“I’m Emily Mayberry,” I greeted the man as I walked up the steps onto the porch.
The man held out the envelope to me. “You’ve been served.”
My mouth dropped open. “What did you say?”
The man looked agitated. He rocked from foot to foot and avoided our eyes. He wasn’t here on a friendly visit. He thrust the envelope toward me. “Emily Mayberry. You. Have. Been. Served.” He pronounced each word slowly, deliberately.
The man pushed the envelope into my hand and let go. I had no choice but to grab it or let it fall to the ground. As soon as the envelope was out of his hand, he briskly walked around us and down the steps. He must have parked in the main lot because he rushed down the driveway and turned toward the main building.
I stared after him until he was out of sight. I’ve been served?
“Who was that man, Mommy?” Chloe asked.
“I don’t know, babe,” I answered as I stared the foreign envelope in my hand like it was a snake.
“Was it the mailman?” she asked, looking at the envelope.
“Yes,” Kellan answered for me when my mouth opened, but nothing came out. My eyes met Kellan’s; his blue eyes were glaring with anger. “Do you want me to open it?”
I shook my head, no. “I will.”
I looked at the outside of the envelope. Nothing on it to reveal who it was from. But as soon as I tore it open and pulled out the pack of pages, my heart sank. I instantly recognized the seal of Olympia’s Family Court Division along with a signed letter from the Plaintiff’s Attorney, Roger Nacey, Esquire. The Plaintiff was Shawn Eastin, and I was being sued by him for full custody of Chloe.
I didn’t have to say a word to Kellan, who saw the seal as clear as day. “Let’s go inside so I can read it,” he said as he led Chloe through the door. “Chloe, you want to watch your show for a little bit before dinner?”
“Yes! Yes!” Chloe chanted and ran to the TV to turn it on. Kellan turned on the disk that was already in the DVD player. As Chloe sang along to her favorite My Little Pony songs, Kellan and I read the summons.
“You’re to appear in court in ten days,” Kellan said in disbelief. “How did this happen so fast?”
“A better question is, why did it happen so fast?” I replied, frowning. “I didn’t do anything to break our joint custody agreement.”
“It says here that the motion was put forth due to you disregarding the court order and moving Chloe out of state,” Kellan read.
“What?” I exclaimed. “This must be some kind of mistake! I didn’t move anywhere and can prove it.”
“I know,” Kellan agreed. “This is a vacation, and there’s no stipulation against a vacation during your week, is there?”
“Not that I am aware of. I can’t keep Chloe from Shawn to go on vacation, but I can go where I please during my week. That’s the point of joint custody.”
“Right. Then how did Shawn get this to stick?” he wondered aloud. “You can prove you didn’t move out of state. You have a lease and can show that you’ve paid your rent this month. Plus, we’ll be back on Sunday morning, well before Shawn picks Chloe up for his week.”
“And, Chloe is still enrolled in her preschool,” I added. “Any major change like that I would have to run through Shawn. I can prove that I did not unenroll her. Even if Shawn is mad that I didn’t tell him about this trip, I’m not required to tell him,” I said, shaking my head.
The all too familiar sense of panic came over me. I put the papers on the table and turned to cover my eyes with my hand. I should have known. But the question of how he knew where I was still stuck in my mind.
“Emily, we will fight this. There has to be a way,” Kellan was saying when I heard a light tap on the door.
We turned to see Harley standing in the open doorway. “We’ll fight what?” he asked, as he looked from Kellan to me, clearly reading the tension in the room.
I burst into tears. Any effort I had at holding them back was gone. I put up my finger and ran to the bathroom so Chloe wouldn’t see me crying. I listened at the door as Kellan explained the situation to Harley. I pictured Harley’s face as he heard the news. If I thought Kellan was protective, Harley was ten times more so.
Harley’s voice, raised slightly with anger, asked “How does he know where she is?”
Kellan replied. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. He must be having her followed.”
