True Love Cowboy by Jennifer Ryan

Things seemed to finally be going Jon’s way. He’d had two weeks where everything went as planned. Steph managed to work and care for Emmy on her days as scheduled. No Thursday evening phone call to come get her because Steph was done. He and Emmy had a video chat every night she was away. It seemed to ease her mind and make her more comfortable staying with her mom.

The calls kept Steph in line because she knew he was checking up on her, too.

The house renovation and redecorating was finished, and he loved how everything turned out. He’d taken Trinity’s advice and gone with the lighter shade of gray for the walls. She was right. The place was brighter and felt more open and airy. The color complemented the new white quartz countertops and stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen, which Trinity loved. She used the space more than he did, and he didn’t mind one bit. She was a phenomenal cook. Emmy loved helping her make meals on the weekend.

They worked together really well. Trinity and Emmy. And he and Trinity. She spent more nights with him than she did at her own place. When she wasn’t with him, he missed her and couldn’t wait to see her again. He’d never felt that way about anyone.

And he needed to put some serious thought into what he wanted for the future, though it seemed to be coming together the way he imagined without him even really trying.

Trinity loved being at his place. They loved being together. She was great with Emmy.

Everything seemed perfect right now.

And as much as he loved having more time to spend with Emmy, visiting his dad, and working to get the ranch ready to house some horses and the puppy Emmy hadn’t stopped begging him to get her, he still found time to work on his pet project.

While Trinity kept him apprised of what she was doing at work, and how things were going with her plans to expand once Adria gave birth and was back to working full-time, he had a plan to make all their dreams a reality without them having to take out a massive loan, and travel and stay at the new locations for weeks at a time. And work sixty-plus-hour weeks to do it.

He had no idea what Trinity and Adria would say about his proposal. But he’d decided to do what he’d do with any other business owner and make the offer and let them decide.

He’d handled things badly when Trinity asked about what he did for a living. He let past experiences put him on the defensive and insulted Trinity. Money didn’t seem to be a motivating factor for anything Trinity did. Not in her work, where she lived, or how she lived her life. She loved being a chef and running her business with her sister-in-law. She liked the little apartment over the shop because it was cozy and all she needed right now for herself. She didn’t spend money on things just to have them. As far as he could tell, her love for chocolate far exceeded her love of expensive shoes, handbags, jewelry, or trips.

Unlike Steph, she never asked him to pay for anything. If she brought food from the shop, she didn’t hint or say outright he should pay her for it. When they took Emmy out shopping for new shoes and Trinity found a pair she wanted, she walked right up to the cashier and paid for them herself. She didn’t give him a look, or even an opportunity to offer to pay for them while he paid for Emmy’s.

In fact, she didn’t expect anything from him, except his company and time. She never complained that she wanted to be alone with him when they had Emmy. She never suggested they get a sitter so they could go out without Emmy. She understood that time was precious for him and Emmy both, and she didn’t interfere in their relationship.

And Emmy adored her because Trinity treated her like she was special. She showered Emmy with unconditional love from her great big open heart.

He’d be crazy to ever let her go. And stupid if he did something to ruin it.

Emmy might kill him if he screwed things up with her.

Which was why he hoped Trinity and Adria would be open to hearing him out about his business plan.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this nervous about a business meeting. He hadn’t seen Trinity in two days, but he had talked to her on the phone last night and asked for this meeting to her great surprise. He didn’t tell her exactly what he wanted to talk to her about, only that he had some ideas for her business and wanted to share them with her and Adria.

He walked into Almost Homemade right before their nine-thirty appointment, happy to see Trinity behind the counter talking to one of her employees. The store had a good number of customers shopping the shelves and hot counter.

He didn’t see Adria, but figured she’d join them for the meeting shortly.

Trinity spotted him and gave him a huge smile. He walked to the corner of the counter, away from where customers were lined up to get food and check out.

“Hey, you.” She eyed his dress shirt and tie. “Aren’t you handsome and so serious today?”

He’d ditched his new usual tee or thermal for his old business attire up top, but he kept the black jeans because while he wanted to look professional, he was meeting his girlfriend and her partner.

“You’re always beautiful and happy, and the best part of my day is seeing you.”

The bright smile was his second favorite to the sexy one she gave him most nights when they seduced each other in bed.

