“And because Jennings is an idiot,” Maris says as she flings Kara’s fingers away. She grins at Kara. “I haven’t said that in way too long.”
Kara merely rolls her eyes. “Please. You say that to him all the time.”
My lips quiver as I burrow into Kody. His lips hover over mine. “Trust me, even if you can’t feel like you can trust them right now.”
And because I know down to my bones he wouldn’t harm me, I nod.
That gets me a hard kiss right in front of the two women who both go, “Aww,” before Kody glares them into silence.
“There’s way too much estrogen here. I’m going to work.” Pulling me to my feet, he brushes my hair back. “Call, text, whistle if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll be over after work with dinner for everyone.”
“Bring wine,” Kara suggests.
“But I have…” I start to say.
“And we’ll be long through it before Tinkertoy can get back from work,” Maris concludes.
“Tinkertoy?” I bite my lip before darting a glance at Kody, who’s trying to hold in his own laughter.
“It was that or Lincoln Log, but we haven’t got to that part of the conversation,” Maris explains.
“And I’m out. None of you need wine,” Kody declares. “You’re dangerous just as you are.”
Kara grins, but it’s Maris who bats her lashes. “We’re irresistible.”
“Jed used to call you insufferable, but I guess you’re that too.” The two share a warm look as Kody makes his way past. After he gets past them, he mouths, “You’ll be fine,” before disappearing from sight.
I track him as long as I can. When my eyes return to Kara and Maris, it’s to find Maris tapping her foot. “Listen, your next email was going to be my announcing I’m pregnant.”
Kara’s droll “By what? Immaculate conception?” has me roaring when that was the very last thing I expected to do in this room today.
This. These women were what I needed. And Kody gave it to me. He set aside whatever is going on between him and the guys to give it to me despite my never asking for it. And even without him here, I feel myself teetering over the edge into something so dangerous, it makes Wonderland appear tame. My head spinning, I tune back in to find the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire cat still arguing.
“Don’t kid yourself, Kara. I’m debating having a child,” Maris declares.
Kara tips her head back and begins murmuring. Confused, I look over to a grinning Maris, who explains, “She’s talking to Dean in Heaven begging for some divine intervention.”
“Maybe if we’re all lucky, one day he’ll answer me,” Kara sighs. “In the meanwhile, it’s way past time for you to get your ass over here and hug us.”
Quickly scrambling to my feet, I do just that. And if I feel like there’s a part of us that’s missing, well, that might be because I still don’t know exactly why Maris and Kara are here.
I really hope Kody brings a lot of wine. I have a feeling I’m going to need it.
“He did what?” I screech as the glass of white spills down the front of my shirt as I surge forward from where I’ve been listening to Maris and Kara.
“Met them right at the bus stop,” Kara confirms. “And during that time, he explained ‘his’ side of the story.”
“In other words, he lied,” I say flatly.
“But see, that’s the thing, Meadow.” Maris puts her glass down. “He lied just enough to confuse the kids even more. What they’re hearing are rumors from kids at school, garbage from their father, and silence from their mother. The only people who are giving them any kind of stability are Rainey and Brad.”
God, her words hurt. “You’re right. I’ve been so busy trying to make their lives perfect for when they get down here that…”
“You hoped things would calm down with Tiny Douchebag out of the picture up there?” Maris suggests.
Even though I want to laugh at my sister’s nickname for my ex, I’m so emotionally exhausted all I can do is nod. “I just wanted them to have a chance to have some peace before the upheaval started again.”
Kara’s thoughtful. “I’m not certain that ever happens.”
My heads whirling. Mitch’s actions have forced me to leave the past behind. But my children aren’t the past; they’re my everything. And it’s time I take a stand a fight for them. I clear my throat before I ask, “You both said I only needed to ask and you’d help?”
“Of course,” Maris replies.
“Anything,” Kara says generously.
Taking a deep breath, I release it slowly before saying, “I need to pack. I want to see my children. It’s time to explain what really happened.”