Their voices got softer, and they moved toward the bathroom door so Chloe wouldn’t overhear them. I listened through my tears.
Harley said, “We’re going to fight this. Emily told me the way Shawn treats Chloe. That he leaves her with the nanny all the time. From morning to night. We need to get the nanny to testify on Emily’s behalf.” He sounded decisive and ready to win. “In the meantime, I’m going to check with my PI to see if there’s anything else he can find on Shawn to shut him down.”
I imagined Kellan nodding. “Don’t forget what he did to Mike! A man like that shouldn’t have custody of a child. Let alone full custody!”
I took a deep breath and wiped my eyes on the hand towel. Opening the door, I said, “You two are both forgetting about something.”
“What?” they asked in unison.
“Shawn has a very good attorney. One that I could never afford. And he knows all the judges in the Olympia Court System,” I mumbled, feeling defeated. “I can’t beat him.”
Kellan and Harley exchanged a glance. Kellan put his arm around my shoulders. Harley turned and stared out the screen door, fuming and trying to keep it together. We stood for a moment without words.
Then Harley’s face lit up with an idea. “I know a damn good attorney, too, one who can give Shawn’s lawyer a run for his money. I’ll give him a call.”
“Who? How do you know him?” I asked.
“His name is Cooper Stone. He’s Oakley’s best friend’s husband. This would be a piece of cake for him. Plus, his mother is a Congresswoman, so there’s some weight behind him as well,” Harley stated confidently.
“Do you think he’d take the case?” I asked him.
“Yeah, I do, especially if Oakley asked him as a favor. I’ll talk to her, and we’ll give him a call. Let’s take this one step at a time,” Harley told me.
I nodded. One step at a time, I repeated to myself.
Harley
I told Emily and Kellan I’d be back after my phone call to Cooper. I immediately found Dax and Oakley at their house and explained the situation to them.
“I’ll call Hailey now,” Oakley told me as she grabbed her cell phone.
“What kind of asshole is this guy?” Dax asked me.
“Some kind of control freak,” I answered angrily. “He has Emily all out of sorts. I’ve had enough of this guy, and I haven’t even met him yet.”
“Well, he can’t prove Emily moved here because she hasn’t, right?” Dax inquired.
“No. They’re going back to Olympia on Sunday morning. Shawn doesn’t even get Chloe until Sunday evening at seven, so this trip won’t even affect his time with her at all,” I answered.
“Then this can’t stick. Cooper will know what to do,” Dax said as Oakley handed me the phone.
“Hailey,” she told me when I took it and lifted it to my ear.
“Hi, Harley. I’m sorry to hear about your dilemma. I’m sure Coop will be happy to help, but he’s in a business meeting right now. I asked his secretary to tell him to call me as soon as he’s out. Probably in about fifteen minutes. Do you want him to call you on your cell phone?”
“Yes, please.” I rattled off my cell phone number.
“Do you guys mind if I wait here for Cooper’s call?” I asked Dax and Oakley. “I want to speak with him first before going back to talk with Emily and Kellan.”
“Of course not,” Oakley answered.
“You know, Harley, I would never say that something like this is a good thing. But you were saying you wanted to find a way to move Emily and Chloe here to
the resort. Maybe this is the way,” Dax commented. “You have to dig up all the dirt you can on this guy. Use Jackson again if you need to.”
“Already on it, Dax. And Emily and Kellan have a couple of things on him already. Problem is, Shawn works for the Olympia Court System and knows all the judges,” I informed him.
“Cooper can take care of that. He can prove bias and ask to have the trial heard by an impartial judge. Hailey has told me about some of his cases, so I know that it can be done,” Oakley explained, smiling sympathetically.
I pointed at her. “That could work. Thanks!”
My cell phone rang a few minutes later. I was never so happy to hear another guy’s husky voice as I was today. I rattled all the information I had about the case to Cooper and practically begged him to help Emily.
Cooper paused before he answered me. “Of course, I’ll help. But you know I’m not a Family Court attorney, right?”
