There wasa reason Mack had chosen not to go to college, and the spread of paperwork that was laid out before him was a big part of it. His head pounded, and his eyes burned as he settled back in his chair and scowled at the documents he’d printed.
He was still reeling from the confession Lacey had made regarding her parents. How could someone threaten to take away their child’s child? Granted, he would have understood if Lacey was involved in anything shady or dangerous.
But she was a good mother—more than good. There wasn’t a luckier kid in the world than Bridger Tipton. That boy was more loved, more cared for, and more protected than most children in the country.
The idea that Lacey’s mother would threaten to take Bridger from her was laughable, but also incredibly cruel.
Mack wasn’t sure it was even legal.
Which was why he had decided to pour over the custody laws of Montana. Right about now, he was really regretting it.
A sigh burst from his chest, and he arched his back to stretch it out. Noah wandered into the kitchen and stopped when he noticed the pages littering the table. His brows dipped together as he approached and picked up the closest piece of paper. “You thinking about going into law?”
Mack scrunched his nose in disgust. “Absolutely not. If I never step into an educational building, it will be too soon.”
Noah smirked. “What about when you have kids?”
A few months ago, Noah’s words would have made Mack laugh. Whenever he’d thought about the future, he had never seen himself as a father. His reasons were similar to the points Lacey had made when they’d had their argument. He simply hadn’t been the responsible type.
Now, it was different.
His first thought was Bridger.
Mack had long since gotten over how strange it was that he considered the kid his own. The more time he spent with the boy, the more he loved him. Mack already knew he’d give his life for that child. He’d do anything for him.
“You realize you’re smiling like an idiot, right?”
Mack blinked and stared at his brother, his smile falling. If Lacey got her way, Mack wouldn’t get anywhere near her son. They wouldn’t have a future together. Mack could daydream all he wanted about taking Bridger to his first day of school, taking him to his first football game, or watching him graduate.
He frowned, and his eyes shifted to the papers on the table.
When he didn’t speak up, his brother pulled out a chair and took a seat. “What’s going on?” Noah already knew that Lacey was trying to push him away. Both of his brothers did. Mack wasn’t thrilled with that notion, but it was hard to keep a secret when Lacey still checked in with Sammie every so often.
Mack’s scowl deepened.
Noah didn’t move. In fact, he seemed to just make himself more comfortable by lacing his hands behind his head. “What’s the verdict?”
Arching a brow, Mack stared at his brother with suspicion. Had Noah figured out what was going on? How much could Noah know, anyway? Mack hadn’t known that Lacey’s parents were so backwards that they’d take Bridger away from her. But now that he did, it wasn’t difficult to put two and two together and figure out that they were more than annoyingly involved. They were completely overbearing.
Noah gestured toward the papers. “You’re researching custody issues. I take it that Lacey is worried Bridger might get taken away from her.”
Mack froze.
“Granted, I don’t know how that would happen. There’s a lot of red tape when it comes to changing custody. At least, that’s what would make sense.”
“Yeah, well, none of my research has helped.”
“Why were you researching it?”
Mack really didn’t want to discuss this with Noah. He didn’t want to talk about it with anyone—maybe not even Lacey. He gotthe feeling that if he brought up what he found, she would twist it against him.
Yes, Montana allowed a change in custody under three conditions. The first was a change in circumstances for the child or the parents. The second regarded new information coming to light after a court already ruled on a custody agreement and allowing for a change. The last was the one that forced Mack to accept that Lacey’s fears could be warranted.
A court could change parental rights if it was in the best interest of the child.
He knew enough about corruption within the law to know all it would take was someone to do a favor for Lacey’s parents in order to ruin Lacey’s life. If her parents got a decent lawyer, then they could spin the information to tell the story they wanted. How hard would it really be to make Lacey look like a bad mother?
He couldn’t say.
