by K. C. Crowne
Ooo000ooo
Smothered in Love was always packed at lunch time. I stepped inside the cafe and looked around, finally finding Mr. Buchanon in the far corner. He locked eyes with me but didn’t smile or wave or anything to set my mind at ease.
Anna, the sweet hostess, popped up in front of me, blocking my view. “Table for one, Josie? Or will your friends be joining you today?”
“Uh, no, I’m meeting someone and he’s already here.” I pointed toward the lawyer and pushed past the crowd at the door. “But thank you, Anna. Tell Felicity I said hi.”
The cafe wasn’t large, and we were crammed in there like sardines. Or perhaps my nerves were making me claustrophobic. I sidled up to his table and slipped into the seat across from him.
“Alright, I’m here. What is this all about?”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to order something to eat first?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“I’m not hungry. I just want to get this over with. What do you want with me?”
He grabbed some sugar and tore open the packaging, pouring it into a coffee cup. He was taking his dear sweet time getting to the point.
“As you probably know, Wade Harris is expected to be released from jail later this month, and he isn’t very happy with you keeping his son from him. He intends to file for custody.”
My heart stopped. I didn’t want to say anything that would give it away that Milo was Wade’s son. Without proof, I could continue to deny it for as long as possible.
Mr. Buchanon continued without me speaking. “And as his lawyer, I feel he’s got a solid case. I mean, you’re just a single mother, barely getting by. He’s a wealthy businessman—”
“And a psychopath,” I muttered. “Don’t forget about that.”
He shrugged. “He’s not been diagnosed as such, Ms. Parker. That’s simply hearsay.”
“Well, he’s in jail for stalking and kidnapping. He’s definitely not man of the year.”
“Touché, Ms. Parker, touché. None of that will matter in the end anyway. Especially considering you’re no angel yourself.”
“What do you mean? I’ve never done anything wrong!”
He slipped an envelope across the table. I hesitated for only a second before opening it. Inside were photos of me on the mountain with Cyrus, including one of us naked and fucking. My cheeks burned as I slipped them back into the envelope. Mr. Buchanon reached across for them, but I held the envelope firmly in my hand.
“Ah, it’s no problem. They were taken with a digital camera. We have them saved. You can keep those if they mean that much to you.”
“What does this have to do with anything, other than proving someone is following me and invading my personal space?”
“It’s not personal space, Ms. Parker - it’s a public area. You were having sex in a public area with a random man you met on the trail.”
“Cyrus isn’t a random man I met on the trail.”
“Oh, he’s not?” He cocked his head to the side.
“It’s none of your fucking business who he is to me, or what we were doing. You know nothing about me or him or any of this, clearly.”
“We know more than you probably realize,” he said, clearing his throat. “After all, we’ve had a private investigator watching you for months. How do you think we knew about your son?”
I didn’t answer. I was still protecting Milo. I wouldn’t say anything that would prove he was Wade’s son, they couldn't force me to admit it.
“You don’t have to answer that. Here.” He handed me another envelope.
I opened it to find photos of me with Milo. They were taken as I was getting in and out of the car to go to doctor’s appointments, all of which I’d scheduled outside of Liberty thinking it was safer. But this investigator had followed me all the way into Salt Lake City. My hands were shaking as I went through months of photographs, the most recent ones taken a week before.
“He’s not Wade’s son,” I said, putting the photos back into the envelope. “That’s where you’re both wrong. And this is harassment. It’s no better than the stalking he was arrested for in the first place!”
Mr. Buchanan’s smirk widened. He looked me over, as if studying my facial expression for any sign of a lie. I tried to stare back at him with as blank a look as possible.
“Nice try, Ms. Parker,” he said, finishing the last of his coffee. “But we know better than that. Work with us, and maybe you can see your son. Defy us, and we’ll come after him. It might take a while, but eventually you’ll run out of money for lawyers and court costs, miss a lot of work and have to close your business while Wade is sitting pretty with the best lawyers money can buy.”
He stood up, dropped a couple dollars on the table and grabbed his suit jacket, putting it on while staring down at me like I was trash on the ground instead of a human being.
“We’ll be in touch,” he said with a wink before moving toward the exit of the restaurant.
As soon as he was gone, I let loose. I didn’t care if I was in public; I couldn’t hold it back a second longer. All the tears and frustration came spewing out of me. With my face in my hands, I began sobbing uncontrollably, shaking so much that my knees kept hitting the table.
“Josie, honey, what is it?” Felicity’s voice called out to me. She took my hands away from my face, kneeling to be even with me. The entire cafe was focused on me, but if she cared, it didn’t show.
Gasping for breath, I tried to explain what had just happened, but words kept failing me. All I kept repeating was, “He knows about— He knows—” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. He knew about Milo.
He knew about his son.
“Who?”
“Wade,” I stammered.
As soon as I mentioned his name, Felicity knew exactly what I was talking about. Her eyes widened. “Oh God. I’m sorry. What should we do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Here, let me get Elle over here,” she said, reaching for her phone. “She’ll know what to do.”
