“That’s what I would do.” I rested my head in the nape of his neck. “I am so sorry, babe.”
“I just feel bad for Jacob. He shouldn’t have had to see something like that. No kid ever should.”
“He’s a tough kid, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make this right.”
Chapter 10
Cason
Almost a year later
Months rolled by quickly with Jacob still living with Stormi and me. The holidays came and went, along with all of our birthdays, and I worked out my schedule and territories with the Otters so I wouldn’t have to be gone for more than a day at a time.
The three of us had turned into a nice little family, and even though I’d never thought our world would shift from two to three so seamlessly, I couldn’t picture my life any other way.
I had worked out my schedule and territories with the Otters so I wouldn’t have to be gone for more than a day at a time.
Natty was sentenced to court-ordered rehabilitation. It was the judge’s alternative to jail time since she was a first-time offender, and I was thankful for it. I didn’t want Jacob to have to endure visiting his mother through plate glass.
He was able to have weekly, hour-long talks with her as well as monthly supervised visits, which appeared to be working out well for both of them. Natty was getting the help she needed, and Jacob was healing along with her.
Everything seemed to be falling into place for the most part, and g
etting a lawyer was the last step. With Natty getting out soon, I knew it was time for me to fight for my rights. She had kept me out of my son’s life for the first twelve years, and there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I was going to miss one more second with him.
“What if they try to take him from us?” Stormi asked as she sipped coffee on the balcony with me after I got home from walking Jacob to school.
“They can try, but they won’t succeed.” I was resolute in my plan. I wanted shared custody. I didn’t want to keep Jacob from his mother in any way, but I wasn’t just going to hand him over either.
“I really love him,” Stormi said as she sniffled.
“I know, baby. So do I.”
Before I knew it, it was time for court. With Cindy, Stormi, and my lawyer by my side, I marched in before a judge, ready to plead my case.
Natty glared at me from across the room, and if looks could kill, I would have been dead right there.
They tried their best, but Natty’s claims of me being an absent father fell on deaf ears once we were able to prove I had no knowledge of my son until I was slapped across the face with it barely a year prior.
It only took the judge half an hour to make decision, and you could have heard a pin drop as he took the stand again.
“I have not taken this case lightly, and I must say it isn’t every day we see a father step up the way Mr. Bennett has over the course of the last year. I commend you and your wife for that, sir. It is the typical course of action to side with the mother in cases of this nature, and I am inclined to agree with that practice for the most part. In this case, though, I think it would be to the child’s detriment to grant sole custody back to Ms. Fitton with the father so willing and eager to remain a steady figure in his life. It is my decision to grant partial custody to Mr. Bennett. With this, he will have weekend visitation every week. Jacob is to live with his mother during the school week and spend the weekends with his father.”
I wanted to scream for joy, jump up in the middle of the courtroom, and click my damn heels together, but I kept my cool.
“Thank you, your honor.” I stood as Stormi reached for my hand with tears of happiness streaming down her sweet face.
“You did it, babe.”
I kissed her cheek. “No, sweetheart—we did it.”
Epilogue
Cason
A little over five years later
Iran up to Jacob as he strode over to us in his cap and gown. I couldn’t believe what an incredible young man he had become, even graduating as the salutatorian of his class.