Page 51 of Catching Our Moment

Shaw

Practice sucked.

Coming home to an empty home sucked.

Not knowing what was going on with Kelcie and Aaron sucked.

I’d driven myself into the ground with practice and PT and anything else that could distract me from jumping on a plane.

I made a beeline for my shower when I got home, and that made it worse. All I could think of were the moments we’d had there. It was a very cold shower. When I came out, I found a text from Wyatt.

Wyatt

Any word from Kelcie?

Me

No. Did you find out anything?

Wyatt

Still working on it. I have a guy who is looking into things.

Wyatt always had “a guy.” He always had a way of getting information—and information was a weapon if used correctly.

Wyatt

So far, there may be some issues with the asshole’s finances.

Me

How is that?

Wyatt

It seems the new Mrs. Byron came into the marriage with some debt, and they just finished refurbishing the house. My people said there were a lot of contractors in and out of there in the last six months.

Me

Do you think it’s his child support?

Wyatt

Could be. But my money is on TJ’s offer to Aaron. It was a pretty sweet deal.

That two-faced son of a bitch…

Wyatt

I’m still looking into it.

Me

Alright, man. I appreciate it. Anything you can do.

After pacing around, I dialed her.

“Hey,” I said. Great opening.

“Oh, hey,” she said. “I…um. Did you want to talk with Aaron?”

“No, honey—I mean, of course I want to talk with him. But I want to talk to you first. Is everything okay?”

“As well as it could be,” she said.

“Did you talk with the lawyer?” I asked.

“Yes, and there is a meeting set with him, James, and his lawyer for next week.

But James wants him this weekend again.”

She went on to explain the situation with his parents coming and that they’d moved Aaron out of his room and into the den. Images of Harry Potter living under the stairs flashed through my mind, and my anger grew. So did my determination.

“I hate that I can’t be there to help you,” I said. And it was true. I loved her, and I loved Aaron. Nothing would change that.

“You focus on what you need to do, and I will focus on what I need to do,” she said.

“And then what?” The words spilled out of my mouth before I realized I wasn’t ready for the answer she might give.

“I don’t know, Shaw. I just don’t know.”

* * *

I was walking to my car after an early morning workout when my phone rang.

Aaron.

“Hey, man, how’s it going?”

“Shaw. Can you come get me?” The hitch in his voice made him sound so incredibly young.

I froze. “What’s wrong? Where are you? Did you call your mom?”

“No. If she comes, they will just fight more, and my mom will cry. Can you come?”

I raked my hand through my hair. This had to stop. I couldn’t just stay here in Charlotte. But if I went, Kelcie would kill me. “I tell you what. You call your mom, and I will see what I can do. But buddy, you need to tell your mom. I can’t just come get you.”

“But—”

“Buddy, these are your parents,” I said. “Have you tried to talk to your dad about how unhappy you are?”

He sniffled on the other end of the line. “I tried. He said you and Mom have put things in my head. I don’t know what that means.”

“Call your mom. I’m going to see what I can do, okay?”

“Okay. But, Shaw, I think they want to send me to a different school. I heard Amber and Dad talking about it. They said I had to go visit it on Monday. But I have school on Monday. I’m supposed to go back home Sunday.”

“Call your mom, and I will see what I can do about coming home for a bit. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“We have a plan, then. Listen to your father, but call your mom. And Buddy, what school were they talking to you about?”

“It’s called the Tucker School, but I’ve never heard of it.”

“That’s fine. We’ll figure it out. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“Call your mom as soon as we hang up, and I will call her afterward.”

“Okay, thanks, Shaw.”

“Hey, my man. We will figure it out. I’ve got you,” I said.

My hands were shaking as I hung up the phone and was barely able to dial Wyatt’s number.

“Yo,” he said as a way of greeting.

“Yeah, I need your person to find out what they can about a place called The Tucker School,” I said.

“Is this about Aaron?” he said.

“Yeah, and I don’t think it’s a good thing.”

* * *

After showering and packing, I drove straight to the airport and was on a flight that afternoon, barely managing to keep my anger banked under my need to see them. To protect them.

I didn’t think this was going to go over well, but I needed to tell her what I’d found out in person. I needed to have her back.

Come hell or high water, she wasn’t in this alone.

I pulled up to the house and knocked on the door.

“Shaw?”

There she was, with bags under her eyes, a messy ponytail, and still wearing her robe. But damn, she was so beautiful. My stomach dropped with the weight of how much I missed her.

“What in the world are you doing here?”

“We need to talk. You need to get dressed.” I kissed her forehead in a friendly greeting as I pushed past her.

Within an hour, we were on James’s front porch.

