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The room fell silent. Brian opened his eyes. God, he loved the quiet.

“Well ...” Ed’s voice disrupted the silence. “... this is bad.”

Brian closed his eyes again. God, he missed the quiet.

“I can’t believe this!” Peggy was speaking now; her voice high and shrill. “Is the boy lying? Kayla, how could you?”

“He’s not lying.” Brian was surprised to hear himself speaking. “We had a thing.” He forced his eyes open and looked at Kayla for the first time since Baylee’s admission. Her eyes were wet and her back was rigid. Brian figured that she looked the same way that he felt; as though he had just been repeatedly punched in the stomach.

“What kind of a thing?” Peggy didn’t seem to be able to stop talking. She turned to Kayla. “I thought that you were involved with him.” She jerked her thumb in Nick’s direction.

“That was a lie.” Brian admitted. “Nick and Kayla faked that whole situation to keep you from finding out about what was really going on.”

“So, you’ve been sleeping with him the whole time?” Peggy narrowed her eyes at Kayla as she gestured at Brian. “Answer me.”

“Yes.” Kayla finally spoke. Her voice was almost as raspy as AJ’s.

“You were having a relationship with Mr. Littrell at the same time that you were working on his file?” Peggy looked beyond disappointed. “You signed your name to those reports when you knew that you shouldn’t have. You compromised the integrity of the entire organization. You put my job in jeopardy. You ignored every single line in your contract. You pretended to be involved with another man in order to deceive me. You lied to my face!”

“Yes.” Kayla whispered her admission.

It was Peggy’s turn to close her eyes. When she reopened them, her face was determined and her eyes were unforgiving. “I’m telling Anthony. You’re fired, Kayla.”

“It was my fault!” Brian was on his feet. “I tricked her! I pretended to like Kayla just so that I could get her into bed. I slept with her so that she would manipulate the contents of my file. I needed to win this case! I would have done anything to keep Baylee.”

“Mr. Littrell, are you telling me that you feel nothing for Kayla? Are you really standing there and telling me that you used your celebrity status to trick an innocent woman into sleeping with you? Do you expect me to believe that you simply manipulated Kayla’s feelings for your own selfish gains?” Peggy pressed her lips into a thin line. Her eyes were like ice. “Answer me, Mr. Littrell.”

Brian made sure that he kept his eyes focused on Peggy. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Kayla. He could feel his cousin’s eyes piercing into him in distaste. “Yes.” Brian lied. “That’s what I’m saying.”

Peggy stared back into Brian’s face. “Mr. Littrell, you are a horrible liar.”

Brian paled. “What – what are you talking about?”

“Look Kayla in the face and tell her that you don’t care about her.” Peggy sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. “If you can do that, I will let Kayla keep her job.”

Why did Peggy have to look so smug? At that moment, Brian hated the older woman more than he had ever hated anyone in his entire life. Peggy knew that Kayla needed her job and she clearly knew that he was lying through his teeth. Why was she doing this?

“Kayla ...” Brian came around the table and walked slowly towards her. Kayla was already standing up; she had her jacket on and was clutching her purse. “Kayla, I ...” Brian started again. He wasn’t going to be able to do this.

Kayla looked up at Brian with an unreadable expression. Her cheeks were glistening with the tears that she had already shed and her eyes were brimming with new ones. Brian took a deep breath and tried to make himself look and feel indifferent. Maybe he was going to be able to do this.

“I don’t ...” Brian’s voice was shaking. “Kayla, I don’t – I don’t think that you’re going to be able to keep your job.”

Kayla smiled through her tears. “I know.” She reached out and laced her fingers through Brian’s, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I know.”

“I’m sorry.” Brian felt like he had let her down. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Kayla let go of Brian’s hand. “You’re about to lose your son.”

Brian’s chest felt tight. “I know.”

“Brian.” Ed cleared his throat. “We have two minutes.”

“Good luck.” Kayla gave Brian a small smile. Her eyes lingered on his for a few more seconds before she turned and walked quickly towards the door.

Brian watched her walk away from him for the second time with a lump in his throat. He felt lightheaded and he feared that his legs were about to give out. His hands felt like they weighed upwards of a thousand pounds. He could feel his heart constricting in his chest; it was tight, too tight.

“Brian?”

Nick’s face looked blurry. His features were swirling together in a mess of colours and shapes. His nose looked like it was poking out of his eye. Brian wondered for a split second if he was having a heart attack. He could almost picture himself falling to the floor and dying right there in the middle of the courtroom.

“Brian?”

Nick’s hands were on his shoulders now, shaking him. Brian knew that his friend was on the verge of panicking, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. At least Nick’s facial features had stopped blurring together, he looked normal now. Well, aside from the fact that he looked petrified; terrified but normal.

“I’ve lost them both.” Brian’s brain felt detached from his voice. “Kayla lost her job because of me. I lost Baylee. I lost Kayla. Everything is gone.”

