Page 13 of In this Moment

“He can’t have custody, Russ.” She struggled to keep her voice even. “There’s no way. I won’t let it happen. I can’t.”

“Calm down.” Russ spoke slowly. “We’ll figure it out. I just got off the phone with Tony’s lawyer and what he said is true—he does want to go after a new custody arrangement.”

“What kind of new arrangement?”

Russ paused, and Evie knew she wasn’t going to like what she heard. “Well, it’s actually quite aggressive.”

“Aggressive?”

That word should never be used when it came to discussing child custody arrangements. There should absolutely be nothing aggressive about where Jonah lived. He lived with her. That was it. End of story. There was no way Tony could waltz into town after eight years and demand anything different. Tony was a lot of things, but he wasn’t delusional.

“He’s going after full custody.”

Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. “What?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“I don’t want you to panic.”

How could she not? He’d just told her the worst possible news. How was she supposed to staycalm?

Evie swallowed hard. “How can he do that? I’m Jonah’s mother. He can’t possibly have any right to that kind of arrangement.”

“He doesn’t.”

She took a full breath.

“Well, he shouldn’t,” Russ continued. “Honestly, I think they’re going after this hard because they intend to settle for a fifty-fifty split.”

Evie shook her head. No. She would not share him. She couldn’t. “How is that fair? To Jonah? To me?” She turned so she was leaning against the counter. “He’s been with me for eight years. He doesn’t even know his father. How does it make sense to let him have split custody? This is crazy.”

“I agree, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” Russ said. “But I’ve been hearing more and more about these types of situations where fathers are demanding equal treatment.”

“But…it…”

“I just need you to stay calm, Evie.” Russ’s voice did help to soothe her, but not enough for her to be anywhere near calm. “We’ll figure it out. In the meantime, we need to present a strong case for why being with you is in the best interest of Jonah.”

That was ridiculous. She shouldn’t have to make a case for her parenting. She’d done a great job for the last eight years. Jonah was a great kid. Everyone knew that. She told Russ asmuch.

“I agree,” he said. “But it’s not enough. The judge will want to see a strong family situation. Tony is presenting his case as a stable family for Jonah. He’s married and they have plans to expand their family. The court likes to see siblings kept together as a complete familyunit.”

Evie almost choked. Siblings? Complete familyunit?

She was Jonah’s family.

There was a knock on the glass that distracted her momentarily.

Declan McCormick stood at the glass, a paper bag and a coffee cup in his hand. He smiled and she lifted her hand in a weakwave.

On the phone, Russ was still talking about family units and children and husbands. “Wait,” Evie stopped him. “What did you just say about a husband? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well…”

“Russ, just tell me. Please.”

He sighed audibly. “It’s just that you’re a single mom, Evie.”

“I knowthat.”

“Of course you do,” he continued. “It’s just that lately, there’s been a leaning toward families that can provide a stable environment for the children. Judges prefer to see a two-parent household. I know it’s not progressive or whatever you want to call it, but the theory is that children really need two parents and with Tony having a wifeand—”

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