Chapter 31
“Watch me, Beck!” Maggie squeals as she flies down the slide on the playscape outside Jude’s brewery. The sun warms my skin as I sit on the back patio and sip on a coffee.
Since Haley had to meet with her lawyer this afternoon, she asked me to pick up Maggie from preschool, who then begged to come here and play. I could have told her she could play on her swing set at home, but I know how much she loves being around other little kids, something she can’t do at home.
“Good job, kiddo,” I call out to her.
Ever since Haley received the custody petition last week, I’ve looked at Maggie differently. And every time I see how happy she is, no thanks to her pathetic excuse of a sperm donor, I get even more angry over the idea that he’s trying to get custody of Maggie.
Then feel even more guilty about the role I’ve played in all of it.
“I never thought I’d see this,” Jude states as he plops down in the chair across from me, throwing a dishtowel onto the table between us.
“What do you mean?” I bring my coffee to my lips and take a sip.
“Playing Dad.”
I shrug. “Just trying to help Haley. That’s all.”
His light expression turns serious as he drops his voice. “How’s she doing?”
I shift my attention back toward Maggie, fighting to push down the renewed wave of anger that washes over me at the reminder of everything that’s now at stake.
“She’s hanging in there.” I laugh under my breath. “Hell, she’s probably handling it better than me.”
“And how are you handling things?”
I expel a long sigh and run a hand through my hair. “I don’t know.”
While Haley asked me to keep Oliver’s custody petition under wraps for now, since she hasn’t told Maggie about any of it yet, she mentioned I could talk to Jude if I wanted. She must have sensed I might need someone to confide in other than her.
“What has her lawyer said?”
“What I expected he would.” I steal a glance at Maggie as she climbs up the small rock wall, then lean closer to Jude, keeping my voice low. “If paternity is established — and Haley’s not contesting paternity — he has a legal right to custody. It’s just a question about what kind of arrangement they can come up with.” I swallow hard, feeling suffocated by the thought of Maggie having to spend any time with that prick.
“Mark Sellers is getting ready to prepare Haley’s response, and once the court receives that, a hearing date will be set. But that’s just a formality, since all the judge will do is refer the matter to mediation in the hopes that the two parties can come to an agreement without the court’s intervention.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“It’ll go before a judge to decide.”
“What are his chances of getting primary custody if that happens?” Jude crosses his arms in front of his black t-shirt bearing a vintage style of his brewery’s logo.
“It’s anyone’s guess. I just…” I squeeze my eyes shut. “It’s like that damn summer all over again.”
Jude straightens, his brows creased in confusion. “What makes you say that?”
“I let my anger get the better of me back then and it nearly cost Haley her life. I did it again, and now Haley could lose Maggie because of me.”
“She won’t lose Maggie,” Jude tries to assure me. “No judge would take her away from her mother. If that happens, I’ll officially lose all faith in the judicial system.”
“Join the club,” I mutter over the top of my coffee, my throat closing up the longer I think about it. “Maybe her father was right.”
“Her father? What do you mean?”
“That summer, he found out about us a week before it went to hell. Came to the vineyard during one of my shifts and pulled me aside. Told me to stay away from his daughter. Reminded me she was better off without me, that by continuing to see her, I’d ruin her life.” I laugh to myself. “Turns out he was right.”
“Beck, you need to stop blaming yourself for what happened. Need to let go of this insane amount of guilt you’ve been carrying for too long now. You served your sentence. It’s time to move on. Her father’s an asshole who saw his control over Haley slipping and was willing to do or say anything to get it back.”
“I thought so, too, but now…” I sigh, peering into the distance, a heaviness settling in my chest. “I thought maybe this time would be different. Instead, I’m just ruining her life all over again. And not just hers. Maggie’s, too.”
“How?” Jude shoots back.
I throw up my hands in frustration. “She’s about to be subject to a custody battle, all because I couldn’t control my fucking temper. Again.”
He rests his calf on his opposite thigh, tenting his fingers in front of him. “Let’s table the validity of that argument for the time being, because you know I think it’s bullshit.”
I open my mouth to argue, but Jude interrupts before I have a chance.
“Look at that little girl.” He nods toward where Maggie’s swinging, her tiny frame silhouetted against the bright blue sky. Her infectious laughter fills the air, bringing a smile to my face.
“Hiya, Beck! Look at me fly! Think I can reach the moon?”
“You can do anything you want, pipsqueak,” I reply through the lump in my throat.
“Doesn’t look like a little girl whose had her life ruined,” Jude remarks.
