Page 27 of Wed to You-
“Thank you, Mrs. Monroe. I appreciate it.”
She stood. “Right now, we wait and see what she does. If you’re served papers, call me right away.”
Jagger rose and reached out his hand to shake hers. “I will.”
After Jagger saw Mrs. Monroe to her car, he headed to the kitchento refill his lemonade and then made his way back to the terrace. He’d chosen a lawyer who was sympathetic to his situation of being only a guardian, and she wasn’t afraid to fight. The feisty attorney had given him hope. Even so, she was cautious about his chance of success.
“I take it the meeting didn’t go well.” Grayson stood in the doorway of the patio.
“I think we’ll give Tanya a hell of a fight if she files for custody, but a single nephew has little chance against a mother, apparently.”
“Even after all the drugs and abandoning him?”
“If she’s got her life together now, yes.”
“That’s disappointing.”
That’s an understatement.What he needed to do was figure out a way to build up the positives of his side. What he had going for him was that he’d always been in Kaden’s life. He’d put Kaden first when charged with his care and he had the financial resources to care for him, although technically, Kaden’s trust would care for him whoever he lived with. Jagger scowled. Was that what Tanya was after? Kaden’s money? It was something to look into.
Tanya had a lot going against her, but being the mother apparently trumped all. What could Jagger do to defend against that? He wasn’t Kaden’s father. But he could give Kaden a family unit. What did Mrs. Monroe say? Courts like two-parent homes? Maybe he could give Kaden that.
He scoffed and shook his head. Although he hadn’t put all his effort into it, the short time he’d been open to meeting a woman he could spend his life with hadn’t gone well. The one who might have worked was now married to Mitch. The other one, Mitch told him to stay away from.
But with Kaden’s custody on the line, Jagger knew he needed to put his own wants and needs on the back burner. What he needed was a mother figure the court would like.
“Jagger.” Kaden ran out onto the patio.
“Hey, Big K.” He scooped the boy into his lap. “Whatcha got?”
“Can we put this on the wall?” Kaden held up his certificate of promotion to first grade.
“Sure. We’ll put it in a frame and hang it in the most prestigious place in the house.”
“What’s presti...”
“It’s important. Everyone who comes to our house will see it.”
“Yay! Maybe Miss Beemer can come see it.”
Jagger sat back and smiled. “Yes. Maybe Miss Beemer.”
Chelsea tookadvantage of the two days off before returning to the diner. They seemed like a luxury since, over the course of a year, she’d had a total of five days off.
Since her mother’s death, her life had been filled with teaching and working at the diner. She did both during the school year and worked at the diner full-time during the summer. The two days after school ended and two days before school started, plus the few holidays the diner was closed, were the only days she took off.
She looked over her financial statements. Should she have worked the last two days after all? Not that two extra days of diner income would make a big enough dent. She was drowning in debt. The mortgages taken on the house didn’t cover her mother’s medical bills, so along with a first and second mortgage, medical bills were piled on her kitchen table. It was becoming clear that her only way out was selling the house. The idea of it tore her in two. The house had been in her family since it was built in the 19th century. She didn’t want to be the Beemer who lost the family home. But what else could she do? She’d sold everything else, including her bike. There were a few antiques left in the attic, but she’d resisted selling them becausedeep down she hoped to keep the house, and they’d make great pieces if she could ever get the house fixed up to its former glory.
She looked over at her house book, a scrapbook filled with all her restoration and decorative ideas. Things she couldn’t do because she couldn’t afford them. As usual, tears burned her eyes at her failure. She was sure Brian and her mother would understand, but the house was the only thing she had left of her childhood with them. She blew out a breath, not wanting to dissolve into tears again. If she had a nickel for every tear she’d wept over her situation, she’d have enough to get out of debt and then some.
What she needed was to find a new solution. What else could she do to generate the money she needed? She’d done a million Internet searches about making money online. Some looked viable, but she hadn’t had the time to figure them out, much less try them.
Or she could accept Lexie and Drake’s offer to help. In fact, Mitch and Sydney had offered as well, but Chelsea couldn’t bring herself to take their money. For one, she was sure it would change their relationship. Not that they’d lord it over her, but she knew it would make her feel indebted to them, and she didn’t want that. Second, she had her pride; she had to take care of this herself.
She went over the bills again, wondering why she bothered. The numbers never changed. Her phone chirped and she was eager for the distraction.
“Hello?”
“Chels? It’s Jagger.”