Trinity tilted her head. “When you asked to meet with me and Adria, I didn’t realize it was some kind of serious business you wanted to discuss.”

The guy Trinity had been talking to when he walked in hovered nearby, sneaking glances at Trinity. If the guy had a thing for her, he was shit out of luck. Jon let him know it with a hard stare before he focused on Trinity again. “Your business is all tied up with family. While we have a personal relationship, I wanted you to know this is business. If you don’t like what I have to say about my plans for Almost Homemade, then I’ll drop it and we’ll continue as we have been, no hard feelings.”

Trinity raised one brow. “You have plans for my business?”

The guy lurking in the background rushed forward and took Trinity by the shoulder, turning her to him. “I thought you said you weren’t interested in selling. You’ve turned down every offer so far.”

She’d never mentioned any offers to him. “How many offers have you received?”

Trinity shrugged one shoulder. “We get one every couple of weeks. We have since we opened the third store.”

“If you’re ready to sell, you should consider the offer I brought to you.” The guy eyed Jon, then turned to Trinity again. “It’s a good offer.”

Jon wanted to jump in, but his phone rang. He spared it a glance before he readdressed Trinity about his offer, but instead told her, “Sorry, it’s Emmy’s school.”

“Take it.” She waved him off and said to the other guy, “We aren’t selling the business.”

Jon took a couple steps away. “Hello.”

“Mr. Crawford, this is Pam at Oakhurst Elementary. I’m calling about Emmy.”

“Is she okay?” His first thought was that maybe she was sick and needed to be picked up.

“Um. No, she’s not. She was dropped off late this morning. In fact, she’s only been here for the last twenty minutes.”

She should have arrived at school over an hour ago.

Pam went on with the bad news. “It seems she and her mother had some sort of . . . disagreement this morning that resulted in a rather bad haircut. At least one of the kids in her class called her ugly. Emmy is beside herself. She won’t stop crying. In fact, she’s so hysterical, she’s made herself vomit.”

“Oh my God. I had no idea.” He really didn’t know what to say, but the thought of anyone calling his daughter ugly made him livid. Knowing she was that upset only made it worse. “I’m not that far away. I can be there in a few minutes.”

“We’d appreciate that. She’s simply inconsolable.”

“I’ll be right there,” he assured Pam.

“You should know that we’ve contacted her mother as well. Because of the nature of what happened, Emmy’s rather strange appearance, and how she was delivered to us, we think it best to discuss the situation with both of you present to get a better understanding of what happened.”

The anger built inside him until he was holding the phone so tightly his fingers ached. “I would like to understand exactly what happened as well. Please tell Emmy I am on my way and I’m coming as fast as I can.” He hung up and turned to go back to Trinity, but she was already right behind him with her purse on her shoulder.

“What happened to Emmy?”

“One of the kids in her class called her ugly.”

Trinity scrunched her mouth into a disgruntled frown. “Well, that’s not nice at all.”

“I don’t think it’s all about that. Pam, the nurse, said something about her and Steph having an argument this morning before school, which is why Emmy arrived late. The school nurse called me and Steph in because they’re trying to figure out what really happened.” He took Trinity’s hand, so grateful for her calming presence during yet another Steph mess. “They said she’s hysterical, made herself ill, and is inconsolable.”

Trinity squeezed his hand. “Then let’s go get her.” She tried to pull him toward the door.

He tugged to halt her. “I’ve got this. You don’t want to dive into this mess.”

Trinity tilted her head and her shoulders sagged. “But Emmy needs us.”

Relief and deep appreciation filled him up. “She does. But Steph is going to be there. I don’t want to make a bad situation worse.”

“As in, she’ll see me and cause a scene.”

“Yes. And I like you happy and far away from Steph’s sharp tongue.”

She started walking toward the door. “Then you deal with your ex, and I will take care of Emmy.”

He caught up to her, took her outstretched hand, and linked his fingers with hers again. He’d given her an out and she didn’t take it. He appreciated her help and support. Emmy would be happy to see her. But he’d like to keep her and Steph as far apart as possible. Then again, if he and Trinity were really building something together, they’d all have to learn to get along.

He held the car door open for her.

