Chapter 15 #3
If his hunch was right and she’d sent the email accusing Grace of selling a cup of hot chocolate with a dead fly in it, he could also sue for libel.
He sent a quick email to Cooper asking him to trace the IP address of the anonymous email and see if it led to a computer owned by Tara Marchand.
Just in case, he drafted the filling document for a libel suit.
While he was at it, he also wrote up a complaint accusing Tara of slander, which was spoken defamation to others.
It would be risky for him to call Mary and her sister on the witness stand and expect them to tell the truth about Tara claiming Grace was stealing customers.
But, Tara’s lawyer would have to put at least the sister on the stand to testify that people had come to the Apple Pie Creek bakery who were looking to hire a baker to cater a party or wedding.
The whole case would rest on those people having later hired Grace.
Once the sister was on the witness stand and talking about losing customers, it would be an easy jump to get her to talk about what Tara said in response to losing those potential accounts.
He knew full well he could catch any lie she told and break her down.
After all, he’d gotten dozens of slick, white-collar criminals with years of lying under their belts, and millions of dollars in fines plus jail time on the line, to tell the truth.
Finally, he wrote up the filing paperwork for three more lawsuits accusing Tara Marchand of criminal mischief, harassment, and stalking.
He wasn’t sure which of the filings he would make. It would depend on when Tara’s lawsuit landed in court and what evidence Cooper found on the woman and her son between now and then. But he was ready to make Tara Marchand’s life, and her lawyer’s life, very miserable.
Nothing made him happier than putting opposing counsel on the defensive from day one.
He closed his laptop and relished the sun on his face as he sat on the grass by Lily. Sparrows sang in the maples, and somebody nearby was running a lawn mower.
“Mr. Reno, are you going to marry Mommy?”
Thanks to years in courtrooms hiding his reactions and sheer force of will, he did not lurch. He thought carefully about his response and settled on, “That’s a question you should probably ask your mommy.”
“I’m asking you.”
“That’s something your mommy and I would have to talk about,” he said carefully. “And we haven’t yet.”
Lily considered this gravely. “Would you marry her if she wants to?”
“I would.”
She nodded as if she’d suspected as much. “I’d like it if you got married. I’d get to be a princess full time.” And with that, she went back to cutting shapes.
Lily hummed a tuneless song beside him. He sat there in a red paper crown, on the back lawn of a yellow cottage in Cobbler Cove, holding a stuffed seal, and watching a four-year-old cut a blue crown out of construction paper.
It dawned on him that he never, ever, would’ve guessed his life would lead him to this moment.
Nor would he have ever guessed he could feel so settled. So exactly where he was meant to be.
The back door opened, and Grace stepped outside in bare feet. She took one look at him in his crown, holding a seal, and she laughed. He stood up, brushed the grass off his jeans, picked up Lily, and followed.
Grace was staring at the rice cooker when he came in. She turned around and her hands were on her hips and she had what could only be described as a baker’s look on her face.
“There’s rice already cooking.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“And chicken marinating in the fridge.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“In lemon and rosemary.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Reno.”
“Ma’am.”
“You went to the grocery store.”
“You get up early and work long hours at the bakery. The least I can while I’m your houseguest is get supper started.”
All of them wore crowns at supper, although the cat rebelled pretty quickly and shook hers off.
“Mr. Reno, you should always wear a crown.”
“You’re right. I should do that when I have a home of my own.”
“You already have a home.”
“Where’s that, Princess?”
“Right here.”
He had to set his fork down and stared at his plate, fighting a losing battle with his emotions for several seconds. He finally glanced up at Grace, who was still staring fixedly at her plate.
She swallowed hard a few times before managing to say to Lily, “Eat your peas.”
He stood on the porch while Grace tucked Lily into bed. A half-dozen kinds of frogs were singing tonight in a pleasing chorus of different tones. The first stars came out as the last hint of light faded behind the mountains to the west.
The cat came out, jumped onto the porch couch, and he sat down. He scratched her between the ears. She tolerated it for a few seconds before nipping at him. He could respect a cat who let him know where the boundaries were.
Grace came out with a cup of tea and sat down beside him. She tucked her feet up under her on the cushion. Marshmallow gave him a final glare and crawled into Grace’s lap with the smug entitlement of a queen.
“I assume, since you’re sitting out here looking like your dog just died, you have something serious to tell me.”
“I do. But it’s not about me.”
“Ahh,” she said quietly. It’s about me. What’s going on?”
He told her about Curtis taking the back way out of his mother’s property, and about Cooper tailing Curtis to the bakery, Lily’s preschool, and the cottage last night.”
She didn’t cry. He’d known she wouldn’t, but he saw what it cost her, and he admired her for her strength.
“There’s something else,” he said soberly.
“Tell me.”
He told her about Tara Marchand hiring a law firm in Bozeman. Wheeler’s phone call to his fishing buddy who worked there. The off-the-record conversation reporting that Tara was planning to sue Grace for stealing customers.
“How? I’ve never even met the woman. I don’t know who her customers are to steal them.”
He said honestly, “The purpose of the suit won’t be to win on the merits of the case. It’s meant to harass you and embarrass you publicly. Ruin your reputation and wreck your business. If nothing else, she’s wealthy and expects to bury you in legal fees until you go out of business.”
“Does this mean she will stop sending her son over here to harass me? I’d rather have her sue me than have somebody hurt Lily.”
He hadn’t expected her to see it that way.
She asked quietly, “Any chance you’re willing to help me fight her lawsuit?”
“Absolutely.”
“If you don’t want to be a lawyer for me, I understand. But maybe you could advise me?”
He held her gaze. “Babe. This is exactly the kind of case I went to law school for. It’ll be my pleasure to represent you.
To that end, I drafted filing documents this afternoon to countersue her for filing a frivolous lawsuit, libel, slander, harassment, stalking, and criminal mischief.
Her lawyer isn’t going to know what hit him.
I’m prepared to bury him in a blizzard of paperwork that’ll keep him hopping for weeks and make him seriously rethink both his case and representing his client. ”
He didn’t recognize his own voice. It had gone cold and laser-focused, the way it used to.
Grace’s eyes widened a fraction. She reached out and let her hand rest very lightly on top of his. He turned his palm up under hers.
Their hands rested like that, palm to palm, as she said, quietly, “I’m glad you’re here.”
“It does seem like the universe put me into your life at the right time with the right skill set to look out for you.”
She nodded slowly, and her fingers tightened around his. Then she stood up, wished him sweet dreams, which earned her a wry smile because he did not have those and they both knew it, and she went inside.
He stayed on the porch, pondering what it meant that the accusing voice in his head had been silent all day.
In fact, the silence seemed to have stopped altogether, as opposed to the silence of a thing holding its breath, waiting to pounce on him.
He didn’t know what to make of it, but he felt strange, not carrying the burden of his guilt with him at all times. As if part of him was missing.
But honestly, it was a part of himself he would be happy to leave behind for good.
Now he just had to figure out how to do that.