Page 72 of Second Start: Family
Completely.
And, truth be told, he hadn’t had that feeling before his mom’s stay for a long, long time. Not ever in his marriage to Annie.
“Is it okay if we — Vicky and I — take pictures of the papers and send them to Eric to look over?” Kenzie asked. “He and Dave Currick said he’s the best one to handle this and he doesn’t want to wait to see the language tomorrow, when he can get an official copy.”
“Yeah.”
“Good. This is all … if you want to fight this. Eric said to be sure you understand it won’t be fun and—”
“I want to fight.”
“Okay. We’ll send him pictures right now. Then he wants to talk to you when you come back to pick up the papers.”
“Be there in fifteen. Kenzie. Thank you.”
“See you soon, Hall.”
He’d find the money. No matter what.
*
Hall came downstairs from getting the girls in bed and checking on Bobby.
He felt like he’d put in five days of work since he’d opened the envelope with those official papers.
He’d talked to Eric Larkin briefly when he returned to the schoolhouse to pick up the papers. Then two more times after he got home and could pace outside in privacy with the kids inside. Along with the routine of feeding and caring for his kids and overseeing their feeding and caring for the animals. Then bedtime.
Now, Dan immediately got up from the couch and started for the stairs himself.
“Dan. Sit down. We’ve got something to talk about.”
“I’m tired. And there’s a test tomorrow—”
“Sit. We’re going to talk.”
“Like you ever hear what I say,” his son grumbled.
“I heard that.” To Hall’s surprise, he heard some humor in his own voice. It fled as he pointed to a chair at the table.
Dan dropped into it like it was the most unreasonable thing asked of any human being.
“You know something’s going on.”Do you know what it is? Did you conspire with your aunt?“Read this and we’ll talk about it.”
He put the papers in front of Dan.
They were battered from all the handling today, not the least of it from his fisting them in the initial surge of anger and … other reactions.
Still looking at the papers, a frown of concentration pulling his brows down, Dan said, “So I go to school in Cheyenne either way.”
“If Naomi gets her way, you’d live with her. She’d be a guardian.”
“It’s just limited. Not like that thing kids can get from their parents — emancipated. That’s the whole thing. Not like this. It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s a very big deal.”
Hall held his son’s gaze. Dan looked away.
“Have you been talking to your aunt about this? Or messaging? Or — in communication with her.”
