“She has a good life. With me. And ask your husband why she might be afraid of you. Or didn’t you tell Eleanor about your trying to buy me off the day we buried your son and my sister? The way you threatened me with financial ruin unless I granted you custody of Phoebe immediately. What was it you said? I wouldn’t have a dime to my name and no judge would ever grant custody to a pauper. Phoebe was standing right behind you when you said that, Stephen. She heard every word.”
Stephen flinched. Only a bit, but enough for Hunter to see he hadn’t realized his granddaughter had witnessed his buy-off attempt.
“Stephen, how could you,” Eleanor gasped as her husband went ramrod straight.
“I did what I needed to. It was bad enough Brent wouldn’t let us into their life. I wasn’t about to let someone like him raise my granddaughter.”
“Funny. I was going to say the same thing about you.” Hunter took a step closer to them as he heard the door open behind him. “One word about this custody fight to Phoebe and I will make you wish you never stepped foot in this town.” He moved aside to allow Kendall to lead Phoebe over to her grandparents.
“Phoebe, you remember your father’s parents, don’t you?” Kendall was holding Phoebe’s hand and he saw her give it a small squeeze.
“Hello, Phoebe.” Eleanor dropped down and held open her arms.
Phoebe glanced at Kendall, who nodded. “It’s okay. Your uncle and I aren’t going anywhere.”
Phoebe moved in and let Eleanor hug her.
“She’s filthy,” Stephen snapped.
“That’s what happens when kids play. They get dirty.” Hunter tried to keep the anger out of his voice when Phoebe jumped at her grandfather’s accusation. “And she does play. With her friends. And in school.” Phoebe turned back to Kendall and held up her arms.
“It’s okay, kiddo.” Kendall held her close. “I’m going to take her back inside.”
Thank you, Hunter mouthed, then waited until the door closed behind them before he swung on his sister’s in-laws. “You can leave now. You’ve seen her.”
“She hates us.” Eleanor’s chin wobbled as tears pooled in her eyes.
“You’ve poisoned her against us,” Stephen accused.
“No, I haven’t. And she doesn’t know you well enough to hate you, Eleanor. But just to stave off any other legal argument you might want to throw at me, she is back in school, and she’s been evaluated as reading well above her second-grade level. Her math skills are significantly higher. Her teachers plan to set up a special program for her to make sure she keeps advancing. And before you ask, yes, we will be staying in Butterfly Harbor for the foreseeable future, since I’ve recently accepted a job in town.” He knew all this and more was in the report Leah Ellis was preparing for the court, but it couldn’t hurt to lob these details at them now. “We’ll be renting or buying a house here in town. So if your plan was to use my, what did you call it, vagabond existence against me, you can forget it. I was just waiting until I found the right home for Phoebe.”
“And what about that...woman?” Stephen spat.
“What about Kendall?”
“Stephen!” Eleanor placed her hand on her husband’s arm. “Please, let’s just go.”
“That woman is unfit. Anyone can see that by looking at her. Those scars alone—”
“What?” Hunter moved in and stood toe to toe with him, the outrage inside bubbling over. “Oh, sorry. Do explain how scars she got defending this country as a soldier make her unfit for anything. Yes, please, let’s debate everyone’s character here, Stephen, because I promise you Kendall is going to come out on top of all of us.”
“Stephen, enough. This wasn’t our, or rather, my intention,” Eleanor insisted as she pulled her husband away. “You have to understand, Brent was our only child. Phoebe is the one connection we have to him.”
“It’s the same for me, Eleanor. I do understand. Phoebe is the one connection I have to my sister.” Sympathy for Brent’s mother rose. “Stephen, you wanted to battle it out in court, let me finally give you what you want.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out Leah’s card and handed it to him. “My lawyer will be in touch.”
* * *
KENDALL KEPT ONE eye on the kids scarfing cookies like a pack of renegade googly-eyed blue monsters and the other out the window. A quiet request to Charlie to distract Phoebe was instantly taken up as Charlie asked Phoebe to show her all the books she had.