“Does that matter?” I asked him. “I was more worried about you being out of state, or too busy.”
“It doesn’t necessarily matter. I’m not familiar with Washington State’s custody laws, though. I’ll have to brush up on their laws and petition the court to let me represent Emily since I’m from out of state,” Cooper deliberated.
“So, will you do it?” I asked, not meaning to sound so impatient, but I needed to know.
He chuckled at my insistence. “Yes, anything for you Hunters. First off, I’m going to fax Emily a few papers to sign, declaring me her attorney so I can get the petition over to the court in Washington. And I’ll need you to fax me all the paperwork Emily was served with. Get everything to me ASAP.” I heard what sounded like typing sounds. “I’m going to bill her one cent. Pay online. That makes me officially her attorney, establishing client confidentiality. I’ll also need the name of Shawn’s employer to prove he knows all the judges in Olympia.” He was silent for a moment, then began listing everything he planned to do. “The first thing I’ll do is make a motion to have the case moved to another courthouse. I’ll get a new date and clear my schedule. I can talk to a colleague who practices Family Law for any suggestions she might have. While I’m doing that, this is what I need you guys to do...”
* * *
After thanking Oakley and Dax, I raced back to Kellan and Emily. They were sitting on the porch, waiting for my return.
“What happened?” Emily asked, rising.
“What did he say?” Kellan inquired simultaneously.
“Good news. Cooper will take the case. You need to sign these papers and pay him one cent online to make you officially his client.”
“Okay,” Emily shook her head in agreement, reaching for the papers I’d printed for her. “And?”
“And we have some work to do.”
“What kind of work?” Emily asked.
“As soon as Cooper gets all the paperwork back and permission to represent you as an out of state attorney, he’s going to make a motion to get the trial moved to a new courthouse. Not in Olympia. While he’s doing that and making his preparations, we need to get notarized witness statements from Mike and Chloe’s nanny. And we need to convince them both to testify in court.”
“Mike won’t be a problem,” Kellan stated.
“We’ll have to track down Chloe’s nanny and ask her. But we can’t let Shawn know we’re doing this, or he might do something to her. Threaten her in some way.” She bit her lip. “I have a bad feeling about it.”
“Do you know her full name? We can find her without going through Shawn. Does she work for Shawn while Chloe’s with you?” I asked Emily.
“I do know her name. Penny Raths. I think she lives at Shawn’s only while Chloe is there. So every other week. Someone else cleans and cooks for him. Penny’s only job is to take care of Chloe,” Emily answered.
“Do you know where she lives?” I asked hopefully.
Emily shook her head. “No, but I remember one time she came to pick up Chloe, and she mentioned coming straight from her mom’s house. So maybe with her mom on her off weeks? I think she’s a student,” Emily added.
“Okay, that’s a start. I have someone who can get an address for us. We’ll have to go this week while she’s home. We can’t wait until she’s watching Chloe.”
“You have someone?” Emily raised her brow at me.
“Yeah. That’s how I got your address,” I admitted sheepishly, blushing.
“What? Like a PI?” she asked.
“Exactly like a PI.” I grinned. Emily eyed me for a minute. “What? You never gave me your address and quit answering the phone! How did you expect me to find you?”
“I didn’t expect you to find me,” she answered.
“But you’re glad I did, right?”
“Yes,” she admitted, smiling slightly and blushing too. “So, should we go now and find Penny?”
“Let me email Jackson with her name and details. We can go tomorrow and start with Mike while we wait,” I suggested.
“Why don’t I stay here with Chloe?” Kellan proposed. “That way, you two can sneak into town and get what you need. If you’re not back by Sunday morning, I’ll fly back with her like we’re supposed to.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said, nodding. “We shouldn’t stay at your house either, Em.”
“So he doesn’t know we’re back since he was clearly having me watched,” she nodded. “We should stay completely away from the East Bayside or downtown where Shawn works. No BMWs either.” Emily smiled.
I chuckled. “Damn it,” I joked. Her smile made me happy. I knew this was overwhelming for her.
