The puppy took notice of Miss Gina sitting at his level and bounded up the steps and into her space.
The woman allowed the assault of tongue and wagging tail before the puppy decided Hope was a better playmate.
Wyatt placed an arm over Melanie’s shoulders.
“I’m going to kill your dad.”
“No you’re not.”
“Okay, I’m going to think about killing your dad.”
He laughed.
“I know the perfect name for him,” Hope announced.
“What is it, darlin’?” William asked with his elbows resting on the top of his rental car as he watched her play.
“Sir Knight.” She looked into the puppy’s eyes. “Do you like that name?”
The puppy barked his approval.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“The troublesome thing about court battles is the long waits of nothing happening. As lawyers, we try and hammer out as many of the details in private before bringing anything before a judge.”
“And did you get anything hammered out?” Melanie asked over her coffee.
“Hammered? No . . . figured, yes. I think I might have determined what is motivating Nathan to seek custody.”
“Don’t keep us waiting.” Wyatt sat across the table in rapt attention.
“As you know, Nathan is the third attorney in his family. In line with his father and grandfather. But unlike his predecessors, there isn’t a lot of respect for the youngest Stone. It took him three times before he passed the bar exam. When he did, he thought he’d immediately begin working with his father and those in his firm. Not so.” William sipped his coffee and continued. “Not in the complete sense in any event.”
“What does a lawyer do if not practice law?” Melanie asked. She couldn’t imagine the blow to Nathan’s ego after finally passing the test and not being able to do the job. Then again, he hadn’t really shown a lot of joy in pursuing law in the first place.
“He’s been shadowing a newer associate for the better part of a year. Word is, his temper is starting to flare at not being able to do more.”
“Sounds like Nathan.”
“How does all this turn back to Melanie and Hope?” Wyatt asked.
“A couple of ways. There’s a woman. Miss Gregory . . . who happens to be the daughter of one of Stone’s partners. I think he’s trying to ensure his place in the firm from a couple of different angles.”
Melanie lifted her hands in the air. “Okay, how does that fit?”
“Nathan needs a divorce.”
Melanie placed her palm on her own forehead. “We are not married!”
William reached under the table where he’d placed his briefcase and removed a folder. “Actually . . .”
“Oh, God, what did he do?”
William removed a paper with the words Certificate of Marriage on the top and twisted it toward her to see.
Her name was there, as was Nathan’s.
“I never signed this.”
“I studied the signature, it looks like yours.”
She peered close. It would have passed, no doubt. “I’m telling you . . . I never agreed to marry Nathan. I never said I do. There was no judge, no minister, priest, or rabbi.”
William tapped the paper. “This is a contract. Two people sign it, a court approves, and the paper is filed. The pomp and circumstance is nothing more than a party, I’m sorry to say. This is the part that Nathan needs to go away.”
“That’s karma slapping him in the ass then. He knows damn well we never got married. If he forged this, or somehow managed to get me to sign it when I wasn’t paying attention, then the joke’s on him.”
“Joke or not, he needs a divorce to marry Miss Gregory.”
She sat forward. “All right. Say we were married. Fine, file for a divorce. But leave Hope out of it.”
“He can’t.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“Miss Gregory is from a big Catholic family, and when word got out that Nathan was a father . . . and quite possibly a deadbeat one at that, their future engagement was put on hold until he made a few things right.”
Wyatt turned to his father. “Why would Nathan forge this?” He tapped the marriage certificate with an index finger.
Unfortunately, Melanie had an answer for him. “I met Nathan’s parents once. I think they considered me a threat to him finishing law school. What they didn’t know was the only threat to that was Nathan himself. He told me his parents didn’t think he could commit to anything. When we found out I was pregnant he started telling everyone we were married. That he was settling down. A lot of that was all show for his parents.”
“Didn’t you say you only lived with him for a year?”
“Barely a year. After Hope was born he was gone more than he was home. Eventually he moved out altogether and I had to move to a smaller place I could afford alone.”
“Did you ever speak with Nathan’s parents after that?” William asked.