His First Choice

Until he’d realized that hating her for something she couldn’t help wasn’t good for anyone. Least of all him. If he allowed that kind of anger and hate to rule his life, he’d turn into his sister, and he wasn’t about to do that.

No, the way out of this was to get help for Tressa. Sydney had taken statements from both of them. She’d helped Jem file for a court hearing, to amend their custody rights—leaving Tressa with only court supervised visits for now. And finally, three days after the ordeal had begun, it was done.

“Can I come over tonight?” Tressa asked as she climbed into his truck so he could take her home.

She’d asked him if he’d drive her to court, and because he thought it in all of their best interests that she be as calm and stable as possible, he’d agreed to do so.

He probably would have, anyway. It was the decent thing to do, given the circumstances.

“You know my rule regarding you at my place,” he said, hating to be firm, but he couldn’t go back to having her unexpectedly popping up in his life. And most certainly not now that Lacey was a part of it.

He hadn’t seen Lacey since Sunday. He’d wanted the cement floor to cure for a week before he started framing her room. And he’d been focused on the mess with Tressa. But he’d talked to her every night, lying in his bed while she lay in hers. Her voice had been the last thing he’d heard before sleep. Four nights in a row now.

He figured that was long enough to form an addiction...

“But I want to see him, Jem,” Tressa said now, her voice getting wobbly. “You’ve already said you’re working this weekend and I can’t have him at my place without making prior plans so someone from social services can be there. And Sydney said Thursday’s too late to make those plans, at least this week, because the Santa Raquel office is so small and everyone is busy...”

He could feel the storm brewing. It was only noon. Levi’s doctor’s appointment for cast removal was at 1:00 p.m. If all went well, they’d be done by 2:00 p.m. Which gave him three hours before his date with Lacey.

Kacey was leaving on Saturday and had been asking for more Levi time before she left. She had a cast off party all planned for him.

“How about if I bring him by your place as soon as he gets his cast off?” Jem improvised. He wasn’t going to have Tressa in episodic mode ruining the evening he had planned. “You can be the first to celebrate with him.”

Maybe they could turn the broken-arm moment with Levi’s mother into something healthy. “It would be a good chance for you to apologize to him.” Sydney had stressed that Tressa had some damage to undo with her son. Starting with acknowledging that she’d been the one who’d been bad, not him, and assuring him that no one was ever going to do anything to take him away from his father.

“Okay.” Tressa sat back, her head against the seat, watching the traffic in front of them. “I don’t deserve you, Jem.”

She didn’t have him, either. Not anymore.

“But I’m thankful for you. I want you to know that. You really had my back this week.”

“I know how hard you try to be a good mother to our son.”

“I do, you know.” She turned to look at him. “I love him more than life.”

He nodded, understanding completely.

“You know what bothered me the most?” she mused, looking out the window again.

“What?” He was mildly curious. Mostly he just wanted to drop her off so he could call Lacey.

“The thought that our son would grow up and know that his mother had been thrown in jail for hurting him. I know how that feels, Jem, what it does to a person. You spend your whole life fearing that you’re going to be just like them, because, after all, you have their genes.”

Both of her parents had been arrested for abuse. Against each other. On different occasions. Several years apart. They’d each spent a night in jail while the other was at home with the kids. And then been released when the other refused to press charges. They’d never lost custody of their kids.

“I’m going to do all of the counseling, and then some, Jem. I’m going to get this right.” Tressa sat up and turned to face him. “I will not let my mom and dad win this one.”

It was one of the sanest things he’d heard her say in a long time.

And he breathed a sigh of relief.

It had taken the week from hell, the threat of losing her son and possibly going to jail, but Tressa had finally seen the truth. They’d turned the corner.

Maybe, months down the road, after counseling, he’d be able to introduce her to Lacey and they could all be friends.

Today was proof that miracles did happen.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE