Three Weeks to Say Goodbye by C. J. Box Read Free Book Online Page A

been as angry. I wondered what I would have done up there. I thought again of the Colt .45. And I knew that Melissa and I had entered a whole new place, where everything was different.
    I noticed Garrett watching me, a smirk on his face.
    “What were you going to do?” he asked.
    “Nothing,” I said.
    “I bet nothing.”
    “You don’t want to see the baby, do you?” I asked.
    “No,” he said, with that lazy curl of his lip.
    “Sign the papers,” I said.
    “You have a nice wife,” Garrett said. “I like her.”
    His demeanor changed from the smirk back to stoic as Melissa and Moreland came down the stairs. His eyes were on Melissa, not his father.
    “Maybe I’ll come over and watch the Bronco game with you,” Garrett said.
    “What?” I was stunned once again.
    “I should probably get to know you better,” he said, his eyes still on Melissa. “We should hang out.”
    I didn’t know how to react to that. I could tell by their faces that both Melissa and Moreland had missed the exchange.
    Moreland stopped on the landing and shook Melissa’s hand.
    “Thank you,” he said. “She’s beautiful.”
    “She is,” Melissa said, letting a tiny smile escape despite herself. “And she’s ours,” she added.
    “Ah, we need to resolve this.”
    “No,” Melissa said. “There’s nothing to resolve.”
    Damn, I admired her for her toughness. Simply no.
    Moreland turned to me. In response, I nodded toward Melissa as if to say,
It’s out of my hands. The answer is no.
    “Come along, Garrett,” Moreland said. And to us, “Thank you for the coffee. It was nice to meet you.”
    Garrett drained his Coke and handed the empty can to me, letting Moreland walk by until he was out of earshot.He had an incredulous look on his face, as if he couldn’t believe his sudden good fortune.
    “What?” I asked.
    The corners of his mouth tugged upwards and his pupils dilated and I could almost hear him say to himself,
I own you people now, don’t I? You don’t dare do anything or say anything that will make me mad, or I won’t sign the papers.
    Then he smiled outright, and something danced behind his eyes. I felt a chill roll down my back.
    “Son?” Moreland opened the front door and Garrett ambled out, shooting a look at me as he went by. “Later,” he said.
    Moreland said to Melissa, “I need to do some thinking. You are very impressive people. But…”
    There it was again, that
but.
    “The circumstances of this issue are black-and-white. I’ve reviewed the case law, and met with lawyer friends well versed in family law. The birth mother signed away her parental rights, but the father—Garrett—didn’t. Garrett should be the custodian of the baby, simple as that. No court would disagree. Regardless,” he said, waving the legal argument aside though he’d made his point, “I still feel we can work together. You obviously have feelings for the baby, and you’ve acted in good faith. There may be some wiggle room we’d agree to. Maybe you could visit her occasionally and be a positive part of her life, like an aunt and uncle. But the fact is the baby is our blood, and she legally belongs to us. One can’t diminish that fact. Blood is blood, the law is the law. Any judge can see we have the means to take excellent care of her and a wonderful home environment.”
    “What does that mean?” Melissa asked. “That we don’t?”
    “Of course you’ve done your best,” Moreland said, not without sympathy.
    “We love Angelina,” Melissa said, a note of panic showing.
    John Moreland nodded and pursed his lips.
    “Think about having Garrett sign the papers,” I said. “You say we can adopt another baby and Garrett needs to accept responsibility. Maybe
he
can visit her on occasion. Maybe Garrett can be the uncle.”
    I felt Melissa’s eyes bore into me. She wanted nothing to do with either of them.
    “Ah, compromise,” Moreland said, toasting me without a glass as his way of acknowledging what I’d