His First Choice

IT HAD BEEN one of the hardest weeks of Lacey’s life. To finally find someone who really valued her above anyone, and then have him be in the trance of someone else... It was too cruel even for her paranoia to conjure up.

But her most acute pain wasn’t even for herself. It was for Jem. A man in a million. A giver. A truly gentle man who had more strength, physically as well as emotionally, than anyone she’d ever met. And the power of abuse was taking advantage of everything good about him.

Some days she didn’t ever want him to come face-to-face with the truth. Afraid of how it could change him when he saw how his willingness to do the right thing by Tressa had put him in a position to be manipulated without him even seeing it.

Other days, she prayed for his release. Not for herself, but because he deserved to be honored and respected, not abused. To be loved and cared for, not...used up.

Thank God for Kacey. Her sister had spent the night in Lacey’s bed with her one night, sitting up and watching old movies until Lacey had finally fallen asleep. Every night after work, she’d dragged Lacey around to choose furniture for her new room. To dinner at the new Mexican place by the water.

They walked on the beach and stopped at an outdoor pub to have drinks and talk about the good old days. Lacey had been surprised to find out how many of them there really had been. That had been the previous night. They’d stayed to listen to the first set played by the band that had shown up at nine, too. And still, Jem had just been finishing with Tressa when he’d called and found Lacey already in bed.

They’d been preparing for the emergency custodial court hearing that had been set for that morning.

It was after noon and she still hadn’t heard how it had gone. It was way too early for anything to be on public record. The judge wouldn’t even have had time to give his minutes to the court recorder for filing.

And knowing that she and Sydney couldn’t discuss the case, knowing, too, that Sydney knew now that Lacey’s personal involvement was more than just casual, she’d steered clear of her colleague by taking herself out of the office to make well-check visits.

She was almost back to the office, planning on having the salad Kacey had packed her for lunch before an afternoon hearing, when her car’s speaker bleeped announcing an incoming call. Glancing at her radio dash, she saw Jem’s number on the screen and pushed the button on her steering wheel to answer.

“Thank God you answered.” She could hear the adrenaline in his voice. “I was afraid I was going to have to settle for voice mail.”

“I’ve been watching the clock,” she said. “Waiting to hear.” She hoped to God she didn’t sound peevish. She didn’t feel it; she just...missed him.

“I’ve got full custody.” He told her the most important fact first.

“I knew you would, but what a relief to hear that it’s done,?

? she told him, only then realizing that she’d been holding her emotional breath on that one. Regardless of how the world was changing, courts still oftentimes tended to rule in favor of the mother, and Lacey knew how likable and convincing Tressa could be. Hell, she’d found herself thinking she and the woman could almost be friends the first time they’d met.

“Tressa was ordered into anger management if she wants a chance to earn back her rights. And she was granted supervised visits.”

“No charges were filed against her for child abuse?”

“It was like you said—there wasn’t enough there to prove anything. Because, really, in each incident, an accident was involved.”

And he was justifying. Holding your child underwater to force him to hold his breath, leaving bruises on his torso as you did so, was definitely actionable.

But Jem was right. It would be Tressa’s word against that of a four-year-old. One who remembers having a great time playing basketball with his mother in the pool after he learned to swim. And who also remembered misbehaving, almost drowning and having his mother save him.

“So...we’re still good for tonight?”

It wasn’t until he asked the question that she admitted to herself she’d been half expecting him to cancel. Because Tressa would surely need him, after the trauma of the day’s events.

It fit her MO. Unless, maybe Amelia would be around. The real estate attorney had been in LA all week, arguing a case for a brokerage company.

“Of course we’re still good,” Lacey told him, and had to add, “I’ve missed you. A lot.” Because it was so true.

“I’ve missed you, too, babe. You have no idea how much.”

She had an inkling. Evidence pointed to the fact that she wasn’t the only one who’d fallen hard here. She wanted to believe that.

She just wasn’t sure how she fought the demon that was threatening to keep them from ever sharing a true partnership.

* * *

JEM DID SOME double takes over the next couple of weeks, finding it hard to believe that life had finally become what he’d always believed it could be. Kacey was back in Beverly Hills, back at work, but she came to Santa Raquel both weekends. They’d all have dinner together as a family on the Friday nights—both times at Uncle Bob’s at Levi’s request.

And Saturday nights Kacey spent with Levi—“getting her baby on,” as she put it. She wanted a home and family, and caring for Levi was like Alcoholics Anonymous to her, reminding her that the life of nightly partying that she’d led, no matter how easy and convenient to fill lonely hours, was not the life she wanted.