Page 175 of The Woman By the Lake

His son had been doing his best to protect his mom, be a big boy and take it, and he did good, but apparently, there was only so much a kid could take.

So…

Right.

Decision made.

Easy.

He was going for full custody, and he was going to be co-plaintiff with Storm.

“Then I want you staying at your gramme’s,” he amended.

“When you said you’d listen to me if something is important, you also said you were going to try not to stand in the way of me becoming a man,” Ledger returned.

“This is one of those times I gotta make a decision with you still being a kid.”

“Would you let anything hurt me?”

“Never. But?—”

“How would you feel, even at my age, if someone sent you away from Gramme?”

Goddammit.

He tried to find an argument for that.

He couldn’t find an argument for that.

“Shit goes down, you do what I say, no backtalk,” Riggs gave in.

Ledger smiled. It wasn’t victorious. It was grateful.

“Thanks, Dad.”

Fuck.

“Right, now. Second topic,” Riggs began. “If I can do better at talking Nadia into doing what I think is right for her, unlike how this just went down with you, Nadia’s going to be staying with us again.”

Ledger went back to his eggs, muttering, “Cool with me.”

“Ledger, it’s gonna be different this time.” Shit, this was tougher than he thought it would be. “See, she and me are together this time. We care about each other. And we like spending time together. And when a man and woman are like that, they sleep in the same bed.”

Ledger began studiously eating his eggs.

“I know your mom has men staying over,” he said quietly.

Ledger took a massive bite of toast so his mouth would be full so he didn’t have to respond immediately.

God, he loved his kid.

“I’m gonna let it slide, you didn’t tell me,” Riggs shared. “Part of that not standing in the way of you becoming a man. But Nadia and me being together isn’t like that. This is going to be now, while this stuff gets sorted out, and after that happens, it’s going to be regularly. And if it works out with her and me, and we take the next step, it’ll be all the time.”

“I like her,” Ledger said.

“I know. But you and me need?—”

“Dad, thanks for talking to me about it, but I like her. I like you having her because you seem, I don’t know, different. Happier, or something. Whatever. So, yeah, she’s around more, and you’re more happy, and I like her, and I’m more happy, and we get Gia at our house more, so I’m okay with it.”

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