“Everything isn’t gone.” Nick’s eyes were now darting frantically around the room. “The judge is back. You have to go sit down.”

Nick’s warning barely registered. Brian wanted to cry. As childish as it sounded, he wanted nothing more than to throw himself into his best friend’s arms and cry. Nick was pushing him now, guiding him back towards his seat next to Ed. Brian allowed himself to be led back to the table. He sat down without a fight and turned his unfocused eyes towards the judge.

“Case 1046: Littrell vs. Wallace.” The judge took a seat behind her desk. “A decision has been made regarding the custody arrangement for Baylee Littrell, age eleven.”

Brian forced himself to pay attention. He figured that he might as well be as coherent as possible for the moment when Baylee was removed from his care; that way he would be better able to torture himself later.

“In light of recent events, all of the information that was submitted by Child Protective Services of Lexington has been stricken from the record. Therefore, I was unable to base my decision on any of that information.” The judge moved her eyes between Brian and Leighanne. “I did, however, take what Baylee had to say into consideration.”

Brian felt a flicker of hope ignite in his stomach. Baylee had said that he wanted to stay with him. Maybe the judge had decided to give Baylee what he wanted.

“Ms. Wallace, you have excellent character references that attest to your strong ethics and to your desire to care for your son on a full-time basis. You have the means to provide a good home for Baylee, and you have a strong family connection in the Atlanta area. It appears as though you have good moral character.”

The flicker of hope was extinguished. Brian could practically hear the smug smile stretching across Leighanne’s face. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

“Mr. Littrell, you also have excellent character references that attest to your caring personality and to your desire to retain primary custody of your son. Although you have the means to provide a good home for Baylee, your occupation requires you to travel for extensive periods of time. I have to say that others may be concerned by some of the people who you choose to surround your son with on a daily basis, as some of them have obviously engaged in destructive behaviour in the past. However, it is not my nature to judge people on what they have done in the past. Speaking of questionable behaviour, Mr. Littrell, your relationship with the woman from Child Protective Services is highly inappropriate given the situation at hand. The two of you both crossed a series of ethical boundaries by entering into a romantic relationship. That being said, Baylee has expressed a desire to remain in your care, and it is not my job to pass judgment on your romantic relationships.”

Brian’s leg was shaking again. He just wanted the judge to deliver her verdict and get it over with.

“There are conditions attached to my decision.” The judge continued. “I am imposing these conditions because this appeal hearing was supposed to be based primarily on the outcome of the inspection by Child Protective Services. Since the majority of that inspection has become null and void due to Mr. Littrell’s relationship with one of the caseworkers assigned to his file, I am requesting that the Lexington C.P.S. organization authorize another caseworker to conduct a second investigation. Mr. Littrell, is this clear?”

Brian nodded. “Yes.”

“Good.” The judge paused. “All things considered, I have decided that it is in Baylee’s best interests to remain in the custody of his father. He has already experienced a significant amount of change. There’s no point in disrupting his life any further at this point and time.”

Leighanne gasped. “What?”

The judge ignored Leighanne’s outburst and kept her attention focused on Brian. “Mr. Littrell, it is clear to me that Baylee is happy in the home that you have established for him in Kentucky. He is doing well at school, he’s making friends, and he is close to his extended family. You have a strong support system in place to help you. You are hereby, once again, awarded primary custody of your son.”

The tears were running down Brian’s face and he made no attempt to wipe them away. He had never experienced such a massive and overwhelming sense of relief. “Thank you.”

The judge actually smiled. “Mr. Littrell, I feel that it is worth noting that if C.P.S. raises any red flags during their second investigation that you will find yourself back here. You must pass the upcoming investigation in order for my decision to be made permanent.”

Brian nodded again. “I understand.”

The judge turned her attention to Leighanne. “Ms. Wallace, you no longer have the right to an appeal. The pre-determined custody arrangement stands. You are all free to go.”

Brian stood up from the table. Leighanne’s mouth was hanging open in disbelief. Ed was smiling to himself as he gathered his papers. Peggy was shaking her head and walking towards the door. Tom was muttering something to himself. And Nick was charging towards him at full speed.

Brian staggered backwards as Nick enveloped him in a tight hug, slapping his back and laughing. “I told you that you had this!”

“I can’t believe it.” Brian grinned as he returned Nick’s strong embrace.

AJ whooped in exhilaration and threw one tattooed arm around Nick and the other around Brian. Howie did the same and the four of them jostled each other in excitement. Kevin placed both of his hands on the back of Brian’s shoulders and gently rocked him back and forth amidst the commotion of the other guys. Brian could feel the tension leaving his body as he relished in the notion that his son was coming home with him.

“Dad!”

Brian pulled himself away from his friends and opened his arms for Baylee. His son ploughed into him at full force; his small arms encircled his waist and his face pressed against his chest.

“You’re coming home with me, Bay.” Brian whispered. “You’re coming home with me.”