True Love Cowboy by Jennifer Ryan

Jon loved his new office with the cool silver color on the walls he used throughout the house. He bought new bright white bookcases, a light-colored wood desk, black leather chairs, and a small sofa to fill out the space. To remind him of California, he’d found three large paintings of the ocean with beach dunes and seagrass.

Every time he came in, he felt calm and ready to work.

Except today.

He sat in front of his laptop and stared at his lawyer, Elijah, on the video call.

“Beth from DPHHS took Steph’s statement yesterday at the grocery store,” his lawyer told him. “By the time Beth met her at the apartment, Steph must have been advised by her lawyer. The place was clean. The fridge stocked with food. Beth had no choice but to deem the place acceptable for Emmy to return to.”

“What about the marks on Emmy? The butchered haircut?”

“Steph explained them away. She had never cut anyone’s hair before, and Emmy wouldn’t sit still. She botched the job but intended to have it fixed after school. She never got the chance to follow through because you took Emmy even though it was Steph’s day to have her. Steph has every right to cut her kid’s hair, even if she does a crap job. Her explanation that Emmy had a tantrum and made the process difficult to do, well . . . Beth didn’t buy it, but Emmy wasn’t physically hurt because of it. I know that doesn’t help, but there are thresholds that have to be met.

“The bruises were an accident. When Steph pulled Emmy up from the chair, Emmy became defiant, threw a tantrum, and pulled away, making Steph hold her arm tighter to keep her upright, leaving marks on her arm. Emmy, in a fit, tugged herself free, lost her footing, and fell into the table and hit her eye.”

“Bullshit. Steph was pissed and hurt her.”

“Emmy’s account isn’t that far off from Steph’s, but I agree Steph stuck close enough to what really happened and your four-year-old didn’t add anything to raise a red flag.”

“Emmy had a difficult time explaining what happened. If I’d been allowed to help her during the questioning . . .”

“You know they aren’t going to let you do that and make it look like you coerced her to say something.”

“Pam and the principal had to back up Emmy’s account that her mother hurt her on purpose.”

“They couldn’t say that Emmy’s distress wasn’t caused more by her classmate calling her ugly than what her mother did to her. They didn’t see the bruises on Emmy.”

“I should have shown them.” Only he and Trinity were in the room when he took the pictures of Emmy’s arm and eye. Damn. He’d missed an opportunity to have witnesses.

“Emmy told Pam her mother was mean. Kids say that all the time.”

“What about the photos I gave you of the apartment?”

“The ones you took when you entered the dwelling without Steph’s permission.” Elijah’s chiding tone didn’t help. “We’ll hold on to them and only use the pictures if we need them. Right now, Steph looks bad, but not bad enough to lose custody. Beth’s recommendation to the judge that Steph take a parenting class was accepted. Steph promised not to leave Emmy alone again, and understands if she does she could get into hot water. Beth will follow up with a home visit in two weeks.”

“Do you have any idea what Steph could do in that amount of time? How much does Emmy have to endure while Steph’s neglect and abuse rise to the threshold where someone finally does something about it?”

“I know it sucks, but you’re doing what you need to do.”

It didn’t feel like he was getting anywhere. Not when he had to send Emmy back to her mother, who basically got away with what she’d done. She’d attend the parenting class, but she probably wouldn’t pay attention to any of it.

“Steph’s new lawyer sent over a counterclaim to our request for full custody.”

Of course Daddy came through and paid for Steph’s lawyer. Great. He expected a fight; it just sucked having to put Emmy through it.

Elijah went on. “She’s furious and says you’re trying to steal her daughter. And I quote, ‘He’s just being mean.’ Seriously, her lawyer put that in her complaint.” Elijah rolled his eyes.

Frustration got the better of him and he snarled, “Let me guess—he’s buying Steph’s story about what happened with Emmy.”

“He’s defending his client. He states this was an isolated incident that will not be repeated.”

Jon grew more frustrated. “Things have escalated to this,” he pointed out.