I nodded. Elle knew more about these types of things than anyone else. Her job as a journalist meant she’d studied a lot of court cases and researched laws and such. Besides, Felicity was a friend, but Elle was my best friend. It made a huge difference.
“She said she’s coming right over. It’ll only be a few minutes,” Felicity said. “In the meantime, talk to me, Josie. Who was that man you were with just now?”
“Wade’s lawyer. He’s had someone following me all this time.”
I handed her the photos of me and Milo. She opened the envelope and flipped through them, obviously trying to hide the panic on her face. She slipped them back into the envelope and moved to the seat across from me, the one the lawyer had been sitting in moments ago. She reached across the table and took my hands in hers. “It’s going to be okay, Josie. There’s no way that asshole can win.”
“Josie!” Elle’s voice cried out from the front door. She worked just around the corner, one of the benefits of a small town. You were never too far from your loved ones when needed. She rushed over to me, kneeling to hug me tightly. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered. “Tell me everything.”
She stepped back and pulled up a chair to be right beside me. With my voice lowered, I told them everything the lawyer had told me. I even mentioned the photos he had of Cyrus and me but didn’t show them. I felt ashamed enough as it was. If his entire goal was to make me feel terrible, he’d won. The first time since Wade that I’d been with another man, and of course, I was made to feel like a horrible person for doing so.
And I had no idea if it would cause problems with custody and Milo.
“No, that’s a bullshit argument,” Elle said, shaking her head. “Who you sleep with is nobody’s business. There’s no way he can win. The man is in jail for kidnapping, for God’s sake.”
“See, that’s what I thought too,” Felicity agreed.
“Which scares me just as much. If he can’t win t
hrough legal means, what’s stopping him from, you know—” I couldn’t even say the words. They stopped in my throat, forming a lump I couldn’t swallow down.
Felicity and Elle shared a look as if neither one knew what to say.
“We won’t let that happen, Josie,” Elle said.
I wanted to believe her, I did. But I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, and that terrified me. “I need to get out of here. Just pack up my things and head out of town where no one knows who I am and—”
“Josie, calm down,” Felicity consoled.
“No, I can’t calm down. I can’t. I have to get out of here. I can’t stay in Liberty another second. It’s too dangerous.” My panic-stricken voice was lifting an octave, and I knew my eyes were outrageously wide.
Elle grabbed my hands, and Felicity wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Honey, honey,” Felicity soothed. “Calm down. Deep breaths.”
I took three deep, cleansing breaths, nodding my head as I felt the return of control over my emotions. “I’m okay.”
“You sure?”
“Well, no, but I’m not going to freak out again.”
“Good, because I have an idea,” Elle said, speaking softly.
“You do?” I asked, eyebrows scrunching.
“Well, let me look into a few things first,” she said slowly. “But once I know more, I’ll give you all the details. Just trust me, alright?”
“I can’t wait around, Elle. It’s too risky.”
“He’s in jail for at least another couple of weeks. We have time.” Elle looked at Felicity, who nodded in agreement.
“A few weeks isn’t much time.”
“It’s enough time, trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
I wanted to trust her. She was my best friend, the one person who had never given up on me even when I’d wanted to give up on myself. I didn’t want to leave Liberty behind either - my entire life was in the small town. My friends, my mom, my business. Everything. I’d always wanted to build my own life there too, with Milo and hopefully other children one day.
“I’ll give you two days, Elle, but I can’t wait too long. I have to think of Milo first.”
“I know, sweetie. And trust me, I’m thinking about him too. We’ll figure it out.”
She sounded so confident; I wanted to believe her. I nodded. “Alright. A couple days, max.”
I had no idea what she was working on, but Elle was smart. If she had a plan, I wanted to hear it. Especially if it meant I wouldn’t have to leave my entire life behind for good. But one thing was certain: I’d do anything for my son. Absolutely anything.
Chapter 8
Cyrus
Ben poked his head into my office. “There’s a woman here to see you.”
I glanced at the schedule on my computer, afraid I’d missed an appointment, but I had nothing scheduled for another hour when I was to meet some ex-military guys who wanted to get back in shape. Sometimes people walked in for consultations, but usually Ben would schedule an appointment or go over the basic packages with them.
He could see the reluctance on my face. “Says she’s a friend of Josie’s.”
That got my attention. “Send her in.”
Ben nodded, stepping aside. The woman stepped inside my office, shutting the door behind her with a wave at Ben. I’d seen her around town, mostly hanging with Josie, and I knew she was the editor for the local paper. She’d done a piece on my business a while back.
“What can I help you with, Ms. Shaeffer?”
“Please, call me Elle,” she said, taking a seat. She had such a friendly, personable nature to her. Very outgoing and social. Easy to talk to. She was an expert at her job and getting people to open up, that was for certain.