Kara’s eyes go wide while Maris is bouncing in her seat, ready for action.
“And if all goes to hell, at least I know I have the two of you to pick me up when I land.” I reach out a hand to each of them.
“And Kody,” Maris reminds me.
“And Kody,” I agree.
Maris gives a huge shout while Kara just curves her lips in a knowing way. Meanwhile, my heart thumps in in my chest. Kody. How do you thank a man who can look beyond a disaster and find something beautiful amid the mess to salvage?
I’ll figure out some way.
But first, it’s time to fight for my children.
Kody
“You make me look smart.”
“Fuck you, Nick.” I’ve said it at least twice during this call, but I really can’t think of anything else to say.
“Did you really think Brad was giving up your dumb ass because you’re falling ass over elbow for Meadow? Hello? Did the turpentine finally get to you?” He leans forward and knocks with his hand against his phone. “Maybe you should open the windows instead of sniffing that shit.”
Jennings laughs next to me where the fire’s roaring in my hotel suite. “I’m just glad you actually decided to read Kara’s email. I was getting close to having Brad call Covington.”
Putting Jennings’s phone onto the stand on the coffee table so he can see both of us, I yell, “How would you have felt? What if that was Jed saying shit like that to you after you found Kara again?”
Both men sober quickly. I go on, pressing the advantage. “I understand why, now. But honestly? Could he not have shot me a text? An email? Could one of you? I might have been able to have done some damage control over the last few weeks. Instead, the two of us felt like we’ve lost our families.”
“You’re right,” Nick says.
I blink, not certain I heard those words come out of his mouth. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. But in my defense, I didn’t know until afterward. I did try to call you, but I get you shutting every one of us out. And, I let them both have it because we all know who would have lost his mind, don’t we, Jennings?” He throws our friend completely under the bus.
Jennings leans forward, bracing his forearms on his knees. “Jed would have, for sure. While I was flying here with Kara, I kept talking to him, pleading with him not to take out his frustration with my stupidity on her.”
“Well, you made it alive.”
“I still have to make it back home.”
The three of us laugh. I sober quickly. “So, what’s going to happen next?”
“That’s entirely up to Meadow. The women are telling her what Tiny Douchebag did to the kids.”
“He’s such a piece of…” There’s a knock at my door. Frowning, I stand. “Are we expecting anyone?”
Jennings’s brow lowers. “Kara said she’d call.”
“Then who…” I peer out the peephole before turning around and glaring at Jennings and the phone, though there’s no way Nick can feel the force of my ire. “Are you sure this wasn’t a setup?”
“What are you talking…?” Jennings’s voice trails off just as I fling the door open to reveal a haggard Brad.
He tries to step over the threshold into my room until my hand slams into his chest. I still haven’t quite forgiven him. “
What are you doing here?” I demand.
“Flying commercial sucks. Let me in and I’ll tell you. I couldn’t get a hold of…” Then he spies Jennings over my shoulder. “Why are the rest of you here?” Brad demands.
“Trying to fix your stupid, big-mouth mistakes,” Jennings drawls. He tips his head to the phone before twisting the stand so Nick can wave his fingers at Brad. “Apparently, even Nick’s got a more golden tongue than you do.”
Nick waves his tongue like it’s a damn flag at all of us. It’s like he’s humping the damn phone with it.
I open my mouth to blast Brad, but instead, wheezing comes out. “He…didn’t.”
Brad’s tension-filled countenance starts to relax. “Stupid idiot. Of course he did. Never knew when to keep it in his mouth.”
Then from the wall that’s Brad, a feminine voice announces, “Oh, Nick must be on the phone. We got here just in time.” Maris shoves past him and strides into the room, owning it the minute she steps in. “Nice digs, Kody. Meadow, have you seen these yet?”
“Yes, I have,” comes Meadow’s voice, but I can’t see her.
Kara strolls in after Maris, and Jennings sighs in frustration. “I thought you were going to call?”
