Javier’s eyes twinkle almost all the time. The guy is perpetually happy. It doesn’t seem natural, especially with how busy he is. When I have as many things as he does on my agenda for the day, I stress out. An eight-hour surgery? No problem. A day of running all over town taking care of a bunch of different things? That sends me straight to overload.

I meet Javier at Hector’s again and have lunch with him so he can give me all the evidence I need to turn Ron’s world upside down at the hearing. The whole time that we’re sitting and shooting the shit, I can only think of our trip to the storage room. I bounce between feeling mortified that I did that and proud that I did what I wanted for a change, in spite of the circumstances. Things between us were only weird for a minute or two and then our natural conversation started and seemed to clear those feelings away. Despite the fact that I’m able to move on from our sexy little tryst, I can’t help but stare at that beard and wonder how it would’ve felt between my thighs. Ugh, if I don’t reroute this train of thought I’ll be blushing and he’ll know what I’m thinking.

We sit and shoot the shit until it’s time for me to leave to pick up Thea from school. Making sure I have the envelope with all the information Javier’s collected, I try not to read too much into it when he walks me to my car and kisses my cheek before I climb inside. It doesn’t come across as sleazy or like he’s hitting on me, just more of a friendly gesture. I want so badly for it to mean more, but he doesn’t give off the vibe of a more kind of guy. I bet if I watched him around other people he’d act the same. He’s just one of those guys with a charming, borderline flirty personality, I think.

I try to ignore the growing interest I have in him because honestly, I need to be interested in a man like I need another hole in the head. Doing my best to push thoughts of him out of my head, I turn up the radio and steer the car on to North Academy Boulevard toward Thea’s school.

When I pull through the car pickup line the attendant frowns when she sees the name on my tag and turns to ask the lady behind her a question. When she turns back around she gestures for me to roll the window down, so I do.

“Thea Larinsky left with her father today. He was the first in line to pick her up.”

“Why? Today’s my day. The office has clear guidelines on which days she goes with me and which she goes with my ex-husband.”

“Thea came in today with a note saying she was going home with him. I’m sorry, we thought you knew.”

My blood pressure skyrockets. “If that note wasn’t signed by me it’s not supposed to be accepted.”

“Well, there was someone different working up front today. The normal gal was sick.”

Frustrated and flaming mad I pull away from the curb and off school property to find the closest parking lot to pull over in. Sucking in three deep breaths I steady my shaking hands. The idea of punching my windshield to release my pent-up frustration is almost more than I can hold on to. What the hell? The judge was clear on the visitation schedule and I’ve followed all the rules. I’m so tired of Ron running this show and doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants. I can’t wait to rock his world by dropping all the information Javier dug up on Sheila into his lap. He’s such an asshole.

I’m not sure what I should do. He’s putting me in a shitty predicament with this stunt and I’m so tired of it all. I pull back out on to the road and drive home still fuming. I try to start a load of laundry, but the anger takes hold and I can’t deal with it anymore so I dial his number.

“Hello?”

Screw pleasantries, I’m over this shit. “Where’s my daughter, Ron?”

“With me and Sheila. I left you a message yesterday. Don’t you ever check them? It’s Sheila’s birthday and she really wanted Thea to go to dinner with us.”

“There was never a message, I check them at least twice a day and since I didn’t approve it, you’re in direct violation of the temporary custody agreement.”

“Valerie. Come on. Don’t be a pain in the ass. Are you that big of a bitch that you’ll ruin Sheila’s birthday and the good time your daughter’s having with us to prove a point? She just wants to go to dinner with Sheila for her birthday. We’re in the middle of mini-golfing so if you want to be the bad guy and end the fun so be it.”

Oh, my God! What a dick! He knew it would happen like this. If I push to get her then I take the fun away which makes me the bad guy. If I don’t pick her up he’ll know that I’m avoiding being the bad guy and he can do this whenever it tickles his fancy. It doesn’t matter that I haven’t seen her in four days. He’s doing this to screw with me.

