From the Heart: Romance, Mystery and Suspense a collection for everyone (20 page)

Chapter Forty-Two

Brad was on his second cup of coffee when the phone rang. “Brad here.”

“Hey, it’s Keith. We got us a court date for next Tuesday. The judge has finally agreed to expedite for the benefit of Trevor. Oh, and I got a really friendly call as soon as I walked in the office this morning from Crystal’s lawyer. He’s furious and has filed a motion to delay this hearing.”

“Can he get it?” Brad stepped out of the house to make sure Crystal couldn’t hear him.

“I’ll do my best to make sure he doesn’t. And I wanted to let you know, I’ve got several affidavits about Crystal and the defaming comments she’s made around town against Emily. Along with Cliff’s statement, and thank you for that, her story is beginning to appear shaky.”

“Well, you’re the best. That’s why I hired you.” He could hear tapping in the background.

“Brad, could you come to the office right now?” Keith’s tone took on a seriousness Brad recognized well.

“What’s going on, Keith? I’ve got cattle to feed, a ranch to run.” But his stomach tightened a little more when he heard the sigh on the other end.

“Get your men to look after the ranch. You need to come in, Brad. This can’t wait.”

Brad stared up at the house as he walked around in the chilly air to the front. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

* * * *

Brad was waved into Keith’s office. The secretary pulled the door closed behind him. Keith smiled
, but not in a confident way. It was his way when he had to say something to someone that he didn’t want to.

“Spill it, Keith
. You’re making me nervous with all this prancing around.”

“Crystal’s lawyer has thrown a monkey wrench into the middle of things.”

Brad took a deep breath, and leaned back in the plain brown chair. “And what would that be?”

Keith leaned forward and clasped his hands on the desk in front of him. His eyes dimmed. “Crystal’s claiming Trevor’s not yours. The father is some guy she met in Miami.” The room narrowed and Keith appeared to be talking in slow motion. The ringing in his ears buzzed long and loud as the ache in his heart swelled
, until he’d swear it’d shatter into a million tiny pieces. He launched himself out of the chair “I’ll kill her. I swear to God, she’s dead!” Keith in turn jumped out of his chair, and pinned Brad against the wall.

“Shut up, Brad. Listen to me.” If Keith hadn’t kept himself in such good shape, there’d be no way he’d be able to keep Brad in that room. Even so, Keith was sweating as he forced Brad back
down into his chair.

“Brad, get a hold of yourself.” He stood over Brad, breathing hard as he held his arms loosely at his side, obviously prepared to grab Brad if he bolted again.

“We’ll order a paternity test today. Brad, I got to warn you, if it turns out he’s not yours, it’ll make the custody battle a little tougher. Not impossible, don’t forget on the birth certificate, she named you as the father. You still want him if he’s not yours?”

Brad shoved Keith as he jumped out of the chair. “God dammit, he’s my boy. I don’t care what comes back, that’s my little boy. Do you hear me?” The pain consuming him thickened his words.

Keith reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Hey, I’m on your side. I’ll make the arrangements to confirm paternity, but heed me well, Brad. Until this is over, move out. Unless you can guarantee you can cool that temper of yours and not do anything stupid, you stay away from her. Pack your bags and move out. Move to one of those cottages on your property. And you make sure you’re never alone with her. I don’t care how, but you find a way. We’re too close, this is the final battle, my friend. Don’t blow it.”

Brad listened but he wanted her gone, whatever it took. Crystal knew exactly what buttons to push. The more Keith talked
, the less he heard. “I can’t stay here. I need to clear my head.”

“You promise me, Brad, before you walk out that door, that you’ll pull it together and not do anything stupid.”

He knew what Keith was saying and he didn’t know if he could do it. “I’ll try Keith, that’s all you’re going to get.” Then he left feeling numb.

He didn’t know how long he sat in his truck, or how he got here. But he climbed out of the truck and
Emily was there, her hands in the dirt with Katy beside her.

Chapter Forty-Three

Emily froze, just looking at the sadness that hunched him over when he leaned against the truck. Emily went to him. She took his hand. She led him to the house. “Katy, time to come in the house.”

She let go of Brad’s hand and watched as he walked, like a man who’d lost everything, into the kitchen and stood before the sink, staring out her small square window.

