by Marie Force
All eyes turned to him, and he wasn’t sure if they expected him to say something or what.
“Leave the poor guy alone,” Hunter said. “He doesn’t need us piling on.”
“Spoken by the love-drunk future groom,” Lucas said, making gagging noises.
Hunter just smiled and flipped off his younger brother. “Someday, my friend. You just wait.”
Lucas shuddered at the thought.
“Better you than me,” Noah said with a bitter edge to his voice. It was well known in town that his wife had left him under mysterious circumstances a couple of years ago, and he’d thrown himself into his contracting business ever since.
“What he said,” Lucas said, pointing his thumb at Noah as his eyes landed on a table full of young women who were watching their table. “As long as there’re snow bunnies in need of company, there’ll be no ring on my finger. Are you with me, Landon?”
“I’m so with you.”
The twins got up and took their mugs of beer with them when they moved to the table full of women. Chairs were rearranged and the women could be heard asking if they were twins.
Tyler watched the scene unfold with a sense of detachment. Not that long ago, he might’ve joined them, but he was no longer interested in random hookups. They’d lost their appeal for him a while ago. He couldn’t say exactly when he’d set his sights on Charley. It had been a series of encounters—once in her family’s store, a couple of dances at the Grange, at a party for a mutual friend’s birthday, at Kingdom Pizza when they’d both been picking up takeout, in the produce aisle at the grocery store. Every time he saw her, he wanted to see more of her until images of her and her many expressions had crowded out thoughts of any other woman.
“Don’t mind if I join them,” Wade said as he got up to leave the table.
“I’m with them,” Noah said, decamping for the women’s table.
“Ahhh, the single life,” Colton said. “So overrated.”
“Got to agree with you there,” Gavin said with a satisfied smile that again sparked envy in Tyler.
He wanted to know what it was like to have the answers to life’s most important questions. But even after all the time he’d spent with Charley lately, he was no closer to answers than he’d been at the beginning, which was another profoundly depressing thought.
“The secret to Charley,” Will said, picking up the earlier conversation, “is to let her think she’s in charge while you steer her in the direction you want to go.”
“I don’t know if I agree with that,” Colton said. “She’s apt to come out swinging if she figures out she’s being managed.”
“You have to manage her carefully,” Hunter said. “Subtly.”
Will nodded in agreement. “That’s what I mean. You know what they say about kids—if you want them to do one thing, make them think you want them to do the opposite? Then they do what you want because God forbid they should go along with your plan. That’s how Charley is.”
Tyler drank in the insight, trying to make sense of it in the context of the woman he’d come to know quite well.
“Will is right,” Colton said, nodding in agreement. “Child psychology. Make her think you want one thing when you really want something else altogether. Her contrary nature will make it impossible for her to go along with what’s expected. She’ll need to be, well, contrary.”
“So you guys are suggesting he play games to get what he wants?” Gavin asked, his tone tinged with skepticism and maybe disapproval.
“Not games so much as strategy,” Hunter said.
“What do you think?” Gavin asked Tyler.
“Knowing Charley, what they say does make a certain bit of sense, but I’m not really big on deceit.”
“No one is suggesting you deceive her,” Hunter said. “She is, after all, our sister, and we do love her even if we want to muzzle her sometimes. We’re suggesting you approach your dealings with her the way you would a business deal. You negotiate terms and strategize to get the most favorable outcome. I assume you want her or you wouldn’t have stepped up for her the way you have. Do I assume correctly?”
“You do.”
“Then you have to play your cards carefully,” Hunter said. “There’s no way in hell Charley would be staying with you if she wasn’t into you, too. So you’ve already won the first round. She’s in your house. Now you have to figure out a way to keep her there without appearing to be desperate or anything.”
“No desperation,” Will said gravely. “That’ll drive her right out the door. Charley doesn’t like to be backed into corners. She comes out with her fists swinging.”
“You guys make her sound like a feral beast or something,” Gavin said with a laugh.
The brothers exchanged glances.
“There have been times,” Colton said carefully, “when her behavior might be considered feral by reasonable people.”
Tyler laughed at that. “She would kill you if she heard you say that.”
“What happens on the mountain stays on the mountain,” Colton said gravely. “Bro code.”
“No worries,” Tyler assured him. “Your sister will never hear from me that you used the word feral to describe her.”
“Oh good, thanks,” Colton said with obvious relief. “She’s little but she’s scrappy, and she fights dirty.”
“Also good to know,” Tyler said, more amused by this conversation with every passing minute. Then he took a glance at his watch and saw that it was approaching five. “I need to go. Charley is due for meds that are at my house, so I need to go pick her up. Anyone need a lift back to town?”
“I’ll come,” Gavin said. “I left my truck at the barn.”
“Hey, Tyler,” Will said. “We’re having Hunter’s bachelor party Thursday night up on Colton’s mountain. Would love to have you join us if you’re game for some cold-weather camping.”
