“You’ve been served.”
For a moment, I just stare at it. At my name typed neatly across the front. At the finality of it sitting there between us.
When I take it, my hands shake. I clutch it to my chest like that might somehow stop what’s inside from being real.
I thought this was over.
I thought I was done fighting.
Behind me, I hear a sharp intake of breath.
“Jim? Mike?” Jamie says, disbelief cutting through his voice as he steps up behind me. “What are you doing here?”
Their words blur together as I stare down at the envelope, my vision narrowing until it’s the only thing I can see. My name. Black ink. Clean edges. A mess waiting to happen.
“She’s refusing service,” Jamie snaps, his hands lifting in agitation.
“If she refuses, it will be filed regardless,” the older man replies coolly. “This is simply a courtesy to Ms. Bright.”
“A courtesy?” Jamie scoffs. He’s standing in front of me now, protecting me from the two men he clearly knows. “A courtesy would be leaving us the fuck alone and saying no to my father when he asked you to do this.”
“Come on, Jamie. You know we can’t do that.”
“Get off this property.” Jamie’s voice is full of fury, while I’m having difficulty standing. “Now.”
“We'll be in touch regarding the hearing date. Have a good day, Ms. Bright,” one of them says. I don’t know which.
“Tiff?” I can hear Jamie, but I can’t seem to get myself to respond. “Are you okay?” He pulls me in for a hug, but I feel numb. So, so numb.
How could the best night of my life turn into the morning from hell?
Jonathan Nicks is back.
I moved here with the intention that all my legal battles were over, but it looks like I’m not allowed a happy ending. I shouldn’t be surprised.
“Mommy?” Ella's small voice cuts through the ringing in my ears. “Who was that?”
I pull out of Jamie’s hold and spin around so fast I nearly lose my balance. She's standing in the living room doorway, Mr. Squishy forgotten on the floor, and her face crumpled with confusion.
“Nobody, baby.” I force my voice to sound normal even though my hands are shaking. “Just some people with the wrong house.”
“Oh.” She seems satisfied with that answer. “Can we play now?”
“Yeah, princess,” Jamie says before I can respond. His voice is steady, but when I look at him, his face is pale. “Why don't you go pick out what you want to play with, and I’ll come join you in a second?”
“Okay!” She runs back to the living room, crisis averted in her three-year-old world. I wish those were my biggest problems in life.
I close the door carefully, then lean against it for a second.
“Tiff—” Jamie reaches for me.
His voice moves me into action, and I walk past him, tearing open the envelope, reading the contents.
Petition for Full Legal and Physical Custody…
Alleging unsafe living conditions…
Petitioner Jonathan Nicks, grandfather of minor child…