Emily popped in a movie for Katy, tucking her blanket around her on the sofa. She grabbed the phone. Gina answered on the first ring.

“Hey sugar, what’s cooking
?.”

“Gina, something’s happened. I need a big favor. Can you come and get Katy?”

“Can you talk about it?”

“Not now, Gina. I realize this is short notice… and I promise I’ll tell you later.”

“I’ll be right there, Em.”

Emily hung up the telephone. She came up behind Brad and slipped her arm around his waist. “Gina’s coming to get Katy. Brad, you’re scaring me. What’s happened?”

He turned around and stared down at her with a face like granite. He didn’t touch her. His arms hung at his side, as he gazed down, his eyes glistened with tears. He touched her face, right before his jaw trembled.

She wiped away the tear that fell just as a car pulled up. “Gina’s here. I’m going to throw some stuff in a bag for Katy so she can spend the night
. I’ll be right back.”

Emily had a quick chat with Gina, packed Katy’s bag and had her out the door in less than five minutes. When she walked back into the kitchen, Brad had put on a pot of coffee. His jacket tossed over the back of her cheap wooden chair. He’d regained his dignity.

She took his hand and pulled him into the living room, sitting beside him on the sofa. “What’s happened?”

He looked away for just a moment. “Crystal said Trevor’s not my kid.”

Emily felt the fire burn inside, and for the first time ever, she considered and understood how one spouse could kill another.

“Emily, I haven’t told Keith this, but Crystal went away several times that year, before she knew she was pregnant. Shopping trips she called them.”

Emily was furious and couldn’t contain the words that spewed forth, “Oh, that bitch. Oh, Brad, how could she do that to you and that precious little boy?”

Brad pulled her against him. Wrapped his arms around her and comforted her. “Do you know how beautiful you are to me, especially when you’re angry?”

He kissed the top of her head, as she rested her cheek against his dark blue shirt. “What are we going to do, Brad?”

Just the fact that she automatically assumed it was the two of them in this made the pain lessen a little.

They talked for hours, trying to come up with a viable plan of attack. It was after nine o’clock and neither had eaten. He pulled away from her and stood up. “I have to go, Em.”

“Brad, please stay.”

“I can’t, not tonight. I got to get my head together and I can’t do it here.”

Her face must have
betrayed her hurt.

“Em, don’t look like that. You’re my rock and I feel things for you I’ve never felt for any woman, not this deep. But I have to take care of something.”

She was reluctant to let him leave, but he was firm. “Em, I promise I’ll come back tomorrow morning.” He touched her cheek and she leaned into his hand. Then he left, before she managed to talk him into staying. From his darkened truck he watched her. She pressed her hand to the window as he pulled away.

Chapter Forty-Four

He called his daddy from the truck. He answered on the first ring, of course he sounded groggy because they were asleep. Brad explained Crystal’s latest stunt, and arranged for the paternity test. His father offered up all his resources and his lawyers to ensure this came out in Brad’s favor. In the end, Brad agreed and gave his daddy permission to go ahead and contact Keith, to extend all pertinent resources to him.

He kept his word with Emily. After he fed the stock in the morning, got the men organized; he stopped in to see her. Maybe to reassure her he wasn’t about to do anything stupid.

Over the next few days, Brad did his best to avoid Crystal. Although she made it difficult, placing herself directly in his path at every opportunity. She goaded him. And on the second day, after the paternity test was in, she followed him to town, and tried to corner him outside his lawyer’s office.

“Get out of my way.”

“I want to talk to you, please, Brad.” He struggled to suppress his fiery temper and walked around her.

He walked right into Keith’s office and sat down.

“She followed me to town, cornered me out front.”

Keith got up and looked out the window. “That woman’s got balls or is just plain stupid. Don’t see her; she must have gone.”

“So what’s the news?”

Keith tossed him the envelope with the results. Brad reached out and held the envelope. For the first time in his life, he wanted to run; not face it. How could one piece of paper have the power to change his life forever? He closed his eyes. His throat tightened and he felt tentacles squeeze his heart. He forced himself to rip it open
, pull out the sheet of white paper. He opened his eyes and gazed at the results and couldn’t hold back the sting of tears. His lip trembled as he looked up at his longtime friend, who for the first time since this started, had tears in his eyes. Brad shut his eyes, and wept.

