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“Don’t do it. You’ll give them more ammunition against you.” It didn’t matter how reasonable he was. I still wanted to punch something—preferably Marjorie or Glen.
I forced my hands to relax and let them fall to my sides. I hated this, but for my daughter’s sake, I had to be cordial, but that didn’t also mean I needed to welcome them with open fucking arms.
Chapter Four
WREN
Zoey squealed with delight as she ran up to her grandparents.
“Oh crap. What aretheydoing here?” Ruby asked, shock tinging her voice.
“Why shouldn’t they be?” Something big must’ve happened for Ruby, who liked everyone, to say something.
Lila had come to the school a few weeks ago to get Zoey, not knowing her grandparents had picked her up early. Beckett had been understandably furious. After that, we had to remove Marjorie and Glen from the approved list, but I hadn’t heard of any new issues.
Her wide eyes met mine. “You don’t know?”
“Clearly not.” I threw out my hands in frustration.
Ruby glanced around. Once she verified no one was close enough to hear, she leaned in and whispered into my ear. “They are going after Beckett for custody.”
“Whoa.” I glanced at Beckett, noticing the tic in his jaw and his hands clenching and unclenching by his side. I might not like the guy, but poor Zoey was in the middle of all this. “Does Zoey know?”
Ruby shook her head. “I think Beckett’s trying to shield her from it. I don’t know much. This is the first time they’ve talked since the community meeting.” She gestured to Grayson and Beckett.
“Seriously? He’s been pouting that long? Rehabbing the building was the right thing to do. Sucks when money instead of people is the most important thing.” My compassion for Beckett soured.
“Yeah, well…” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “I agree with you that it was the right thing, but the deal they broke with the tech company who had planned to rent the space was lucrative, and Beckett’s afraid they might sue Otzarreta for breach of contract.”
My heart softened a tiny bit for him. “They’re billionaires, and their company has a good reputation. How much would it hurt them?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Beckett feared it would be enough to shut down the branch here in Rhode Island. That other companies wouldn’t trust them to do business. If that happened, he’d have to go back to New York, and he’s afraid a judge would rule in favor of Heather’s parents if staying here is best for Zoey.”
“Staying with her dadiswhat’s best for her.” I couldn't believe I was defending him, especially after today. “She’s lost enough already.” I glanced at Zoey chatting with her grandparents.
She caught my eye and tugged the two of them over to me.
“Ms. Winter! This is my grandma and grandpa.”
I leaned down and smiled at Zoey. “I know. I’ve met them.” I looked at the two individuals causing Beckett so much trouble. They didn’t appear to be terrible people and the few interactions I had with them were normal enough, but I wondered if their grief over the loss of their daughter was guiding their decisions. And sometimes, hurt people hurt others.
“It’s nice to see you again, Ms. Winter.” Marjorie smiled at me and squeezed Zoey’s hand. It was clear they were close.
I glanced at Beckett. His hardened gaze fixated on the two older people in front of me.
“I was just telling Grandma how Daddy saved the day today.” Zoey let go of her grandmother and twirled to make her dress billow around her.
“Oh yeah?” She was such a happy and carefree child most of the time.
“I ripped my dress.” She pulled at the front and the side.
If I looked really close, I could see the additional stitching, but until Zoey pointed it out, I hadn’t noticed. “Wow. Your dad did a great job sewing that.”
She snorted. “Daddy can’t sew. I called him after school, and he took me to his tailor to fix it.”
Damn it.I closed my eyes for a moment and pinched the bridge of my nose. Ugh. Just when I thought Beckett was even more of an asshole, here was proof that he had dropped everything for his daughter. While I still thought he should have reached out to me, I also acknowledged I needed to apologize for my over-the-top rude behavior from today. I cringed as I thought back to flipping him off.
“He could have asked me to do it,” Marjorie muttered under her breath.