“Are you sure you want to stay here with Chloe?” Emily asked Kellan.
“Yes, I think it’s best. Go and do what you need to do. I’ll keep her busy here,” he answered. “She’s having so much fun with the girls.”
Emily smiled and nodded, musing, “She sure would love it here.”
A ray of hope in an ugly time, I thought, smiling. “Okay, it’s a plan. I’m going to message the PI and book us the earliest flights out to Olympia.”
Emily signed Cooper’s paperwork, officially making him her attorney. I took all the paperwork back up to my office in my cabin and faxed Cooper everything he needed. Emily had paid the one-cent bill he’d sent using her phone, so he was now on retainer. I booked two tickets to Olympia for ten the next morning, then messaged Jackson with Penny’s name and info. Within minutes, I heard back from him with a thumbs up and that he’d contact me when he had the information I needed.
Great, I thought. If it all worked out in Emily’s favor, she might be able to move to the resort to open the business with me. This wasn’t an ideal way to go about things, and it would be an extremely stressful time for Emily, but if it worked, we might actually get our happily ever after.
The phone rang, pulling me out of my thoughts. It was Cooper calling back.
“Hey, Harley,” Cooper began. “I talked to my colleague. Basically, since Shawn filed for the modification of the custody agreement, it’s his burden to prove that any relocation took place or if the relocation was disruptive to the child. Since it’s just a vacation, there’s no relocation or disruption to the child’s life. So, there’s that.”
Cooper paused before continuing. “Now, if Emily decides to stay in Colorado, she’ll need a better reason to relocate the child other than simply starting a new business. Shawn’s attorney would just argue that she could start a business in Olympia just as easily, if not more so. The only way we see beating that argument would be if she remarried and would be starting the business with her husband ─ who lives out of state.” My stomach knotted as he continued. “Obviously, you already own a successful business in Colorado, so it makes sense in this situation for the relocation to take place. That could modify the custody agreement in Emily’s favor.”
“Okaay,” I answered, a bit shocked. “There’s no other way? We’ll have to get married?”
“Not that I can see right now. Even with remarriag
e, his attorney will argue disruption to the child’s wellbeing. But if you get those witnesses to testify against Shawn, he’ll look bad to any judge. Not only will he look like a bad father, but a bad father with a horrible temper who almost killed someone.” I heard papers shuffling as he talked. “We’ll get a couple of character witnesses to speak on behalf of your good character. Plus, witnesses that can testify that the resort is a perfect environment for a child to live. Five other children currently live at the resort, with two of them recently graduating from high school with high honors. We can win that way.”
“Alright. I’m need to think about this and talk to Emily. We weren’t planning on marriage yet,” I explained.
“It’s something to consider. Let me know as soon as you decide so I can start my preparations for court,” Cooper said.
“Okay, I’ll get back to you first thing in the morning. We’re flying to Olympia to talk to the witnesses tomorrow.” I cleared my throat, a nervous habit I sometimes had. “Emily and I are having dinner tonight, so I can talk to her about everything then. Thanks, Cooper.”
“Of course.”
I hung up the phone and put my head in my hands. If only our marriage in Vegas had actually been real. Now I had to convince her to marry me for real this time. I knew she cared a great deal about me, but did she love me enough to marry me?
I didn’t know what to do. I went to the fridge to open a beer. I told Emily we’d go to dinner that night in town to get away for a little bit, just the two of us. I called her and asked if she still wanted to have dinner. I told her I wanted to run some things by her, and she agreed.
On my way to pick her up, I stopped at the resort’s kitchen and tossed some leftovers in boxes for Kellan and Chloe. I felt bad, going to dinner without them. But this was a conversation Emily and I needed to have alone.
After I dropped off the food, I drove Emily and me down Mountain Road into town. Em looked nervous on the way down as the Bronco bounced over the rocky road. With everything that had happened, I’d forgotten about the downed trees.
Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas: A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection Page 75