She climbed in and met his gaze. “I’m going to table the conversation about you trying to buy me and Adria out of our business until later, but we will talk about it.” The tone didn’t bode well for him, or his proposal.

Yeah, he hated to leave that hanging between them because he hadn’t quite explained his plan. “It’s not what you think.”

He closed the door and went around to the driver’s side. He didn’t want her to believe he wanted to shut her out of the business she built. He drove out of the lot and headed for the school. “Really, Trinity, I just have some ideas. All I want is for you to hear me out.”

“Later,” she said, getting out of the car as soon as he parked in the lot. “Which way?” she asked when they met on the sidewalk.

He took her hand and led the way to the office where he supposed they’d taken Emmy. The second they walked in the door he heard a strange keening sound that broke his heart when he followed it into a room off the main lobby and found his daughter curled in a ball on the sofa, her hands over her head.

Pam crouched next to her with one hand on her back and looked up at him. “Mr. Crawford.”

He couldn’t speak. He went to Emmy and put his hand on her back. “Emmy, baby, I’m here. You’re okay.”

The eerie sound she made turned into a harsh cry.

He scooped her up and held her to his chest. “Okay, sweet girl, I’m here. You’re okay,” he assured her and held her tighter. “It’s all right now.” She clung to him with her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist. She liked to squeeze him good sometimes, but this was a desperate embrace filled with fear that he’d let her go and something bad would happen to her.

“Emmy.” Trinity brushed her hand down Emmy’s disheveled and considerably shorter hair. “We’re both here for you, honey. Whatever happened, we’ll try to help.”

“I’m ugly,” Emmy wailed. “She cut it off and threw it at me.”

Jon raged inside, but he held Emmy and kept it contained because she’d had enough today, and the morning was barely over.

Pam met Jon’s gaze. “Apparently, her mother got angry while trying to brush Emmy’s hair and cut it off.”

Jon couldn’t really see the damage but it was apparent enough to Pam, and Trinity, judging by the frown and concern in Trinity’s eyes.

Trinity tried to console Emmy again. “It’s not that bad, sweetheart. We can go to the hairdresser and get it trimmed into a very pretty style.”

“It’s too short.” Emmy buried her face in Jon’s neck, but her crying had subsided as she hiccuped and tried to slow her breathing. All her long hair, which had once draped down to the middle of her back, had been cut haphazardly, as if Steph took handfuls of her hair and chopped it off, not caring that some of it was longer than other areas.

“I bet it will look really cute. Like a fairy’s haircut.” Trinity pulled out her phone and tapped a bunch of times, then held it up. “See. How about something like this?”

Jon loved that Trinity found several photos of models with short, chin-length dark hair that would look great on Emmy.

Emmy refused to look at first, so he tried to encourage her. “I think this one could work.” He made the general statement, hoping she’d want to pick one for herself.

Finally, Emmy raised her head and glanced over his shoulder at the phone Trinity held up. “Which one?” she asked him.

“I bet my favorite is the same as yours.” He wanted her to decide, because her mother obviously hadn’t given her a choice this morning about lopping off her hair.

Emmy tapped one of the photos, making it larger on the phone. “That’s nice.”

“I think that will look really cute on you,” Trinity agreed. “I’ll save the picture and we’ll show it to the hairdresser so she can cut your hair just like that.”

“Do you think she can?” Emmy leaned back, and for the first time he got a good look at her.

He felt so sorry for Emmy. How could Steph do this to her daughter?

“Yes, it can be fixed. And I’m so sorry your mom did that to you, sweetheart.” Jon hugged her close again.

“She deserved it for screaming at me.” Steph stood in the doorway, her eyes narrowed on Emmy and filled with rage. “Now you’ve made me take time off work to come down here because you’re being a big crybaby.” Steph had never spoken to Emmy so coldly.

At least, not in his presence.

“That’s enough.” Jon couldn’t believe Steph’s behavior.

“Why don’t we take this to another room?” Pam suggested. “Perhaps your friend can stay with Emmy, Mr. Crawford.”

Emmy had buried her face in his neck again and clung to him with all her might.

He turned and whispered in her ear, “Is it okay if I hand you off to Trinity while I talk to your mom?”

Emmy immediately turned and held her arms out to Trinity, who took her into her arms and held her just the way Jon had done.

