by Celya Bowers
Campbell stared at him for what seemed like forever. “I know this is going to sound wicked, but since we’re here, why don’t we look up her divorce papers. Before you get all crazy, they’re on public record. I have a hunch and I want to see if I’m right.”
Tristan had known Campbell almost all of his life and if this man said he had a hunch, he knew to follow it. “Lead the way.”
***
“Mommy!” Tatum ran to greet Lizzy. “We missed you!” She hugged her mother fiercely. “Granny and Gramps took us for pizza.”
“That’s great, baby,” Lizzy said, trying to calm her daughter. “Right now, we need to let Aunt Izzy sit down on the couch.” She motioned to her very sickly looking pregnant sister. “She had something to eat the baby didn’t like.”
Tatum quickly moved from her mother to her aunt. She grabbed Izzy’s hand and led her to the couch. She loved taking care of Izzy whenever she could. Well, as much as a six-year-old could.
“Would you like some water?” Tatum asked. “I’ll ask Granny if you can have anything for your tummy ache. She always gives me peppermint.” Tatum took off before Izzy could say anything.
Soon their father, followed by Lizzy’s son, PJ and the family dog, Langston filled the living room. Langston was a full grown chocolate Labrador, who taught he was as human as anyone in the house. Langston sat next to Izzy, offering his chocolate paw.
“Thanks, boy,” Izzy whispered, rubbing his fur. “Smells like someone went to the groomer today.”
“Yes,” her father said. “Picked him up when we picked up the kids. I don’t know who he was more excited to see us or the kids.” Raymond Carter sat down in his oversized recliner. “How you feeling baby?”
“My stomach is giving me the blues. Thank goodness Cam is not here or I would never hear the end of this. I think it was that second steak.”
“Second?” Her father asked.
“I was hungry,” she shot back. “Besides, Cam wanted a doggie bag. I ate the first one so fast, there was nothing left.”
Her father laughed. “Speaking of Cam, he just called. Him and Tristan are at the courthouse looking up something or other and he’d be home later. I told him you’d probably stay here with us or with Lizzy.”
“What are those two up to?” Lizzy asked no one in particular.
Her father chuckled. “I don’t know baby. He said something about Cam had a hunch and they wanted to check it out. He’ll call you later.”
Lizzy nodded, then sat on the loveseat. Soon PJ joined his mother and hugged her. “Hi Mom. Dad’s not coming here is he?”
“Why would ask that?”
“Because that’s his car parked across the street.”
SIX
Lizzy held her breath, then counted to ten before she spoke to her young son. No, that fool didn’t, she mused. No her ex-husband was not parked in front of her parents’ home without her permission. “I don’t know why he’s out there, PJ.”
Her young son nodded. “Good. I don’t want to go to Grandma’s today.” He referred to his maternal grandmother. “She always makes us read to her before we can play.”
She had known that Paul’s mother saw the kids more than he had. “No baby, besides, it’s a school night.”
PJ smiled and sat closer to his mother. “Is Aunt Izzy okay?” He glanced over at a sleeping Izzy stretched out on the couch. “She doesn’t look good.”
Lizzy chuckled. “She’s just tired. Remember, she’s going to have a baby, so she gets tired easily.”
“I know that,” PJ clarified. “I’m not a baby, Mom. I mean she looks like she’s in pain. You know like when your tummy hurts really bad, but you just have to deal with it.”
Lizzy looked at her younger sister a little more closely as she slept. Sure enough, Izzy did have that look, but what could she do? Maybe it was just the baby moving around. Sisterly instinct took over, Lizzy rose and neared her sister. “Izzy, wake up.”
“What?”
“Are you okay?”
“Kid is jumping up and down. Apparently it really didn’t like my choice of dinner.”
Lizzy grinned. “Would you like something?”
