“What?” The word left me harsh enough that he flinched. Guilt crashed into me so hard I felt sick. I gently moved Tess off me and sat up. I took his face in my hands, hoping he could see how serious I was. “I’m not mad at you, Luke.”
His little chin quivered. “You’re not?”
“No. Never. It’s not your job to protect your mom. And I know she’d say the same thing if she were awake. You’re our baby. We protect you. You did the right thing hiding under the car. Okay?”
I wiped his tears, and he nodded. I held my arm out for him, lying back down. “Let’s try to go to sleep.”
He nestled into my side, his little fist curled in my shirt. “I wove you, Daddy.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, a single tear rolling back into my hair. “I love you, too.”
21
Tess
The courtroom smelled like wood polish and nerves. With everything that happened two days ago, Luke’s custody hearing got moved up, and I was a nervous wreck. I couldn’t stop fidgeting while we waited for Judge Blackburn, ready to get this over with and behind us so we could heal.
Levi looked horrible when I peered up at him beside me. His eyes were ringed with deep purple bruises, and a healing scab covered the bridge of his nose, held together by butterfly bandages. Guilt gnawed at me, and I had to force the urge to cry away. I’d cried enough, and I refused to spill one more tear over Jeremy Watson and the things he’d done to us.
I peeked over my shoulder, finding my siblings and the McLeods behind us. My smile was shaky as I looked at them. “It’s gonna be okay,” Claire whispered, giving my hand a squeeze across the bannister that divided us. I swallowed hard, glancing at Savannah and Emmett, and nodded.
I wish I felt her same certainty, but I wasn’t confident in anything anymore. Just Levi. But even then, Jeremy could throw a curveball and ruin everything more than he already had.
A door across the room opened, and Jeremy walked through with a cop holding the crook of his elbow. I couldn’t tear my eyes off him, and I wondered if that made me a masochist or not. The only thing that stopped me from being afraid was the fact that he was handcuffed and likely wasn’t stupid enough to do anything reckless in a courtroom.
Luke’s hand slid into mine, wedging his body between Levi and me. Levi bent down. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Nothing bad is going to happen.”
He nodded, clutching his stuffed dinosaur to his chest. “I know.”
Jeremy didn’t even glance in our direction, but he looked nearly as bad as Levi, with the left side of his face covered in bruises. My gaze fell to where Levi was sorting through papers, his knuckles still bruised and swollen. A wave of gratitude washed over me the longer I stared at them. I never thought I’d have someone willing to put themselves in the line of fire for Luke and me, and I couldn’t believe that I did.
Judge Blackburn entered next, taking a seat at the bench. “Good morning,” she said. She organized some papers. “We’re here today regarding the custody of a Lucas Watson.” She glanced at Jeremy’s lawyer, then at Levi, her head rearing back.
“Mr. Hollis, are you well enough to proceed today?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” he replied easily. “Quite well.”
Her mouth thinned. “Great. Let’s begin. Miss—oh,Mrs. Hollis.” My heart skipped a beat; that was the first time I’d ever heard myself referred to as that. I loved it, loved being Levi’s. But I had a feeling Judge Blackburn didn’t share the same sentiments.
Her brows pulled together. She started flipping through her paperwork, the furrow deepening with each sheet she scanned. My chest tightened watching her, wondering what she’d say. She peered at Levi and me over her glasses. “Am I correct tobelieve that you married your client, Mr. Hollis? Do you think it’s appropriate to be representing your wife?”
“Yes, Your Honor.” There wasn’t a trace of the anxiety I felt in his voice. He grabbed a paper and walked it up to her. “Mrs. Hollis has signed an informed consent waiver, confirming she understands the potential conflicts and agrees to my continued representation.”
She pursed her lips, looking over the document. “And you’re truthfully okay with this, Mrs. Hollis?” she asked.
I stood slowly, my heart pounding in my ears. “Yes. I know Levi has mine, and more importantly, Luke’s best interests in mind. I couldn’t trust anyone else with this more,” I said, picking at my nails.
“Rude,” someone from my family murmured behind me, just loud enough for me to hear. Levi let out a tiny huff of a laugh. My mouth twitched, fighting a smile.
The judge’s eyes flicked between us briefly, and it felt like time paused while she considered her decision. “Very well.” I nearly collapsed back into my seat with relief. “Let’s get to the real reason we’re here then.” She reviewed my suit against Jeremy and his counter-suit, using words I didn’t understand and didn’t care to. I just wanted this to end and for Jeremy to be as far away from us as possible.
Levi threw around words like “child endangerment” and “psychological trauma.” He told her about our nightmares, Luke’s bedwetting, and Jeremy’s harassment. Jeremy finally looked my way, his gaze locking on me like a wolf spotting prey. My breath caught, my muscles tensing. The only thing that kept me upright was not wanting to cause a scene and scare Luke.
Jeremy’s lawyer accused me of being unfit, unstable, and unreliable. He brought up the fact that I’d been on antidepressants briefly after my father died. He tried to make itsound like I’d kidnapped Luke, that I refused to work for the last six years, that I was sleeping around behind Jeremy’s back.
That one made me gasp out loud, looking in Jeremy’s direction. “That’s a lie and you know it,” I snapped at him, only to get reprimanded by the judge.
With every accusation that came, Levi’s calm restraint whittled away a little more. His voice cut through the air like a blade as he disproved all of them with evidence, thanks to the fact that I had never deleted a single text, call, or voicemail I’d ever gotten in my life.
