The Brightest Sunset (The Darkest Sunrise #2)

His eyes grew wide and murderous. “What?”

“She’s going to tell you today. And I swear to God, Brady. You give her a single syllable of shit about it, I have no problem going back to jail.”

His eyes narrowed. “So, you two are just going to set up shop, play house, and act like one big, happy fucking family?”

“No. We aren’t going to act like anything. We’re going to be one big, happy family. And this is me asking you to be a part of that family with us.”

“Oh, you got a spare bedroom for me and Steph?” he asked, his voice thick with sarcasm.

I glowered. “Don’t be a dick right now. I’m extending an olive branch here.”

“Well, keep your fucking olive branch. You and Charlotte can do whatever the fuck you want, because when this shit is done, my son is coming home with me.”

I caught his arm when he tried to walk away. “Why won’t you let her be happy?”

“This has nothing to do with Charlotte,” he snapped, yanking his arm from my grasp.

“It has everything to do with her. You’ve spent ten years blaming her for Catherine kidnapping Lucas. She’s paid the price. But I swear to you, Brady, you push this custody issue, you’re going to be the one to pay the price next.”

He tipped his chin up and did his best to get in my face. “Don’t fucking threaten me.”

“I’m not threatening you. I’m stating facts.” I lifted a single finger in the air. “One, the judge is never going to award you full custody. Charlotte’s a damn good mother. And you know it.” I flipped another digit up. “And two, you are going to ruin any possible relationship you have with Travis if you try to push this.”

“You move in with Charlotte and I’m already ruined!” he yelled. “Fuck! You think he’s going to be real eager to come to my house when he has his perfect little family at home?”

“Brady, I’m going to say this one more time. I’m not your competition. You got a wife. You got another son. Make him a happy little family at your house too. People do blended families all the time.”

“But I’m the stepdad in this equation. He looks at me and Stephanie like we’re strangers.”

“Because you are strangers to him. For now. But you have all the tools to make that change. Look, I’m willing to take the first step to make this work for everyone involved. If Charlotte and I are together, there is no reason for us to have to split custody three ways. I’ll bow out in court. But only in court. We have to find a way to make this work because I’m going to be a part of your son’s life from now until the day I die. I’m going to marry Charlotte, Brady. Maybe not today, and if she has any say in it, maybe not even six months from now. But I’m going to do it. And, right now, I’m giving you the opportunity to be a part of that family too.”

He stared at me, his lips tight and thin, his hands fisted on his hips. “What are you asking me to do right now?”

I breathed in deep and held his stare. “Drop your petition for full custody. Let’s show Travis that we’re on the same damn team. You, Stephanie, me, Charlotte, and Travis sit down and figure out an arrangement that works for all of us.” I hooked my thumb at the entrance. “We still have a long road to go in this place. But I think it would do a lot for his mental health to at least know what was going to happen when he does get to come home.”

“The same team?” he scoffed.

“Yeah, Brady. The same team. His team. You don’t have to like me. But let our son see that we aren’t enemies. He trusts me. Make it so he doesn’t feel like he’s caught in the middle of us. Only then will you have any hopes of building the relationship you want with him. Stop making this about you and me. Or you and Charlotte. We’re all just here for Travis.”

He swallowed hard and raked a hand through the top of his hair. “I don’t know how to do this. No matter what I do, you’re always going to be his dad.”

“Yeah. But so are you. We have a lot more in common than you think, Brady. There’s room for both of us in his life.” I grinned. “I’ll even let you be the cool dad who takes him fun places and allows him to stay up until midnight eating chocolate and drinking Mountain Dew.” I lifted a finger in the air, walked back to the corner where I’d been waiting, and retrieved my bag. “Here.”

He dipped his gaze to the bag but didn’t take it. “What’s that?”

“That, my friend, is a special-edition Minecraft Diamond Ore nightlight. Six months ago, they were forty-nine ninety-nine online. Today, they are two hundred and fifty dollars on eBay.”

“Jesus,” Brady mumbled.

“My thoughts exactly. But he’s been asking for it since the day it came out. And, by the time I broke down and agreed to buy it, you couldn’t find the damn things anywhere.” I shook the bag at him. “Take it.”

He glanced down and shook his head. “I don’t want to buy his affections.”

“You’re not. You’re going to use this to buy mine.”

His head snapped up. “What?”

“Travis isn’t stupid. We go up there and pretend everything is hunky-dory, he’s not going to believe it. If you take this up there, he’s going to know it’s a gift and he’s going to want it real bad, but since it’s coming from you, he’s going to be hesitant. But I won’t be. I’ll go on and on about how much it cost and how they are impossible to find and how cool it is when it lights up for all of ten minutes, whatever. You’re going to go on and on about how you found it on eBay and got into a bidding war with Dan TDM over it.” I paused to repeat myself slowly. “Dan T-D-M. He’s some YouTube personality. Write it down. That’s the part that will win you some cool points.”

He blinked and then slipped a hand into his pocket before pulling a pen out.

“I’m going to thank you. You and I are going to shake hands. And then Travis and I are going to sit on the bed and play with it.”

His head shot back again. “Shouldn’t it be Travis and I sitting on the bed playing with it?”

“No. Because, while I’m sitting there with him, he’s going to be watching you. Everything that comes out of his mouth over the next hour will be a test. He’s going to push your buttons—hard and repeatedly. He’s going to call me dad more than you can count. He’s going to tell all of his favorite stories about growing up. If Charlotte steps out, he might even bring Catherine into it. All just waiting for you to show any sign of anger or frustration.” I leaned in close and lowered my voice. “Show him nothing and I guarantee you the payoff will be huge.”

Our eyes locked in a standoff. I could almost see the gears turning in his head. I had to give him credit. He desperately wanted that relationship with our son. He just couldn’t figure out how to put all the bullshit aside long enough to make it happen.

He sighed but finally took the bag. “I don’t know that I can drop the issue of custody.”