for visits. I don’t know what I’ll do. If I’m forced to give Holden his last name? Lifting my head, I reach between us and grab fistfuls of Landry’s shirt. I know that I have tears streaming down my face and that right now I’m the least attractive person on earth, but none of that matters.
“We have to leave,” I screech. “We have to go. Mexico is close. Holden and I will go there, you can visit. I can’t live here anymore, not another second. He cannot have access to my baby.” I’m rambling, I know that I am, but I can’t help it. I’m in a full-blown panic.
Landry shakes his head, his arms tighten around me, one of his hands lifts to the back of my head and he forces my face in his neck while I sob. I hear his low whispers, but I can’t make out what he’s saying as the blood roars through my ears.
He just holds me, rocking me, soothing me as he whispers to me in the same low, gentle tone, until finally my sobbing stops, the blood doesn’t roar as loud, and all that’s left of my exhausted breakdown is silent tears streaming from my eyes and against the skin of his neck.
“I have a plan, honey. I got this. Trust me,” he says, over and over. I wonder if these are the words that he’s been saying the whole time? Eventually, I lift my head and look into his eyes.
“I freaked out,” I whimper.
His lips twitch into a sad smile. “Yeah. It’s okay. I’ve been freaking out all day,” he admits.
“But you didn’t break down.”
“I wanted to.”
“But you didn’t.”
The hand against the back of my head, those fingers grip my hair loosely as he looks into my eyes. “I didn’t, because I knew that you needed me. You and Holden needed me to keep my head on straight, to get the ball rolling on fighting this before we were completely blindsided by warrants and shit like that.”
“Because you’re a good man.”
He snorts. “Yeah. But mostly because I’m your man and I love you both.”
“You love us?” I breathe.
Smiling, he dips his chin and touches his lips to my nose in a small kiss. “Yeah, honey. I love you and Holden, both of you. I’m going to protect you with all that I have and luckily, I have a fuckload more resources than Susan has and I always will.”
Frowning, I tilt my head to the side. “I thought that it was all community property and that everything was fifty-fifty?”
That’s when Landry leans in, his smile growing bigger than I thought possible. He looks a little maniacal, but his eyes are dancing in delight.
“I have a trust fund that I have always kept separate. In fact, I’ve never touched the money in there, not even the interest. We had a prenup and she can’t touch it. My resources are beyond anything she could attempt to replicate. I’m still going to have my business with Astor Investments, because it’s the legacy that I’ve built for my children and they deserve it. I’m not ready to give up that part of my life yet. I love my work and enjoy going into the office every day.”
“God, how did I end up right here with you, Landry?” I ask.
He chuckles. “I was thinking the same thing, honey.”
Without another word, he leans in, his lips touching mine and I melt into his sweet and gentle kiss. He knows exactly what I need right now and he’s delivering like the good man that he is. Like the man that I love.
LANDRY
Tennessee is still asleep when I wake up the next morning. Looking over at her, I wince. Her face is still swollen from crying and she’s curled in a small ball. I wish that I hadn’t told her. I wish that I didn’t have to tell her. If there was some way that I could have gotten away with never saying a word about any of this, I would have taken that route, but Susan didn’t give me a choice.
Stopping at the bedroom door, I look over my shoulder toward her and frown. We have work today, but there’s no way that I can expect her to come into the office, not like this. I decide to give her a call later, after I’ve gone to the office and dropped Holden off at the childcare center.
It doesn’t take me long to get Holden ready, although I’m not exactly sure