First Surrender (Chance Encounters #3)

Chapter Forty-Four

Jackson

“ J ackson… Who are these people?” Nat asks me in a hushed tone, looking past me. Today is custody day.

I glance over my shoulder to confirm who she means. “They’re my friends. They came to support us.”

“They don’t even know me. Or, Dec.”

“They will. As soon as I filled them in on what’s been happening, they didn’t hesitate. They’re good people, trust me.”

“I do, but what if they don’t like me?” She sounds so worried that I’d make fun of her for it any other day, but not today. She has enough stress on her shoulders.

“You’re a part of my life now, they know how important you are to me. They’ll love you like I do.” I look at her sincerely because I need her to believe it and even though I haven’t said the words outright, she knows they’re true.

She only rests her cheek in my palm briefly as confirmation, looking at me with those big dark eyes that own me completely.

Nathan and Callie slide into the row behind me, Jesse and Thea following suit. I haven’t seen any of them since Jesse and Thea’s wedding a few months ago and so much has changed since then.

Nathan claps a hand on my shoulder when I turn toward them. “Malec,” he says in greeting.

“Thanks for being here.”

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world, brother.” Jesse shakes my hand while Thea leans against his side.

“I’m Callie, it’s nice to meet you,” she speaks past me, waving to Natalie behind the bar, where she’s standing next to Dec. “This is my husband, Nathan. His sister, Thea, and her husband, Jesse.” She points down the line to each respective person, her warm smile never faulting, silently welcoming Nat to the group.

“Thank you, for coming,” Natalie responds quietly. It’s out of character for her, but I suspect this type of support is strange. “This is Dec.” She squeezes his shoulder but he’s too busy playing a game on his Gameboy to turn around.

“I don’t want to hear a peep out of you guys when I turn on my lawyer voice,” Liv says from her side of the bar, meeting Natalie at their table. “Thea always makes fun of me.”

“I do not!” She scoots out of her row to come closer, hugging Liv tightly. It’s thanks to her that we obtained Liv as council in the first place. She was willing to travel here to Rollins from the coast to help us out and I’ll be forever grateful.

Liv’s smiling with her hand plastered to Thea’s stomach, rubbing gently.

There’s only one reason someone would do that, but Thea looks almost the same as she always does under her flowy skirt and sweater. I glance at Jesse and he nods his head with a smile.

“Congratulations,” I tell Thea sincerely as she slides back to Jesse.

“Thank you, Malec.” Her smile is just as sincere and I have to bite my tongue to resist telling them how eager I am about having a child now. But, that conversation can wait.

Natalie would smack me on the back of the head for sharing that information without consulting her.

When I turn to her, she’s looking at Thea’s stomach thoughtfully, but distantly. I intertwine our fingers and her eyes ping to mine. “You okay?” I ask her quietly.

“Yeah, I’m just ready to bring Dec home for good.”

“Me too.”

She smiles softly and I kiss her quickly as Judge Reisner enters the room. “Where’s the petitioner?” He says before he makes it to his chair. Declan Randolph isn’t here, yet.

“My client will be here, your honor. Car troubles.” Declan’s lawyer explains. I don’t believe him but Reisner gives us a ten-minute window anyway, giving Declan a chance to arrive.

Every passing minute is agony. Natalie’s feet tap impatiently while she puts on a brave face for Dec. He insisted on being here today. He made his choice, he knows he wants to stay with his sister no matter what.

Eight minutes after the original start time, Declan strolls through the doors and down the aisle to his seat without a care in the world. His usual posse follows close behind, taking up an audience in the rows parallel to us.

“Thank you for joining us Mr. Randolph, let’s begin.” Judge Reisner starts his breakdown of the facts, allowing the court reporter to fill in the necessary information before the lawyers begin their back and forth.

“Let’s cut to the chase,” Reisner interludes, throwing the normal procedure out the window. Even Liv looks surprised, waiting to hear what he has to say. “I’ve been made aware of multiple instances where Mr. Randolph has stepped out of line in the last few weeks. You’ve only just gotten out of jail and you’ve already been harassing your son at school and making passive threats.”

“Bullshit, claims,” Declan shouts out. “Your honor,” he adds as if that will soften the crudeness of his outburst.

“You trespassed at his school and his current home, you ran over his bike, and you’ve still not provided any concrete proof of residency or work. I’ve seen the video evidence. You are not a safe fit for your son. The biological parent isn’t always the best choice. Custody is granted to Natalie Halstead. The Order of Protection also stands, stay away from Declan Jr. My decision is final.” He pounds his gavel and the whole room is silent, absorbing the weight of his spontaneous speech.

“Thank you, your honor,” Liv says, jumping up from her seat to address him properly. In an instant, Natalie is grasping Dec around the shoulders, hugging him with all her strength.

I’m dumbfounded. That was almost too easy.

“We did it!” Natalie and Dec turn to me, hugging me tightly over the bar. I hold onto them while our wall of support cheers from behind us. That’s it, it’s over. Dec’s finally safe.

“Fuck you, this isn’t right!” Declan yells, pushing past his lawyer.

One giant step and I’m over the bar and putting myself between the crazy bastard and my family. “Get out of here Declan, or I’ll throw your ass in jail,” I threaten.

“I’ll hold you in contempt, son!” Reisner bellows from his stand. He looks as pissed off as I probably do.

My job is to keep the peace but I’ve never been more prepared to fight. I’d enjoy knocking Declan Randolph on his ass but I’m in my right mind enough to keep Dec from witnessing it. He’s a bad man, but he’s still his father.

“We’re not done,” Declan looks at me briefly, but his gaze fully settles behind me. On Natalie.

I grab him by his shirt collar and pull him dangerously close. “Come near them and I’ll make sure you disappear,” I whisper in his ear just as two more deputies come into the room to back me up.

“Jackson, he’s doing this on purpose. Let him go.” Natalie says from behind me, tugging on the back of my shirt.

“We’ve got it from here, Sheriff. Stay with your family.” The two deputies escort the grinning Declan and his foot soldiers out while I try to regain my composure.

She’s right, he almost got exactly what he wanted, a spectacle with me at the center.

By the time I turn around to assess the rest of the room, Natalie is by the far wall, comforting Dec. Thea, Callie, and Liv form a protective half circle around them while Jesse and Nathan stand defensively between them and the rest of the room.

It’s cleared out now, the danger is gone, but I’ve never been more thankful for the friendships that I’ve found. These are the people that Natalie and Dec deserve in their corner.