Page 97 of Catching Our Moment
I begrudgingly pulled on some pants. Our bubble had burst, and that toxic weasel was ruining it.
“He said that?” Kelcie’s face was red. “Are they still there? I want to talk to him. NOW!”
I reached out my hand to give her strength and reassure her she wasn’t alone. She pushed it away and walked out the bedroom door.
“James. No. No. You can’t?—”
Even from six feet away, his voice came through the phone, chastising her.
“Yes, I was—I am visiting Shaw in Charlotte.”
I hated just sitting here listening to her fight. I wanted to put my hand through the phone and strangle the bastard.
Her voice rose. “That’s not any of your business!” She let out a deep breath. “James, don’t put Grace in the middle of this. I am coming home now. We can discuss it tonight. What? James, you can’t just take him. He’s fine with Grace.” Her face was pale, and her voice hitched when she said, “I thought you were going away for the weekend.” She covered her eyes with her hand, as if that could stop what was to come.
“James, you’re being ridiculous. Of course I want custody of my son. I don’t see how my being out of town for a few days negates anything.”
Kelcie began to pace again. “You can’t even bother to keep your scheduled visitation dates, and now you want to take me back to court for full custody?”
I needed to do something. I couldn’t just stand here.
“I’m not behaving erratically. I merely came to watch a game.”
Now, her face began to redden again. His intentions scared her, but they also angered her.
“Who I date—or choose to sleep with—is none of your business.”
James’s voice was louder, but I could only imagine the insults he was throwing around. I leaned over to grab the phone from Kelcie. She didn’t have to listen to this asshole.
She dodged my grab and turned her back on me. “Wait.” She closed her eyes and put her hand to her forehead. “We can re-visit the visitation agreement if you want. But James, you’re being irrational.” Tears formed in her eyes. “You can’t just take Aaron because you’re mad at me. You can’t pull him out of his routine. He’s happy at school—” There was a hitch in her voice. “James, don’t do this. You’re going to freak him out.”
He was making her cry. I was done. I reached over her head and grabbed the phone out of her hands.
“Kelcie will be talking to you through her lawyer. And don’t you dare leave town with that boy, or it’ll be the last thing you do.” I didn’t give him a chance to say anything else but hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed.
“Fucking asshole.” Then I glanced up at Kelcie’s stricken face.
“What have you done?”
“Cut off that nonsense. He can’t just show up and take him.”
“He’s his father,” she said, as if that was enough of an explanation, tears rolling down her face.
I reached for the phone and handed it back to her. “Call your lawyer.”
“It’s Sunday. I don’t think he will?—"
“Fuck what day it is. Call him,” I said, grabbing my own phone. I was going to find her a better lawyer. I’d find her ten lawyers. Fuck this. He wasn’t going to get away with this bullshit.
“I’ve got to go.” She made a beeline for the bedroom. “I have to get home and sort this out.”
I followed her. “Why did he show up?”
“He saw me on television last night.” She began shoving clothes in her suitcase. “He heard about me on the news. And then, to get him even more ramped up, he said he got a contract agreement from Smitty’s people for Aaron to appear as a regular guest.”
“So?”
“He said I was capitalizing on my son’s disability and behaving like a …” Tears coursed down her face quicker than she could wipe them away. “He said he and Amber think—” She cut herself off.