Izzy finally opened her eyes. “Why are you hovering over me? I have a husband for that.” She took a deep breath. “No, I just have to ride it out. I’m fine.” She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
Lizzy knew something was very wrong. Izzy was never that abrupt with her and would never just end a conversation with her. Another thing to mention to Cam. She sat by her son and wrapped him in her arms. “See, she’s fine. Just pregnant.”
PJ shrugged. “Have you and Tristan made up yet?”
“Why?”
“Well, Tatum said he wouldn’t come see us if you guys were still broken up. He promised he’d come to my soccer game. He’s already missed two. There’s not many left.”
“He’ll be at the next one, promise.”
PJ stared at her with those big, brown eyes. “How do you know?”
“Because we made up today. We both had been wrong.” She thought about her ex-husband. “Does your dad or grandma ask about me or Tristan?”
“Dad ask if you had a boyfriend. Then I heard him tell Grandma that he was going to heat things up. I didn’t know what he was talking about.”
“When did he say that?” Lizzy felt like a defense attorney toward her own son.
“I don’t know a few weeks ago. I don’t really remember. Grandma kept saying to leave it alone, but Daddy shook his head.”
Well that didn’t sit right with Lizzy. Something big was going on and she had to find out what, but she didn’t dare confront him right now. She might kill him. And it wasn’t like he would tell her anyway.
Much later, back at her own house, Lizzy settled on the living room sofa with a cup of herbal tea. Once the kids were in bed, and she triple checked the locks, Lizzy trolled the Internet hoping to find some kind of information on the investigation but came up with nothing.
With the emotional rollercoaster she’d been on that day, sleep should have been immediate as soon as the kids were in bed, but here she was, eleven o’clock and she still awake. She reached for her cell phone and dialed her parents’ home.
“Hi Mom, is Izzy still there?”
“Yes, she decided to stay the night. Cam had called but it was so late and Izzy didn’t want to move.”
Lizzy felt like her mother was leaving something out. “Mom, what is going on?”
“Nothing is going on, honey. Izzy was going to be here tomorrow anyway, this was just easier.”
Lizzy relaxed. “Sorry, mom. Is just she wasn’t feeling well, and then Cam and Tristan hunting clues, it’s just too much at once.”
“Welcome to my world.” Her mother chuckled. “Baby, just calm down. Everything is fine.”
“You’re right, I have enough on my plate with Paul and his antics. I don’t really have time to deal with to worry about Izzy and her pregnancy. I know Cam is taking the best care of her.”
“Yes, take care of you.” Her mother ended the call.
Lizzy sighed as she pushed the end button on the phone. Her mother could always help her see the big picture. With that thought, she went to bed.
***
Tristan had just entered his home when his cell phone rang. He scrambled to find the phone as it continued to ring. He imagined it was Lizzy, because he was supposed to call her and hadn’t. Great move, Tristan. She’s going to be pissed.
The ringing continued. Finally, he threw down his briefcase, and search for the phone. On the sixth ring, he answered. “Baby, I’m sorry.”
Laughter. “I’m not your baby,” Cam shot back.
“I bet Izzy read you the riot act for coming home so late,” Tristan said. He sat down on his couch and kicked off his shoes.
“Not quite. She was sleeping, so she stayed at her parents.”
Tristan didn’t like the sound of that. “What’s up?”
“Nothing’s up. You
know how she is. Once she’s sleep. Don’t bother her. Besides, she was going to be there tomorrow anyway. I called you for a reason.”
“Right. Sorry, I got sidetracked with Izzy.”
“I’ve been going over Lizzy’s divorce settlement. I must say, she’s a very smart girl. Or either Paul didn’t even look at the papers.”
Tristan’s curiosity was piqued now. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s in the settlement?”
“Normally, when both parties are upwardly mobile, there’s a division of assets, you know house, cars, savings, etc. In this case, there was an agreement to sell the house, which she did, but she was allowed to keep the surplus, normally that would have been divided. He doesn’t pay the kids insurance, she does. He only pays child support and not very much at that.”
