Page 31 of Proof

Lucinda sat in the reception area, sending dagger looks at everyone who walked into the office. She was fuming, and she didn’t care who knew or what they thought. It wasn’t as if people had any right to judge her or her situation. Most people waiting in a lawyer’s office were probably there because there was a problem. Evan dealt with family law, so there was a good chance every person in the office had something major going on in their lives. But Lucinda was self-centered. Whatever their problems were didn’t matter to her. The only thing that mattered was how this situation was going to affect her plans. She was ready for a battle, especially after she heard Chris’s voicemail informing her Monica was going to call to set up an appointment. She kept checking her watch, anticipating Chris would be late due to his job. His job. Everything had to do with his job.

Chris walked in exactly on time and was totally prepared for her ire. What did she expect? That she could take his kid halfway across the country without a fight? Did she not know him after all this time? Chris was an easygoing guy when it came to many things, but not when it came to his job or his son.

“Lucinda,” Chris greeted her. She ignored him and turned her back. “Great,” he muttered. He caught the eye of another man sitting across the room. The man gave Chris a sympathetic look. The brotherhood of divorced men, especially those dealing with an angry ex-wife. Chris had paid his dues to this particular club. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his legs. He was ready for a fight.

Chris spotted Monica walking in his direction. She told them Evan was ready and then escorted Lucinda and Chris into Evan’s office. As Chris rose from his chair, the man sitting across the room gave him a thumbs-up. Chris nodded and smiled. Then he chuckled to himself, thinking there should be some kind of secret handshake among this club of exes.

Monica opened the door to Evan’s office. “I’ll be at my desk if you need me.” She turned and left.

Evan stood as the two entered the room. “Lucinda,” he said cordially. She nodded but said nothing, sat, placed her purse on her lap, and waited. “Chris.” The men shook hands. It wasn’t a secret handshake, but it might as well have been. Evan was going to win this case for his friend.

Evan began. “I understand you have plans to move out of state,” he said to Lucinda.

“Yes, I do.” A curt answer.

“When is this going to take place?”

“In six months.” Another curt answer.

Evan pushed ahead. “Do you have an exact date?”

“Not yet.”

“When do you think you will know?”

“I’m not sure.”

“And is it your intention to take Carter with you?”

“I’m his mother.”

“True. But as of now, you have joint custody, and you need to get a court order to take him out of state.”

“Not if Chris will agree to it. I don’t understand why we have to go through all of this.”

“Because you . . .” Chris’s voice trailed off. He wanted to say, “Because you can’t be trusted,” but stopped short. No point in starting an argument on top of a disagreement.

Lucinda shot him a nasty look. “Because I what?” Her voice was shrill.

“Nothing.” He leaned back in his chair, letting Evan take the wheel.

“Lucinda, you have to understand that you signed a legal document regarding custody. If you take Carter out of state, you could be charged with kidnapping.”

“That is ridiculous!” This time a louder shrill.

“No, it’s the law.” Evan paused to give her time to digest what the ramifications of such an action would be.

“I would not be kidnapping my son. He’s my son.” Lucinda spat out the words.

Chris couldn’t hold back any longer. “He is our son. Plural. Yours and mine.”

She folded her arms and looked away.

Evan was quite familiar with situations like this one. Everyone thought they were right, and the other person was wrong.

“You are going to need a court order, Lucinda. That’s all there is to it.”

“We’ll just see about that.” With that, she got up and stormed out of the office.

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