Page 84 of Derecho

I tried to calm my racing heart as I rocked my body back and forth to soothe Reid, who was still fast asleep on my chest. “Greg’s here. Lach’s outside with him, and I don’t want him to get hurt.”

“I’m on my way. Did you lock the doors?”

“No! If Lachlan needs⁠—”

“He needs you to be safe. So make sure the doors are locked.” I didn’t move. “Now, Lainey. Go, now. I’ll be there in two minutes. Lock the doors.”

“Okay.”

“I’m hanging up now so you can call Colt. That’s the next thing, and by the time you’re done talking to him, I’ll be there.”

Danny was telling the truth. It took me two minutes to call Colt, and in that time, his truck came tearing into Lach’s driveway, blocking Greg’s from leaving.

I held onto Reid as I unclipped the harness, wiggling his body free before I set him into his swing. I buckled him in place and finished taking the carrier off as I walked back to the front of the living room. I knew I shouldn’t be staring out the window, but there was no way I could look away from what was happening. I had to make sure Danny and Lach were okay.

Greg’s face was bright red, his fists clenched by his side as Lachlan said something to him I couldn’t make out. Greg got two or three words into his reply when Lachlan reared back, his fist colliding with Greg’s jaw. I saw Lachlan pull back, landing another hit to Greg’s face as he crumpled to the ground.

Danny moved closer to Greg, but my eyes were on Lachlan as he turned and stormed up to the front door.

“Trouble. Open up. Please.”

“Oh, God. Are you okay?” I asked as I threw the lock over and opened the door. The knuckles on his right hand were raw and bloody.

“I’m fine. That’s his blood, not mine.”

I shook my head. “I saw! Go sit on the sofa. I’ll get some ice and a washcloth.”

It only took thirty seconds for me to grab what I needed from the kitchen. I sat on the sofa next to him, pulling his hand over to rest on my leg.

“What on Earth did he say to you?”

Lachlan’s eyes remained closed, but his fingers stretched over my skin and he squeezed gently. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Lachlan.”

“I mean it. Don’t give it another thought. Dad’s gonna stay out there and make sure Colt hauls him away. That protective order will stick this time. He’s out of your life. Forever.”

Lainey

The protective order didn’t stick.

We’d heard last week, just a few days after Greg had shown up here, that it was tossed out of court again. I felt hopeless. Lachlan had told Colt what Greg said. When he knew I was upstairs and probably thought I couldn’t hear. And now, Reid’s constant need to nurse during his growth spurt wasn’t the only thing keeping me awake at night.

Because Greg was going to take Reid away from me. That’s what he’d made perfectly clear to Lachlan. That he was going to prove how unfit of a mother I was, and I’d never see Reid again.

And I knew he would do it. Because the evidence was there. I couldn’t nurse Reid without feeling like I was going to throw up or burst into tears. I was exhausted and irritable, and even over the last few days, Lach couldn’t get me to leave the house. He couldn’t get me to go on a walk. Or to sit outside. Or to visit with my sister. Or any of his family.

It felt like whatever time I had left with Reid before he was taken from me was rushing away, and I couldn’t catch my breath.

A knock at my door had my eyes popping open. Lachlan still took him for me, a few hours each night. I shouldn’t let him. It was more important than ever that I had time with Reid. But I was just so tired…and selfish.

“I’m sorry, I’ve tried all my usual tricks, and he’s just not having it any more. Are you sure you don’t want me to make him a bottle?”

“No,” I groaned, looking at the clock on the bedside table before sitting up in bed. Lachlan had successfully kept Reid downstairs for almost an hour and a half tonight. It was nearly 10:00 p.m., and that nap I’d tried to take would have to suffice. “Bring him here.”

Lachlan laid him in my arms. “Are you okay?”

I was really getting sick of that question.