He chuckled and opened his mouth to reply, but he didn’t get the words out.
“Incoming,” Tanner whispered.
We all turned and saw Brady and his wife striding toward us, his angry, green gaze leveled on me.
Porter rolled his shoulders back and straightened so he stood a little taller, his muscles flexing under the confines of his suit.
“Ignore him,” I said, leaning into my man’s side.
Porter grunted in acknowledgment, but he tracked Brady all the way until he disappeared into the courtroom.
“You two ready?” Mark asked, Victoria smoothing her skirt out beside him.
I looked up at Porter. “Are we ready?”
His eyes blazed with determination as he stared down at me. “Let’s do this.”
Together, we walked into the courtroom, our attorneys leading the way. The last time we’d been in that room, Porter and I had been on opposite sides. Now, it was Brady who sat across the aisle.
Tension was thick in the air, but Porter kept his hand firmly in mine as we were seated. After a few moments of waiting, Judge Gratham came in, his scrutinizing gaze sweeping through the room.
“Please be seated,” he said, sinking into his chair. “Well, this is a different seating arrangement since the last time. Mr. Boyd, it seems you are at the wrong table.”
Brady’s attorney pushed to his feet. “No, your honor. My client has—”
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Full custody. I read all the paperwork. I’m interested in hearing from Mr. Boyd about this sudden change though.”
Brady whispered something to his attorney and then rose to his feet. “I no longer feel that it is in Lucas’s best interest to remain in Charlotte’s care. She has continuously proven that she is unable to put her personal life aside and make objective decisions for his well-being. She knowingly put him in danger only a few days ago, which resulted in him collapsing into a pond, where he had to be resuscitated.”
I blinked. There was no fucking way I’d heard him correctly.
Shooting to my feet, I asked, “Are you blaming me for him having a heart attack?”
The judge motioned for me to sit with two fingers, and Mark and Victoria both tried to pull me down. Porter didn’t move. Not even an inch. His jaw was ticking and his eyes were aimed forward at the judge, an inferno brewing within.
“As I was saying,” Brady continued. “Her continuous involvement with Mr. Reese has not only gone against the order of protection issued by this court, but it has also impaired my ability to develop a relationship with my son.”
“And there it is.” I laughed sardonically. “The real reason why we’re here.”
“Ms. Mills,” the judge said, turning his icy glare on me. “Do not make me have you removed from this courtroom. You’ll have a chance to speak in a minute.”
I grumbled and lowered myself back into my chair.
Porter still hadn’t moved.
Brady grinned victoriously. “Furthermore, Charlotte has yet to secure any kind of housing for our son. She is currently living in a one-bedroom apartment that is not suitable for a young boy. I have a home where he could have his own bedroom and plenty of space to move around. It just makes sense that he be placed with me. And, honestly, the only reason I didn’t press this issue sooner is that Charlotte seemed unstable when we first got Lucas back and I feared for our son’s safety if I pushed her over the edge.”
My mouth fell open as I stared at him. Shock and surprise mingled in a heady combination with betrayal and anger. Brady and I weren’t close by any stretch of the imagination, but this was a new all-time low for him.
“How do you sleep at night?” I whispered, the hurt thick in my tone.
Porter’s hand dropped to my lap, but I was too wound up to play the hand holding game.
Brady’s gaze flicked to mine and bounced away just as quickly.
Lifting my hand in the air like a grade school student, I asked, “May I please speak now, your honor?”
He motioned for Brady to sit. Then he leaned back in his chair, intertwined his fingers, and rested them on his round stomach. “By all means, Ms. Mills.”
“My son, Travis”—I aimed a pointed scowl at Brady—“was born with a heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy. In short, his heart is enlarged and cannot efficiently pump blood. Due to decreased heart function, this condition can affect other organs in the body. And, for our son, his lungs have struggled the most. Now, with that said, nothing I did or didn’t do caused my son to collapse the other day. However, as a medical professional, I’m willing to wager that the stress of the last few weeks has taken its toll on his already frail body. So, if anyone wants to point the finger at why he is laid up in a hospital bed right now, slowly fading away while waiting for a new heart to become available, it would be aimed at every single person in this room in one way or another.
“And as far as Brady calling me unstable? I honestly don’t know how to respond to that. It’s not only insulting and untrue, but it’s disgusting to me that he would even go there after the hell we’ve been through. The last few weeks have been an emotional hurricane for all of us, but Travis has always been my number-one priority. I’ve taken a leave of absence from work, and finding a new house is at the top of my list. Between these court dates, ensuring Travis is able to spend ample time with Brady, and my son’s numerous doctors’ appointments and, now, hospital visits, there hasn’t been a lot of time left in the day. We are all still adjusting. I am no exception.”
I swallowed hard and then sucked in a deep breath that did nothing to soothe the nerves tap-dancing in my stomach. “Now, I’m not here to discuss or defend my private relationship with Porter Reese. However, it is impossible to discuss my son without talking about him.”
I lifted the stack of papers Rita had delivered. “This is over one hundred signed statements from people who have interacted with Travis and Porter over the years. You will find letters from doctors, nurses, teachers, babysitters, employees, former employees, therapists, neighbors.” I paused to smile. “I think there might even be a grocery store clerk or two. But, regardless of who they are, they all say the exact same thing. Porter loves his children.” My voice cracked under the heavy weight of that truth.
“Jesus,” he breathed beside me, taking the papers from my hand and starting to flip through them.
“It took me less than two days to get all of those statements,” I told the judge. “I think I only made maybe five calls, and then those five people made five more calls, and so on and so forth. It was the easiest thing I’ve ever done. People came out of the woodwork wanting to support Porter.”
“Jesus,” he repeated.
I cleared my throat. “So, back to why I’m telling you this. My son is amazing. He’s happy. He’s received top-notch medical treatment. Private tutors. And he even went to Disney World with his family a few years back.” My chin quivered and I forced a grin to cover it. “I know this because he’s told me about it no less than twelve dozen times.” My nose stung as I admitted, “I wasn’t there for any of those things. But that doesn’t mean I’m not grateful they happened. It’s hard not to be jealous that someone else was there for your child when he grew up.” I turned to look at Brady, tears falling from my eyes. “I swear I get it. You want to be his dad. His only dad. But the reason you can’t build a relationship with your son has nothing to do with Porter and everything to do with the fact that you’re building it on a foundation of jealousy. Porter shouldn’t even be in your equation.”
Brady sheepishly looked away, so I turned my attention back to the judge.
“I guess what I’m saying is, of all the ways this horrible ordeal could have turned out, I’m just happy this is how it ended. Porter took exceptional care of our child when we were not there to do it. So, yeah, my relationship with him aside, he deserves to be in Travis’s life.” I sniffled and barely managed to choke out, “A child can never be loved by too many good people.”
Porter suddenly rose to his feet, curled his hand around the back of my neck, and dragged me into his chest. “Jesus Christ. Stop talking.”