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“Okay.”

“He texted me last night. He said he wants custody.”

“He’s insane if he thinks that’s going to happen.”

I sighed. “I know I told you I could do all of this on my own. I know I got mad at you for trying to help me before, but I can’t do this alone.”

He scooted closer to me and reached out to take my hand. “I’ll be here every step of the way. We aren’t going to let that scumbag back into your life. He’ll never meet Eli. I’ll make sure of that.”

“But how? What if he can prove that I’m struggling financially? What if he can find a way to prove I’m unfit. What if the judge gives him custody?”

He squeezed my hand. “First, he’s going to have to prove paternity. We can wait and see if a petition for Eli’s DNA comes or we can meet with my attorney and kill this before he has a chance to even think about it.”

I was done being passive and waiting for things to happen. I couldn’t handle the stress of waiting and wondering. “I want to meet the attorney.”

He nodded once. “Then it’s done. We won’t let Ryan come within a hundred feet of Eli. Don’t worry.”

That was easier said than done, but it seemed possible knowing Grant was with me. I didn’t have to do this alone.

17

Grant

It had been a rough few days. I was laying on my couch, enjoying the fact that I had nothing to do today. We got back in late last night from the away game. I’d left, leaving Addi to go to the first meeting with the attorney alone. I felt horrible, but Emma was able to go with her. Plus, we hadn’t heard anything from Ryan since the snow in, and I was hoping he’d lose interest. He would have to file a court case to get things going, and so far, he hadn’t.

I think he just wanted to get in Addi’s head and make her worry. He wanted to maintain a piece of control over her, so this was his last-ditch effort. A part of me wanted to go through with the process just to have an official ruling that he had no rights. The laws usually included abandonment after six months of no contact, but I wasn’t sure where Ryan would stand with that since Eli was six months now. I just wanted all of this behind us.

A wild, insane, and completely impractical thought had crossed my mind, but I didn't want to scare Addi.

If we got married, I could adopt Eli and legally be his father.

But that was crazy.

Right?

She’d never go for it. At least not yet. Maybe in a few years she’d be open to talks of marriage, but not right now.

Plus, she was in an emotional and vulnerable place. I wouldn’t feel right bringing up my idea. Not when she would be answering from a place of fear.

A knock sounded at the front door. I got up and opened the door expecting one of the guys.

“Addi?” I smiled at her before realizing how frazzled she was. Without a word of explanation, she walked in, set Eli’s car seat on the floor with him still asleep inside, and dropped her head.

“It’s your day off, but I need a favor.”

I nodded. “I’ll watch him.”

She met my eyes and her shoulders dropped. “Thank you so much.”

I closed the door and walked to her, wrapping her in a hug. “No need to thank me. You could have called me and I would have come over.”

She shook her head against my chest. “Mrs. Jefferies is sick, so I called Emma but Jackson is sick too. Kendall has midterms, and Colby is at interviews with Noah. I even called Lucy but she’s with Elena.”

“So, I’m your last resort?” I wouldn’t tell her how much that stung.

She pulled back and looked up at me. “It’s not like that. I just wanted you to have a day to yourself.”

I kissed her forehead. “Addi, I love Eli. I will take him whenever I can.”