“Ron, we both know this is a dick move. Drop her off after dinner. No excuses or I’ll have the police at your house to pick her up. No more bullshit. You’ve played your last game with me because the next time I’ll come get her and I don’t care if she’s eating cotton candy while riding a goddamn unicorn. We had an agreement, if you don’t stick to it, neither will I and you don’t want me to get nasty. I’ve put up with you for years and gone along with whatever you’ve said. I’m over it. You haven’t seen Mamma Bear like you’re about to if you keep this shit up. Home by eight tonight or I’ll be calling the cops.”

“Our reservation isn’t until 7:30.”

“Too bad. You can go get the early bird special someplace else or you can skip dinner, but Thea will be with me at 8 p.m. Don’t doubt it.” I throw those last three words at him like he did to me in the restaurant parking lot the day I came to Colorado.

“You are such—” he begins.

“Don’t finish that sentence. You started this, but I’ll finish it if you keep pushing me. Goodbye.” I press end and take 14 deep breaths. If I don’t stop, though, I’ll probably hyperventilate. My hands continue to shake, I’ve had enough of all of this. I can’t figure out what I did to deserve his shit. I pick up the phone and dial Summer and tell her about Ron’s stunt today and the information that’s burning a hole in my pocket. I wish we were going to court tomorrow so I could see his face when he finds out his precious Sheila is a big fat cheater just like him.

“Val, you need some girlfriends. You need people you can go out with and have a drink or see a movie or eat dinner with. I’ll always be here for you, but I’m so far away and you need people that can help you take your mind off days like this,” Summer tells me after I finish the story of Ron’s little stunt.

“I know you’re right. I don’t even know where to start with that though.”

“Don’t give me that. You met those two ladies at the homeless dinner. You know the lady from the charity and didn’t the baby doctor ask you to go out for drinks with a group of people last week?”

“They’re called ob-gyns and yes she did, but I had Thea with me that night.”

“Well maybe you need to ask that ob-gyn to do something the first time you have a night without Thea. Life’s too short to sit alone binge-watching Game of Thrones. I get that Kit Harington’s a total hottie, but you need a live person when it comes to Ron screwing with your head. It would’ve been beneficial to have someone to meet for a drink to calm down before Ron brought her home at eight. I realize you can’t do that tonight, but it’s a thought for the future.”

“Okay, okay, okay. You’ve made your point. I’ll work on that.”

“For now you need to call your lawyer and that hot-ass PI and tell them what happened today.”

“He’s not a hot-ass PI and why would I call him? He’s already dug up the dirt on Sheila and Ron.” If I admit how hot I really think he is she’ll never let up, and I think he’s pretty damn hot—in fact I could stare at him for hours and probably be happy. I don’t need her up my butt about it though.

“Yeah, okay, you can deny it all you want, but I’ve known you most of your life and I know when you’re lying, even through the phone. I pulled up his website and checked him out, and he may be a little wild looking, but there is nowhere on the planet where that guy isn’t considered hot. You could call him to go out. I bet he’d make you feel better,” she purrs before she busts up laughing.

I roll my eyes. “People who don’t like beards and a lot of hair would find him average. Anyway, I can’t have anything going with him because he’s working for me.”

“Honey, you need someone a little wild to wake things up in your life and he’s not exactly working for you anymore. Think of it this way: You can grab hold of that long hair during sexy times and direct the action, if you know what I’m saying.” Her laughter makes me feel a little better, but there’s no way I’m telling her about what kind of wild I’ve already experienced with Javier. I won’t admit to her I’m attracted him. Between his smile, the warm laughter, the height and broad shoulders… There’s a lot to admire, but there’s something about him that screams untamed and I don’t think I’d be able to keep up with all of that. Just the little taste of him I got in Hector’s store room was almost more than I could handle. Besides, I don’t think he has any interest in anything but an occasional good time and probably not with the same woman. Commitment doesn’t seem to be his thing.

“Summer, you’re so bad! That’s a horrible idea all the way around.”

We finish our conversation and hang up and I fix myself a frozen dinner that looks more like dog food than people food and spend the next couple of hours stewing in my anger over Ron’s latest move. When he drops Thea off at precisely eight I can tell he’s been running his mouth in front of her because she won’t even look me in the eyes. I give her a little bit of time to get ready for bed and calm down before I approach her. Unlike my ex, I have no desire to upset her or to make her choose between us so I have to be careful about how I explain this.

