“I know,” Nick said.
“And speaking of which, how did I not know Lindsey had a son? I know you explained she kept it close to the vest and didn’t really want to talk about it, but that’s a big deal. Having a child is a huge thing. Why did she hide it? Why did she keep him a secret from everybody? Is she ashamed of him? She can’t possibly. That’s just not her. She’s not the type of woman who would be ashamed of her own child. Besides, if she was, she wouldn’t be so upset about this guy at trying to take him from her.”
“She’s not ashamed of him,” Nick said.
“Exactly. She’s not ashamed, so why didn’t you talk about him? Why didn’t she let the people around her know about this huge part of her life? This completely changes who she is. She’s not just Lindsey behind the bar. She’s somebody’s mother. Why doesn’t she know people would be willing to step up and help her? There are so many people throughout this entire town who would do anything they could to make things easier for her. All she would have to do is ask. But she kept it a secret and didn’t tell anybody. And now she’s going through this and feels like she doesn’t have a support system around her.”
“But she does,” Nick said.
“Of course she does. She’s not doing any of this on her own. I just can’t believe she even has to face the situation at all. Who does this guy think he is? How dare he try to take her ability to see her child away from her? That little boy needs his mother. Every child needs their mother. She works so hard. Up until all this bullshit unfolded, she was the happiest, most optimistic person I’ve ever known in my life.”
“She’s an amazing person,” Nick agreed, nodding.
I paced back and forth, letting all my frustration and anger spew out of me. Luckily, Nick was a patient person. He was able to stand there calmly and listen, only responding when he needed to. He knew I just needed the time to get everything out and then would be able to have a rational, calm conversation.
When I finally petered out, he took me by the arm and dragged me inside to the break room. Opening the refrigerator, he pulled out two cold bottles of water and put them both in front of me. I sat down on one of the barstools at the large island in the middle of the kitchen space and opened the first bottle. As soon as the water rushed into my mouth, I realized how parched I was. I flushed it down and moved on to the second bottle.
“I already told you about Grant,” he said. “His relationship with Lindsey wasn’t long, and by all reports, it was never particularly serious. I think for a while, she wanted to believe it would be. When we first started getting close again and she was telling me about him, there was something in her expression that was really hard to explain. It wasn’t exactly hopeful. Not like she wanted to be with him again. But like she thought it would all turn out differently.”
“I don’t know how she could,” I said. “Someone like him isn’t just going to spontaneously change. She had to have known from the beginning what he was capable of.”
“Does anybody at the beginning of a relationship really recognize the faults in the other person? You have to remember, it was just her. Out in the world for the first time, just trying to figure out who she was and what her life was going to be like. She already knew she was going to end up back here. She knew the bar was going to be hers and that this was going to be life. She just wanted to see what else was out there. Grant was charming. He comes from an extremely wealthy family, and she talked about the dramatic, impressive stories he told about everything he’d done. It’s enough to woo anybody.”
“Lindsey never struck me as the type of girl who could be wooed,” I said sarcastically.
“The point is, she lost custody of Remy because they were able to manipulate her. They convinced her that she didn’t have enough money to take care of her son’s special needs. In reality, it was just because they didn’t think she was good enough because she worked in a bar,” Nick said.
The comment struck me, and I set the bottle down, narrowing my eyes at Nick. “Her son’s special needs? What do you mean?”
“Remy’s blind,” Nick said. “He has been since birth. It was a complete shock, and as any mother would, Lindsey wants what’s best for him. She wants him to have the best life and every opportunity that could be afforded to him. Grant’s family took advantage of that. They saw her desperation and exploited it. They convinced her that she needed to give him up so that they could use their money and influence to give him everything he needed.”