Cartwright came across as an imposing man. Or he might have been to someone other than Kendall. She’d dealt with his sort before: privileged, entitled and so devoid of empathy that nothing was ever going to get through to him. The only thing men like Stephen Cartwright cared about was winning. He probably didn’t even see a day beyond gaining custody of Phoebe, just so long as he could claim victory.
She wanted to be there, by Hunter’s side, presenting a united front, but she’d seen something odd in Stephen’s eyes when he’d looked at her—as if he could see directly through her. As if he knew all her secrets.
Kendall gnawed on her bottom lip. And she did have secrets. Secrets she hadn’t shared with Hunter. Secrets that shamed her to the point of silence. She didn’t put it past Stephen to have crawled around in the trash to try to dig something up. Or that he might have hired someone to do so.
When she saw Eleanor and Stephen drive away, that knot of unease loosened but didn’t release. Not completely. “Guys, get your coats on. Time to go home.” She rapped her knuckles against Phoebe’s bedroom door before she headed outside.
Hunter had remained where he’d been, staring daggers at the taillights.
“Everything still intact?” It wasn’t often she was the one struggling to find some humor, but she figured it was worth a shot.
“They’re going to use everything they’ve got. I could see it in his eyes.” That Hunter wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close eased the tension rolling inside her.
“I know. I saw it, too.” For a moment, a brief moment, she leaned into him. Not to take comfort from him, but to give him whatever he needed from her.
“Something he said, about you.” He frowned, tilted his chin down. “I’m afraid he’s going to drag you into this.”
“I figured.” She wanted to sound casual, wanted to avoid going to the worst-case scenario, but that always seemed to be her default position.
“You’re okay with that?”
“If it means you keeping custody of Phoebe, they can throw whatever they want at me.” She laid her head against his shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut. The panic subsided and settled from a churning into a low-ebb tide. Every problem had a solution. And problems had always been Kendall’s specialty.
* * *
SHE BEGGED OFF dinner at the diner with Phoebe and Hunter that night by claiming she had a last-minute consultation with a customer in need of cabinet repair. The duo had looked disappointed, but that lifted when she suggested Hunter and Phoebe pick up gelato on their way back to the Liberty for them all to have later.
Kendall trekked down the hill to the Flutterby Inn. Determined to get to the bottom of things, she headed inside and found Willa O’Neill manning the registration desk.
“Hey, Willa.”
“Kendall. Hey! I can’t wait for the barbecue tomorrow. I was so surprised Hunter invited me.”
“Everyone’s welcome. Besides, you’re an expert on this town.” Small talk was necessary for this mission, she reminded herself. “Hey, are a Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright staying here?”
“They sure are.” Willa rolled her eyes. “She seems nice, but he’s a bit of a—”
“Totally with you there,” Kendall said with a nod. “Any chance you could call up and say there’s a delivery for Mrs. Cartwright?”
“Oh.” Confusion marred her brow. “Sure, I guess.”
“Thanks. I’ll owe you.” Kendall
moved across the room to pour herself a cup of fresh-brewed coffee while she waited.
A few minutes later, Eleanor descended the curving staircase. “You said there was a delivery for me?”
“Not so much a delivery as a message.” Kendall moved in before Willa got caught having to lie.
“Ms. Davidson.”
Her stomach lurched. Sometimes she hated being right. “Interesting. I didn’t mention my last name earlier, which means you already knew what it was.” She had to give it to Eleanor. She looked neither surprised nor ashamed. “I think maybe you and I should have a talk, don’t you?”
Kendall led the way outside to the memorial bench overlooking one of the prettiest views in all of Butterfly Harbor.
“It’s beautiful here. I can see why Hunter likes it so.” Eleanor wrapped a thin sweater around her shoulders.
“Seeing as your husband tried to buy him off to gain custody of your granddaughter, I thought I’d return the favor.” Kendall sipped her coffee. “What’s the price for you to drop the custody suit?”
