Page 79 of After the Rain

"Get a lawyer. A good one. And Wade... maybe consider keeping things quiet with Ezra until this is resolved."

The suggestion felt like a knife between my ribs. Hide who I was. Pretend the most important relationship in my adult life didn't exist. Teach Cooper that love was conditional, subject to other people's approval.

"I can't do that, Sarah."

"You might have to if you want to keep him."

After we hung up, I sat in my kitchen staring at Cooper's volcano project, feeling like everything I'd built was about to be destroyed by people who saw our love as a threat instead of a blessing.

Ezra sat beside me, his hand finding mine across the table. "Whatever happens, we don't let them tear us apart."

"They could take him away from me," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Then we fight. We get the best lawyer money can buy, we document Cooper's happiness and stability, we show the court that love makes families, not prejudice."

"And if we lose?"

Ezra was quiet for a long moment, his thumb stroking across my knuckles in the gesture that had become our shorthand for comfort.

"Then we keep fighting. But Wade, I need you to know something—if staying with me costs you Cooper, I'll step back. I love you, but I won't be the reason you lose your son."

"No," I said fiercely, gripping his hand tighter. "That's exactly what they want. They want us to tear ourselves apart so they don't have to."

That night, we held each other in my bed, both aware that our newfound happiness was about to be tested by the most serious threat we'd faced. The house felt different around us, like walls that had been solid were suddenly made of paper.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, remember that what we have is real," I whispered into the darkness. "They can't take that away from us."

But as I lay awake listening to Ezra's breathing, I knew that custody battles could destroy even the strongest relationships.Love might not be enough to protect us from people determined to tear our family apart.

The papers would come tomorrow, and with them, the fight of our lives.

EIGHTEEN

ALL IS LOST

EZRA

Iwas making Cooper's favorite breakfast—cinnamon toast cut into dinosaur shapes—when the knock came. Sharp, official, the kind that makes your stomach drop before you even answer the door. Wade was upstairs getting dressed, and Cooper was at the kitchen table arranging his action figures in elaborate battle formations, completely absorbed in his imaginary world.

The knock came again, more insistent this time.

"I'll get it," I called upstairs, wiping my hands on a dish towel. Through the front window, I could see a man in uniform standing on the porch, official papers in his hand. Sheriff's deputy. My blood turned to ice.

"Wade," I called, my voice tight with dread. "You need to come down here. Now."

Cooper looked up from his toys, sensing the tension in my voice. "Who is it, Mr. Mitchell?"

"Just someone for your dad, buddy. Keep playing."

Wade appeared at the top of the stairs, still buttoning his shirt. One look at my face and he was moving fast, taking the steps two at a time. I opened the door before he reached it.

"Wade Harrison?" the deputy asked, consulting his paperwork.

"That's me."

"I'm Deputy Roland with the Cedar Falls Sheriff's Department. I have legal documents that need to be served to you personally." He extended an official envelope, thick with papers. "Emergency custody modification petition filed by Richard and Margaret Fletcher."

The words hit like a sledgehammer to the chest. Wade's face went white as he accepted the papers, his hands trembling slightly as he opened the envelope.

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