Page 84 of One Kind Goal

Sawyer yanked on his boots, ripped open the front door, and stomped to the pickup truck. Nia’s muffled Daddy from inside the vehicle made his heart shatter into a million pieces.

His gaze connected with the man in the driver’s seat. Alan. The dude gave him a sympathetic look as he opened his door and stepped out.

Nia screamed for Sawyer now and Alan quickly shut the door.

“Look, man. I know Carina is over the top right now. Give her some time.” Alan’s voice was calm, reasonable, but Sawyer could hear Nia sobbing and he was close to crying himself.

If he wasn’t so goddamn angry.

But it wasn’t Alan’s fault. It wasn’t even Carina’s fault. She was acting in what she thought was Nia’s best interest. You couldn’t fault a mother—especially one who had to hear the internet proclaim another woman was Nia’s mother—for wanting to protect her kid.

Protect her when Sawyer obviously couldn’t.

Carina bustled by him with all of Nia’s stuff. She tossed it into the back seat of the truck, blasting Sawyer with another hit of Nia’s crying.

“Can I at least talk to her?” he asked.

“I think it’s best if the rest of our talking happens through lawyers,” Carina said, pausing at the passenger side door as Alan climbed back into the driver’s seat.

“Lawyers?”

Carina nodded. “I want full custody, Sawyer.”

****

Morgan stood helplessly a few steps behind Sawyer as the red pickup truck reversed and sped away, taking Sawyer’s child and most likely his heart with it. She’d seen how much Nia had meant to him. Being able to spend time with her like he’d been recently had brought him so much joy. Hell, Nia had brought Morgan joy too and she wasn’t even related to the kid.

Although the internet thinks I am.

Dammit. Why hadn’t she moved faster last night? If she’d gotten out of there with Nia at the first sign of trouble, perhaps they wouldn’t have been caught escaping the scene. Carina was definitely mad about the exposure, but she’d seemed extra enraged about Morgan being referred to as Nia’s mother.

Can’t blame her.

Morgan had only appeared in Sawyer’s life a few months ago. Then she’d reappeared for a handful of days, enjoying what felt like a little family vacation. She’d only met Nia days ago, but the bond they’d forged did have a mother-daughter flavor to it. From Carina’s point of view, Morgan understood the woman’s fury. Some random chick—with ties to a movie star no less—inserted herself into Nia’s life and helped bring along the one thing Carina didn’t want for her daughter.

Instant fame.

But pursuing full custody of Nia wouldn’t be good for the child. Not after she’d been allowed to have all the fun she’d had with her father over these few days. Not after she knew what having a good male role model in her life was like. Not after feeling Sawyer’s love for her. Carina couldn’t deprive Nia of all that.

Could she?

Sawyer let out a roar and kicked a snow mound near his SUV, sending snow spraying out in all directions. “Fucking unbelievable! I was so close to having Nia in my life on a regular basis.”

Morgan closed the distance between Sawyer and her. She rested her hand on his back, but he whirled around, pure fury in his hazel eyes.

“Maybe I can catch up to them.” He stepped around her and headed back into the cottage.

She followed, closing the door and hating how empty the place felt without Nia or any of her stuff inside.

“I think you should let them go,” she said.

Sawyer plunged his arms into his jacket. “Let them go?” He shook his head. “I can’t do that.”

Morgan clamped her hand on Sawyer’s arm before he could reach for his keys on the little table by the front door. “I think you’ll get farther if you let Carina cool off first, Sawyer. She’s doing what she thinks is right for Nia based on the situation. It may not be totally rational, but I get where she’s coming from.”

His dark eyebrows shot up. “You’re taking her side on this? I can’t believe you right now.”

“I’m not taking her side,” Morgan said. “I’m saying she’s hurt. She trusted us and we let her down. She’s fearful of where this publicity will lead because of her own experiences. She wants to hide. I say we let her until we can figure out how to fix this properly.”