“And I thought you were going to answer?” she retorts. Spotting the phone on the coffee table, she rolls her eyes. “Now I get it.”
Sheepishly, he stands. “Sorry, Owl. I thought your text would break through. How did you all get here?”
Meadow brings up the rear, rolling a small suitcase behind her, which startles me. “We asked Kody’s foreman for a ride. Besides, I don’t want my car at the airport.” She comes up short when she realizes Brad’s in the room. “Hello.” Her voice turns arctic. I think the water we saw at Lake McDonald might be warmer.
Brad’s face crumbles.
I reach for her hand, and much to my delight, Meadow doesn’t just take it, she slides her arm under mine. “Taking a trip?”
“I’m going back to Juneau.”
“Why?” I ask her.
“It’s time to lay my cards on the table to the kids. I thought what I was doing was right, but parenting is full of mistakes. I’ve made a big one; it’s time to correct it.” Meadow’s blue eyes are lit with a combination of fury and despair. But the passion in them is undeniable. This is the woman I’ve never been able to forget.
“Meadow?” I tease a piece of hair away from her face.
“Hmm?’
“If you see Tiny Douchebag, don’t kill him. You’re building a life down here, okay?”
Her lips curve. Even if the smile doesn’t reach her eyes, I can feel the determination in her. “Anything you want me to keep an eye on while you’re gone?” I ask to divert her emotions.
“How about finishing the bathrooms?” She bumps her hip against mine, knowing damn well that’s weeks away. We’ve just barely finished the tile in the showers.
“Listen, Flower. Be grateful if I finish the grout before you get back.” I press a kiss to the side of her head. Then I pull back. “Unless you plan on being gone weeks?”
She shakes her head. “Couple of days max. I just need to book a flight.”
Jennings coughs loudly, as does Maris.
“I mean I need to ask Jennings if I can ride back with Maris and maybe see if he’ll have someone fly me back? Maris has already said I could stay with her.” Meadow adjusts her plans quickly.
Jennings beams and nods.
Brad’s face tightens, as if he’s holding back tears. “Meadow, could I have a moment with you? Please?”
And I don’t know who in the room—or on the phone—is the most surprised when Meadow replies, “Are there secrets here? Weren’t we all supposed to be a family? Or did that end the night my children told me they didn’t want me as a parent?”
Brad groans, “God, I’m so sorry. Neither me nor Rainey expected that. We didn’t know that was coming. We swear it. We wanted to warn you Elise was upset, but we didn’t have time to let you know.”
Meadow absorbs that information before nodding. “I’ll be dealing with that once we reach Juneau. But here’s my problem with you, Brad.” And she pulls out of my arms to face off against her brother-in-law.
“You put Kody in the position of having to answer to you about our developing personal relationship when that had no bearing on anything. In your overbearing concern, you tried to manipulate Kody into admitting feelings he may not be ready to admit to you, me—hell, to himself! I know you want to protect me from being hurt again, but you almost lost two members of your family with that move—a brother and a sister. So, tell me right now, Bradley Meyers, why?” Meadow demands.
As the words flow from her mouth, my heart tumbles clean out of my chest to fall at her feet. She only needs to reach down and pick it up. It’s hers. It’s always been hers. It will never belong to anyone else. Ever.
Brad begins to stutter, and Meadow gets right in his face. “Not. Good. Enough.” Whirling around to face me, I realize the years in between when we met and now don’t matter. All they did was heighten the longing I have for her. I want to throw each and every person out of my room so I can tumble her down on one of the luxurious beds and show her exactly what I’m feeling. If the flush riding her cheeks is anything to go by, she knows where my thoughts have gone.
“I owe you an apology, Kody,” Brad chokes out behind us.
Damnit. I’d forgot he was still in the room.
And then the clapping begins from the device still connected on the table. Just as I’m about to blast Nick, Maris snaps, “Jesus, will you shut the hell up, Nick? God, you can be such a jackass.”
And the look of shock on his face is almost as funny as the fact as he actually does it.
