Chapter 30
SERENA
The next morning, I laid in bed with the events of the night before replaying on an endless loop in my mind. I’d never been happier that my shop was closed on Sundays.
Before I went to bed last night, I snuggled up next to Sadie and held her tightly as she slept. So grateful we were both safe. Holding her and smelling her little girl hair helped me to relax a bit. Even so, the combination of the adrenaline pumping through my body, and the flashbacks of what happened, made it nearly impossible to sleep.
I must have finally drifted off in the wee hours of the morning. The smell of coffee brewing wafted in before my eyes even opened. Just hook me up to an IV of that, please. Sadie came bounding in with her usual sunshine and gave me my morning cuddle before pulling me out of bed and down to the kitchen.
“Come on, Mommy. We gotta go see what Honey is making for breakfast. Can’t you smell it?”
“I can. Let’s follow our noses and see what we find.”
As soon as I entered the kitchen, Honey wrapped me in a tight embrace. Before she let me go, she whispered in my ear, “I’m so relieved and happy you’re safe.”
“Me, too.” Over and over, I’d thought about how it could have easily turned out differently. And Tragically. One of us could have been hurt or killed. Sadie could have been orphaned. And Storm…I didn’t know what to do about Storm. He’d become way too important to me. And I didn’t know what to do about that.
After a delicious family breakfast of homemade Belgian waffles with Honey, Rob, Junie, Jasper, and Storm, Sadie wanted to check on the goats. Rob agreed to take her out to feed them. “Give them some extra treats from me. Those goats are the best. Oh! And Lulu needs some extra treats too. What an amazing dog!”
Once Sadie was out of earshot, we filled the rest of them in on all that went down last night.
Jasper shook his head in disbelief. “Man, I must have just missed it. I think I passed the squad cars on my way home from AJ’s.”
Junie was stunned to hear what had happened. “I was here but watching a movie in my room with headphones on. I didn’t hear a thing. I can’t believe all that went down right outside my window, and I had no idea.”
“Thank goodness for Lulu and Dad’s security system.” Storm slid his chair away from the table and asked me to join him in the other room. He hugged me so tight, my breath squeaked out of me. He didn’t seem like he wanted to let go. Ever. “I didn’t sleep a wink last night. How about you?”
“Just a little. It was a lot to process. Do you really think it’s over now?”
“I don’t think you or Sadie are in any more danger. But I wanted to talk to you about something else.” He led me to a love seat where he sat next to me and held my hand between his. The expression on his face was serious but gave nothing away. My gut clenched, assuming it couldn’t be good if he wanted me to sit down for it. “I got an email from your in-laws' attorney. They would really like to meet with you. As soon as possible. They offered to come to Moonlit Lake today, if you would be willing to meet with them. I know it’s a lot, especially after what happened last night, so it’s your call.”
I slumped against the backrest, dropped my chin to my chest, and sighed. “I suppose I don’t have a choice. Do I?”
“You always have a choice.” He brought one hand to my face and gently tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, the light touch of his fingers sizzling a path across my skin. His other hand continued to hold mine. The warmth in his gaze made me catch my breath.
What were we talking about again?
He turned my hand over and threaded our fingers together, palm to palm. “But now that we know they weren’t behind the stalking, it should be safe to meet them. If you’re up for it.” His thumb caressed the back of my hand. The juxtaposition of his tender touch, and the uncomfortable business we were discussing had my head spinning. “This meeting will just be the two of us, them, and their attorney. If you don’t get a good feeling about them, we can end the meeting and see them in court.”
I pulled my hand away and stood up, needing a little distance to allow my brain to think clearly. I paced the floor. Was this what was best for Sadie?
My in-laws wanted to meet me. I wasn’t ready and didn’t know if I ever would be. But I also didn’t have a good excuse to avoid them any longer. “Okay. Let’s get this over with.” Even though this was the last thing I wanted to deal with today, and I was feeling more than a little overwhelmed, at least it was Sunday. I didn’t have to worry about the shop. Next week would be busy for me up until Christmas. I just wanted for this whole thing to be behind us, so I could focus on giving Sadie the best Christmas possible.
“How about three o’clock this afternoon? That will give you time to have some fun with Sadie before we go.”
“Yeah. And we should probably move back home now that the threat is over.” As much as I’d love to stay at the farm, it was no longer necessary. And I couldn’t take advantage of the Rhodes family’s generosity any longer.
I was grateful to Storm for his support, but the intense situation might have muddied the waters and made our relationship seem like more than it was. We were friends and he was my lawyer. That’s it. I had to remember that. And it was time Sadie and I returned to our regular routine. I hardly remembered what that was like.
“You know, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like.”
“Yes, but it will also be good to get back to normal life. I have lots of things to do to get ready for the holiday. At home and at work. And I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed again.”
He hesitated a moment and then exhaled with a slow nod. “Alright, then. After the meeting, we’ll stop by my house to pick up your car. We can come back here for supper with my family, and then you and Sadie can go home after that. Sound good?”