She never comes out of her room so I venture in 45 minutes later. She’s facing away from the door reading a book, already in bed with the covers over herself. This is going to be tough.

“Thea, are you upset with me?” I ask, ready to tackle the subject head-on.

No response. Instead of making me mad like it should, it makes me sad. Ron got what he wanted. He ruined my night with her.

“Thea, please talk to me.”

“Why? You won’t listen to me anyway.”

“I always listen to you. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“Why did you come to Colorado? Were you trying to take all the fun away? Things were fine until you came back and now everyone’s mad and the fun times get ruined.”

She socked me in the gut with that one. With three sentences, she laid bare my insecurities. Now they feel like open wounds, exposed and ready for someone to pour rubbing alcohol on them. I’m wounded and exposed. I know I should sit here and talk this out, but I can’t. I can’t even breath. The pain of what she’s said to me is too much. I’ve waited so long to spend time with her. All those nights on the ship I dreamed up things we could do together and the things we’d talk about. None of it ever looked or sounded like this.

It’s not bad enough that Ron left me, but he had to take her away from me too. I stand up and walk out of the room. I’m not sure what to do so I dial Mike’s number as I close the door to my room. I need him to talk me off the ledge because I’m close to driving her back to Ron’s. I lie down on my bed as he answers.

“Jellybean, how was your day off?”

When I open my mouth to talk, the tears flow and my words are mumbled. All the fighting and nastiness that I’ve dealt with for the last seven and a half months is coming out in this phone call.

“You have to calm down. I don’t understand what you’re saying and I’m a minute away from getting a flight out to see you,” my brother tells me.

I do my best to settle down and explain. I know he doesn’t have extra vacation time because he used it to come to me earlier this year. When I can breathe again I tell him everything.

Once the story is complete he spews enough cuss words to make a drill sergeant blush and then says, “Get in there and fight for your daughter. I know you’re trying to shelter her from this, but he killed that option when he started playing these games. You need to be honest with her and break it down. I’m not saying call him names and yell, but a few basic truths will help to clarify things right now. She’s only getting information from his side and all of it is bullshit. If you don’t do it, I will. I know she’s your daughter, but when you’re thinking of taking her back to that jackass because he played the trump card, it’s time for me to step in. You’ve got two hours to call me back and tell me what’s going on. If I don’t hear from you I’m booking my flight or calling her and telling her everything. Love you, Jellybean.”

“Love you, too,” I mumble and hang up. Before I go to her room I wash my face and blow my nose. It’s still obvious I’ve been crying, but I don’t look quite as hideous.

When I enter, she glances back at me and a strange expression crosses her features.

“Sit up, I have a few things to say. If you want to go back to your dad’s once I’m done I’ll take you, but it’s time you heard what I have to say.” She sits up slowly and watches me carefully.

“The day you were born I cried and cried and cried because I was so excited to have you, but I knew I was going to have to leave you for deployment eventually. Leaving you behind at the age of two was the hardest thing I’d had to do up to that point. I didn’t want to leave you for Daddy to take care of, I wanted to do it. Every time I had to leave I spent several days crying.”

“Then why did you stay in the Navy?”

“Because I worked so hard and a few more years would’ve helped us financially in the long run. Daddy encouraged me to do it, he said not to worry, that he’d take care of you so I could take care of our family and we’d be fine.

“This time when I was gone Daddy decided he didn’t love me anymore and wanted to live with Sheila. He never told me any of this until I got off the plane here in Colorado. I thought I was coming home to be in my house with my husband and my daughter and we’d live happily ever after. Instead I came home and found out that you guys had moved out and you weren’t coming back. It broke my heart. I can’t even tell you how much I cried that first month when I came here.

“Daddy wanted to keep you all the time and I wanted to keep you too so we had to go to a judge and ask him to decide who could have you. He said we have to share and there are certain days I can have you and certain days he can. Then he said that if someone isn’t following the rules they can get in trouble and the police will get involved.

“Your daddy doesn’t work and can have time with you whenever he wants. I have to work to pay the bills for my house and Daddy’s new house with Sheila. So, when it’s my turn to be with you I’m excited and ready. Today Daddy decided—without talking to me—that you were going with him to celebrate Sheila’s birthday. That’s against what the judge said and it’s kind of mean since there isn’t another day I could get you because I have to work. He could’ve celebrated Sheila’s birthday with you yesterday while I was working. Instead he took my time away.” She squirms and lowers her eyebrows as she squints like she’s thinking about things.