Meadow and I are sitting together at one of the lodge’s high-top tables while Brad, Kara, Jennings, and Maris devour a plate of huckleberry wings in the corner. We keep getting interrupted between Maris and Kara groaning over the wing sauce and Jennings and Brad laughing at them. Each time it happens, Meadow’s lips curve in remembrance of the first time she tasted those wings.
Me? I’ll never forget a damn moment I’ve ever spent with her.
“Do you know what you’re going to say to the kids when you’re with them?”
“I packed some of the photos I moved down here with me. I plan on leaving them there. In my haste, I took everything assuming they’d be with me soon. That was a mistake.”
“You’re human, Flower. You couldn’t have predicted what would happen and the decisions you’d have to make,” I point out.
“No, but I’m certainly not blameless in this situation. Kara, Maris, Rainey, they all tried to encourage me to tell the kids the truth.” Meadow turns her head and stares out the back deck over the lake. “I didn’t want to tarnish their memories.”
“And what’s changed?”
“Nothing. I don’t plan on doing that. I plan on giving them facts. Casting blame is up to them.” Turning her head around, Meadow slides her hand across the table.
I reach for it and instinctively twine my fingers between hers.
“If Elise chooses to hold on to her feelings of hate, I’ll have assessed the situation so I can have a serious conversation with not only Mitch, but my attorney.”
Whoa. “Meadow, are you saying…”
“I’m saying I’ll always be their mother. But I refuse to let them be unhappy. There’s an enormous difference. And I refuse to let my ex bounce in and out of their lives at whim. I’m not just going up there to talk about what happened; I’m going up there to discuss full custody. He doesn’t get to play these games anymore.”
My heart stops just as my thumb scrapes over the ridge where her rings used to sit. “Does that mean you’ll be moving back to Juneau?”
Her hand slides from mine. Pushing away from the table, she stands and walks around until she’s standing directly in front of me. I twist until my back is to the windows.
Meadow braces her hands on my thighs. “Someone spe
cial made me a grass ring a long time ago. I kept it safely tucked away, and not just in my heart. To me, that tiny piece of land represented everything he wanted it to be: dreams, hope, and chances. But when I slid it on my finger today, it reminded me I have a new beginning here. Do you really think I’m giving that up?” Stepping back, she cups my cheek. “That’s something else the kids and I have to discuss.”
Swallowing hard, I manage, “What’s that?”
“That if they come with me, home means Montana.” Just then, Maris calls her name. Meadow calls back, “Is it time?”
“Yep. We have to meet the driver out front,” Maris says.
Meadow’s hand slowly starts to drop, but before it can, I surge upward. Uncaring of who’s watching, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her body to mine. Our lips meet tenderly. Still touching, I whisper against them, “I’ll be waiting for you to come back.”
“I’ll call you when I can.” Then Meadow tears herself from my arms and grabs her coat, purse, and bag.
Signaling to the bartender I’ll be back, I follow the crew out to the front entrance of the lodge. Hugs and kisses are exchanged all the way around. Brad and Maris climb into the hotel’s airport transportation first. I hold the door for Meadow.
I’m about to close the door, but before she goes, she needs to know, “Seventeen years is too long for our hearts to be apart. Can you come back quicker this time?”
A sob escapes her lips. She opens her mouth to respond, but I just close the door.
It will give her something to think about on the plane ride to Juneau other than worry about the kids.
Meadow
The afternoon after we land in Juneau, I walk into my sister’s house as if I own it. Only Brad doesn’t look shocked to see me. I’ve already spent all morning with my attorney discussing my custody agreement, obtaining the necessary paperwork to ensure the adjustment for Brad and Rainey’s temporary guardianship for the kids and making sure Mitch’s actions have been noted. I want everything documented in the event I can sue for full custody one day, but it left me in one hell of a mood. Isler commented, “Meadow, it’s going to be a fight regardless of what happened in your marriage. That is, unless he shows fault as a father.”
Return by Land (Glacier Adventure Series Book 2) Page 21