Chapter 13
Ali couldn’t imagine what it was like, having the woman who supposedly loved you enough to marry you and have your child use that child to manipulate you from the day she was born.
She stood looking out the front window at the garden, which had been one of the big selling points to her. The garden where Grace loved to play because of all the little places to hide. She gave a sad shake of her head at the thought.
Hayley came up beside her, having spent the night as planned. Cutter had stayed with them, which delighted Ziggy and made Ali feel wonderfully safe. It was quite a knack that dog had.
“You don’t look happy,” Hayley said.
“I just feel like I should have realized,” she said.
“When Grace came over here, I didn’t realize she’d had to sneak out.
But she loved to be—” she gestured to the window “—out there, because of all the little places to hide among the bushes and behind where the tree branches brush the ground. I thought it was because she and Ziggy made up a game, she’d hide and he’d find her. But now I wonder…”
“If she’s just learned to hide whenever possible?”
Ali nodded sadly. “There were other hints. I see them now looking back.”
“But you’d only just moved in, only just met Grace, so you couldn’t know for sure, at least not yet.”
Ali looked at the other woman. “Are you always so tactful?”
Hayley smiled. “Not always. But I do try.”
“You make me wish you really were my friend from college,” Ali said.
“And that is the nicest compliment you could give me. So let’s say I am, we just got a late start.”
Ali smiled back at that.
“Quinn just texted me,” Hayley said, nodding at the phone in her hand. “He and Colby are on their way. And Liam finalized his case, so we’re set for him to be with Colby tomorrow when he goes to pick Grace up.”
Ali couldn’t deny the spark of…something that ignited at the thought of Colby being here again soon.
“And for what it’s worth, if you had any doubts, our top tech guy in St. Louis did some digging.
To the upper crust of the county, Colby’s known only as Liz’s ex she’s well rid of.
But to just about everyone else he’s an honest, hardworking guy who gives back.
Did you know the local fire department gave him a civilian medal? ”
Ali drew back a little in surprise. “No.”
“He was working up on Cedar Hill Drive when a residential fire broke out a couple of doors away. Propane leak. There was an explosion, and a fireman was trapped, and seriously injured. The others were all on the other side of the building, so Colby went in and brought him out.”
“Wow,” Ali said, meaning it. “I didn’t really have any doubts, but still…”
Hayley smiled and kept going. “And then the fire department turned up info that he’d been a hero twice before.
Once he was doing some late-night emergency repair work at a house in a neighborhood out on the peninsula.
He spotted something at the house next door.
Turned out there’d been something miswired there, and a fire had started.
He called it in and got over there and got it put out before the truck even arrived.
There was a family of six in that house, and they could have all died.
Third time it was a medical call, where he did CPR on a neighbor until the medics arrived.
They said the man would have been dead if not for him. ”
Ali was smiling herself now. Widely. “So what you’re saying is, to Liz and her ilk, he’s a nobody, but to the people who matter, he’s a hero.”
“Exactly.” Hayley grinned at her then. “I knew I liked you.”
“Ditto,” she said back to her.
Cutter, who had been delicately wrestling with Ziggy on the floor, suddenly scrambled to his feet. Ears up, he trotted toward the door into the garage, even though as far as she knew the dog had no idea where it led.
“Ah,” Hayley said. “The guys are here.”
Ali hadn’t heard a thing, but she was already learning not to doubt either the dog or this woman. And when, a minute or two later she heard the sound of a voice coming from the garage, it verified her instincts.
Quinn greeted his wife as if he hadn’t seen her in a week rather than just overnight.
Ali found herself studying Colby, who watched them for a moment with a look of almost sadness before he turned away as if he couldn’t watch the two who so obviously adored each other any longer.
She and Josh had been like that once. Teased by their friends for the constant displays of affection.
But Colby Kendrick clearly had never known that feeling at all, which left her wondering which was worse, having it and losing it, or never having had it at all. She had thought Tennyson had it right, and seeing Colby’s expression in that moment confirmed it for her.
