And there it was. Finally. The real, true, no-bullshit reason he’d been holding on for so long. Money. “You want a payout. A bribe to actually do the best thing for your son.”
“I figured someone would have come by long before now. Kara’s still a hot piece of ass, from what I can see. Oh, I check in from time to time. Still teaching yoga. Nothing changes for good old Kara.” His smile turned secretive and a bit lurid, as if he were mentally reliving what she’d looked like naked a decade ago. “But maybe she was just picky. Either way, looks like you’re the winner. You wanna keep her happy, sweep her away from it all, make all her single mama dreams come true . . . go right ahead. But that’s my son.” He sniffled a little, and his eyes watered up. “My only son. My flesh and blood. I couldn’t . . . couldn’t let him go unless I knew it was for the right reason.”
Henry sized him up visually. Graham could all but feel the scan. Though Graham hadn’t worn his uniform, he knew everything about him, from his posture to his haircut to the clothes he wore—an iron-pressed button-down shirt, clean khakis with a leather belt and simple brown shoes—screamed I’m a Marine.
“You military guys . . . you make decent money. Good benefits and shit. It would help to see a good faith offering of how you’ll be able to care for my boy.” He blinked slowly, as if holding back the manufactured tears.
Oh, you unbelievable, disgusting asshole. Graham pulled deep and used a few yoga breaths. It calmed his system, and reminded him why he was doing it the right way in the first place.
Kara. Zach.
“Let me be clear.” He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the porch railing, face-to-face with the jackass. “I’m not her lawyer. But I am a lawyer. Know what that means? I have connections, and knowledge on my side. And what I have is money.”
There was a gleam there now, Graham noted. He’d said the M word, and Henry scented a payout like a shark scenting blood on the surface.
“What I also have is patience. It took me a long time to find Kara, and I couldn’t be more happy she comes with a son I can love, too. That means I’m doing this the right way. I can afford to drag your ass to court so often, your employers might start wondering why you’re gone all the time. They might check in on your court appearances. That’s public record, did you know that? When they see all the things Kara will be putting in that court case—the honest, truthful, proven things, with such delightful phrases as ‘deadbeat’ and ‘irresponsible’ and ‘negligent’—they might start asking questions. You might lose your job. You do have a job, don’t you, Henry?”
He clenched his jaw, but said nothing.
“After a while, your friends might wonder why you aren’t working anymore. Family, too. That mom and dad you want to keep disillusioned about why they never see their grandkid . . . they might see the court papers, too. All those things—totally true things—Kara can drag in front of a judge to prove you’re not just an unfit parent, but true human scum. You want people to know all about that?”
“Fuck you,” Henry hissed.
But Graham was just getting started. “I know why you’ve gotten away with this shit up to now. You’ve been dealing with a single mom with limited resources, who has a kid with high-cost medical needs. A mom who has to debate between using up precious resources fighting against her kid’s father, or living in terror daily he’ll flip the switch and demand time again with his kid, when he’s not capable of caring for a goldfish.”
Henry said nothing.
“That’s changing. See, the thing is, I’m just a single guy right now. I can live pretty simply. Not into cars, or guns, or expensive hobbies. Know what happens when you make money and don’t spend it? It sort of piles up. So I’ve got this interesting pile of cash, and no clue what to do with it right now. I might rename that fund Henry. I’ll rename it the Kick Henry’s Ass Fund. And its sole purpose will be to drag you to court so often, and so regularly, that you are smothered with court fees and law office bills.” He paused for a moment. “How long do you think you can hold that up, Henry? One month? Two? A year? The law taught me patience. The Corps taught me perseverance. And my parents taught me not to be a disgusting human being. You’re toast. It’s just a matter of how soon you admit it to yourself, so we can all move on.”
“You can’t threaten me,” Henry said, standing so he towered over Graham from the porch. “You don’t have the right.”
“Threaten?” Graham looked around theatrically. “Who said I threatened you? I was simply explaining one potential outcome of fighting back against terminating parental rights.” He pointed as he stepped back toward his car. “Zach’s going to be mine, just like Kara is, because I care about them both. If you’re smart, when Kara comes at you with the papers, you’ll sign them and move on. Because I’ll be damned if you get a penny out of me, or Kara, to make this stop.”