“Muffin, I’ve waited all these years to spend time with you and I don’t plan on giving it up unless you hate our time together and don’t want me to be your mom anymore. If that’s the case, I won’t make you stay but…” My tears spill over my eyelids and drip down my face and I can’t continue my train of thought.

She scoots to the edge of the bed and looks up at me. “I want to be with you, but I was having a good time and I was mad that you made it stop. Dad told me it’s your fault we couldn’t do the fun things or eat at the nice restaurant. You’re right that we could’ve celebrated last night.”

I breathe a sigh of relief that my daughter is a little more mature than the average preteen. “I don’t want to ruin your good time and I don’t want you mixed up in all this stuff between me and your dad, so just trust that I’m trying to do the right thing even if it’s not your favorite thing. I hate to point it out, but I think you’ve seen lately that he can lie about things to get his way so I hope you’ll at least give me the benefit of the doubt before you get mad at me.” Thea chews on her fingernail for a moment as she contemplates what I’ve just said and finally leans forward to wrap her arms around my middle, hugging me tight.

“I’m glad you got out of the Navy and moved here.”

“Me too, and I’m sorry all of this is so hard and confusing.”

We spend some more time talking and I’m glad I finally told her what’s going on. It’ll be a little harder for Ron to do something and still look like the good guy if she understands. I wish I would’ve done it sooner.

* * *

A week later I follow my lawyer into the courtroom feeling much better than I did the last time I was here. Ron has no idea what’s coming and it might make me a jerk but I can’t wait to see his face when he sees those pictures. There’s no denying Sheila is hooking up with this guy, considering the last picture has them making out hot and heavy outside his front door while his hand is shoved down the back of her skirt and her leg is hiked over his hip. I laughed myself silly when I saw that one. Okay, if I’m being honest they all made me laugh, but that one made me cackle like a hyena for an hour at least.

There is murmuring behind me as Ron enters the courtroom behind his sleazeball lawyer. Gretchen, my lawyer, leans in close and whispers, “I can’t wait to wipe that smug look off both of their faces.” I don’t speak but I wink at her so she’ll know I agree. Just as the judge is entering the courtroom I hear the door open behind us and when I glance back I note that Javier has joined us. I smile to myself, enjoying the support, even if it is from my private investigator.

The proceedings start promptly and within minutes my lawyer is standing next to me saying, “Your Honor, I have some information that’s just been brought to my attention that may affect your ruling on custody.”

“What might that be?” the judge asks.

“May I approach?” she asks, holding up the packet of paperwork and pictures for him to see. He nods and she takes it to him, passing copies off to Ron’s lawyer as she returns to her place beside me.

“Can you explain this to me, Ms. Andrews?” the judge asks, looking over his reader glasses perched on the end of his nose.

“Your Honor, Mr. Larinsky has presented arguments that he should have full custody of their daughter because his is the more stable home. There is proof in the pictures and the report from the private investigator that my client hired, making the argument that his claims simply aren’t true. The woman that Mr. Larinsky is currently living with is having an affair with a gentleman believed by local law enforcement to be in the drug trade. If the woman Mr. Larinsky is living with is currently dating another person I believe that removes one of the stable legs he has to stand on. Further I believe it’s dangerous to have the minor living in a home where one of the residents is spending time with a suspected heroin dealer.”

Ron’s face grows redder with every picture he flips over and when my lawyer finishes her sentence he jumps up and shouts, “This is such a bullshit play! These pictures are Photoshopped!”

“Mr. Garrison, you will keep your client under control or I will have him removed from this courtroom.”

“But don’t you see? She’s fabricating this stuff! Sheila and I are solid!”

The judge bangs his gavel. “Order! Order in my courtroom! Mr. Larinsky, this is your last warning. One more word and I’ll hold you in contempt and throw you in jail so you can cool down.”

Ron drops back into his chair and slouches over the pictures, glaring at the one on top. If I had to make a guess, I’d say he found the one on the front porch.

“Your Honor? May I take a moment to confer with my client?” Ron’s lawyer requests.

