With a chuckle, he closed the folder laid out on the desk in front of him. “There’s no proof of negligence. I got a statement from Tiffany’s pediatrician’s office as well.” He shrugged. “At best, once a DNA test proves they are Tiffany’s paternal grandparents, they can file for visitation, which you can fight.”
I nodded. “I know Walter drinks and is pretty controlling with Mary, and was very controlling with Kyle when he was a child. But besides being completely cowed by Walter, Mary was a good mother to Kyle. That’s what he always told me.”
Colton nodded, and Maddox sort of stayed in the background with his fingers threaded through mine. He was mainly there for moral support, and I appreciated it. Even more that he didn’t try to interfere or make it about him. He was only here for me. “I don’t know about visitation,” I said. “They don’t know her. I wouldn’t want to drop her off with them the way I do my parents.”
“If they try for visitation, we’ll make sure it’s supervised. The state respects grandparents’ rights, but they give the mother’s opinions and statements heavy regard.”
I nodded gratefully. “Thank you so much.”
We finished up the last of his questions for me and shook his hand again. “Don’t stress. I’m confident about a positive outcome. I’ll call you with a date for mediation.”
When we got in the car, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Wow.” I looked at Maddox and shook my head. “I’m so glad to get that news.”
He laughed. “Not to be one to say I told you so, but I told you! They don’t stand a chance.”
“Thank you for being there for me.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed it between both of mine. “And for the lawyer recommendation and everything.”
He put his fingertip on the bottom of my chin, so I tilted my face upward. Then, Maddox lowered his lips to mine and pressed a firm, possessive kiss there. “I told you. I’m here for you. I’d do anything for you.”
I looked deep into his eyes and saw a surprising amount of devotion there. We’d both said we were falling for each other, and I knew I meant it. But I’d figured he was just caught up in the passion and his feelings had been strong. But it wasn’t just passion. There was an intense devotion in his gaze that I couldn’t ignore.
His other hand rose to my face and he cupped my cheeks. “I love you, Bethany. I’m in love with you.”
My heart thudded in my chest so loud I was sure he could hear it, too. My mind fuzzed and all I knew was Maddox.
“You don’t have to say it,” he continued when I didn’t respond. He thought I hesitated because I didn’t feel it.
It wasn’t that. I was just overwhelmed with emotions. I swallowed the lump in my throat and mimicked Maddox by putting my hands on his face. “I love you, too,” I whispered.
I dropped Maddox back at his place to get ready for an afternoon hiking with his cousins. Apparently, they were outdoorsy. I’d planned to hike myself, but he didn’t invite me, so I figured I’d go off on the trail I liked and get some alone time. The day was shot for trying to focus on work, anyway.
After a brisk hike and picking Tiffany up, I made an easy dinner and we went to bed. Tuesday passed in a blur of texting Maddox, who had a long shift at the station and dealing with plans for the new property.
Wednesday after I dropped Tiffany off at my parents’ house, I settled in at my desk and my cell phone rang. I checked the call log to find Kyle’s mom’s cell phone number. “Not today, Mary. The lawyer said not to talk to you.” I rejected the call and moved on with my day. Finally, it was nice to feel like I didn’t have to answer when they called. It was probably Walter on Mary’s phone, anyway, trying to fool me into picking up so he could rant at me some more.
But Colton had said any conversation with them before the mediation was a no-go. I carried on with my day with a weight off my shoulders. They couldn’t get to me anymore and the weekly calls would hopefully end soon. I’d asked Colton to make that a stipulation in the mediation. If they wanted supervised visitation, they had to stop calling me, especially when Walter was drunk.
Things were finally looking up. I felt like a million bucks as I made a to-do list for the new property.
My phone beeped the special tune for Maddox, and I picked it up eagerly. Lunch at the diner?
I replied as fast as I could. Be right there.
Then, I let Kara know when I’d be back. We were supposed to meet up soon to go over plans.
Lunch at the diner with Maddox was a dream. I couldn’t have said afterward what I ate. All I remembered was sitting down across from him and the feel of his thumb stroking across my knuckles as we ate and stared at each other. We talked about little nonsense, like favorite colors and our least favorite movies.
The kind of conversations new relationships were full of. The wonderful, getting-to-know each other sort. The short date put a smile on my face I couldn’t shake. It stayed with me until I saw Mom when I picked up Tiffany. Her face was like a storm cloud.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Something definitely was, I just didn’t know what.
“Since when do Kyle’s parents call here?” she asked.
My blood boiled. “They’re probably freaking out because they realize they don’t have a case and they aren’t going to do anything with