“I won’t be able to camp, but I’ll definitely come by. Thanks for the invite.”
“Sure thing,” Will said. “Good luck with Charley. Not that I think you’ll need it or anything.”
After everything they’d said, Tyler was quite convinced that it was going to take a lot more than luck to win Charley Abbott’s heart. It was going to take military-level strategy, too.
CHAPTER 12
I never had a strategy about my life. I didn’t have enough information to have a strategy.
—Alan Dershowitz
Riddled with anxiety about the task before him, Max drove Grayson to Burlington to see Chloe on Sunday afternoon. He told himself that Caden would be there, too, which would make this difficult task bearable. This was for Caden. Everything was for him now.
Knowing he would soon see his son, Max pressed harder on the accelerator and cut thirty minutes off the trip.
“If you always drive this fast, you’ll be needing a lawyer to bail your ass out of jail,” Grayson said.
“Want to see my baby. I hate that he lives so far from me.”
“Have you asked her to move to Butler?”
“I’ve mentioned it, but she’s not interested.”
“Even if it would make things easier?”
“She’s not inclined to do anything to make things easier for me.” Max tightened his grip on the wheel. “She wasn’t like this before. She was fun, you know? Easy to be with and happy. After she got pregnant? Totally different story. And since he was born . . . Well, I don’t know what’s going through her head. She won’t talk to me, even about him.”
“What about her family?”
“We haven’t heard much from them since she got pregnant. I guess her parents are really strict and they saw this as the worst thing that could’ve happened. Can you imagine that? He’s a beautiful baby. How can that be anything other than a miracle?”
“One thing I’ve learned in my practice is that
there’s no telling why people are the way they are. Why would her parents turn their backs on her when she needed them most?”
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine my parents ever doing that.”
“You got two of the good ones.”
“And I know it after the last few months. Believe me. I know it.”
“When my dad left,” Grayson said, staring out the passenger window, “I remember thinking how could he, you know? How could he have eight kids and just walk away like we meant nothing to him? I’d never leave a kid of mine. Ever. Even if things didn’t work out with the mother, I’d still be there for my kid.” Grayson shook his head laughed, but there was a bitter edge to his laughter. “I never talk about this shit.”
“I’m sorry if this is opening old wounds.”
“It’s okay.”
They arrived at the tiny house Max and Chloe had rented near the University of Vermont campus. Every time he opened the gate and walked up the sidewalk to the front door now, his stomach knotted with tension because he never knew what to expect. He knocked softly on the door before he pushed it open.
Chloe was stretched out on the sofa. The small living room was cluttered with clothes and baby equipment. A box of diapers sat untouched on the floor where Max had left them the day before.
Aware of Gray behind him, Max resisted the immediate urge to go find his son.
“What’re you doing back so soon?” she asked Max in a dull, flat tone.
“I was hoping we could talk. My cousin Gray is with me.”
She tied her robe around her waist and sat up, pushing blond hair back from her face. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Caden. Where is he?”
“Asleep in his crib, and please don’t disturb him. He was up all night.”
“He’s too little for the crib, Chloe. We’ve talked about this.”
“No, you’ve talked. I couldn’t get him to sleep in the bassinet. I’m doing the best I can.”
Max went to the doorway of the baby’s bedroom and looked in on him, staring at him until he saw his chest move. Then he returned to the living room, where Gray stood awkwardly inside the door. “Come in,” he said to his cousin. “Have a seat.”
While Grayson took the used easy chair they’d bought at a yard sale, Max carried in one of the kitchen chairs. “I asked Gray to come with me today because he’s a lawyer, and he suggested we consider some sort of formal custody arrangement for Caden.”
“What’s wrong with what we have?”
“We don’t actually have anything in writing, and we should.”
“Why do we need it?”
“Because, Chloe,” Max said, his patience waning, “we’re not together as a couple anymore, so we need a formal custody arrangement for the baby.”
“You have a number of options.” Gray handed both of them several papers he’d brought with him, outlining the pros and cons of each type of custody. “You can arrange for joint custody where you share in all the parenting decisions and costs, and determine a schedule for when each of you will have physical custody of Caden. It could be something like weekdays are Chloe and weekends are Max or whatever you deem suitable for the two of you. Once you’ve agreed to everything, I can draw it up for you in a legal agreement that you’d both sign.”
“What are the other options besides joint custody?” Chloe asked.
“One of you could assign full custody to the other, with liberal visitation, of course.”
“I’d never go for that,” Max said firmly.
“You wouldn’t want full custody?” she asked almost hopefully. What was that about?
“I want Caden to have both his parents in his life,” Max said. “And I’d never sign away full custody. That’s not an option for me. At the very least, I want joint custody.”
Chloe turned her attention to the paperwork, seeming to read it over carefully.