I nodded. It was a good plan, and what I wanted, but why did it make me feel so down and hollow?
Maybe because you like having Storm as your protector and partner, watching over you and Sadie, day and night.
A pang hit my chest.
He was my attorney, not my boyfriend. But he’d come to mean more to me than that. It was a good plan—keep it casual and nobody would get hurt. Everything would have been fine, if I hadn’t gone and caught feelings for the guy.
But honestly, how could I not?
So what would happen when this case was done? Would we go back to own lives like none of this ever happened?
As if that was even possible.
Storm and I took Sadie sledding on a hill behind the farmhouse. Might have been the one we stargazed from during our sleigh ride, but it looked different in the daylight, so I couldn’t be sure.
I rode down the hill with Sadie a few times, then she begged to go with Lulu. I never imagined a dog would go for something like that, but Lulu sat right in front of Sadie on the sled and they rode the whole way like they’d been practicing it for years. Honestly, most of the time, Lulu seemed more like a person than a dog.
When it was time for us to leave for our meeting, Honey offered to put in a Christmas movie for Sadie to watch. Quiet time would be good for her.
Sadie still hadn’t watched all the holiday movies in the Rhodes family collection yet, and was excited to check one more off her list. “This time I wanna watch the Grinch. It’s my favoritest.”
“Alright. The grinch it is.” Honey booped Sadie on the nose with her finger and went to put in the movie.
“Have fun. We’ll be back for supper.” I kissed Sadie on the head, and she skipped after Honey.
Storm handed me my coat, and we went out to the car. My leg bounced with nervous energy. What would they be like? What would I do if they were horrible? What if they didn’t like me?
Storm reached over and put a hand on my leg and squeezed. “Hey. It’s going to be okay. Meeting them will answer a lot of questions and hopefully end this lawsuit.” The tenderness in his gaze warmed me to my toes. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you or Sadie.”
He was entirely sincere, but there was only so much he could control. And especially after last night, I knew things could change in an instant.
At Storm’s office, I brewed a pot of coffee to keep myself busy until the Ketterings and their lawyer arrived. While Storm checked his computer, I set coffee cups on the table in the conference room. At the stroke of three, the door opened and in walked the three people who had been threatening my family.
My body stiffened, and I forced myself to smile as our attorneys introduced us. The Ketterings, Marcus and Joan, appeared to be in their sixties. Their clothing spoke of wealth, as Storm predicted. Mr. Kettering was an older version of my late husband, in face shape and stature. Mrs. Kettering shared Ty’s blond hair and light blue eyes. There was no doubt in my mind that they were his parents, Sadie’s grandparents. I felt sick to my stomach and pressed my hand to my abdomen to try to settle it.
Once everyone was seated and had a cup of coffee, Storm folded his hands on the table and calmly took the lead. “Okay, my client was kind enough to meet with you, after you threatened to take away her child, and just before the holidays, I might add. What is it that you want?”
Mrs. Kettering burst into tears and swatted her husband in the arm. “I knew filing a custody suit was the wrong way to go about this.”
Mr. Kettering looked at Storm and then shifted his gaze to me. “We just wanted to have a relationship with our grandchild.” His tone was defensive. “When you didn’t answer our letters, we had no choice but to force the issue.”
“I’m so sorry, we did that.” Joan pulled a tissue from her purse and dried her eyes. “Having lost my only child, it would have killed me to have someone threaten to take him away from me. This custody suit was wrong. I hope you can forgive us.” Joan’s face was fraught with compassion, but also sadness. My momma heart went out to her.
“Why didn’t you come to his funeral?” Marcus asked with his arms across his chest, clearly not the softie that Joan was. “We didn’t even know Ty was married until we contacted the army to send us his personal effects, and they said it was sent to his widow.”
Storm looked over at me and nodded, telling me it was okay to tell them about my marriage.
I took a deep breath and held my still-trembling hands in my lap. “We met when he was on leave in South Carolina. I was there visiting a friend for the summer and working at a resort. It was a whirlwind romance. We got married just before he deployed. The only thing he told me was that he was estranged from his family. Then when I told him I was pregnant, a few months later—” My gaze shifted from Joan to Marcus, unsure how to tell them the next part. It would break their hearts. I swallowed the lump in my throat and continued. “I’m so sorry to have to say this, but he told me not to go to you, because you were terrible people. He said he didn’t want his child raised in that environment. That’s why I threw away your letters.”
Joan gasped and grabbed another tissue. Her tears were coming harder now.
Marcus rested his head on his hand, elbow propped on the table, and blew out an exasperated sigh. “We tried out best with Ty, really we did, but he was always a difficult child. And yes, as our only child, we spoiled him. It got worse when he was in high school, though. He began partying, staying out all night. We found drugs in his room. We tried everything we could to get him to straighten up. But he was out of control.” Marcus let out a heavy sigh filled with regret.
