Page 35 of The Maverick’s Forever Home (Montana Mavericks: Behind Closed Doors #2)

Emma turned slightly toward him, her hand on the stroller as she looked up at him.

“That’s just it, Jax. We don’t want to have to do any of that.

Which is why we’re hoping you’ll sign over custody of Liam to us.

Frank’s approach is a bit…gruff…but we really would like to work with you as opposed to against you.

We just need you to see that our way is best for Liam.

You’ll see him as much as you want to, can work as much as you need to and Liam will be loved and adored by his family every minute of the day.

Simply put, we have the time, you don’t.

” She sighed softly. “And surely you’ll agree that as his grandparents, we have more right to him than a stranger you pay.

” Her eyes glistened with tears and she said, “All we want to do is love him.”

Jax didn’t doubt Frank and Emma’s adoration for their grandson. He did, however, worry about their ability to present him in a positive light to his son. None of which mattered to the moment at hand.

The most important thing right then was to stress that it was best for Liam if they could all get along and provide him with a cohesive loving environment.

Jax tried again. “I want you to have plenty of opportunity to love him. This past month has admittedly been busy with me settling back in at the ranch and you two buying a new home and getting moved in. You haven’t had as much time with Liam as you’d like.

But that will change going forward. You’re welcome at the ranch.

Come see him during the day as often as you’d like. But he’s my son. He lives with me.”

Emma glanced at her husband, and stood up beside him as Frank said, “We’ll see about that. We’d hoped you’d be reasonable, but it appears that’s not the case.”

Taking hold of the stroller with both hands, Jax stood, too.

“I’m begging you to reconsider, Frank. Emma.

” He turned his gaze onto each of them individually.

“Christa chose to marry me, to live with me, in spite of everything you say about me. It was her choice that I will be the one to continue raising our son. For her sake, don’t do this. Honor her wishes.”

He might have felt dirty, pulling out all the stops, but he spoke the complete truth. And would do whatever it took to protect his son. To keep Liam at home with the one parent he had left. To raise him with the heritage into which he’d been born.

And when Annelise returned from her trip overseas and married Drake Fortune, Liam’s family would grow exponentially.

He’d have cousins—including little Joey who, according to Annelise, had been left on the Fortunes’ doorstep and adopted by Poppy Fortune and her fiancé, Leo Leonetti.

A man Jax had known his entire life. They were great people.

And would be role models for Liam, too.

Emma and Frank shared a long glance. Then, putting her arm through her husband’s, Emma turned her back on Jax as Frank said, “You’re making a mistake, Jax. We’ll see you in court.” And the two marched off, backs straight and heads held high.

* * *

Priscilla Fortune could hardly believe what she’d just witnessed.

Trapped behind a group of trees just to the right of the bench upon which Jax Wellington had been sitting, she held on to the three leashes in her fist as her charges—all rescue animals from the local shelter—sniffed incessantly to find places to do their business.

Three years older than her, Jax had been a regular fixture in the crowd of teenagers from wealthy families who congregated in Emerald Ridge during the summer. Priscilla had been a summer visitor. He’d been a year-round resident, which had given him a lot more clout.

She’d watched him from afar.

But had gotten to know him better in the month she’d been back in Emerald Ridge—her second visit that summer—though prior to that it had been several years since she’d set foot there.

She’d made a stop at her cabin on the estate in July to spend a few days with an old friend, and had heard that Jax had left town a couple of years before, after his father’s third marriage, and hadn’t been back since.

Priscilla had thought that July stopover would be her only visit that summer.

Until a mandatory family meeting called by the uncle who’d raised her and her three older siblings along with being a single father to his own daughter, had brought her back the first week of August. Everyone had been called to the summer estate her parents had purchased in Emerald Ridge shortly after they’d been married.

The property was originally comprised of a mansion and many acres on the river.

To which, with each child born, they’d added a cabin—a McMansion by most standards—in the hopes that as their children grew to adulthood, they would bring their own families home to the ranch whenever they could.