Amber opened the door, the fake smile disappearing from her face when she asked, in a tone laced with hostility, “What the hell are you doing here?”

I stood behind Kelcie, hands folded in front of me, trying to look as inconspicuous as a 240 pound, 6’5” man could be as she stepped forward with a backpack in her hand.

“Hello, Amber. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d check in on Aaron.

I brought his homework. He seemed to have forgotten it. ”

She yanked the bag out of Kelcie’s hand. “Fine, I’ll give it to him.”

“Amber, who is at the door?” another feminine voice sounded, and a pretty, older woman appeared.

“Hello, Vivian,” Kelcie said with a soft, hesitant smile.

“Oh! Kelcie, dear, how wonderful to see you.” She wrapped Kelcie in a hug and escorted her out onto the porch. “What are you doing here, dear?”

“Just dropping off—” she started to say before Amber walked out, closing the door behind her.

“She forgot to give Aaron his backpack and was just dropping it off.”

“And who is this big guy?” the petite, older woman asked, surveying me.

“This is Shaw…I mean Dawson Shawfield. An old friend of mine,” she said. “Shaw, this is James’s mother, Vivian Byron.”

I held out my hand, and she promptly shook it with a dazzling smile that was more than just polite. “Oh, so this is Shaw. We’ve heard endless stories about you from Aaron.”

“What is going on—” James walked out and gauged the situation. “You aren’t supposed to be here.”

“Yeah, well, like Kelcie said, we thought we’d just bring Aaron his?—”

“Shaw!” Aaron ran out and threw himself into my arms. “You came! I’ll just be a moment and get my things.”

“Your mom brought your bookbag, Aaron,” Amber said as she shot James a look.

He straightened with a poorly practiced smile. “Aaron, this wasn’t part of the plan.”

Aaron turned on his father. “Well, you’re always saying plans change, and I have to learn to deal with it.” Aaron ran back in the house, running and dodging everyone like a running back.

I stifled back a laugh with a cough.

Ignoring his mother’s presence, James turned on Kelcie. “I told you my mom was visiting. This was not what we agreed on.” With his teeth gritted, he added, “I thought you wanted to make this go smoother.”

“I’m not doing anything wrong, James.”

“Oh, yeah? Then why is he here?” He glared up at me.

I spread my legs and crossed my arms over my chest, knowing damn well the position made my biceps bulge.

“Oh, my…” James’s mother cooed. She flushed, and I swear she clutched her pearls—real pearls.

“Don’t worry about Shaw. But since you want to discuss an agreement?—”

“I’m not worried about him.” His eyes bounced between Amber and his mother. “But it just goes to show how far up his ass you are.”

“James Monroe Byron,” his mother scolded him. “Language.”

He raised his voice and ignored her. “It doesn’t matter, because he’s going to drop you like yesterday’s news.”

“I didn’t come here to swap insults, James.”

“Then leave.” Amber’s expression, even under her Stepford-Wife persona, was smug and not at all attractive.

“Amber,” Mrs. Byron scolded, “that isn’t how you greet a guest. Why don’t we go inside so we don’t give the neighbors anything to gossip about?” She motioned to us toward the door.

I put my hand on Kelcie’s back, encouraging her to say what she needed to say before Aaron came back.

“I wanted to know why you suddenly have a problem with our custody arrangement?”

“That isn’t your concern. The lawyers will handle it. I think you need to go,” Amber said.

But Kelcie didn’t take her eyes off her ex-husband.

“Is it the child support? Is that it? You don’t want to have to pay for child support?” she shot at him.

“Of course not.” James shifted on his feet, glancing at Amber and his mom.

His mom stepped forward. “What is this about the custody agreement? I thought?—”

“It’s nothing, Mom.”

Kelcie turned her attention to James’s mom. “He is taking me to court for primary custody.”

“He’s what?”

Amber stepped in, saccharine-sweet sugar lacing her words. “We believe we can give Aaron a better, morally sound home life. I’m a stay-at-home mom, and he would have the two boys as brothers.”

James jumped in and added, “It would be better for him to have stability.”

I stepped up next to Kelcie, and she grabbed my arm to hold me back. “That’s rich. You cheat on me?—”

Mama Byron clutched her pearls again. “What? James?”

“He didn’t cheat,” Amber said

“I never slept with her!” James yelled.

There was a pause. We all stared at Mama Byron, who was obviously gobsmacked. She probably hadn’t known about that piece of information. Then she straightened. “Oh, my word. The one day your father decides to play sick so he doesn’t have to come down here, and I have this dropped in my lap.”

She reached for Kelcie’s hand and walked her to the swing on the other side of the porch. “Tell me.”

“Mom!” James whined.