“I took the liberty of drawing up a couple of different sample agreements that encompass a variety of options,” Gray said. “You don’t have to decide anything today, but I recommend you figure this out sooner rather than later. It’s in Caden’s best interest to get this done.”
The baby monitor on the coffee table crackled to life.
Max was out of his chair at the first sound from his son. “I’ll get him.” He went into the baby’s room and looked down at the little guy in the crib, his arms and legs bicycling. His eyes lit up when he saw Max there, and his arms and legs moved faster.
Smiling at the warm reception, Max lifted the baby out of the crib. “Hey, buddy. How you doing?”
The question was met with gurgling and other adorable baby noises that defied description. Max placed the baby on the changing table and removed the heavy diaper, relieved to see that the rash hadn’t gotten any worse overnight. He applied the ointment his mother had recommended, stuff they carried in the store, and put a fresh diaper and sleeper on him.
Keeping the baby tucked into the crook of his arm, he carried him to the living room, eager to show him off to his cousin.
“There’s the man of the hour,” Gray said, smiling when Max entered the room. “Wow, he’s so tiny.”
“He won’t be for long,” Max said, gazing down at the little face that had taken over his life—and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “The books say he’ll be running around within a year. Hard to believe.”
Gray reached out a finger, and Caden wrapped his hand around it.
“Look at that grip.”
“He’s already getting stronger.”
Chloe watched them with the same indifferent expression she’d worn since the day the baby was born. It was nice to have Gray here to share in the wonder of the baby since his mother was unwilling—or unable—to do so. Or maybe she just didn’t want to share in it with him. Max didn’t know, and after months of beating his head against an unmovable wall, he didn’t care anymore. All he cared about was Caden and what was best for him.
“So you’ll take a look at the papers Gray gave us?” Max asked her.
“I said I would.”
Gray handed her a business card. “My cell number is on the back. I don’t have service in Butler, but I’m looking for office space outside of town so I’ll have service. When you’re ready to talk, leave me a message and I’ll get right back to you. You can also call my mom’s house. That’s the second number on there.”
“Okay, thanks.” To Max she said, “Do you want to take him tonight?”
Surprised by the offer, he said, “I won’t be able to get back here again for a couple of days.”
“That’s fine.”
“My brother’s wedding is Saturday.”
“Why don’t you keep him until Sunday, then.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Max wasn’t about to try to talk her out of it. “Would you mind holding him while I pack a bag for him?” he asked his cousin.
Gray hesitated but only briefly. “Of course.” He reached for the baby and handled him carefully, which Max appreciated.
“Make sure you support his head.”
“Got it.”
Anxious to take his son and get the hell out of the house and away from the woman who had sucked the life out of him over the last few months, Max went through the dresser looking for clean clothes for the baby, but there wasn’t much to be found. To hell with it, he’d buy him whatever he needed rather than argue with Chloe about why she couldn’t be bothered to wash Caden’s clothes. Then he noticed the bag he’d brought back the day before, which was full of clean clothes she hadn’t unpacked. He picked it up and headed for the living room to grab the box of diapers, taking both to the car and then returning for Gray and Caden.
“I’ll talk to you on Sunday,” he said to Chloe after he’d bundled the baby into a lightweight sn
owsuit for the ride to Butler. He tried not to think about the logistics of six days with the baby in the midst of a family wedding at his parents’ house. Whatever. He’d deal with it.
“Okay.”
Max headed for the door, wanting out of there. He emerged into the fresh, cold air and took a couple of deep breaths. Being around Chloe these days left him off balance and out of sorts.
“How about I drive so you can ride in back with him?” Gray asked.
Max handed the keys to his cousin. “That’d be great. Thanks.”
When they were on the road to Butler, Gray caught his gaze in the rearview mirror. “You think she’s okay?”
“Hard to say. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get her to talk about what’s wrong, how she’s feeling. I even went so far as to contact the doctor to express my concerns about her mental state, but there’s only so much I can do. She’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to be my responsibility, so what can I do?”
“Nothing more than you’ve already done, I suppose.”
“I’m tired of feeling helpless where she’s concerned. And I’m tired of feeling like she blames me for everything that happened, as if she wasn’t right there with me when we made this little guy.” Max paused before he said, “The funniest part is she pursued me. She was totally into me until she got pregnant, and then the whole thing became my fault.”
Max stared down at his adorable son in the infant car seat. “I can’t look at him now and see a mistake, Gray. I just can’t do it. And that’s how she wants me to feel.” His voice broke and his eyes swam with tears. “He’s not a mistake.”
“No, he isn’t. He’s your destiny, and he’s damned lucky to have you.”
“I’m lucky to have him. I’m not quite sure how to describe what it feels like to know he’s dependent on me for everything. It’s like he’s given my life meaning or something.”
“You’re doing all the right things, Max. As difficult as everything seems now, as long as you keep doing all the right things, it’ll be fine. I promise.”
