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Judge Marlon held up a hand. “You are, but Eric is settled in his current home. And I believe it’s not beneficial to him to have him move schools at this point in time. And speaking of your fatherhood, I’m also going to be opening a case involving child support for you, Mr. Pines.”
“Are youserious?”Waldren complained.
“I-I don’t need child support,” Cain said.
“It’s not about needing it. Waldren has a responsibility to you. We’ll also be considering back child support, considering you’ve funded Eric’s needs for most of his life.”
“Absolutely not!” Waldren snapped.
“You’re the one who established paternity and wanted contact with your child. If you refuse to follow the court orders, then I’m sure Mr. Smith would be happy to continue providingallof Eric’s care.”
Waldren glared. Cain kept his gaze on Judge Marlon, but the tension in his shoulders was obvious. This wasn’t the worst-case scenario, but neither of us trusted Eric’s biological father. I knew it was going to be next to impossible for Cain to let Eric go with Waldren.
“The first weekend with Waldren will be in two weeks,” Judge Marlon said. “I’ll be watching closely to ensure this does not negatively affect the child in any way, and if it does, we will furtherreview.”
As the session was called to a close, I opened my phone to message Jackie, who was anxiously waiting for an update.
Cain kept primary custody. But he does have to let Eric go with Waldren for the weekends.
Jackie
Oh no.
Well, I had a celebratory cake and an I’m sorry cake. I suppose we’ll eat both. I’ll let him break it to Eric, even though he’s asked me a hundred times.
As people filtered out, I caught up with Cain.
“Are you okay?”
He only let out a long breath in response. I winced and rubbed his back. We passed by Waldren, who was loudly complaining about the outcome, and got in the truck to go home.
“I don’t like this,” he said as we drove. “Olivia had to have a reason she didn’t want him in Eric’s life.”
“I agree. We can hope he’s more than he seems, but on the bright side, the letters worked. You keep primary custody.”
“I owe the town a thank you ... orsomething.Once I get through letting him go with that fucking idiot.”
“Jackie said we’ll have both cakes tonight after you explain everything to Eric.”
“After I explain it to Eric,” he repeated in a wilted murmur. “Fuck.”
“Need help figuring out what to say?”
“Please.”
He looked at me with the same awed expression he always had when I jumped in to help. I only hoped that one day this wouldn’t be so hard for him, and that everything would turn out okay.
But I had a terrible feeling about all of this.
“After everything he’s done, nowthis?” Jackie shook her head.
I looked up the stairs. Cain had come home and gone right to Eric to explain what had happened. I was giving them space when Jackie found me. She seemed as torn up as Cain was, and I didn’t blame her.
“I’m glad it wasn’t the worst it could be,” I said. “Still. He’s been the only caregiver for Eric for years.”
“He barely let me watch him before you came around,” she said. “He’s such a good kid. He doesn’t deserve this.”
“He’s not alone,” I said. “He has us.”