Hold On (Page 88)

“Ethan doesn’t get to make those decisions,” Peggy spat. “He’s just a little boy. His father makes those decisions.”

“I’m afraid he doesn’t,” I returned.

“And I’m afraid you’re wrong,” Peggy shot back. “Trent’s his father. He’s got rights.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Merry put in sharply, and Peggy’s eyes sliced to him. “Trent Schott relinquished his rights when his girlfriend told him she was carrying his child and he cleared out after he cleaned her out. In this situation, Trent has no rights. In this situation, Ethan’s mother makes all the decisions about where her son will be and with whom. She’s made her decisions. She’s communicated them repeatedly. Now, I’ll say it again, return to your vehicle and go home.”

“You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” Peggy snapped.

That was when Merry reached under the hem of his leather jacket and pulled something out of the back pocket of his jeans, that something being the badge he shoved into his belt at his front right hip.

“I know exactly what I’m talkin’ about,” Merry said lethally.

“You called the cops?” Trent asked, his voice high and even more whiny than Ethan’s had been minutes before.

“I didn’t call the cops,” I answered.

“Well, he’s a cop.” Trent jerked his head Merry’s way.

“I am. I’m also her boyfriend,” Merry announced.

Trent’s mouth dropped open, his eyes bugged out, and his torso automatically reared away from Merry.

Peggy’s lips parted, but her eyes squinted so tight, they looked shut.

Trent looked to me and his voice was even higher when he asked, “You’re seein’ a cop?”

“She is,” Merry answered for me. “And as her boyfriend, not a cop, I’m askin’ you one last time to return to your vehicle. You make me ask again, that request will come from a cop.”

All this went down, but it was lost on Peggy.

She was stuck back earlier in the conversation.

“Trent has rights,” she declared, looking between Merry and me.

“That’s simply not the case,” Merry replied. “Not legally. Not informally. The only rights he has are those Cher grants him. And she’s not granting him the right to see Ethan. This means you have no choice but to leave.”

“It means we got no choice but to get Trent legal rights,” she returned.

My heart clenched painfully, but Merry just shrugged.

“That’s your call. But no judge is gonna rise up in a puff of smoke to appear in Cher’s yard to grant them to you right now, so I’ll say it again, turn around and go home.”

No judge is gonna rise up in a puff of smoke…

God, I loved it when Merry was funny, especially when he was funny smack in the middle of Peggy being Peggy and Trent being his normal loser.

Peggy looked to me and threatened, “This isn’t over.”

I looked at her and retorted, “Yes it is.”

“Get ready for the battle of your life,” she warned.

“Already won that,” I fired back. Then I gave her what she needed to try to find it in her to do the right thing. “You can work with me to help you build a relationship with my son, or you can work against me. You work against me, I won’t have to do anything—Ethan will tell you, a judge, he’ll shout it at the top of his lungs that he wants nothing to do with you. And if that’s what my boy wants, that’s what I’ll get for my boy. If you care about him and want him in your life and as a part of your family, you have this window of opportunity to do that the right way. Don’t fuck it up.”

“No judge is gonna let a boy be raised by a woman who’s got no problem usin’ the f-word,” Peggy sniped.

“No judge in this whole fuckin’ country is gonna take my boy away from me,” I returned.

“You’re livin’ a fantasy,” she spat.

“I’m not the one who’s willing to commit the crime of kidnapping,” I said softly.

Her torso swung back, her eyes got wide, and even Trent was smart enough to separate himself from Peggy at this juncture, this bit of news being shared in front of a cop. He shifted away from her side.

“Yeah,” I whispered. “You threatened me. I took action. I’ll keep doin’ that since I got friends who’re good at findin’ out shit, and I’ll find out so much shit about you, about Trent, I’ll bury you. Nothing…not…one…thing is gonna be forced on my kid that he doesn’t want. I’ll go to the mat for that, Peggy. I’ll die for that. I’ll do anything for that. Mark my words, you battle me, you will not win. I’ll fight you every day of my life. I’ll spend every dime I have. And I won’t go down swingin’ because I will not ever quit fightin’.”

Only the barest hint of hesitation crossed her features before she leaned in and hissed, “He needs saved from you.”

Shit, there it was.

“That, that right there,” I returned instantly, “tells me precisely what kind of woman you are and what I gotta protect my boy from.”

That seemed to confuse her.

“We’re his salvation,” she decreed.

Oh my God.

Was she crazy?

“You bring harm to his mother in any way,” Merry entered our conversation, “he’ll think you’re sent straight from hell.”

Trent got close to his wife again, grabbing her arm.