Vulnerable [Suncoast Society] (Suncoast Society #29)(59)

Ross knelt in front of him. “You are in charge, here. Yes, Eva could petition a different judge tomorrow to overturn this on the basis of duress, and she still might, for all we know. Hopefully not. But we need you to step up, for Laurel, for Leo, and for Eva. Her parents basically disowned her just now. They wanted her to order you and all of us out of here and give them Laurel, and she refused to do that. Believe it or not, she admitted to us that when Leo brought Laurel back to her tonight, she’d told him that she was dropping all her motions to delay the divorce. That made her parents go screaming batshit, and that’s when the worst of the yelling in here began.”

“She…she did?”

“Her parents went absolutely nuts when she told us that,” Ross said. “They wanted her to go for full custody, to get an emergency motion to make her the primary custodial parent and cut you and Leo off from all contact with Laurel. Everything.” He smiled. “Well, they got an emergency motion, all right. Just not anything close to the one they wanted.”

“I don’t want to force her to do this.”

“See,” Ed said, “that’s the funny thing. Eva is the one who asked me about finalizing the divorce after I threatened her about not cutting you out of the process. Ross and Tilly came up with the house thing, which pissed her parents off even more when Eva immediately agreed to it, and the custody arrangement. Wow, they are a piece of work.”

“But,” Ross said, “you should be magnanimous. Technically, you could order Eva out of here right now and prevent her from taking Laurel with her. Unless Eva files for an emergency stay and appeal, you are Laurel’s legal custodial guardian.”

Jesse shook his head. “No. Absolutely not. I won’t do that to her.”

“Good,” Ross said. “For the record, Eva told us she didn’t call her parents. She didn’t even want them here. Her sister called them after Eva called her, and Eva couldn’t talk them out of coming.” He sadly shook his head. “There’s a story there, apparently, but she wouldn’t go into it with her parents sitting right there. She was, however, strangely adamant that you be named Laurel’s guardian in Leo’s stead.”

“Frankly,” Ed said, “I get the impression she’s scared of her parents. So what’s your next step?”

What, indeed?

Jesse took a deep breath and stood, leaving the consultation room.

Eva sat with her head resting against Tilly’s shoulder, eyes closed, tears running down her cheeks. Laurel sat in her lap, still holding Tilly’s hand.

Jesse walked over and sat down next to them.

Then he put his arm around Eva’s shoulders. At first she tensed, but then she leaned toward him, into him, away from Tilly, her sobs renewing as Jesse put both arms around her and held her, gently rocking her, Laurel snugly nestled between them.

“I’m so scared, Jesse,” Eva whispered. “I don’t want us to lose him.”

He tightened his embrace around her. “Me, too,” he whispered, nuzzling her head with his. “I’m scared, too. I promise you, we’ll work together. No matter what. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Hell, even Tilly reached for a tissue from the box of them offered by Landry.

Jesse closed his eyes. “We’re a family,” he said. “All four of us. Okay? We’re always a family.”

“Okay.”

“Just like in Lilo and Stitch,” Laurel said between them.

That drew tearful laughter from Eva and Jesse. They sat back and stared into each other’s eyes. “Just like in Lilo and Stitch,” Jesse agreed.

Eva nodded.





Chapter Twenty-Two


Jesse lost track of time and the cups of coffee he consumed. Leo was moved from the recovery unit to a bed in the surgical ICU, which shared the same waiting room, at least.

There was no change in Leo’s condition, which wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good, either. He was maintaining steady vital signs, which Tilly assured them was the best they could hope for short-term.

Eva took care of calling Leo’s parents for Jesse. They would come to the hospital sometime tomorrow, since there was nothing either of them could do that night, and neither of them were good night-drivers at their ages.

Tilly tried to get Jesse and Eva to go home, but neither of them wanted to leave. So Tilly settled in to wait with them, maintaining the vigil.

Someone had found a pillow and blanket for Laurel, and she was now sound asleep in a recliner, her face looking pinched and sad, even while at rest.

From the moment the official truce had been declared, Eva had clung to Jesse, and he didn’t mind.

He clung to her just as much as she did to him. He knew he’d have to talk to her at some point, find out why the hell she’d demanded he be named Laurel’s guardian—and why Leo had told Laurel she couldn’t go with her own grandparents—but not now.

Especially not with Laurel right there, asleep or not.

Friends rotated in and out all night, but Tilly and Ed stayed with them, until Ed had to leave at six that morning to go home, shower, and change for work.

At one point before seven in the morning, while Tilly was in the bathroom and it was just Eva, Jesse, and Laurel, Eva softly spoke to Jesse.

“Can I admit something and you not hate me for it?”