“Not yet,” I shoot back, but Jude won’t hear it.
He can be a pain like that.
“And how about Haley?”
“What about Haley?” I ask cautiously.
“She was able to quit working at the casino because of you.”
“No. The only reason she agreed to marry me is because she quit the casino and had no other options.”
“Semantics.” He waves me off. “You never told her she had to find a job to replace it. Instead, you encouraged her to take this time to pursue her passion. Now, her business is thriving, thanks to you.”
“She did all the work.”
“But she never would have taken that first step if it weren’t for you. Do you see what I’m saying?”
“Not really.”
“Your mistakes don’t define you, so stop letting them. You’re a good person. Maggie sees that. Haley sees that. When are you going to see it, too?”
I’m about to renew my argument that I’m still the root cause of Haley’s current predicament when a tall brunette saunters up to our table, her tight-fitting tank top bearing the Wicked Hop logo indicating she works here.
But I’ve never seen her before.
“Hey, Jude? Can you show me how to change the tap again? I’m worried I’ll mess it up.”
His lips curve up in the corners as he nods. “I’ll be right there.”
“Thanks.”
When she spins and heads back inside, it doesn’t escape my notice that Jude’s eyes narrow on her short denim skirt as she walks away.
“Who’s that?” I ask once she’s gone.
He snaps his gaze back to mine. “Just a new hire.” His response is dismissive.
“You hired someone to work at a brewery who doesn’t know how to change a tap?” I arch a disbelieving brow.
“She needed a job.”
“Who is she? I haven’t seen her around before.” I look through the windows, watching as she wipes down a few recently vacated tables. It’s not too busy inside, since it’s only a little after four. In a matter of hours, this place will be packed with people, especially since it’s Friday.
“She’s new in town.”
“Wait a second.” I dart my wide eyes toward Jude, knowing why she looks familiar now. “Is that…”
He nods.
When I took Maggie out for ice cream last weekend, we drove by a woman being pulled over by our local sheriff. That in itself wasn’t unusual. What caught both my and Maggie’s attention was the fact that she was in a wedding dress. And not a simple one like Haley wore. This thing had layers upon layers of tulle, or whatever the hell they use to make wedding dresses.
From what I’ve heard through the famously unreliable Sycamore Falls rumor mill, she’d been pulled over for driving a stolen car, but seeing as it was her now ex-fiancé that reported it as stolen, the sheriff took pity on her and didn’t arrest her. But he still had to impound the car.
That doesn’t explain how she ended up working for Jude, though.
“You hired the runaway bride?” I ask.
“Yup. And now I need to go help her.” He jumps up from his chair.
“You’re not getting out of this.”
“It’s nothing,” he says as he hurries inside.
Which makes me think it’s not nothing. I love my brother, but he’s not the type of person who’d hire someone who can’t even change a goddamn tap.
Chuckling to myself, I return my attention to Maggie as she pokes her head out of the clubhouse. The instant she sees me, she waves enthusiastically. It both warms my heart, yet breaks it at the same time.
How did I get here? How did I go from avoiding all personal attachments to becoming like a father to a precocious four-year-old little girl who I’d do anything for?
“She’s a cute kid, if I say so myself.”
I whip my head to the left as a man in a suit lowers himself into the chair that Jude just vacated. In an instant, all the warmth drains from my body as I glower at Oliver.
“Then again, I might be a little biased.”
I shoot to my feet, clenching and unclenching my fists. “What the hell are you doing here? I told you?—”
“Ah ah, Mr. Lawrence. I’m not an expert, but I don’t think any judge would take too kindly to reports of you attacking an innocent bystander in front of your stepdaughter, especially given your…history.” His voice drips with condescension.
“What do you want?” I seethe, hating that he’s right.
“I want you to sit down so we can have a little chat.” He grins a conniving grin.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“If you don’t, I’m happy to go tell that little girl exactly who I am.”
I immediately still, sucking in a sharp breath.
“I’m guessing by your reaction, Haley hasn’t told her yet.”
I don’t move for several long moments, my jaw twitching. But he’s right. Haley hasn’t told her about him yet. She hopes to protect Maggie from this prick for as long as she possibly can. So instead of giving him yet another bloody nose and making things even worse for Haley and Maggie, I return to my seat.
“What do you want?” I hiss out again.
He relaxes in his chair, an air of superiority about him. What I wouldn’t give to wipe that cocky look off his face.
“I want you to retract your offer to buy Vivanza.”
I blink repeatedly, his words catching me off guard. Why would this asshole care about me buying the vineyard? How would he even know?