Chapter Forty-Five

Brad waited in the kitchen until he was ready. Then he strode to the stairs and shouted, “Crystal, get down here.” He watched as she started down the stairs. Her heels clicked on each step. He wandered back in the kitchen and leaned against the stove. When she stepped into the kitchen, he stood like a general leading his troops.

“Sit down, now.” His voice was quite controlled
, considering the circumstances.

She appeared to consider her options as she glanced at the door, and then him.

Then with a toss of her long blonde hair and a subtle sway in her hips, she walked over to the chair pulled away from the table, and sat down.

Brad felt
physically ill, for the wasted years of chasing her. He stepped behind her and she squirmed in the chair, crossing and uncrossing her legs. She started to get up, “Sit your ass back in that chair.” He walked in front of her and leaned in her face as he said it.

He pointed to the envelope in front of her on the table. “That’s for you and it’s my final offer. You either sign it now and get the fuck out of my house, or you get nothing.” He wandered over to the counter.

She gazed at the tan manila envelope.

“Open it.” His words were void of any emotion, steely and hard, which caused a shadow of fear and confusion to flicker across her face. Her hand trembled when she picked it up and slit it open with a carefully manicured nail.

He watched as she read it; watched the range of emotions that flickered across her face, and finally as she tossed the papers aside, shaking her head with a spark of fury registering in her cold blue eyes. “I’m not signing this and there is no way Trevor—”

He cut her off as he uncrossed his arms, gripping the side of the counter in an attempt to steady himself from his rising temper. “Don’t you say
one word
about Trevor.”

Her mouth snapped shut and the first time ever, he saw fear on her face.

“My lawyer’s preparing, right now at this moment, to file a motion, terminating all your rights as a parent. Of course, it’s a crapshoot, but a very real possibility, especially after the stunt you just pulled.

Included in this motion will be not one single dime for you
, and that, my dear, is a very real possibility. You see, after your wonderful little bit of acting, imagine our surprise to once again see you spin another web of your lies. The paternity test came back. You’ll be happy to note, Trevor’s mine. But then, you already knew that didn’t you?”

He didn’t allow her to answer. Instead he walked toward her
, clasping his hands behind his back as he steadied himself. He then began pacing back and forth as her face paled. “So you have two choices. You either pick up the pen and sign the agreement right now, giving me sole custody and guardianship of Trevor, and do not contest the divorce decree, which is before a judge as we speak, and then you may keep the very generous settlement I’m offering. As you can see in black and white in front of you, it’s a lot of money. And then I want you to leave and never show your face here again, ever. If you choose to fight this, get up and walk away without signing it, I’ll have an injunction to have you removed from the premises right now and you will not get a dime. I’ve already cut you off financially. And any bills I get on your behalf, will be returned unpaid. I’m no longer responsible for you. You’ll have to get a job and support yourself. Especially once the judge sees all the evidence against you. The abandonment of Trevor, when you left him alone, the slander against Emily, which we have statements for and very willing people to testify against you, but the last bit, lying about Trevor’s paternity, tsk, tsk.” Brad shook his head, feeling steady control as he watched her hesitate, before biting the side of her lip.

“As for Trevor, don’t add harming an innocent child to your list of follies.” For the first time ever, she actually flushed in embarrassment. “You should also know,
Crystal, that Emily has a very good case against you for slander and defamation of character. Did you know the courts are now handing out some very large settlements?” Her hands were in her lap, but he knew she was shaking inside. “Sign it, Crystal. Walk away today. As you can see, I’m being extremely generous. There’ll be no suit from Emily and no action will be brought against you, but only if you sign. I’m sure your lawyer will be able to advise you of your chances of winning a slander and defamation suit of this degree. Your choice. Right now. You don’t want me for an enemy. Even you can’t be that foolish.” He noted her hesitation, the uncertainty.

She picked up the pen that had been placed precisely beside the envelope. Her hand shook as she turned to the tabs clearly marking where she needed to sign. After signing and initialing each page, she threw down the pen and rose from the chair.

“Pack your bags and get the hell out of my house now. The money will be in your account as soon as this is filed.” Without a word, she hurried upstairs.