Maya’s words penetrated her thoughts as she shook her head. “You shouldn’t have called Graham,” she whispered. She cleared her throat, this time, her words stronger. “We’re not together anymore, and he wants nothing to do with me and Rowan.”
Maya held Blake’s hands as she helped her up. Then she bent down, grabbed the envelope, and handed it over to Blake. “He’s on his way. I don’t know what happened between the two of you guys, but he’s coming because you need him. I didn’t know y’all had a fight, or I might have called someone else. But you know what? We’re what you have right now. Rowan is going to be safe, and you’re going to be fine. Now open the damn envelope.”
Maya’s sharp words brought Blake out of her funk, and she opened the package, shaking hands and all.
The first words on at the legal document were what she’d figured they’d be, but they were still a shock to the system.
“A formal petition for custody?” Derek asked from behind her. She’d almost forgotten he was there. “Who is trying to get Rowan? Her father?”
Blake shook her head. “Chris is dead. This is his parents.” Her voice shook. “They want Rowan because they’ve always found me unfit.”
“We won’t let that happen.”
Blake’s head shot up at Graham’s voice. Maya moved out of the way, and Graham moved closer to Blake. Her heart raced, her body going numb at the sight of him.
“You must have broken like every traffic law to get here,” Derek said.
“I’m here. That’s what matters.” He turned to Maya. “You okay without Blake today? I’m taking her to my place so she’s there when Rowan gets out of school. Derek, you okay driving her car back to my place later with someone?”
“Got it, just get me the keys.”
Blake held out her arms. When had everything fallen out of her hands into others’? This was so unlike her, and she hated it.
“Stop,” she said softly. “Stop trying to fix it. You can’t fix this, Graham. No one can.” She paused. “I appreciate everything you guys are doing, but I need to do this myself.”
Graham pinched her chin and forced her gaze to his. “You’ve been doing everything on your own long enough. We’re helping you, and you’re going to have to deal with it. Scream at me and hit me later. For now, we’re carrying your burden so you can get your head on straight.”
And with that eloquent statement, Blake promptly burst into tears.
Graham held her close, taking the papers from her hand, causing her to cry even harder. With each tear, she hated herself just a little bit more for not being able to hold it together. She’d been doing just fine for a freaking decade, but apparently, she couldn’t do it anymore. And it killed her that she wasn’t strong enough to be what Rowan needed now.
She must have said the last part out loud because Graham growled. “Keep calling yourself weak, and I’ll have to show you how strong you are. Now come with me, baby. We’ll handle this.”
“But you hate me,” she whispered, even as he led her to his car. She hadn’t looked at the others in the shop on the way out, her pride far beyond torn. How could she face them? How on earth could she ever repay them for picking up the pieces when she had nothing left to give?
Graham got her in the car and started the engine once he’d gotten into his seat. Then he sighed. “I don’t hate you, Blake. I was angry and said things I regret, but we’ll come back to that. Now, I’m going to need you to tell me everything you can as we get to my place. Can you do that? My brothers are getting your neighbor and daughter right now and will meet us. But I don’t know if you want to talk about everything in front of your kid. So tell me now, and let’s see how we can fix this.”
“We can’t fix this,” she said softly, her gaze on the window, unseeing.
“Doesn’t mean we can’t try,” he said gruffly. “Now talk, baby.”
She’d told herself she would tell the others anyway, so why not tell the man she’d been falling for? She didn’t know what would happen after this—if there was something after this—but she couldn’t keep it bottled up anymore.
Graham deserved to know what he’d put his family in the middle of.
He deserved so much more.
“I fell in lust with Chris when I was sixteen,” she began. “I thought it was love, but it wasn’t. I can see that now. We were high school sweethearts, you see. The prom queen and king with all the money and privilege in the world.”
“Hence the house,” Graham said.
“Hence the house.” She took a deep breath. “I was born a trust fund kid, a silver spoon in my mouth with forty spoons to spare. I had everything I ever wanted. My parents were the typical parents you read about with that much money and not enough love to shower on their child. They didn’t abuse me, didn’t neglect me, but they didn’t pay much attention to me once I started dating Chris. They were best friends with Chris’s family, so the match was perfect for them. They’d have their darling Blake married off to another rich family, and then we’d have perfect little babies and a perfect marriage. I wouldn’t need to go to college on their dime because I’d have found my husband already.”