Cowboy Baby Daddy

“Very much so, Your Honor,” I said. “Nina’s History grade now puts her in the top 10 percent of the sophomore class.”

“I see,” the judge nodded. She was silent for a long time as she read through the papers in front of her and consulted her notes. Then she looked up at the courtroom and said, “I’d like to speak to Nina in my chambers with the lawyers for both parties. Now.”

“Your Honor!” Remy protested.

“Ms. Gaston, I suggest you remain seated and not say another word,” the judge said, looking down at her. Remy sunk back in her chair and dropped her gaze to the floor as Nina and the lawyers followed the judge into her chambers.

I looked over at Emily, but she wouldn’t meet my gaze. Remy sat at her table, staring straight ahead and fuming silently.

The judge and the lawyers returned after 15 minutes. When I saw Nina looking down at the floor as she followed them back into the courtroom, my heart sunk.

We’d lost the case.

All eyes were on the judge as she sat down and pulled out a paper from the stack in front of her. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I waited for her to tell us her decision.

“Mr. and Mrs. Gaston, it is obvious to me that you both love your daughter a great deal and that you want what is best for her,” she said, looking back and forth at Remy and I. “However, I don’t think parents always offer the most accurate assessment of what is best for their children, and after having listened to Nina, I believe that her feelings also need to be considered as I render my decision.”

The judge shifted her gaze to Nina, and all eyes followed. Nina refused to lift her head and look at either her mother or I, and I felt the weight of what was about to be said pushing down on me. The judge was going to give custody to Remy, and I was going to have to deal with the loss the best I could.

“Mrs. Gaston, I believe that you have tried to act in the best interests of your daughter and ensure that she is safe and well cared for,” the judge continued. “And Mr. Gaston, I believe that you also love your daughter and want what’s best for her.”

I swallowed hard as I nodded, my eyes never leaving the judge.

“After having heard Nina’s opinion on what’s best for her, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the minor child to award temporary full custody to her father, Blake Gaston, and allow her to live with him full-time,” the judge said. Remy gasped and rose up out of her seat to protest, but was pulled back down by her lawyer and silenced. “Mr. Gaston has provided a stable, secure environment in which Nina feels safe and loved, and in which she has thrived over the past six months. Mrs. Gaston, you travel a great deal, and Nina has indicated that you and she have had a strained relationship for some time, and that she feels you both would benefit from joint counseling sessions to help improve your connection.”

“But he made her run away!” Remy yelled, unable to remain silent.

“Silence, Mrs. Gaston, or I’ll have you cited for contempt,” the judge warned with a stern look. “As I was about to say, Nina has explained her rationale for running away and taken responsibility for what happened with Ms. Fowler, though I still think that as an adult, she should have exercised better judgment.”

The judge looked toward the back of the room and singled out Emily, who ducked her head and nodded in agreement.

“I believe that you have both raised a daughter who has a good head on her shoulders despite her immature way of coping with the prospect of losing time with her father,” the judge continued. “I am ordering a year of co-counseling sessions for Nina and you, Mrs. Gaston, and I am appointing a med

iator to help you and Mr. Gaston come up with a reasonable visitation schedule. Therefore it is decided that Mr. Gaston will have temporary full custody of the minor, Nina Marie Gaston, for one year, at which time, if the parties have not established a mutually agreeable solution, I will issue a final ruling on this matter. Court is adjourned.”

The judge rapped her gavel on the bench, and we all rose and watched her leave the courtroom. I stood next to my lawyer, stunned that I’d been awarded custody.

“Dad, we did it!” Nina cried, as she ran to me and threw her arms around my neck. I hugged her tightly and then remembered Remy was still in the room.

“Go hug your mother, Punkin,” I whispered. Nina looked up at me with a scowl, and I shook my head. “We won. You can be kind.”

She nodded and slowly walked over to where her mother stood with her lawyer. Nina stared at Remy for a moment, and then reached out and hugged her. I couldn’t hear what she said, but when Remy pulled away, she smiled weakly and nodded before turning and leaving the courtroom.

I turned and looked toward the back of the room where Emily had been sitting, but her seat was now empty. As happy as I was that I now had Nina, there was a heaviness in my heart.

I’d lost Emily.

Chapter Forty-Four

Epilogue

I was in the backyard, putting new sod in along the back fence when Nina came running out of the house holding her phone and yelling, “Dad! Dad! Phone for you! It’s Gramps!”

“Why didn’t he call me on my phone?” I asked, as I pulled off a dirt-covered work glove and took the phone from her.

“This is your phone, Dad,” Nina laughed.

“Hey Pop, what’s up?” I said, as I watched Nina unroll a length of sod and then walk on it with her bare feet. I pulled the phone away and yelled at her, “Hey, get off that! You’re gonna kill the grass before it even has a chance!”