's lawyer is known for being expensive and ruthless. The social worker who'll be observing will be looking for signs of a stable, loving home environment.
Everything we've practiced, everything we've prepared for, comes down to the next two hours.
The courthouse lobby is crowded with people dealing with their own legal dramas, but I spot Derek immediately. He's sitting on a bench near the family court entrance, wearing an expensive suit and the kind of confident smile that makes my skin crawl.
He's not alone.
The woman beside him is blonde and polished in a way that screams money and privilege. She's younger than Derek by at least ten years, with the kind of practiced perfection that comes from a lifetime of beauty treatments and personal trainers.
His new wife.The replacement family he found to go with his replacement dreams for Tommy.
"That's her," I whisper to Sawyer. "That's Melissa."
Sawyer's gaze finds Derek and his wife, and something dangerous flickers across his face. The same expression I've seen when he's dealing with a threat, when someone is about to learn why you don't mess with Sheriff McKenna or anyone under his protection.
"Easy," I murmur, touching his arm. "We handle this the legal way."
"I know." But his voice carries that edge that makes grown men step carefully around him. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
Derek looks up as we approach, and his smile widens when he sees us. It's the kind of smile a predator gives when it thinks it's cornered its prey.
"Lisa." He stands, buttoning his suit jacket with practiced ease. "You look well. Marriage clearly agrees with you."
The casual tone, like we're old friends running into each other at a coffee shop instead of adversaries about to battle for custody of a child, makes my teeth clench.
"Derek." I keep my voice neutral, professional. "Melissa."
The blonde woman looks me up and down with the kind of assessment women give each other when measuring competition. Whatever she sees must not impress her because she just nods coolly and turns her attention to Tommy.
"So this is little Thomas," she says, reaching out like she's going to touch him.
Sawyer steps back smoothly, keeping Tommy out of reach while making it look completely natural.
"His name is Tommy," I correct. "And he doesn't know you."
"Yet," Derek says, and there's steel underneath the casual tone. "But he will. We're looking forward to getting to know him, aren't we, darling?"
Melissa nods, but I notice she doesn't seem particularly enthusiastic about the prospect. She's looking at Tommy likehe's a prop in someone else's play, something to be managed rather than loved.
"Mrs. McKenna?" Rebecca appears at my elbow. "We should head inside. They're ready for us."
The courtroom is smaller than I expected, more intimate. It feels wrong somehow that such a huge decision is going to be made in a space that looks like it could be someone's living room if you took away the judge's bench and witness stand.
Judge Patricia Henley is a woman in her sixties with silver hair and sharp eyes that seem to take in everything at once. She reviews the case file while we take our seats, Derek and his lawyer on one side, Sawyer and I with Rebecca on the other.
Tommy sits quietly on my lap, occasionally reaching for my necklace or making soft sounds, but otherwise behaving like the perfect angel he usually is in new situations.
"This is a custody modification hearing in the matter of Morrison versus McKenna," Judge Henley begins. "Mr. Morrison is seeking full custody of the minor child, Thomas Morrison, currently in the care of his aunt, Lisa McKenna."
