Chapter 31 #2
I stared at him. The idea that this was ever truly about me began to show its cracks in the theory.
What I didn’t know was what to do next. Since the minute I met Slade, he’d never given me any real space.
I breathed his air, I followed his path, his vibrance brought mine back to me.
Against the odds, he fell in love with me, I know he did.
Then today out of nowhere I received a single text stating he wasn’t coming tomorrow.
No explanation, only the bad decision he made.
In all the nonsense of life, this latest blow took the lead. I loved that man, a real lasting love.
Why wasn’t I more devastated that he was clearly breaking up with me?
Of course, I wasn’t above begging him to stay, but it didn’t seem the right move in the moment.
My eyelids closed, my fingertips skimmed the cool weave at the top of the chair.
I needed balance and time to think. Slade wasn’t near as alone as he thought he was.
Tommy and I both turned when his laptop rang.
That brought me back around to the reason I’d left my animals and come inside.
Dash Richmond needed to discuss my civil case.
Since signing off on Dash handling the process, I hadn’t had to be involved in any of the paperwork or proceedings.
It was so far not on my radar now, that my brain churned to remember where we’d left off.
If I recalled correctly, there weren’t even any scheduled court dates for several months.
But after numerous missed calls, Dash pulled a power move, telling on me for ignoring him. Tommy had scheduled this call.
I didn’t want to do this right now. But maybe it would take my mind off Slade and whatever had gone wrong on that front.
With an extended reach across the hard wood table, Tommy answered the call. His direct stare landed on me, and he used a finger to direct me to the seat next to him.
“Hey, Dash. Mace’s here with me. It’s been crazy around here,” Tommy said in his professional voice.
“I noticed the online buzz,” Dash said, his cultured southern accent sounding just as professional. “Everything good there?”
“Seems like everyone noticed the attention,” I said, smiling, taking the seat next to Tommy.
Dash’s grin was wide as he nodded in sympathy. I didn’t know what he meant. “Mace, I won’t keep you. I’ve sent you the settlement agreement we’ve reached. I need your approval before I move forward, but I believe we can tie this all up pretty quick.”
“I didn’t see the email,” I said, shocked that he’d gotten anything sorted that quickly.
Tommy put a single sheet of paper in front of me.
My gaze narrowed as I read the legal jargon Dash had sent.
Well, legal jargon was the wrong word. It appeared to be dumbed down for me but didn’t quite hit the mark.
“What’s this say?” I asked, tucking my hands together between my thighs, waiting for either man to explain what I needed to know.
Dash started to speak, but Tommy had gotten a good dose of the country life, at least my life, and he spoke in terms I understood.
“The Dunn family doesn’t want the sordid details out in the world.
They’re willing to give you a public apology for not working harder to find the truth.
It won’t showcase how far they went to hide the truth but it will give you the redress you deserve. ”
“Good,” I said, nodding. I was happy my neighbors, the people who knew and believed in me, could now know my truth.
“There’s more. In addition to the apology, they’ve agreed to a lump-sum payout in exchange for you dropping the lawsuit. That figure is two million dollars—” Dash said. I instantly cut him off, shooting to my feet, the chair legs scraping until it thumped over.
“Two million dollars?” I asked, stunned…maybe thrilled…mostly blindsided by the settlement offer. When Dash had asked to take on this case, I just wanted people to know the truth. To know who really caused that accident.
“No, hang on,” Tommy said to me, still seated but twisting to collect my chair, and pat me back down to it. “It’s earmarked as a donation to the sanctuary. That sounds like they’re twisting this so they benefit.”
Dash waived a hand. “They can call it what they want, but you’ll receive the tax break, not them. I think it’s a good deal that can wrap this up quickly without any added drama for you or your family.”
I took the seat again. Two million dollars.
I had loads of expenses, absolutely, but two million would last a long time.
Wow. “How much does the sanctuary actually get of that? One million?” That was still a lot of funding.
I could work with that. I wouldn’t have had any of it without Dash… or that public apology.
“Good question,” Dash said, a little smirk showing before he continued.
“You’ll receive the complete total. They’ve also agreed to pay my standard legal fees.
So I accepted that in lieu of the contingency agreement we set up.
Remember, I’m not cheap.” That smirk turned into a toothy grin, showing his pride in his payday.
“And what do I have to do in return?” There was always a catch. If it looked too good, it probably was.
Dash laughed. “Not a damn thing other than drop the suit. Their attorney should have asked for some sort of non-disclosure, but they didn’t. So the agreement’s heavily weighted to your benefit.” He looked particularly smug about that.
“Thank you.” The appreciation popped out of my mouth in an unexpected whoosh of air and words. He was truly blowing my mind. To think I could’ve done this years ago…
No, this was all Slade and his influence.
A pang of sadness had me dropping my hands in my lap again, vulnerability surging forward. Why wasn’t my guy here with me to celebrate?
“I’m going to assume you agree with the deal,” Dash said, grabbing a pen off the desk in front of him.
“I believe he’d like to approve the apology first before it posts,” Tommy said. That was a good add, and I nodded again.
“Already covered,” Dash said, jotting notes. “My family’s waiting on me. We have birthdays to celebrate. I’ll keep you informed. Congratulations. This is deserved.”
Dash didn’t wait for a goodbye as he reached to end the call.
My gaze collided with Tommy’s. His grin was huge, but I couldn’t see to muster the same in return.
“How does it feel to be vindicated?” he asked.
“It’ll be nice to have the apology. I thought we’d be lucky to get that,” I said. How did I even secure that kind of money? Did checking accounts allow for those sums?
“Then I better text Slade and tell him. Maybe it’ll help him out of the funk,” Tommy suggested.
“Don’t tell him, I will, but I want it to be face-to-face.”
That dented the happiness staring at me.
“Mace, it’s going to take him time to get out of his headspace. We could maybe spur that on faster if we tell him now.”
“Let me think about it.” I reached for my phone in my back pocket, handing it to Tommy.
“All the videos I took today are on the card you gave me. We’re gettin' lots of traffic on social media right now. We’re at a hundred thousand subscribers on the YouTube channel.
Our donations are crazy high. I was thinkin’ about makin’ a longer video on the days the auction trailer arrives.
Doc Kylie says she’s into talkin’ about her process of checkin’ their health.
I’m also goin’ to ask Kitt to talk about the proper procedures of dealin’ with the animals when they arrive and once they’ve had their medical exams.”
“You could do that,” Tommy said. “We could all help. I’ll keep editing the videos for you.”
“I’m not meant to be in front of the camera, but I don’t mind talkin’ while I’m filmin’. I was thinkin’ we probably need some semi-professional filmin’ gear. What do you think?”
“Yeah, I guess. Slade’s the actor. He’d be good in front of the camera too.”
“I wanna wait to tell him. I gotta see what he decides,” I said. “Can you order the equipment? Do you know about that stuff?”
“Mace, you and Slade need to talk. There’s two of you in this relationship,” Tommy said, and I gave a silent huff.
“That’s what Kitt said too.” I left the phone with Tommy. He had agreed to make my raw footage into a loadable video, and he was damned good at it.
I pushed through the kitchen door to the patio. Willow was right there ready for a good pet down. It seemed to be what I did the most these days.
What was Slade so upset with?
I refused to believe he’d played me.
What was my love dealing with, and why was he keeping me at arm’s length?
The answer was so clear. To protect me. Then how did I protect him in return?