That left side of his mouth curved up again, but then his humor disappeared entirely in a way that I was no longer settled in.

I was worried.

“And you were right, sweetheart,” he said softly. “She wants Ethan.”

I swallowed, getting the sense that wasn’t all of it.

I was right.

Merry kept speaking softly.

“Feelin’ safe, sittin’ in a park while her daughter’s playin’, cuddlin’ her son, a nice, chatty lady sits with her, cuddlin’ her grandbaby, Peggy Schott let fly. They got a problem with gettin’ her husband’s kid from his momma ’cause they don’t have any money. Trent makes shit, so she’s got a job that helps out but not much. She wants to be home full-time for her babies and so she can begin the work of raisin’ her man’s son right.”

His last words were sticking in my craw, choking me, when finally he pushed away from the door of my car, but not to let me get to it.

To get close because he was going to lower the boom.

I stared up at him, heart slamming against my ribs, and waited for the blow to land.

“She’s prayed to God to find the answer, brown eyes,” he said carefully. “And according to her, He’s given her the answer. She’s got lotsa help back home with a big family, brothers and sisters, mom and dad, aunts and uncles. That means they just gotta find a way to get her man’s boy away from his momma. Then they can take him down to Missouri, her family can find her husband a job, and she can stay at home, raisin’ her brood in the God-fearin’ manner they need.”

“Fuck,” I whispered.

“Do not send your boy to them, Cher,” Merry whispered back. “Vera did not get good vibes from this woman. She’s determined and she might not do what she feels she needs to do in a legal way. She might grab your boy, pack up her family, and go.”

My legs were trembling, as was my repeated, “Fuck.”

“Now, I know you’re pissed at me,” Merry said quietly. “And I know you got reason. I also know right now we got that, and if you’d waited to call Ryker in on it today and shackled him by not lettin’ him gather the team the way it was needed, we wouldn’t have it. Not ever. So I hope you got it in you to get past bein’ pissed, because you know I did the right thing for you and Ethan.”

I wanted to pull the anger around me to hold Merry back, but I didn’t have it in me to do that while fighting back the fear.

I didn’t know what to do.

Should I share this with Ethan? Should I break his heart that two people he’d come to care about, family he thought was his and would be forever, were plotting to take him away from me?

Should I get an attorney and confront Peggy and Trent with what I knew and warn them to back off? Negotiate something that would work for all of us, especially Ethan, in a way that was healthy?