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“Right.” Savannah held the phone tightly to her ear. Everything had a million moving parts to it lately, and this was one large chunk of those moving parts. “Was he…mad?”

“Yes.” Kevin Brock’s voice echoed through the phone at her.

Savannah wanted to shake, but she couldn’t allow herself to do that. Not yet. This was her worst nightmare coming true. Going back to court with Forrest, fighting again for custody, it was going to open every wound she’d thought she’d closed. But it had to be worth it in the end. It had to be for Brinley, to make her life better, to give her what she needed—stability.

“And the protection order?”

“It’s been filed. Everything is in place. These next seventy-two hours are going to be the most trying while he processes the new information, and while he reacts to it, but I’m not convinced he’ll show up at your door. Not now.”

Were all good lawyers this cocky? Athena certainly was, and Kevin Brock seemed to be, at least the few times Savannah had met with him so far. Taking on two lawsuits at once was taxing, and the weight of both was so heavy that Savannah had struggled to even get out of bed that morning. Her life hadbecome lawyers and paperwork. She longed for the days when she could simply go to work, watch a few practices on the rink, and come home at the end of the day to spend some one-on-one time with Brinley.

Savannah’s phone buzzed in her hand. She pulled it away from her ear and winced at Forrest’s name popping up on the screen. “He’s calling.”

“Don’t answer it. Don’t respond to any texts. And keep records of absolutely every interaction the two of you have. This is one of the most intense times you’re going to have, Savannah. But I’m confident we’ll win this case.”

“Right.” She closed her eyes and leaned against the kitchen counter. If she didn’t deal with the dinner on the stove soon, it’d burn. But she couldn’t bring herself to grab the spatula. Not yet.

“You have the officer’s name I gave you?”

“Yeah, I do.” Savannah glanced toward the living room, barely managing to see the edge of her couch through the kitchen doorway.

“Keep it close, and call me immediately if something else happens.”

“I will.”

“Stay safe, Savannah.” Kevin hung up.

Cast into silence, Savannah stayed still. There was no going back now. She’d served him, she was suing him, and she had to win because if she didn’t, the consequences were going to be detrimental to everyone in the family, but especially Brinley.

“What’s for dinner?” Brinley’s voice startled her.

Savannah immediately snagged the spatula and moved the chicken around the skillet. “Uh… chicken parmesan.”

“How much longer?” The added extra whine in her tone was nearly too much.

“Maybe ten minutes.”

“Okay!” Brinley stepped forward and looked over the food cooking on the stove before she skittered off to the living room. She should probably be doing homework or something, but Savannah didn’t have the heart or the energy to chase her down for it. Not tonight. Not with that phone call from Kevin.

If only Conrad were alive. Then Savannah would have at least one person who understood the entire situation and was able to give her sound advice. But it really wasn’t advice she wanted. She’d made the decision. She wanted the support. She could call Kyla, but something held her back.

It wasn’t just burdening Kyla with more of her drama than necessary, but Kyla had been distant at best since she’d agreed to sue the hospital. In fact, talking to her had been so hard that Savannah hadn’t done it—not outside the normal check-ins and random memes and videos that she’d send via text message.

“Dad won’t stop calling.” Brinley handed the phone to Savannah.

Frowning, Savannah stared at it. “When did you take my phone?”

“I thought I’d watch a video.” Brinley shrugged and bounced out of the room again.

Thank God she hadn’t answered the call. That’d go against everything Kevin had told her to do. But that didn’t mean Brinley hadn’t seen any obnoxious text messages from Forrest either. Fuck, Savannah was going to have to lock down her phone again and force Brinley not to use it throughout the course of the lawsuit, wasn’t she? Sighing, Savannah ran her fingers through her hair and pulled on the ends. The shot of pain that moved through her scalp was as good a reminder as any that she was here, she was alive, and she would live to see another day.

“When’s Fallon coming over again? I miss her.”

Savannah winced. She hadn’t even broached that subject with Brinley and now she supposed she didn’t have a choice. “I don’t know when Fallon will be coming again.”

“Well, what’s she doing tonight? Ask her to come over.”

“Brin…” Savannah bit the inside of her cheek. This was the last thing that she needed. The pain from her last conversation with Fallon, the struggle to walk through the mess of a friendship they’d created, and the fact that Savannah hadn’t protected Brinley from that friendship was exactly what was going to put her over the edge. “Not tonight.”