“Irene took Grace to school at the usual time,” Hayley said, in the tone of someone making a report. “And we are going to have to be careful. Grace was looking over here the whole time. I would guess she was wondering if you were here, Colby.”
He nodded, and when he spoke he sounded resigned. “And if Liz figured it out, she’d unleash holy hell.”
“About that,” Quinn said, “Liam did a little digging last night.” A brief grin flashed across the man’s face, and changed him from the very imposing former military Special Ops guy Hayley had told her about last night into a handsome charmer.
“He’s very good at it, enough to compete with Ty in St. Louis.
But he also knows a lot of local lore, so that helps sometimes.
Anyway, after Colby mentioned there had been a change of venue in the middle of their custody case, from here locally to over on the other side in the city, Liam got out his virtual shovel.
Turns out the Hollens have…let’s say a lot of influence over the judge it was transferred to.
Which explains why it went so hard against him. ”
Ali stiffened. She looked at Colby. “So they bribed somebody, or coerced somebody, into making that change happen?”
“Our judicial system, fair and balanced,” he said, and she couldn’t blame him for the bitterness in his tone.
“This,” she said, not caring that the s came out like a hiss, “is seriously making me angry.”
“Can I interpret that as you’re still willing to help?” Quinn asked, looking mildly amused.
“You can interpret it as meaning that as long as Grace isn’t hurt in the process, whatever it takes to bring Liz and her family down a notch, I’m in.”
As if she’d felt his gaze on her, she looked back at Colby. He still seemed astonished at the simple fact that she wanted to help. After a moment he said quietly, “I like the order you put that in.”
“Grace is the most important thing, obviously.”
He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “To me. To her, not so much. Winning is the most important.”
“And she’s used to winning against you?” Quinn asked.
He nodded. “She knows I’ll back off because of Grace. That I can’t fight her.”
“It’s more important to outthink your enemy than to outfight him.”
Ali saw Colby blink, draw back slightly at Quinn’s words. “Quoting Sun Tzu?” he asked.
Quinn smiled. “Former occupational hazard. You’re familiar, I gather?”
“Yeah. My dad became a big fan when he was in the service.”
Ali thought she saw something change in Quinn’s expression, as if finding out Colby was the son of a veteran had confirmed something for him.
“What branch?” Quinn asked.
“Army,” Colby said. Then, sadly, “He died five years ago. But at least he never had to deal with…this.”
“So we will,” Quinn said, his voice showing the sympathy he didn’t mention in words. Men indeed had their own ways, Ali thought. “With the aid of our ancient strategist.”
Colby smiled, gave a short nod as if shaking off the grief that had to still linger. “But if you’re going to talk about waiting to take the enemy unprepared, I’ve got to tell you, she never is.”
Quinn smiled back. “I was thinking more along the lines of ‘The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy so that he cannot fathom our real intent.’”
Colby looked thoughtful. “All warfare is based on deception?”
“Exactly.”
“You have something in mind?”
“A few things. And so does Liam, and so will Teague. Plus we have a lot of former clients who dealt with custody situations we can call on.”
Ali sat watching the two men, taking an enjoyment she didn’t quite understand in the conversation. And judging by the slight smile on Hayley’s face, she was, too. “It’s a good thing you two are in charge, getting all philosophical about it,” Hayley said, obviously teasingly.
“A very good thing,” Ali said. “I’d be planning to grab Grace and run. Which obviously, with her family’s pull, would not go well.”
“Don’t think I haven’t thought about it,” Colby said, looking at her rather curiously. “But I wouldn’t have expected you to feel that way.”
Ali shrugged. “Neither of my parents were prizes, but given the choice, if my father had been half the man you are, I’d have gone with him gladly.”
He stared at her, looking almost stunned. And that made her ache inside all over again.
And she had the delicious thought that someday, eventually, when all this was over and Grace was safe, she’d like to put Liz Hollen on her expensively clad butt.