“There now, my sweet girl. We’ll just sit right here and catch our breath.” Trinity sat on the sofa with Emmy on her lap and wrapped around her.

“Why are we even here? Send her back to class.” Steph blocked the doorway.

He walked right up to her. “Let’s take this outside.” He didn’t want Emmy to overhear their raised voices, because right now he couldn’t find the calm to speak in a civil tone.

Steph quickly backed away.

Pam went out with her.

He went back to Trinity and Emmy and kissed both of them on the head, then stared down at Trinity. “I’m so glad you came with me.”

“I’ve got her. Go deal with . . . that.”

Jon touched Emmy’s arm. She flinched, and that made him even sadder. “I’m going to make sure your mom doesn’t do something like this ever again.”

Emmy didn’t acknowledge that at all. He didn’t know if she believed him or not. But he wouldn’t let this go unanswered.

He found Steph, Pam, and a man standing outside, closer to the parking lot than the door. Good.

“Mrs. Crawford,” the man implored.

And Jon set him straight. “She’s not Mrs. Crawford.” Emmy had his last name, so it was a good assumption for the guy to think Steph and he had once been married. “We were never married.” Thank God.

Pam made the introductions. “Mr. Crawford, Miss Brown, this is Principal Fields. I’ve asked him to join us to discuss what’s been happening with Emmy.”

“She’s fine.” Steph stood defiant with her arms crossed and her head high, wearing the grocery store polo and jeans.

Jon didn’t think Emmy was even close to fine, and he wanted to hear what the school had to say about it. “What exactly has been happening with Emmy at school?” He’d start there and get to Steph and what happened this morning.

Principal Fields took the lead now. “Emmy is late to school every day of the week, except Mondays.” He gave Jon a direct look.

Jon easily made the connection. “In other words, she’s only on time the day I drop her off.”

“Well,” Steph started, “if she’d cooperate in the morning, we wouldn’t be late.”

“You are also late picking her up more days of the week than you do on time,” the principal pointed out.

“I’m a single working mother.” That explained nothing.

“You get off at four thirty. You live five minutes away from here. You shouldn’t ever be late.” Jon dared her to contradict him with a look.

She glared at him. “Sometimes I have to work late. I am the manager.”

“We’ve been lenient up until now.” The principal’s voice held a warning. He was losing patience with Steph and her callous attitude.

Jon felt the same way. “In other words, pick her up on time, Steph.”

She rolled her eyes.

Pam tried for a calmer tactic. “Children do best on a schedule. That way they aren’t anxious about what’s going to happen. When you’re late, she worries that she’s been forgotten.”

That hit Jon right in the chest.

Poor Emmy. He didn’t want to imagine her watching all her friends get picked up and taken home on time while she sat there waiting on her mother, wondering if she’d even bother to show up.

Principal Fields continued with what he thought they needed to hear. “When children lose interest in school and act out in class, it’s usually because of issues at home. They aren’t getting the guidance and attention they need.”

“She’s acting out in class?” This was starting to sound like what had happened back in California.

Apparently, all he’d done was move the problem from one state to another.

“She argues with her classmates and teacher, she doesn’t always complete her packet work, and she’s even thrown a few tantrums that disrupt the class to the point her teacher has to send her to the office for a time-out.” Principal Fields looked from him to Steph and back. “The question is, what is happening at home that is upsetting Emmy so much she can’t concentrate in class? Perhaps it’s an issue one of our school counselors can assist you in identifying and rectifying for Emmy’s benefit.”

Steph threw up her hands and let them drop. “She doesn’t listen to me. She complains about everything. She won’t do what I say.”

Pam turned to him. “Is that your experience with Emmy as well, Mr. Crawford?”

He held Steph’s gaze. “No. It’s not. She’s a good girl. Smart. Kind. Funny. We have fun together, but she does her chores and any homework she brings home on Friday, though the teacher doesn’t usually assign any for the weekend.”

“Yeah, you get the easy gig, playing with her all weekend. I get the hard stuff.”

Pre-K homework was hard? Getting her up, dressed, fed, and to school on time was hard? Picking her up, feeding her, doing basic skills homework, bathing her, and putting her to bed on time was too much?

He could rectify that very easily.

“You and I will discuss that later. What I want to know right now is what happened specifically this morning.”