“Have you seen Steph hit or grab her hard like that before? Have you seen bruises on Emmy that can’t be easily explained by normal child mishaps while playing?”

“I saw her grab her arm once before, but otherwise, no.” The admission made him feel deflated. “But Emmy doesn’t want to be with her anymore.”

“We have to prove that it is because Steph hurts her, not because they don’t get along and end up arguing with each other.”

“Emmy gets sassy with her because of the way Steph treats her.”

“Steph’s position is clear. If you don’t like the way she disciplines Emmy, she’s happy to have a discussion with you about it, and come to an agreement about how you will both handle future incidents.”

“What about her leaving Emmy alone?”

“It’s in Beth’s report. According to the document, Steph was only gone for a short time and felt Emmy was safe in the locked apartment watching TV. She said it only happened once, and like I said, she promised it won’t happen again.”

“Bullshit,” he snapped. “Emmy said she’d done it more than once.”

“You can only prove the one time because your friend found Emmy alone. Emmy’s testimony would help your case, but because she is so against being with her mother, it’s likely Steph’s attorney would argue that you coached Emmy to say that and you’ve turned Emmy against Steph.”

“Seriously? I’ve never badmouthed Steph to Emmy. Ever. I don’t have to. Emmy sees her mother’s bad behavior. She feels how little Steph cares about her.”

His cell phone rang beside him. He sucked in a calming breath and checked caller ID, thankful to see Trinity’s number and not Steph’s. He couldn’t deal with Steph right now. He’d probably chew her out again and make things worse.

“Do you need to take that?” Elijah asked.

“No.” He hated to ignore Trinity’s call, especially when their relationship seemed rocky right now. How could he blame her? Their dates got ruined because of Steph. She left work to help him with Emmy because of Steph. They constantly had to change plans or alter them because he had Emmy on days she should be with Steph.

Not that Trinity minded those things. She never complained. But it had to be wearing on her the way it was on him.

He wanted some normalcy. A routine that worked for them, and especially Emmy.

“We have a good case to go to court, but we could use more than what we’ve got. It’s your word against Steph about the pot smoking, drinking, and neglect. If you can get pictures of that, then we’d have absolute proof she’s being a bad influence. The school records help with the neglect, but the other things, like not feeding her properly, bathing her, and taking care of her the way you want her to do it . . . well, that’s up to the judge to decide if he agrees with you or Steph. Beth reported that Emmy’s basic needs are met when she’s with her mother.”

Emmy deserved better than that.

“The judge will most likely begin by instructing you to try to come to a new custody agreement, though Steph’s attorney made it clear they are not giving you full custody.”

“Let me guess—she likes things the way they are.”

“She wants to keep the current arrangement. She’s made a good faith effort to do as you asked and have the apartment in order and food for Emmy when she has her. She’s proven that on your video calls, so you can’t dispute that.”

No, he couldn’t. But that didn’t mean Emmy was safe with her mom.

“It’s in your favor that despite the fact you don’t have to pay child support because you have equal time with Emmy that you pay for Steph’s apartment. It shows you’re generous, and that even if the judge didn’t give you full custody, but majority days of the week, you would be willing to forgo any child support from Steph, which could be a hardship for her, especially if you stopped her rent payments because Emmy lives with you.”

“While I’d love to cut her off, I won’t stop the rent payments until a judge decides the case because I don’t want to look vindictive.”

“Steph is already playing that card. She claims you want to keep Emmy so you and your new girlfriend—congrats by the way. I hear she’s a great person and really nice and Emmy loves her, which pisses Steph off. Anyway, Steph thinks you’ll get married and take Emmy and she’ll be cut out of the picture, you’ll poison Emmy against her, and she’ll never see her daughter again.”

“While things with Trinity are headed in that direction, I hope, it doesn’t mean we want to cut Steph out. I just want to limit the time she has Emmy alone. At least until Emmy is older and can better care for herself and speak up when she’s not being treated well and get help if she needs it.”

