“They goin’ for custody?” Tanner asked.

“I get the impression, not yet. But I also get the impression that they’re gearin’ up for it.”

“The impression?”

“Cher isn’t feelin’ like bein’ super informative at this juncture.”

Tanner again made no reply.

“She’s freaked, though, in a big fuckin’ way,” Garrett told him. “Her history, she has reason. The way she’s raisin’ that boy and the love she’s got for him, she shouldn’t worry. But life she’s lived, that won’t be her first thought. She told me her ex is a recovering addict. She called him a junkie. I’m helpin’ her out, hopin’ you might uncover some ammunition in case they wage war.”

“I gotta be in the office in the morning. I’ll run some searches, get what I got to you, follow up if something opens up,” Tanner offered.

“Be appreciated,” Garrett muttered, dragging from his cigarette, then exhaling before he said, “Need you to keep this quiet, brother. You and me on this. And by quiet, I mean I don’t even want Cher to know you’re lookin’ into this.”

“Tough as nails, determined to look out for herself, not drag anyone into her shit,” Tanner deduced.

“That’s it,” Garrett confirmed.

“I’ll go quiet,” Tanner told him.

“That’s appreciated too.”

“Never ends for her,” Tanner observed. “The legacy of bullshit that asshole laid on her.”

“Nope,” Garrett agreed.

“Her ex had problems, we’ll find somethin’,” Tanner assured.

“I hope so,” Garrett replied, then asked, “You and Rocky gettin’ any sleep?”

This was also a valid question since his sister and brother-in-law gave him a niece, still a baby, though growing up, and she was a big fan of daytime naps, but she’d never been a fan of nighttime sleep.

“CeeCee’s determined to be a night owl.”

Thinking about his beautiful niece, Cecelia, and the fact that she was a product of the love Tanner and Rocky had for each other, Garrett grinned into the night as he took another drag.

“Listen, Garrett,” Tanner continued. “Heard about Mia. Was deep in it with some work with Ryker. Didn’t have time to seek you out. Called, but you didn’t—”

Garrett interrupted him. “I’m good.”

“Brother,” Tanner said low, not believing him.

Garrett inhaled again, and on the exhale, he stated, “I’m good, Tanner. Did it smart, timed it right, threw a few back when Cher was on.” He felt one side of his lips tip up. “She had a few words with me the only way Cher knows how. But the woman has wisdom.”

Tanner still sounded disbelieving when he asked, “What’d she say?”

Since it all came out, the fact that the Merrick family was still dealing with the murder years ago of Raquel and Garrett’s mom, Cecelia Merrick, that shit being ugly, nearly shredding Rocky, Garrett didn’t hold much back from Tanner Layne.

Rocky would have come undone if Tanner, his mother, his sons, and his friend/mentor Devin hadn’t held the tatters together. And it might not have happened—a lot might not have happened—if Garrett had given his sister what she’d really needed in the years since their mother was murdered.