Eleanor shifted slightly. “I had no idea my husband had done that.”
“But it doesn’t completely offend you, does it?”
“No.” She turned grief-filled eyes on Kendall. “We went a lot of years without speaking to Brent. Which meant we rarely got to see my son after he and Juliana married. I’d hoped once Phoebe was born that might change, but...” She shrugged. “Where’s your family, Miss Davidson? Or have you been using my granddaughter and her ward to fill an emptiness in you?”
Kendall had been expecting this tack, but it didn’t lessen the blow.
She looked at Brent’s mother, the tears she wanted to cry falling on the inside. “Actually, I did everything I could to avoid her. It didn’t work. But I think because of her, finally, I’m close to being able to say goodbye to Sam and the future I thought I had with him. She’s helped to heal me. Hunter has, too. He’s a good man, Eleanor. And he loves Phoebe the way every child deserves to be loved. Don’t take her away from him. Work it out. Visitation, maybe, or come here to stay awhile and get to know your granddaughter, but don’t separate her from the only family she has left.”
“She has us.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Kendall said. “She never has. You can’t force her to love you. No matter how hard your husband tries. Ownership, custody papers—those aren’t love. They’re cruel when compared to the alternative. If you want Phoebe to have a good life, a happy life, then work to be a part of it. Don’t force her to start over again for the third time.”
Eleanor’s grief faded and gave way to a sharp, assessing gaze. “I’ve read your history. Your medical files. You’ve had some issues in the past.”
“I have.” What was the point in denying it. “I suffered from PTSD once I was back from the service. I was also diagnosed with severe depression.”
“And arrested for violent behavior.”
“That’s true.” And she made no excuses for it. “It’s difficult to adjust when your world is ripped apart. Or set on fire.” She motioned to the scars on her face and neck. “You’re worried I’m a danger to Phoebe.”
“I am. We are.”
“I’ve wondered the same thing.” Kendall almost smiled at the surprise in Eleanor’s eyes. “I love that little girl, Eleanor. And I love her uncle. Which is why I’m going to ask you one more time. What’s your price?”
An eerie calmness seemed to descend over Eleanor. She smoothed perfectly manicured fingers over the sleeve of her pristine white sweater. “I can convince Stephen to drop the custody suit in exchange for liberal visitation with my granddaughter. But only if you aren’t in the picture.” She faced Kendall now, a glowing look of triumph on her face.
Kendall swallowed hard as her suspicions were confirmed. Stephen wasn’t the one who Hunter had to be worried about. Eleanor was. Which meant she had to be kept away from Phoebe at all costs. “You want me out of their lives?”
“I do. The sooner the better.” She sighed as if a weight had been lifted. “We’ll be staying a few days, so that gives you time to think—”
“I don’t have to think about it.” Kendall dumped the last of her coffee out on the ground and gave Eleanor a withering look. “I’ll be gone by the end of the week.”
* * *
“KENDALL?” HUNTER KNOCKED on her door before he pushed it open. “Sorry I’m late this morning. I’ve got the steaks out and coming to room temp. Everyone should be here in about an hour or so and Phoebe is busy pulling weeds in the window...boxes.” He’d stopped dead in the center of the room. “What’s going on? You moving?”
Other than the few pieces of furniture, the single room was bare. A trash bag sat in the corner of the kitchen, filled to capacity. The few paperbacks that had been stacked on the floor by the bed were gone. Even the chipped mug that held her spoons and forks had disappeared.
She stood there, her back to him, unmoving.
“Kendall?” He approached and touched her arm. “What’s going on?”
“I’m leaving.”
It wasn’t what she said but the way she said it that sliced through his heart. “What do you mean, you’re leaving? You can’t leave. We’re just finding our way together. And besides, you have to finish the Liberty. So whatever joke you’re playing—” He pulled her around and saw the duffel. A packed duffel. Everything she owned, everything she carried through this life, fit into one bag.