“I’ve seen this a lot, Jon. All I can say is, you need to accept that this is the best Steph can do. She isn’t capable of more. It’s been four years and things have been steadily declining to this point. Some people are great with babies but just don’t have the patience or heart to deal with toddlers and preschoolers. They don’t understand that kids have a mind of their own. Steph is frustrated that raising Emmy is hard work.”

“Then why won’t she let me carry the bigger share of the load?”

“For better or worse, she’s Emmy’s mom, and she doesn’t want to give up her child.”

“So we fight.” He’d do anything for his little girl, including going through this arduous process. And hey, it could be worse. “I am so glad I never married her.”

“If you’re really thinking about marrying Trinity, I’ll send you a prenup.”

Jon didn’t want to think about how that would go down with Trinity. She was already on edge about him coming to her with a business proposal that he hadn’t even explained yet. But the prenup would protect Trinity’s interests, too.

“Fine. What do you suggest I do about Steph?”

“Until a judge rules on the new custody request, stick to the agreement in place, document everything, and hold Steph accountable. If we don’t get full custody, I’ll make our second offer. You take Emmy Monday through Friday. Steph gets Emmy nine to six Saturday and Sunday. No sleepovers, unless you agree to them. You’ll alternate holidays per your original agreement.”

“Even that would be better for Emmy than what we have in place now.”

Elijah agreed with a nod. “I know you don’t want to hear this or for anything else to happen to Emmy, but if it does, it’s more ammunition for us to take to the judge. Neglect and abuse are usually a pattern of behavior. Be vigilant. Keep up your video calls with Emmy after school. Check in on her as often as you can. Don’t let there be an opportunity for Steph to do any harm. Take Emmy every time Steph calls unable to care for or deal with her. Document that. It will show that shorter visitations would be beneficial to her and Emmy.”

He hated that this process took so long. He just wanted Emmy here with him.

“Okay. We wait for the court date. Until then DPHHS will check in with her in two weeks. It seems so far away. And you’ll be here to present the case with the attorney you’re coordinating with here in Montana?”

Elijah nodded. “I’ve handed over all we’ve done here in California. I’ll fly in and attend the hearing as cocounsel.”

He had to pay two attorneys, but it was the safer bet to be sure nothing fell through the cracks.

Elijah knew him and Steph. It would take too long for a new attorney to get acquainted with everything they’d been through in such detail.

Steph would be at a disadvantage there.

“Don’t be discouraged, Jon.” Elijah always seemed confident. “If Steph continues like this, and it looks like she will, you’ll get what you want.”

“I just don’t want things to get worse before that happens.”

“We are doing all we can right now.”

Jon hung up with a heavy heart. Only one person could make him feel better after that exhausting and frustrating call. He picked up his cell and tapped the screen to play the voice mail Trinity left him.

She said few words, but they packed a punch. She sounded unsure and hesitant about reaching out to him when he wanted her to know and feel like she could always count on him. He’d gone about approaching her with his business proposal all wrong. He should have been up front with her about his thoughts and ideas.

Instead, he’d kept them to himself because he wanted to have it all mapped out so she could see what he had in mind and how it would make all her long-term goals for Almost Homemade possible.

He called her back, eager to hear her voice and set this right, but he got her voice mail. Knowing she had a full and busy day didn’t help ease his mind or the disappointment that he didn’t get to talk to her. “Hey, sweetheart. Sorry I missed your call. I was on a video conference with my attorney. About Steph. And Emmy. Let’s just say, it didn’t go the way I wanted. You and I definitely need to talk. I’m sorry I’ve left you feeling like . . . I don’t know what you’re feeling to tell you the truth, but I know it’s come between us and that’s the last thing I want to happen. You’re more important to me than anything, so let’s clear the air and get back to being happy together. I missed you so much last night.”

More than he could possibly say. Enough that it kept him up and made him think about their future and what needed to happen so they could be together all the time.

He thought moving here meant his life would be simpler. When he was with Trinity, it felt that way. Somehow, some way he was going to get everything on track. He didn’t like that Emmy, Trinity, and he were all off in some way. They’d shared so many good times and days together. He wanted more of that.

He wanted more of everything with them.