Priscilla and her siblings were supposed to have been there just for a few days to commemorate a difficult anniversary—twenty years since their parents had been killed in a plane crash—and to try to find the surprise their parents had told them they’d intended to share with their children upon their return.

But those days had morphed into weeks and they were all still there that first week in September.

They’d all searched endlessly over the years for whatever present their parents had for them, to no avail, but with the anniversary upon them, they’d decided they had to make finding the gift a priority for all of them.

Their uncle, and their cousin, Uncle Sander’s daughter, Kelsey, who’d lived in the main house after Mark and Marlene had passed away, were with them.

But before they’d even had a chance to start looking for any hidden treasure, they’d arrived at the estate only to learn the horrible news that there’d been a murder the previous night.

Linc Banning, the son of the Fortune family housekeeper who’d grown up with them in the home they’d all shared, had been shot in the chest and left in the river.

No way Priscilla could just leave, without knowing what had happened to Linc—and why. Her siblings had all hung around as well, and Priscilla, being the helper that she was, had made the rounds in town to find out where her volunteer hours could be put to best use.

One of the places she’d landed had been the animal shelter.

Right when Jax was showing up in town with a newborn son, to take over his family’s ranch.

She’d heard he was asking around for a couple of purebred dogs for the barns, and had suggested, instead, that he rescue a couple of her charges.

She’d even delivered them to Jax, for a test run, to help convince him.

And there she stood, hiding out like some kind of peeper—entertaining herself with the thoughts running willy-nilly through her head—in an effort not to embarrass the man. All three dogs had peed. Two were lying in the grass. The third was pulling at the leash and starting to whine.

Jax, who was still holding court at her only way out of the park, was going to hear the dog soon. He’d reclaimed his seat on the bench and was staring out at the water like he’d just lost his best friend.

Priscilla couldn’t just stand there and let someone hurt all alone.

“Hey,” she said, walking up slowly so the dogs didn’t disturb the baby’s stroller. “I…was pretty much trapped back there.” She gave a backward nod. “That was kind of harsh, huh?”

Looking from Priscilla to the dogs, Jax nodded, but said, “Nothing I can’t handle.”

She didn’t doubt that. Mostly. But the man wasn’t doing himself any favors, alienating a rich couple with nothing left to lose. And Priscilla didn’t like standing over him. Made her self-conscious, though she had no reason to be.

Sitting on the far end of the bench, she said, “Maybe suggest some kind of mediation,” she offered. “The courts have specific counselors for that kind of thing.”

His glance wasn’t friendly, but it wasn’t mean, either. “I don’t need mediation. Liam is my son. They have no grounds to take him from me.”

“You do know about grandparent rights, yes?” she asked.

“In Texas, if the biological grandparent of a deceased parent wants possession of the child, they have some means by which to access that. As long as the other parent is still alive, and there isn’t an active adoption case in process.

I mean, I’m not a lawyer, but that’s the gist of it. ”

He was staring at her. “How do you know that?”

“I volunteer at a large family law practice in Dallas—hosting seminars for families, acting as a supervisor for visitations when needed…” She stopped, then added, “I have a degree in human relations, and am a certified visitation supervisor. I just don’t charge for my services.”

“So you’re telling me that if the Noveltys present a good enough case showing that it’s in Liam’s best interests to be with them, instead of me, they could win?”

“It’s possible,” she told him. “You’re looking at judges with leeway to assess situations and make a final decision.

More likely, though, you’d be put in mediation that could end up producing some kind of custodial agreement allowing them to care for Liam during the day, or granting them regular visitation rights, similar to what divorced parents get.

Meaning they could get him one night a week, and every other weekend, or some such. ”

He was staring at her, mouth open, as she continued, “Add in their wealth, and yours, and what you’re likely to have is a long drawn out battle with expensive lawyers digging up all the dirt they can find to force the other party to relent.”