Page 60 of Finding You

“That’s probably a good thing. Grab a seat. I’ll let Monty know you’re here.”

He wasn’t expecting the office assistant to call his boss by his first name, but if that’s how things ran there, Dallas felt even better. He didn’t really subscribe to the whole stoic, three-piece suit, head up their ass ego kind of law practice. For some people, it might have brought them comfort, but he didn’t want to feel talked down to.

He wanted to feel like he had some control. That his wants and his needs were important. Especially when it came to his child.

“Go on in.” The guy’s voice started Dallas, who jumped up and almost dropped his folder.

“Sorry,” he said, flushing. He didn’t look up at the man’s face as he was ushered past a large door, and he froze in the doorway, glancing back. “My friend is here with me, but he had to take a call. Can you let him in when he’s finished?”

“No problem,” the guy said.

Dallas nodded, then turned and walked in, freezing at the sight of the man who must be Monty. He looked much younger than Dallas expected, with very dark hair, olive skin, very neatly trimmed facial hair, and he was wearing a long-sleeve polo and jeans.

He was leaning against his desk, but he pushed away and offered his hand when Dallas got closer. “It’s very nice to meet you.” He also had a faint accent. His dark eyes scanned Dallas, a slow up-and-down look that might have made him feel flattered. It certainly didn’t feel predatory. It was like a scientist assessing a specimen. “I can tell you’re nervous.”

Dallas laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I never thought I’d have to do this. I mean, I also never thought I’d be divorcing my wife before she gave birth, so I guess I should stop being surprised by these things.”

Monty offered him a look of sympathy. “I understand. If it helps, you’re not the first case I’ve taken with similar circumstances. And we’re almost always able to resolve the issues in mediation.”

“Almost always.”

“There are stubborn people in the world. It can’t be helped.” Monty gestured at the chair in front of his desk before walking toward his own and sitting. “But we live in a fair and decent county, and I’ve been in front of most of the judges here. A mother arguing her case against a father simply for being a man isn’t something that wins custody anymore.”

That was…something. “I don’t want full custody. That was in my file, right? I just…I just want what’s fair. I want to see my daughter, and I want her to stop being able to take her on my days whenever she feels like it.”

“You have documentation of that, right?”

“Texts,” Dallas said. He set the folder on the table. “I got my phone company to print them.”

Monty pulled them close and flipped through the first couple of pages. “That’ll help. She’s already violating the custody order.”

“That’s…bad, right?” Dallas asked.

“It’s not good,” Monty replied with a small grin. He sat forward and rested his arms on his desk. “Do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

Monty’s smile widened. “Take a very deep breath. Feel your inhale all the way to your toes, hold it, then exhale.”

Dallas knew what Monty was doing. And he knew why. He was slightly humiliated, but he did as the man asked, and after the long exhale, his heart calmed a bit. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I understand how hard this is. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve seen the toll it takes on people.”

Dallas pressed his hands over his face and took another breath. His left hand smelled like Kylen’s cologne, and that was strangely calming. “I know it’s tricky when there’s a baby involved,” Dallas said when he looked back up at his attorney. “My daughter’s still young, and I don’t want her to grow up feeling unstable. But I’m tired of my ex making me feel like the bad guy because I couldn’t be the husband she wanted. I’m tired of her using Audra to punish me.”

“Your daughter may grow up to resent her for it, but it’s better to save her decades of pain and end this now,” Monty told him.

“That’s all I want. She’s not a weapon. She’s a person—a tiny one with only a few teeth, and she sleeps like shit, but you know,” Dallas told him.

Monty fell back into his chair with the force of his laughter. As it died, he looked at Dallas with shining eyes. “I like you.”

Dallas flushed. He wasn’t used to being appreciated or complimented outside of his little circle. “Thank you. I know I’m an anxious mess, but?—”

“I’m here!”

Dallas would have turned at the sound of Kylen’s voice, but Monty’s eyes went wide behind his glasses, and his cheeks pinked.

“Kylen. My pilot?”

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