Tristan knew that Lizzy had gotten a great settlement, this was why. “He probably thought he was getting away with murder and didn’t contest anything. Idiot.”
“Most likely. You think, now he realized what happened and wants money?”
“He hadn’t asked her for money. Only tries to wreck her life.”
“This could be why he’s trying to say she’s a bad parent. He could sue for custody,” Cam said.
“I think that would get laughed out of court. Especially, after the meeting today.” Tristan’s mind raced with possibilities. “He’s got an agenda. We just have to find out what it is.”
“Sounds like we need call another Callahan.”
Tristan so didn’t like the sound of that. Another Callahan meant another one of his intelligence-community cousins. That also meant this was morphing into something he wasn’t quite ready for. After his marriage crashed and burned, he hadn’t wanted any more complications in his life. That was the main reason for coming back to Turners Point and taking the city manager’s job. Sure he could have taken any number of high six figure jobs in DC, but he wasn’t about money. He was about being happy.
“Tristan, are you still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Just thinking.” He just wanted a quiet life with no complications, no drama, just normal. Sounded pretty boring, he mused.
“I know, I know. You’re thinking this is too many complications and you’re thinking about running again.”
“No, actually, I was thinking quite the opposite.”
“Whoa! No way,” Cam said. “Here I was ready to give you the speech about how important it was to stick by Lizzy and you’ve figured it all out.”
He chuckled. “Not quite,” Tristan admitted. “I was just thinking about what I really wanted out of life.” He took a deep breath, hoping to calm his racing heart. “Yeah, when I said it out loud, it sounded boring and normal. If I learned one thing from watching you fall in love with Izzy is that nothing is easy. Look at how complicated that was and now look you guys are married. She was involved in one of your first cases, then she was your doctor, but somehow none of that mattered.”
“Right,” Cam said. He hadn’t denied one word of it. “I’m not going to say any of it was easy. Look at my aunt and uncle. Interracial marriage back in the day. Aunt Amelia will tell you how she tried to send my uncle packing, but he wasn’t having it. Now look, they’ve been married like 44 years. They’re still in love each other.”
Tristan had heard the hard times Cam’s aunt and uncle had, but nothing deterred them. Nothing could stop the strong bond between those two. “I can tell. Every time I see them, they remind me of what love should be like.”
“Yeah, puts us young people to shame. I was thinking about calling Chris to do a little snooping. He can usually find out stuff not on any one’s radar.”
Tristan knew of Chris and his snooping abilities. Despite his young age, Chris was great at being an investigator. He also knew he had very high profile clients and was always swamped with work. “You sure he’s going to have time to do some stalking for us.”
“Sure, this about family. He’ll do it. Once I check in with Brad, then I’ll touch base with Chris. He always knows what’s going on around Turners Point, and in DC. Our only problem is that Erica is due in about six weeks.”
“How is that bad?”
“His focus might not be up to his usual standard,” Cam said.
“Oh, let’s hope this doesn’t take long then,” Tristan said, ending the call. He needed to call Lizzy. He hit the speed dial option and waiting for the phone to connect.
“Hello,” a drowsy voice answered.
Tristan instantly glanced at the clock. Just after eleven. She was probably exhausted. “Sorry, baby. Forgot about the time. I just wanted to hear your voice when I got home, but Cam called. I think he was a little worried to Izzy decided to stay at her parents.”
“Mom said it was normal. She was a little sick after dinner.”
“How sick?”
“She ate too fast, sick. You should have seen her inhale that steak tonight.”
Tristan laughed. “Yeah, Cam, is a little worried about her eating. I’m glad they’re going to the doctor on Wednesday. It should calm both of them down.”
“What did you two find tonight? Any good dirt on Paul?”
“Not yet. Going to have to bring in the big guns. Cam’s cousins,” he explained. “Brad works for the FBI, and Chris runs a private investigation company.”
