Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina

If there is no court order or other written agreement in place then yes, you may 'legally' take the child as you have as much right to the child as the mother does. However, even though technically legal under the facts as you have presented them, taking the child like this might be frowned on and/or put you in a bad light if things end up in court. Further, there is the possibility that the mother may seek an emergency ex parte custody order when she finds out the child is not coming back on time. All of that said, the mother seems to be unreasonable in not allowing the child to spend some additional time with you. You should consider appealing to mother one last time for permission to take the child stress the fact that she has the child the majority of the time and that it is fair for you to have a little additional time now and again. If she still refuses you can hire an attorney to get your own temporary order or simply decide to take the child without permission.