Steph frowned and glared at all of them. “Of course, I’m the bad guy.”

“Our daughter’s hair is a mess. What happened? Why would you do that to her?”

Steph unfolded her arms and shoved her fisted hands down until her arms were rigid at her sides. “Because she deserved it.”

“Our four-year-old deserved to have her hair chopped off and to be humiliated in front of her classmates? One of them called her ugly.”

“Well, she was acting that way this morning.” Steph raked her fingers through her hair and pulled it away from her face. She shifted from one foot to the other, clearly agitated and upset. “Her hair is too long. It’s always a mess.” She pinned him in her gaze. “You’re always on my case about making her hair look nice.”

“It’s not that hard to brush it and put some of those clip things in to keep it out of her face.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what you think. It’s like a rat’s nest in the morning when she wakes up. I tried to brush it this morning, but it was all in tangles.”

“Did you use the detangler spray I left you?”

Steph narrowed her eyes. “You mean the one your girlfriend gave her?”

“Yes,” he said snidely. “That one.”

“I’m so damn tired of hearing about how great Trinity is. It’s constantly Trinity this, and Trinity that. ‘Trinity doesn’t pull my hair. Trinity does it softer,’” she mimicked in a snide tone.

So that’s what really set Steph off.

“What the hell is she even doing here? This is between us. Emmy is our daughter.”

Trinity wasn’t the problem here; Steph’s jealousy was making her act out and it needed to stop.

“Trinity cares about Emmy. She takes care of her when she’s with us.”

“Us? So you two are living together now. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”

He had no idea what she meant by that. “What am I doing?”

“You’re trying to take her from me. You just want to be a happy family with that bitch and my daughter. I won’t let you have full custody.”

“I want you, her mother, to take care of her properly. That’s all.”

“I’m a good mother.”

“You left her alone in the apartment to go party with some guy.”

Pam interrupted. “If Emmy is being left alone, there are bigger issues we need to discuss. Which should include the statements Emmy has made to her teacher about her mother being mean to her.”

“She’s lying,” Steph immediately spat out.

Jon wanted to know just what Emmy had to say to her teacher, but first he wanted to get to the bottom of what happened this morning. “We both know she’s not, Steph. Look at what happened today. She’s so upset, she made herself sick. You’re defensive and agitated, but you won’t say what happened.”

“She wouldn’t sit still. She kept saying I was pulling too hard and hurting her.”

“You probably were. So why didn’t you stop?”

“And let her video call you with less than perfect hair so you can tell me again how I’m not doing what I’m supposed to for her? I’m so tired of you picking at every little thing I do or don’t do for her. All you do is threaten to take her away from me. And now she’s telling me that I’m not good at stuff, that Trinity is such a good cook and does her hair without hurting her, and blah, blah, blah, blah blah.”

“So this is Trinity’s fault.”

“She took you. Now she’s trying to take my daughter.” Steph had lost her mind if she thought he still belonged to her in any sort of way.

So Jon made it clear. “Trinity and I are together. She’s a part of Emmy’s life. She’s good to her. She’d never do what you did to her this morning.”

Steph tried to rein in her anger, but her frustration came through loud and clear. “There wasn’t time to straighten up her haircut. We were already late. I’ll fix it later tonight.”

“Trinity and I are taking her to the hairdresser right now. I hope that will repair some of the damage you did to her self-esteem and make her feel good about herself again.”

Steph waved that away. “If she’d stayed still it wouldn’t have turned out so bad.”

Jon caught himself before he took a step toward Steph and did or said something he shouldn’t and might not really regret later.

Steph glared at him. “You can’t take her from school.”

“I can. I am. She’s too upset to stay.”

Pam nodded. “I think she’ll feel better coming back to school tomorrow with a new haircut and time to let what’s happened settle in her mind.”

“She’s supposed to be with me tonight. But, of course, because I had to come down here, I’ll have to work late to make up the time.” She rolled her eyes in exasperation that she’d been put out.

Jon didn’t give a shit that she’d had to leave work. It was her damn fault. She just didn’t see it.

“Then it works out, because I’m taking Emmy home with me.”

Steph fumed.

He ordered her to do the right thing. “After you go inside and apologize to her for what you did.”

She gaped at him. “After the way she acted, the things she said.” Steph shook her head. “No. She should apologize to me.”

