Page 3 of The Silver Fox Daddy

“That’s barely a vacation. Next year, Jared and I are going to take charge of trip planning,” Tyler says, earning a nod of approval from me.

“Do we really want that?” Monica questions, the deadpan look on her face letting us know that she isn’t thrilled at the thought of us taking charge.

“At least we can do that. How’s that cramped little studio of yours?” I bite back, earning myself an eye roll, the same one that she’s been giving me for years.

“Can you all stop it? You’re being obnoxiously ungrateful. It will be fun,” my dad admonishes.

“Yeah guys, it will be fun,” Monica says, turning in her chair to where the kids sit coloring. “Did you hear that, little ones? We’re going skiing!”

“I like to ski,” Caden calls out, not lifting his head from the coloring book.

“My daddy taught me how to ski,” Archer says, the sound of his voice placing a smile on my face.

But his voice also reminds me of the email that waits for me in my inbox. “Urgent: Complaint for modification has been filed” was the subject line. I feel it in my bones that it can’t be good.

Our parents give us a few more logistical details about the trip before we start to disperse.

“Come on, Archer,” I call out as I push back from the table to stand up.

My son calmly gets up and collects his things, walking over with the new drawing he’s been working on.

“Can it go on the fridge?” he asks, thrusting the picture up to me.

The image of what is obviously me and him warms my heart.

“Of course, it will. That’s where masterpieces go,” I explain, giving him a quick brush of his hair.

I turn to say goodbye to everyone as they also begin to stand up. As I do, I catch Monica looking over at the two of us, a soft smile on her face. It’s very different from the looks of contempt that are usually directed my way. It's nice. Though, I wouldn't admit that to her. So instead, I take the direction we usually go in.

I smirk at her. “Finally growing a heart, Monica?”

The smile quickly vanishes from her face as she glares at me. “Only for Archer.”

This causes my son to grin as he says, “Bye, Monica,” and gifts her with an enthusiastic wave as we walk out to my car.

I would have said something smart back, but I didn’t want to dignify her words. Next time, I’ll make sure to do something about her smart mouth.

When Archer and I get home, he runs off to his room to play. I thought he would have a hard time adjusting to life in the city, but he’s seemed to enjoy living in a penthouse over the last couple of months.

I use the time while he's upstairs to go into my home office. Not wasting any time, I dial my lawyer’s number.

"Did you see my email?" Charles asks upon picking up the call, completely skipping pleasantries, which I've always appreciated about him.

"I didn't have time to read it. I just saw the subject. What is a 'Complaint for Modification'?"

There's a pause on the line. Not a good sign.

"I don't want you to get too worried, but… it's to change your custody agreement. Jessica wants joint custody of Archer," Charles says, his voice sounding like he's bracing for my reaction.

I'm silent at first. My whole body is shaking as I think about what Jessica is doing.

What a snake.

I try to calm myself down. If I want to make sure that Archer stays in my care, I have to keep a level head. But I can't help the rage I feel as I try to figure out what kind of game she's trying to play. Why would she leave and give up custody just so she can ask for it back months later?

"Jared, are you still with me?" Charles asks, bringing me back to the present moment.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm still here," I say. "Well, what do we do?"

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