38. Montana
Montana
“ T hey what!? ” Clayton blustered as Piper did her best to talk the rest of the pack through the bizarre and taxing events of the afternoon.
“I’m telling you, it was the strangest thing,” Piper sniffled from her place on the sofa, bracketed by Dakota and me.
“One minute, I was finishing an ice cream sundae while waiting for Monty to get back, and the next, my horrible ex-boyfriends were sitting across from me, insulting me and threatening the ranch. Threatening our family.” Piper’s lower lip trembled as she shared details of the ordeal.
I could tell from the way he had practically worn a hole in the carpet that Clay would be happy to put all three of the boys from Pack Adamar six feet underground if he could.
If I hadn’t done so much work with meditation and deep breathing, I just might have been inclined to join him with a shovel and a few bags of lime.
“They’re lucky I wasn’t at that diner.” Clay growled, low and menacing, as he ran a hand over the stubble on his jaw. “Would have taught those city boys a thing or two about manners .”
“The fact that they were so shitty was hardly surprising.” Piper sighed before she continued with concern. “I don’t know where Caroline’s been getting her gossip from, but they clearly don’t know we’ve bonded.”
“Uh, do they not have eyes?” Zeke ventured cautiously, his green eyes traveling over Piper’s very visible bonding bites and protruding belly beneath the fluttering skirts of her sundress.
“She was in one of Kota’s work hoodies at the diner with her hair down when I got there,” I chimed in.
Zeke’s eyes widened with understanding as Clay’s pacing came to an abrupt halt.
“Wait just a damn minute—are you saying those bastards didn’t figure out that you are…” Clay raised his eyebrows, reaching out to lay a hand tenderly over Piper’s pregnant belly.
“They made some kind of nasty comment about letting myself go.” As Piper’s shoulders sagged, Dakota and I rushed in to plant kisses on either cheek, just as all of us were quick to deny Pack Adamar’s claims.
“When they mentioned going to mediation, they seemed to think they’d be up against four single dads struggling to care for Maisie with the help of a nanny, not going up against a fully bonded pack with a sibling on the way for Maisie Rae,” Piper added, smiling softly through her fresh tears.
At that, a thick silence blanketed the room.
I waited a few tense moments, hoping that Clay might step in to break the quiet, but I was the one who finally spoke.
“That might give us the kind of edge we need. Piper’s former pack certainly has the financial means to be as litigious as they like.
” I raked a hand back through my hair nervously.
“For us, it’s going to be a considerably larger hardship.
I’ve been researching some of the best pack and family lawyers in the area, and we’re looking at some pretty hefty price tags just to get started and cover a retainer—forget about what happens if Caroline and her backers don’t want to take the easy way out. ”
“How large is large ?” Piper asked, her face white as a sheet.
“We’re talking somewhere in the neighborhood of ten grand just for the legal fees.” I laughed coldly. “That’s assuming she’d be willing to disappear with another payout, without trying to take the ranch.”
“Fifty grand last time, right?” Dakota let out a low whistle and winced. “And you know her gold-diggin’ ass is going to be looking for more this time,” he added before he sank into a facepalm.
Piper looked as if she were about to explode into hysterics—the last thing we needed for our pregnant omega.
“Let’s not put the cart before the horse,” Clay cut in, moving forward to cup Piper’s chin in one of his big hands and kiss her lightly. “Don’t you go worryin’ about the money for the lawyer. That’s all arranged for, and taken care of.”
I wasn’t sure what Clay was playing at, since I had made no such arrangements. I hadn’t been sure how real Caroline’s threats over the phone had been. Even though Clay handled a great many things, he hadn’t concerned himself with administrative tasks in years.
It seemed that, more likely than not, Clay was simply stepping in to ease Piper’s nerves.
“But what about the bonding bites? What about the baby?” Piper sniffled as Dakota scooted down the sofa to allow Clay a seat next to her.
“I’ll confirm with our lawyer, but I think that we just let them come to the table with their offer without clarifying our situation.” Clayton draped one of his large arms over Piper’s shoulder.
I let go of my hold around her waist as Clay pulled Piper against him protectively.
“You don’t even have to be there if you don’t want to, duchess. You aren’t on any of the ranch paperwork yet, so as far as Caroline and her legal team are concerned, you aren’t involved.”
“I know we’ve been angry and showing it here at home, behind closed doors, but we’ll play nice for the lawyers.
No nasty words from us, just a reasonable offer for a final payout on the condition that Caroline relinquishes any claims she has on Maisie or the ranch.
She can decide to take it or leave it.” Clay rocks Piper gently against him.
“Plus,” Dakota cut in after an extended silence, “it’s not just the ranch or the money that Caroline is after.
” He crossed his arms over his chest with defiance.
“She’s thinking that she still has a chance at getting Clay back.
” He snorted a laugh before he lifted his chin brazenly.
“As you can see, there’s no damn way that’s happening.
” Dakota nodded to Clay, whose arms closed protectively around Piper.
“Not to mention, Caroline won’t be able to fake any kind of maternal sweetness for long.
She might make noise about using Maisie to get what she wants, but we all know that Caroline’s true colors would show sooner rather than later.
We just have to be patient,” I added, giving voice to the most upsetting truth of Caroline’s weak character.
“We’ve got nothing to worry about,” Zeke agreed, moving in closer to sit on the ottoman across from Piper and Clay.
“We let her make a fool of herself at the mediation with her ridiculous claims and requests, then we make it crystal clear that we won’t budge an inch—that Clay has no intention of leaving his pack.
” He punctuated his affirmation with a gentle squeeze of Piper’s knee.
“How far away is the mediation?” Piper asked, eyes wide with fear, teeth worrying at her bottom lip.
“A couple of weeks—plenty of time for us to figure out a game plan for the day of.” Clay ran a hand through Piper’s hair, guiding her to rest her head on his shoulder. “We can see if Emmy can get the day off to hang here at home with you and Maisie, if that would make you feel less anxious.”
“Anything that will help you feel better, sunshine.” I stepped forward, leaning down to kiss the top of Piper’s head. “We’re going to get through this and keep you and baby happy and healthy, I promise.”
Piper looked up at me with those crystal-blue eyes and dazzling smile.
Even with everything swirling around us, all I could think about was how beautiful she would look with Maisie and the new baby in her arms. I had already imagined a photo of the three of them beaming happily back at me from my desk.