“So she’s the only one in the wrong?”

“Yes. If she’d stayed still and shut up, none of this would have happened.”

He fought to contain his rage. “You lost your temper and attacked her hair with a pair of scissors.”

Steph rolled her eyes. “Her hair will grow back.”

“But will she ever forget what you did to her and how you made her feel today?” Jon wouldn’t forget the devastation in Emmy’s eyes or the way she’d cried like a wounded animal.

“She’s four. She probably won’t remember any of this.” Steph shrugged it off.

“So you’re going to leave it to me to fix this between you two.”

“She’ll get over it. What choice does she have? I’m her mother. She needs to do what I say.”

He set her straight. “That’s where you’re wrong, Steph. She does have a choice. I’ve already got my lawyer working on it.”

Steph rushed him and got right in his face. “I’ve done everything you ordered me to do. You can’t take her away from me!”

Principal Fields inserted his arm between them. “Perhaps this is a discussion you can have when you’ve had time to calm down and you can talk amicably about what is best for Emmy.”

“I’m her mother. I’m what’s best for her. Not Trinity.” Steph glared hard at him. “I’m calling my father and getting a lawyer to stop you.”

No surprise. When things got hard for Steph, she ran to Daddy and begged him to fix things for her.

Jon wondered what her father would say when he heard what Steph had done to Emmy.

“You’re going to need one because Pam and Principal Fields are required to report suspected abuse and neglect.”

Steph’s eyes went round when Pam nodded. “You can’t do that. She’s fine.”

Pam gave Steph a sad but determined look. “We are mandated reporters. If we suspect abuse, a call is required.”

Steph stormed off, pulling her phone out, likely to call her dad, as she crossed the parking lot.

Jon stood there, not caring if the principal and Pam stared at him, waiting for him to say or do something. He knew what was coming. He’d held off Emmy’s teacher in California with promises that he’d take care of things with Steph. She’d do better.

Well, he was tired of covering for Steph. He hated that Emmy was going to have to go through this, but it had to be done if he was going to get the court to side with him instead of Emmy’s mother. More than likely, they’d be lenient and give Steph more chances than she deserved to get things right. And in the process, Emmy would suffer.

He’d do his best, everything and anything he could to protect her, but if he wanted to win and keep Emmy away from Steph and her abuse in the future, he had to do it the right way.

Pam broke the tense silence. “I know this has been a difficult morning, Mr. Crawford. We appreciate you coming down to see to Emmy’s needs.”

“In the future, if Emmy needs one of us to come to her again, call me first.”

“Of course,” Pam agreed. “We don’t like to insert ourselves in people’s personal lives, but it is clear that Emmy needs some stability in her home life. She’s falling behind in school. She’s got a long way to go and starting off like this . . . arriving late, not doing assignments, acting out in class . . . Well, it will only make things harder in the future.”

In other words, he needed to turn this around now before it became a hard habit to break.

“I appreciate how you’ve handled this and that you’ve provided some further insight into what is going on with Emmy on the days her mother has custody of her. If you wouldn’t mind putting together the information about how many times she’s been late to school and picked up late after school so I can provide that to my attorney, I’d appreciate it.”

“Of course, the school records are for your information to use as you see fit.” Principal Fields led them back up to the office. “They will also be provided to DPHHS.”

Meaning they would make the call to the authorities now.

“We appreciate your willingness to work with us to try to make Emmy’s school experience a good one.”

“I’m trying. And while DPHHS will do their thing, more than likely Steph will get an attorney to make this go away. My hope is that after today she’ll make more effort to have Emmy here on time and to get her after school by five. Please let me know if this pattern continues, so I can address it.” He had a sudden thought. “If Emmy isn’t picked up or something else comes up, can I put my girlfriend’s name down as an emergency contact? She works close by and could get to Emmy much faster than me if I’m not in town.”

They walked into the office lobby.

Principal Fields nodded. “Of course we can add her.” He went around the desk to the computer. “I have Emmy’s information here. So we’ll add Trinity. What’s the last name?”

“McGrath.” Jon gave them her cell phone number as well as the number to her shop. Just in case.

Principal Fields typed it all in. “There we go. All finished. I’ve also made a note in the file that you are the primary contact, so you will be called first if any issues arise such as this, or if she becomes ill.”

