Page 46 of Proof

Cullen looked stunned. “Seriously?”

“It’s not work-related.” He was saving that tidbit for later. “Lucinda and Bruce are moving to Chicago. He has an opportunity to join a practice there. So I’m filing for full custody.”

“That is a serious mission. I suppose you have no other choice, right? It would be terrible for all of you if Carter had to move.”

“Correct-o-mundo. I can’t let her take Carter to a city where major crime is up and he’s eight hundred miles away.”

“She can’t just up and leave, right?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it. Besides, we have a binding agreement, and neither of us can take Carter out of the state without notifying the other person. She wanted to do this just between us. Didn’t want to go the legal route. Doesn’t she realize I work in law enforcement? I knew she was an airhead, but I didn’t think it was filled with helium.”

Cullen let out a guffaw. “Wow.” This time, it was a different kind of wow. A heavy load kind of wow.

“We were in my lawyer’s office the other day to discuss this, and she left in a huff.”

“Shouldn’t she have her own lawyer?” Cullen asked.

“Yes, but I wanted someone to start the conversation. See how she’d react. I could have bet on her having a hissy fit.”

“She can’t possibly think she can just up and leave with your son.”

“She thinks being a mother is some kind of free pass for anything. ‘A boy needs his mother.’ That routine. And from what Carter said, she has very little interaction with him. You know what he told me? He said he felt like a visitor when he was at his mother’s house. It nearly broke my heart. A kid shouldn’t have to feel that way with his own mother.”

“Wow.” Cullen’s vocabulary was reduced to monosyllabic words. “And he never said anything to you?”

“Not a word. But Carter is like that. He doesn’t want to disappoint me. Her. His teachers. He’s a borderline overachiever. But I’m not going to discourage that, unless it becomes a problem.”

“Parenting is no picnic,” Cullen pondered.

“Carter and I have a great relationship. He’ll talk to me about anything. Anything except how he feels being at Lucinda’s. I guess the problems there have become more evident to him the older he gets. When he was younger, he had a lot of distractions. Lucinda’s parents would visit on a regular basis, so he was usually surrounded by people who paid attention to him. They moved to Scottsdale, so he rarely sees them now. Plus, he’s going through puberty.”

“Wow.” Cullen blinked several times. “I don’t know how you do it. I can barely figure out my sister, let alone be responsible for a kid. And I’ve known her for almost forty years.”

Chris laughed. “I don’t know if anyone will ever figure out your sister, but it’s fun trying.”

The two walked to their car and drove to one of Chris’s favorite bistros. Good food, casual atmosphere. They continued their conversation, with Chris saying, “I’m worried about how Luna is going to take this change. It’s going to be a pain in the butt until the legal work is wrapped up. Lucinda is not going to go quietly, but if the judge gives Carter the option of staying with me, she will have the biggest conniption in the history of North Carolina.”

“She wouldn’t dare just take him, would she?”

“She may be a helium-head, but she’s not completely daft. She knows she would be committing a federal crime by taking a child illegally out of state, and as it happens, I am a federal marshal who works in child abductions.”

“Excellent point.”

“Besides, I think Carter would put up a fight. He knows the rules. And he doesn’t want to go. We discussed this the other night. We’re lining up our ducks, and I’m preparing for a lot of screaming and yelling. On her part, not mine.”

“What does Luna think about all this?” Cullen asked.

“I haven’t told her yet, so please don’t mention this to her until I have the opportunity. What I want is your opinion. What do you think she’ll say? Her reaction? If I get full custody, it’s going to change things. When she comes to Charlotte, Carter will be at home with me. And it will be a challenge to come here every other weekend, unless I can find somewhere for Carter to go. Maybe he can stay at a friend’s, but we’re not there yet. It’s going to be an adjustment, for sure.”

Cullen sat quietly for a moment. “Luna loves you. And she loves Carter. Sure, it will be an adjustment, but Luna is a free spirit. She’ll go where the universe takes her.” Cullen smirked.

Chris laughed. Cullen wasn’t wrong. If it felt right, Luna would go with the flow. He hoped it would feel right to her.

They finished their dinner, got the check, and drove to Luna’s house. Chris had left his car at the center; Luna was going to drive him back there the next day. The lights were on, and soft bossa nova music glided from the windows. They could hear Chi-Chi singing along with the sultry music. Had she any idea how seductive she was? The men looked at each other as if reading each other’s minds. “I give you a lot of credit, my man,” Chris said. “I’d be taking a cold shower every night.”

“Don’t think I don’t.” Cullen snickered.

Luna greeted them at the door and gave Chris a peck on the cheek. Chi-Chi continued to sing and sway to “The Girl from Ipanema” by Antônio Carlos Jobim. Cullen thought the words—about a man who does not know how to tell a woman he loves her—could not be more appropriate at that particular moment.

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