“Alright, Elle, what can I do for you?” I leaned back in my chair, steeping my fingers in front of me and staring at her. It was rather odd that she was in my office. “Are you wanting to do another interview? If so, you know I’m always happy to promote my business.”
“No, sorry, I’m here on a more personal matter.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Go on.”
She took a deep breath before speaking. “I know you and Josie are involved, and I know the two of you aren’t very serious right now, but I thought maybe you could help her with a problem she’s having.”
“What kind of problem is she having that I could help with?”
“Well, as you know, I tend to know all the local gossip around town,” she said with a sickly-sweet grin. “And I’ve heard you’ve come into a bit of money recently. Plus, you live alone in a pretty big house. Not to mention, you’re one of the biggest men in town—”
I held up my hand, focused on only one thing she’d said. “How do you know about the money?”
“Cyrus, people talk around here. I know people who work at the bank, and well, let’s be honest, wills are public record in Utah and I was able to pull everything up.”
“Excuse my language, Elle, but why the fuck are you probing into my personal business?” I sat up taller. I didn’t like anyone digging around in my life, regardless of who the hell they were.
“Like I said, I know someone at the bank, and she just mentioned, in passing, about you coming into some money. I know, she probably shouldn’t have done it legally, but again, everything is public record. I didn’t find any information that isn’t legally available to the public.”
“I didn’t ask how, I asked why. And what does this have to do with Josie?”
Elle sighed dramatically. “Do you care about Josie?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t exactly sure how to answer that. Seemed like a question that could lead down the wrong path, but I decided to be honest. “Sure. As much as I care about anyone.”
She tilted her head to the side as if to read my expression. She must have liked what she saw because she smiled wider. “I think you care about her more than you’re letting on.”
“You’re trying my patience, Elle,” I warned. “Can you tell me what this is all about? I have an appointment to prepare for and you’re wasting my time.”
“Your father was an abusive man, wasn’t he?”
“Why are you asking? I thought you knew everything already.”
“I just want to be clear.”
“Again, I’m not sure why this is any of your business and what the hell it has to do with Josie.”
“Well, because you’ve known abusive asshole men and what they’re like. I want to know if you’ll be willing to help Josie.”
Was she hinting that Josie was in danger? My insides started to boil at the thought. “What would I need to do to help her?”
She hesitated for a second but then spilled it, speaking almost too quickly for me to understand her words. “She needs you to marry her.”
“She what?”
“She needs you to marry her.” I opened my mouth, shaking my head at the same time, but she lifted a hand to silence me so she could continue. “Listen, I can’t go into all the details, but Josie is in big trouble with her ex, who could be getting out in a few weeks, and she needs someone to help her. I think you’re the guy to do it.”
“By fucking marrying her? How does that help her?”
“Again, I can’t tell you everything, but if you’re willing to do it, I’m sure Josie can tell you the rest.”
“Does she even know about this?”
“No,” Elle said, averting her gaze for a second. “But she knows I’m looking into a way she can stay in town.”
“Why can’t I just be her bodyguard or something? Why do I have to marry her?”
“It’s complicated, Cyrus.”
I fell back against my chair, more confused than ever before. People didn’t just fucking marry others out of convenience or for favors anymore. But the look on Elle’s face told me there was so much more to the story than she was telling me.
“And why can’t you give me all the details?” I asked.
“Because some secrets are Josie’s to tell, and
I’d be breaking her confidence by exposing those secrets. But if you’re willing to do it, she would tell you everything beforehand.”
“I can’t believe you’re even asking this. I hardly know her.”
“You know her well enough to have feelings for her, even if you don’t want to admit it.”
I wanted to argue with her, but what was the point? I wasn’t sure how I felt about Josie, but I did care about her. And I didn’t want her to end up in a bad situation if I could help it. I still thought marrying her might be a bit much, but perhaps we could find some other way I could help.
“Please tell me you’ll at least think about it, Cyrus? Otherwise, Josie plans to leave town within a few days, cutting ties to everyone, including her family and friends.”
“She’s that scared?”
“You have no idea. She’s already getting threats from him, and she thinks there’s no other options.” She sighed. “I wouldn’t be here asking this of you if I wasn’t desperate.”
“Alright,” I said, surprising even myself. “I’ll think about it. I’ll talk to Josie, see what’s going on, and maybe we can figure something out. Can’t guarantee I’ll marry her, but I’ll do what I can to help her.”
Elle nearly jumped from her chair. She rushed over to my side of the desk, and before I knew what was happening, she was hugging me. I patted her on the back gently before she stepped away. “Thank you, Cyrus.”
“Like I said, I’m not saying I’ll—”
She cut me off. “I’ll let Josie know you want to talk to her and fill her in on my plans. Then the two of you can meet and work everything out.”
She was so damned relieved, tears welled in her eyes. God, I hated when women cried, but at least those seemed to be happy tears.
She rushed from my office, waving and thanking me profusely before she disappeared into the lobby and out the front door. I sat at my desk, stunned and unable to comprehend what had just happened. What did I get myself into, I wondered.