“Great. That eases my mind.”

Pam touched his arm. “Why don’t you collect Emmy? I’m sure she’s worried about what we’ve talked about and what happens next.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll have a talk with her.” Because now strangers were going to step in and make decisions for Emmy’s sake even if he didn’t agree with them. Steph had tied his hands today. He couldn’t stop the school from reporting. He couldn’t stop DPHHS from taking Emmy from both of them if that’s what they thought was best.

He didn’t think it would come to that, but it was his greatest fear.

He needed to call his lawyer ASAP to get ahead of this, but right now, his daughter needed him.

He went to the little room off the main lobby and found Emmy sitting on Trinity’s lap facing her. She’d released Trinity from the death grip she had on her when he left.

“You’re not ugly, sweetheart,” Trinity assured her.

Emmy stared down at Trinity’s lap and played with the hem of her Almost Homemade tee. “Do you really think they can fix it?”

“Yes. In fact, I think it would be a great idea for your dad to take a before and after picture. That way you can see how great it looks when it’s all done.”

Jon pulled out his phone, but hesitated to hold it up when Trinity brushed her hand up Emmy’s arm, pushing her sleeve up to reveal the red marks and bruises on Emmy’s biceps.

“Turn and look at Daddy so he can take the picture,” Trinity coaxed, but her eyes held his and were filled with concern.

He understood why when Emmy’s gaze met his and he saw the red mark right under her eye. He hadn’t noticed it before because she’d been crying so hard her whole face had been red.

Jon zoomed in so the marks on her were clear in the photo.

Emmy would never know this was why Trinity wanted him to take the picture. He actually took several just to be sure he documented the marks Steph put on her. She had to have grabbed Emmy’s arm really hard to leave imprints of her fingers digging into his daughter’s skinny little arm.

He had no idea how she’d hurt her eye, so he simply asked. “Hey, sweet girl, what happened to your eye here?” He pointed to the small but distinctive hurt. She’d probably have a little black eye tomorrow.

“Mama shook me and I banged my face on the table.”

Trinity’s eyes glassed over.

He had a hard time finding his voice. “I see. Does it hurt?”

“Yeah.” She buried her face in Trinity’s chest.

Trinity hugged her. “We’ll put some ice on it later.” She leaned back and gave Emmy as bright a smile as she could considering the distress she saw in her eyes. “Our appointment is in ten minutes. Let’s get your stuff and head over to the salon.”

Emmy glanced up at him. “Trinity said I can get my nails painted, too. And a pedi. That means my toes.”

Grateful didn’t begin to describe how he felt toward Trinity right now. Emmy had been so distraught when he arrived she’d nearly choked him to death, but now she smiled with excitement about getting her nails done. “Sounds like you get the full beauty treatment.”

“She said it’s her treat. So do I get a candy, too?”

Trinity’s good heart and generosity always touched him.

“When we get home, you can have two candies out of the treat jar.” Another thing Trinity had brought over. Because she liked chocolate and so did Emmy. Plus it was a way to reward Emmy for her chores, eating her veggies, and being a good girl.

“Let’s get going.” Trinity stood with Emmy in her arms.

Emmy stared at the floor. “Am I in trouble for being bad with Mama?”

“No. Not one bit. Your mom got angry and did something bad to you. I asked her to apologize. I hope she will because you deserve an apology. But you are not in trouble. Okay?” He brushed his hand over her head.

“Okay.”

They walked out of the room.

Jon took Emmy’s backpack from Pam. “Thank you.”

“No problem. We’ll see you tomorrow, Emmy. I can’t wait to see your new haircut. I bet it’s going to look really pretty.”

Pam held his gaze. “Expect a visit from someone today.”

Jon nodded.

Emmy managed a small smile for Pam before they walked out of the office and headed for his car.

Jon put his hand at Trinity’s back and pulled her close to his side. “Thanks for coming with me.”

“Absolutely. I’m looking forward to my mani-pedi, too.”

Emmy reached over Trinity’s shoulder and pulled her long ponytail close. “Are you going to get a haircut, too?”

“Do you think I should?”

Emmy shook her head. “It’s too pretty to cut.”

Trinity brushed her nose against Emmy’s. “Yours is going to be way prettier. You’ll see.”