As they’re whispering heatedly I turn back to Javier and he winks at me. The warm feeling that swishes around in my belly when he laughs appears from that simple gesture and I make a mental note to treat him to lunch. Having the information he gathered and his presence in the courtroom has made this a livable experience, a good one even. Especially after all the shit that Ron has served up over the last eight months.

“Your Honor,” Mr. Garrison calls out. The judge nods and he continues. “In light of this new information my client and I would like to explore the claims brought forward by Ms. Andrews and Ms. Larinsky. If this is the truth, my client agrees that some changes need to be made before he takes full custody of his daughter. He’d like to request some time to explore the validity of the claims himself and make changes as necessary before a ruling is made.”

“I’m going to be honest with you, Mr. Garrison, in light of this new information there is no way in hell I’d ever give full custody to your client. Not that I would’ve anyway, considering there is no reason the mother isn’t fit to share custody. She’s proven herself worthy in every way. Furthermore, I want to note that your client’s alimony will be cut off in six months’ time. He’s an able-bodied, educated adult male with a school-age child. There is no reason that he needs to stay home all day every day.” He flips through the pictures, which also show the dates and times of Ron entering and exiting the tanning salon, the nail salon, the massage parlor and the shopping mall.

“Your Honor—” his attorney protests, but the judge holds up his hand to silence the lawyer.

“Apparently, Mr. Larinsky has enough time to beautify himself several times over while his soon-to-be ex-wife supports his lavish lifestyle. Your client has six months and not one day more to get a job because the money train the missus has been driving is coming to a halt.”

“That’s not fair!” Ron shouts and a wildly inappropriate giggle escapes me. I slap my hand over my mouth to contain any others that might slip and turn wide eyes to Gretchen. She smiles and winks at me.

“You’re lucky I’m giving you six months. I should cut you off starting today but with these pictures surfacing and the fact that you’re living in Sheila Morgan’s house, you may need a little longer.”

Mr. Garrison obviously smells defeat in the air because he tugs at his collar like it might be feeling a little too tight and nods. “Yes, Your Honor. We understand.”

“We will reconvene on this matter in six months. Mr. Larinsky, I expect you to be settled by that time.”

Ten minutes later, I’m laughing my way out of the courtroom with a very pleased lawyer at my side. We watched a few minutes ago as Ron stormed out of there, no doubt ready to lose his mind on his beloved Sheila. God, I’d pay big money to be a fly on the wall during that conversation. She’s either going to shit herself at being caught or dance her way out of that relationship.

Javier waits for us outside. When we reach him, I introduce him to Gretchen, who thanks him for a job well done and leaves us to our conversation saying she’ll talk to me later this week. I smile and wave as she leaves us.

“Thank you for everything, Javier.”

The left side of his lips kick up and a lazy grin spreads across his bearded face. “You’re welcome, bella. It was worth every boring second of court time to see him lose it like that.”

I grin at him, nodding in agreement.

“I want to take you to lunch next week on my day off if you have time,” I tell him.

“You’re not taking me to lunch, but I’ll have lunch with you.”

“I feel like it’s the least I can do for all of your help.”

“You haven’t met my mother, but if you did, you’d understand she’d lose her mind if she found out I let a woman pay for my meal.”

“Who said anything about telling your mom?”

“Not happening. You text me with the day and time and I’ll be there. As long as it’s not Thursday from 11 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon. That’s my abuela’s bingo and shopping time.”

I laugh a little and nod. “Okay. I’ll text you. Thank you again.” He kisses my cheek and strides away and I’m a little dumbfounded at the backside view of Javier Suarez. His Wrangler jeans rest on his hips just right, allowing the fabric to hug his ass perfectly. How did I miss that feature before? I shake my head to clear the naughty thoughts that just zipped through and stroll to my car feeling lighter than I have in forever.

When I reach my car, I send out a text to Rebecca, the ob-gyn, Barb, the ARNP, Marina, and Quinn asking them to meet me at Dante’s for drinks that evening to celebrate. Thea is spending the night with her best friend and going ice skating tomorrow so I have all night and most of tomorrow to enjoy and recover.

Quinn’s home sick and Marina reminds me that she’s newly pregnant and too tired after chasing the twins to even go as the designated driver, but the ladies from work are in.