Page 15 of May's Bad Boy: Kody

My heart squeezes. "Thank you," I say, barely above a whisper.

We move to the kitchen to clean up what we said could wait earlier. He rinses plates while I dry. The rhythm of it feels natural, easy. When our hands brush over the dish towel, we pause. Neither of us says a word.

When I look up, his eyes are already on me.

There's something in them I haven't seen before. Not just affection. Not just care. Something deeper. Something that makes my breath catch in my throat.

Pride. Admiration. And maybe... something more.

And I realize something, too.

I'm not just the woman who moved in to survive.

I'm becoming someone stronger.

Someone who fights back.

CHAPTER 6

KODY

The morning air is crisp, sharp in a way that wakes you up before the coffee does. Tugging on my boots, I step out into the crisp morning air, the gravel crunching beneath my soles as I head down the drive toward the mailbox to get yesterday's mail. The sun has barely risen over the treetops, casting long shadows across the field, and for a moment everything feels normal.

Until I see the man standing by the gate.

He's wearing slacks and a windbreaker, holding a leather folder and looking entirely out of place in Mustang Mountain. He straightens the second he sees me coming.

"Kody Reed?" he asks, voice clipped.

My gut tightens. "Yeah?"

He nods, flips open the folder, and pulls out a thick envelope. "You've been served."

I stare at the papers as he places them in my hands. It’s as if he's handing me a grenade. No explanation, no apology. He just turns and walks back toward his car parked off to the side of the road, tires crunching against the gravel like punctuation as he drives off.

I don't move.

The envelope feels heavy in my hands. Heavier than it should. Like it already knows what's inside is about to knock the wind out of me.

And when I open it, it does exactly that.

Barely breathing, I glance at the paper. The second I see the header on the first document, my stomach drops.

Motion to Challenge Custody Agreement

Their names are all over it. Sadie's grandparents. Official legal language dressed up in cold ink, but it may as well be a knife to the chest. They're accusing me of fraud. Claiming I married Paige for legal gain. Calling the home I've built unstable and unfit.

And then I see Paige's name.

They've included a dossier on her. Every detail they could dig up or twist: her stay at the women's shelter, a statement from her ex filled with lies about her mental state, notes from medical reports cherry-picked to make her diabetes sound like a liability instead of what it really is—a manageable condition.

"They're coming after her now," I whisper, the words like ash in my mouth.

Not just me, not just Sadie, but now Paige.

I don't remember the walk back to the cabin, but once inside, I toss the envelope onto the table and start pacing like a caged animal while I wait for her to wake. My fists clench. I'm not just furious. I'm wrecked with the need to protect her and not knowing how to undo the damage that ink has already done.

When she finally shuffles into the kitchen, still in her sleep shirt, rubbing her eyes and blinking at me, I know I have to tell her. I can't hide this.

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