But as I study his appearance — coifed blond hair, clean-shaven jawline, and designer suit that makes me question whether he’s ever gotten his manicured hands dirty — it finally clicks. Especially when I notice the monogrammed cufflinks.
The man I saw storm out of Grady’s office a few weeks ago wore an identical pair.
“You were in talks with Grady,” I exhale, realization hitting me like a punch to the gut.
His lips curl up in a sinister sneer as he shifts his gaze forward, watching Maggie with immense interest.
It makes me want to break every bone in his body. At least I find some satisfaction over the fact that there’s still a subtle bruise around his nose and eye from our last encounter.
“Do you believe in karma, Mr. Lawrence?”
“I do, and you better believe it’ll eventually come for you after the way you treated Haley. Unless I get to you first, that is.”
He chuckles, brushing off my remark like the condescending prick he is. “I also believe in karma. At first, I wasn’t sure how I was going to convince Grady Belanger to change his mind. He seemed so set against accepting my firm’s offer to buy his vineyard, even after I offered him substantially more than our initial bid. But after learning it was because he planned to sell to his head winemaker, I worried it was a lost cause. I can’t compete with keeping the land in the family.” He floats his calculating stare toward me. “Until I realized who his head winemaker is married to.”
“That’s what this is about?” I shoot back, my ire toward this asshole growing with every second he remains in my presence. “You don’t actually want custody of Maggie, do you?”
“How could you say that?” He feigns disbelief. “She’s my daughter.”
“No, she’s not,” I growl. “You lost the right to call that little girl your daughter when you threw money at Haley and ordered her to terminate the pregnancy. If you think you can come here and threaten to take her away, you’d better think again. She may not be my daughter, but there’s nothing I won’t do to keep you as far away from her as possible. From both of them.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” His eyes dance in amusement. “Which is why I’m here with a proposition for you.”
“For...me?”
He nods slowly, his steely gaze focused on me. Now that I’m peering at him, I can’t help but see the remarkable similarity between him and Maggie. The same angle of their striking gray eyes. The same nose. The same shape of their chin.
“Tell your boss you’ve changed your mind and you’re no longer interested in buying Vivanza. Once you do that, I’ll have my lawyer withdraw my petition for modification of custody.”
From the beginning, I questioned what his motive might be. While Haley seemed adamant it was simply to punish her, I couldn’t ignore the feeling in my gut there was more to it than that.
Now, I know what that is.
“He’ll never sell to you, especially when he learns why I’m rescinding my offer.”
“Oh, but he won’t. Not if you want to keep sweet little Maggie from being the center of a long, drawn-out custody battle. Rest assured, I have the funds to do so.”
“What about your wife? Are you ready to tell her you had an affair while you were engaged?”
“My relationship with my wife has always been slightly…volatile. There’s been quite a bit of on again, off again, even right up to our wedding. I can easily make the argument that any time I spent with Haley was during one of our ‘breaks’. Which is what I’ll do if it comes to that. Plus, I know my wife. She won’t care once she learns this affair helped me get promoted to partner at the firm. And that will only happen if I secure this deal. So it’s your choice. Rescind your offer and this all disappears. If you don’t, I hope you’re ready to explain to Haley how you had the power to stop this and didn’t.”
I’d give anything to punch that smug look off his face. But I can’t. Not when he’s already using my past actions as a reason for why Maggie isn’t safe with Haley.
“Even if I do as you ask, it doesn’t mean Grady will accept your offer. From what I understand, he’s had multiple parties interested.”
“You do have a great deal of influence over him, don’t you?”
“I suppose.”
“Then you’d better use that influence. If not, enjoy what little time you have left with Maggie.”
“You don’t even care about her,” I seethe.
“You’re right. I don’t. But I do care about getting this promotion and will do whatever it takes in order to get it.”
He levels a glare, leaving no question that he won’t hesitate to turn both Maggie’s and Haley’s world upside down just to make a point.
“Now, do we have a deal?” With a single brow arched, he extends his hand.
I stare at it for several long seconds, my stomach churning. I want to refuse on principle. Fight him tooth and nail.
But that would mean putting Maggie through a custody battle. Would mean uprooting her from the life she’s always known. Even if he doesn’t get full custody, he still has a right to spend time with her. I have a chance to make it so that doesn’t happen. To protect them both.
After all, it’s my fault she’s in this mess. This is the least I can do to get her out of it.
Pushing out a long breath, I place my hand in his and we shake. “We have a deal.”