“She wants to take Grace away from me?” Zach asked, sitting very still. “She thinks I’ve been a bad father?”
“No, actually. She is seeking joint custody,” Bill answered.
“How can she do that?” Jude asked. “She gave up custody when Grace was born.”
“Parenting plans are rarely set in stone, Jude. In this case, Alexa will need to show a substantial change in circumstances—which getting out of prison certainly provides.”
“So what will happen?” Zach asked.
“First, we’ll have what’s called an adequate-cause hearing, which establishes only that her circumstances have changed enough to move forward. Next comes the motion for a temporary order. This will establish the custody or visitation rights pending trial. Realistically, it will be at least a year before we actually go to trial. A guardian ad litem will be appointed by the court to determine what the best interests of the child are and to represent Grace’s interests.”
“It sounds expensive,” Miles said. “How can she afford that?”
“Probably a Legal Aid lawyer. Or someone might handle the case pro bono,” Bill said.
“At best she’ll get visitation rights; at worst, joint custody. Know this, though: the court will be pushing for reunification with the mother unless she’s clearly unfit or poses a danger to Grace.”
“You’re saying she’ll be a part of our lives forever,” Jude said.
“She already is,” Miles answered. “She’s Grace’s—”
“I wasn’t speaking to you,” Jude hissed at her husband. To their lawyer, she said, “But she is unfit. She abandoned Grace at birth and never even sent her a birthday card. She has no job, no family around here. Her own mother was a felon and a drug addict. Who’s to say what friends she made in prison? We wouldn’t want Grace exposed to people like that.”
“Mom,” Zach said, straightening. “Come on. That’s not even fair. Lexi is nothing like her mother.”
“You have to fight her on this,” Bill said, giving Zach a steely look. “You’re a father now. Not a high school kid. Your job is to protect Grace; to do that, you need to preserve your rights. If Alexa got custody, even partial, who is to say she wouldn’t take off with Grace? And she made a choice, as I understand it. She’s never communicated with Grace. Not once. That doesn’t exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling about her parenting. We have to do what’s in your daughter’s best interest. At least for now, we have to keep her away from Grace.”
“Absolutely,” Jude said.
“How is that in Grace’s best interests?” Zach said. “Lexi is her mother.”
Bill opened a file. “I’ll tell you how it’s in her best interests. I’ve read Alexa’s prison record, Zach, and it’s not pretty. There are reasons she served an extra six months. Fighting. Not following the rules. She was found buying drugs in prison more than once. Valium, I believe, among others. You know who she was, Zach, but prison changes people, and it looks like your Alexa made some bad choices there. You don’t know her anymore. Do you really think Grace is safe around a person like that?”
“Drugs?” Zach said, frowning.
“And with her family history. I don’t think she’s the girl you remember, Zach. She spent a lot of time in solitary confinement. She broke a woman’s nose,” Bill said. “She could actually be dangerous.”
Zach sat back in his chair, sighing heavily. “Drugs,” he said again, shaking his head.
“We’ll fight her,” Jude said. “We have no choice.”
Bill nodded. “Good. I’ll file our response and let you know when the adequate-cause hearing is scheduled.”
*
“I’m hurting them again, Scot,” Lexi said, pacing her lawyer’s office.
“Yeah,” Scot said. “I imagine they don’t want to be reminded of … what happened.”
“What I did.”
“What you did isn’t the sum total of who you are, Lexi. We’re not even talking about you here. This is about your daughter. You love her, and she needs you. That’s what you have to focus on now. That’s what you can control. The Farradays’ grief is their problem.”
She had been ruined again by just seeing Zach. Wanting him made her want to run away again, to hide. How long would she love him?
“I saw how much Zach loves her,” Lexi said softly.