“It’s not a joke, Hunter. It’s time for me to move on.” She swept past him and into the tiny bathroom. “I have a bus ticket for tomorrow morning, so I’ll stay through the barbecue. Kinda have to. Not like you know how to operate that monster smoker out there.”
“I don’t care about the smoker. I want to know what’s going on.” He moved in front of her, determined to get her to stop long enough to explain. “You can’t just leave, Kendall.”
“Sure can. It’s what I do best.”
“It’s what you used to do best. Come on, talk to me.” A wave of panic as he’d never felt before washed over him. “You’re serious. You’re really leaving.”
“You’re smarter than you look.” She smirked and pushed past him.
Hunter spun around, looking for whatever dimensional portal he’d walked through to find a Kendall he’d never met before. Not even the surly, hostile Kendall from the day he and Phoebe had arrived came close to this seemingly uncaring woman. “This isn’t you. This isn’t the Kendall I—”
“The Kendall you love doesn’t exist,” she snapped and stuffed whatever small toiletry bottles she’d found into her bag. “These last few weeks were a lie, Hunter. I’m not made for forever. I’m not made for even a fraction of that. I lied about my feelings for you so I could get close to you and Phoebe. Because being around you both lessened my pain. And now that pain is gone and I can move on.”
He heard the words, but they didn’t mean anything to him. “What’s happened? Where is this coming from? Because this isn’t the woman I’ve come to know these last few weeks.”
“Maybe you’re finally seeing beyond those stars to the real me. I’m poison, Hunter. I always have been. And the sooner you realize that—”
“You expect me to believe everything between us was a lie? Because I don’t.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. Whatever was going on with her, hostility wouldn’t fix it. “You’re scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“You’re scared of being happy. Of taking another chance. Of worrying every day that something is going to happen to me or to Phoebe or to Matt or anyone else in this town you care about. You’re a coward.”
“That’s right.” She swung on him, eyes blazing. “I’m a complete and utter coward, and what kind of man would love a woman like that?”
“This one loves you. I love you, Kendall.” He didn’t know how else to say
it, how else to convince her.
“Who you love doesn’t exist. I’m a lie, Hunter. Whoever I was, whatever was left after that roadside bomb got buried in that grave back in North Dakota. I’m a ghost. And ghosts don’t love. They don’t love you and they don’t love... Phoebe.”
Hunter watched the color drain from Kendall’s face. He spun around and found Phoebe standing in the open doorway. “Hey, kiddo.” His heart slammed against his ribs. How long had she been standing there? What had she heard? “You done with the—No, wait, Phoebe!”
Kendall sank into a rickety high-back chair. “I’m sorry.” The whisper nearly broke his heart. But he couldn’t afford a broken heart. Not while his niece had had hers broken yet again.
“Sorry doesn’t mean squat. I don’t know what’s going on, but if leaving makes things easier on you, then by all means run. But you’ll never outrun yourself, Kendall. And you’ll always be regretting what you’ve left behind. Phoe-be!” Racing after his niece, he didn’t bother to glance behind him.
* * *
“SINCE HUNTER ISN’T TALKING, you going to tell me what’s going on with you two?” Frankie sidled up next to Kendall at the smoker and twisted off the cap to a root beer. “Here. Take a slug.”
Kendall shook her head. She knew her body well enough to know she couldn’t keep anything down. Agreeing to Eleanor’s terms had been gut-wrenching enough; confronting Hunter earlier today had tipped her over the edge. But it was seeing the utter betrayal and pain shining in Phoebe’s eyes that had hollowed out her insides.
“I thought things were going gangbusters with you two.” Frankie leaned against a tree and assessed her. “Now here you are, slip-sliding into that sullen mood of yours.”
“How would you know about any of that?” Kendall asked and took her aggression out on the porterhouse steak sizzling over the low flame of the barbecue.
“Don’t assume that the pretty package is all pretty. And don’t use that tone with me. I’m not the one who messed things up with Romeo over there. What did you do?”
Safe in His Arms--A Clean Romance Page 20