“Oh, that sounds serious. Tristan, I don’t want you to get hurt. You and Cam are not investigators, you’re lawyers.”
“Are you saying you don’t think I can take care of you?”
“No, honey. I’m saying this is a little out of your comfort zone. I don’t want you or Cam getting hurt trying to figure out what Paul is up to.”
“Well too bad, you’ve got me and I’m going to take care of you and your kids. Paul isn’t going to know what hit him. You’re stuck with me Lysette Carter-Hall.”
Dead air. Tristan listened and waited for a reply to his proclamations, but nothing. Too fast, he mused. He was going way too fast. He was getting ready to apologize when he her quiet sniffles. She was crying. “Lizzy?”
“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all night.”
Tristan was stumped. Now what? He was trying to keep it something, he hadn’t known what, but something. Honesty never hurt, he mused. “You know I mean it right?”
“Yes, Tristan,” she said softly. “One thing I know about you is that if you say then it’s the truth. Remember, when you broke up with me? Every word you said was the absolute truth. It hurt, but it was the truth.”
He winced at the memory. “Sorry, baby. My only defense is that I was a confused man. I have learned the error of my ways.” He hoped that was enough to satisfy Lizzy.
“And what ways would that be? You do realize this involves more than just us?”
“Yes, I know this is more than just about us. I learned that normal is boring and even though I said I wanted an uncomplicated life, I have my share of baggage as well. We just have to figure out what’s important to us.”
“And that is?”
“You and the kids are important to me. And I’ll do anything to keep you guys safe. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” His heart felt lighter with his admission.
“You’re important to me, Tristan. I love you. I hadn’t wanted to get this deep this quick, but you make me feel like there’s nothing I can do. When you came to our office to work last year, I thought you were the sexiest man I’d ever seen. You treat my kids as if they were your own. You don’t know how much I appreciate that. PJ is looking for you at his next soccer game.”
“I had promised him, but after everything that happened, I didn’t think it would have been a good idea. You might have thought I was stalking you.”
She actually laughed. “No, I wouldn’t have thought that. That’s not your style. You’re not sneaky, or underhanded. Your face trouble head-on.”
“And that’s what we’re going to do with Paul.” He cleared his throat before he began. “Tonight, Cam and I looked up your divorce decree.”
“Wh
y?”
“We thought we’d find the answer to Paul’s harassing you.”
“Did you?”
“Not really. You drew up a good settlement. I can’t believe he didn’t contest anything. He probably thought he was getting the deal of the century when you didn’t require him to pay health insurance, school tuition, and minimal child support.”
She chuckled. “Yeah,” she said proudly. “He was probably bragging to his buddies about how he got over on me. He didn’t read the small print as they say.”
He could hear her sharp brain working on something so smooth, Paul wouldn’t see it coming. That was one of the reasons she was lead attorney for his office. “What’s in the small print?”
“It’s in the custody agreement. Each year, his visitation time is cut in half. Like this year, he’s supposed to get them once during the week, and every other weekend. Needless to say, he hardly ever gets them as it is. He doesn’t get them for vacation, summers, etc. He’s too irresponsible. His mother is the one keeping them.”
He couldn’t resist. “So what happens next year?”
“He gets them for one weekend in January, February, April, August, September, and October. The next year he gets them four times a year.”
“You think he realized it and that’s why he’s trying to trump up charges against you?” Tristan could see a plan forming. Perhaps Paul wasn’t such an idiot. “Maybe he’s decided that if he had custody, then the courts would revisit the custodial arrangement.”
“For any other man, I would say yes. For Paul, this has little to do with the kids. He didn’t spend time with them when we were married, so they’re not focus of his hatred. He’s still mad that I divorced him. He thought I loved him too much to let him go. You see when we first met, I was a different person.”
He didn’t want to hear the story of Paul but knew he had no choice. “Why don’t you tell me about when you guys met?”