Joan rubbed her husband’s back. “We tried our best, Marcus.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, gave a nod, then opened them. “So I cut off his cash flow, thinking he wouldn’t be able to buy drugs without money. But that didn’t work either. Finally, we caught him stealing some of Joan’s jewelry, family heirlooms from her grandmother. I followed him to a pawn shop and saw him sell it for cash. I turned him in to the cops and they arrested him. Since it was his first offense and he came from an upstanding family, the judge gave him a choice. Clean up his act by joining the military or go to jail. It tore my heart out to have my son arrested, but I know it saved his life. Unfortunately, he never spoke to us again after that. Completely cut us out of his life.”
Joan spoke between sniffles. “I wrote him letters every day for a year, that first year he was enlisted, but they were all returned unopened.” She paused to blow her nose. “It broke my heart that we never got a chance to reconcile before he died. And that he hated us so much.” She burst into tears again.
I wiped tears from my own eyes. “If it makes you feel better, I had no idea he was ever in any kind of trouble. He was so sweet to me, so loving. A good man. I hope that gives you some peace, that your decision helped him become a man you could be proud of.”
Joan sniffled and dabbed the tissue under her eyes. “Thank you. That is good to hear.”
“Can you tell us about our grandchild?” Marcus asked.
“Sadie is four years-old and is a walking ball of joy. She has her dad’s blond hair. She’s very precocious and really keeps me on my toes. She loves animals, and art projects, and Christmas. She’s so excited about Christmas.”
Joan’s face lit up. “What does she want for Christmas?”
“Well, she told something to Santa, but she wouldn’t tell me what it was.” I was not about to tell them that she wanted a dad and a dog. “She doesn’t have a list. Doesn’t really care much about how much stuff she has, or whether she has what other kids have. She is excited about every experience and finds joy in whatever she's doing.”
“She really is the most amazing little girl I’ve ever met,” Storm added, surprising me with such high praise. This from the guy whom I thought hated kids. Oh, how far we’d come.
Joan leaned forward in her seat. “Do you have a picture of her? Can I see?”
I nodded and pulled out my phone. After I opened up the album of Sadie, I moved to the chair next to Joan and started flipping through them for her. “
“She’s adorable. I can see both you and Ty in her.”
Joan showed a couple of them to her husband, and his eyes filled with unshed tears. Joan gave him a look.
He nodded once, then turned to face me. “Serena. We’re sorry for the pain we’ve caused you. We’d love nothing more than to get to know you and Sadie. But it will be on your terms.” He looked over at their attorney. “We’re dropping the suit. It’s obvious you are an excellent mother and are doing a wonderful job with her. We don’t want to interfere with that, but we would like to help you out.”
“That’s not nec?—”
“Hear me out. Ty was our only child. He was never able to be there for you or Sadie, and I know it’s not easy being a single parent. We will be rewriting our wills to leave everything to our grandchild, and also setting up funds for her to go to college, or whatever she wants to do. But we will also set up monthly payments to help with your daily expenses.”
“But—”
He raised a hand. “No strings attached. I promise. Whether you agree to let Sadie get to know us or not, we want to do this for you.” He breathed a heavy sigh that held years of heartache. “I made a lot of mistakes as a father. I have a lot of regrets. I don’t want to regret not being there for our grandchild, or at least making sure she’s taken care of.”
I didn’t know what to say. It seemed very generous of them, but that also made me skeptical. Did they mean it when they said no strings attached? Or would the strings come later?
“If Serena decides to accept your contribution, we would need it in writing that there is no expectation of visitation or rights attached to the gift.”
“Of course.”
I studied them as the attorneys talked a little more. They were Sadie’s grandparents. She deserved to know them. Maybe if she had them in her life, she wouldn’t care so much about getting a dad. She could get to know her father through them. Even though it made me nervous, it seemed like the right thing to do.
“We can arrange a meeting with Sadie. Not until after Christmas, though. I need time to talk to her about it, and make sure she understands and is okay with it. But I reserve the right to change my mind and do whatever is necessary to protect my child. Her safety and happiness is my top priority, and I won’t have anyone, even her grandparents, getting in the way of that.”
They nodded. “Understood.”
“And I don’t want her being spoiled with excessive gifts. Right now, she appreciates all she has and loves every little thing. I don’t want that to change by having grandparents that shower her with everything a girl could want.”
“We promise to restrain ourselves.” Joan assured me. “All that privilege and excess didn’t help our son. Believe me, we learned our lesson. We won’t make the same mistakes with Sadie, but please tell us if we’re getting carried away. We want to do right by both of you.”
Marcus sat back in his chair, much more at ease now. “We decided to make this trip a vacation, so we’ll be in town for the next week. No pressure. If you’re not ready for this and need more time, we’ll just enjoy having a white Christmas here.” He handed me and Storm his business card. “Here is my contact info. We’ll be staying at the Lakeside B&B.”
Storm wrapped up the meeting and showed them to the door. Joan came over and hugged me. “I’m so happy we found you. And can’t wait to meet your little angel.”
As soon as they were out the door, I burst into tears.