2. Margot
CHAPTER 2
Margot
“ Y ou are more than welcome, Mrs. Fry.” I smile despite being alone in my office, so happy that I could accommodate a date change for her and her husband’s sixtieth wedding anniversary trip.
Sixty years.
What is that like? I couldn’t make it thirteen.
“You are a darling, Margot. We’re looking forward to seeing you again. It’s been far too long!”
“It really has. Two years, right?”
“Oh my! It’s been that long, hasn’t it?” They’d had to cancel their annual trip last year because of their great grandson being born. But she’d made sure to call and tell me that the little boy and his mother were doing great, and I’d even sent a bouquet of flowers to the new mother.
And this time they have to move their trip out because her husband came down with something.
Chad never understood my desire to connect with those who stay here. My need to make them feel cared for. He saw people as dollar signs, while I see them as family. Close friends. People who trust me to make their trips special and stress-free.
Even as I’d given him credit for supporting my dream of opening this place, I knew he only quit his job because he’d hated it and thought this place was going to be an instant moneymaker. When it hadn’t been, and we’d started struggling, he’d gotten angry and resentful.
Perhaps that’s part of what tore my family apart.
“I can’t wait to show you pictures of little Bobbie! He has gotten so big!” she exclaims, pulling me out of the darkness of my thoughts.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’ll see you next month, Mrs. Fry. I hope Mr. Fry starts feeling better soon. Let me know if there’s anything I can do between now and then.”
“Thank you, dear. We will see you and your sweet boy next month. Goodbye!” She ends the call cheerfully, and I set the receiver down, then lean back in my chair and close my eyes.
Sweet boy. Matty hasn’t behaved like a sweet boy since Chad left. He just keeps getting more and more volatile. Honestly, the closest I’ve seen him to his true personality is when he jumped to action, saving Jaxson’s life.
He’d applied pressure to the gunshot wound the former detective sustained, then called 9-1-1 before calling me. I’d arrived right as Jaxson and Silas Williamson, a former Navy SEAL they’d brought in to find my brother when he’d been missing, were brought out on stretchers .
Seeing Jaxson Payne looking so weak was far more difficult than I could have anticipated. While I don’t know the former Marine well, he’s a powerful force to be reckoned with. Anyone who spends more than ten seconds in a room with him can sense it.
My thoughts drift back to the beach this morning. To seeing him standing in the sand, barefoot, muscles slick with sweat, the light breeze toying with his dark hair. Attraction swirls in my gut, but I shove it back down.
He’s one of my brother’s best friends and one of his business partners.
And I have a thirteen-year-old son to worry about. The last thing I need is a romance that will likely fizzle and burn out, just like the marriage that was supposed to last me a lifetime did.
My gaze lands on the worn Bible sitting on the edge of my desk. Tears fill my eyes as I look immediately to the right of it and take in the stack of bills piling up. Some of them are pink.
Final notices.
And I have no idea how I’m supposed to pay them.
As it so often does when this happens, my mind fills with intrusive thoughts.
I’m not smart enough to run a business.
I’m not capable of keeping this place afloat.
I might as well quit now, before I lose what little savings I’ve managed to put away for Matty’s college fund.
No. I will not let Chad into my head. Not ever again. Knowing I can’t deal with these thoughts on my own, I bow my head.
God, please help me. I can’t do this without You. I know I can’t, and I know You are here for me. Please keep me strong. Amen.
The bell above the front door dings, so I push to my feet and slip out into the front, a smile plastered on my face. That is, until I see the bane of my existence standing on the other side of my counter.
Seems the devil is working overtime to drive me out of the peace I fight so hard to maintain.
The last year hasn’t changed Chad at all. He still looks every bit the jock he’d been when we were in high school, with the years only adding a few more lines to his otherwise youthful face. When he sees me, he shoves his hands into his pockets. “Margot.”
I cross my arms. “What do you want, Chad?”
“You won’t answer my calls.”
“Because I have nothing to say to you.”
His cheeks turn red. “You don’t get to decide that.”
I can practically smell the alcohol on his breath, which makes me even more nervous. Chad was never violent unless he was drinking. The alcohol completely changed him, turning him into the monster haunting our home. I try to make myself look busy by rearranging the stacks of Post-its on my front standing desk. That way, maybe, he won’t sense the nerves. Being alone with Chad is something I never wanted again. Not after I’d finally had it with his violent outbursts. It started with screaming and throwing things…and then he slapped me.
It was the first and last time he ever put his hands on me.
“I do get to decide that, thanks to the divorce decree. Now leave. This is my home and my place of business.” My gaze drifts to the entryway security camera, and I try to breathe. I know Knight Security monitors it, so even as it’s just Chad and me, I know I’m not truly alone.
“I’m not going anywhere until you let me see Matty.” His tone picks up that all-too-familiar flash of anger.
“ Matthew doesn’t want to see you.” Hearing him call our son by his nickname makes me nauseous. He lost that right when he chose to throw everything we’d worked for away.
“Because you’ve poisoned him against me.” He tightens his hands into fists at his sides, and my gaze flicks to the letter opener on the check-in desk to my right. It might be the only thing I can use to defend myself.
“I didn’t do anything. That was all you, Chad.”
He places both hands on the desk between us, and I stiffen. Surely he wouldn’t do anything here. Not in the middle of the day when anyone could walk in…but I still can’t put my nerves at ease. All the guests have checked out.
No one is due to check in for another two hours.
What if— The door opens again, and Silas strolls in. Standing just as tall as Jaxson, the man is over six feet of solid muscle. And while the former Navy SEAL is a man of few words, his expression speaks volumes. He’s pissed that Chad is here, and I send up a thank you to God for my brother pushing to install the security cameras.
“You are not welcome on this property,” Silas says, crossing his arms.
Chad doesn’t even give Silas a glance. “This is none of your business. Margot is my wife, and we’re discussing personal matters.”
“Margot is your ex -wife,” Silas corrects. “And she, her son, and her property are all under the protection of Knight Security, which makes it my business.”
Chad looks from me to Silas, then back to me, his expression even more furious—if that’s possible. “You hired your brother’s toy security company to keep me from my son?”
“Toy security company?” I let out a humorless laugh. “I’ll be sure to tell Michael that. He’ll get a kick out of your appreciation of his company. Either way. What I do and who I hire is none of your business. Get out.”
His expression softens, and he runs both hands over his face. “Fine. But can we please talk, Margot? I’ll meet you at the diner. I really just have some things I want to discuss.”
“I don’t?—”
“Please,” he says again, his tone a bit more anguished than before. “I really messed up with our son, and I want to make it right.”
The part of me not completely obliterated by his betrayal understands his need to make things right with Matty. And even as I know our son cannot stand his father, I also know there’s a part of him that wishes things were different. “I’ll hear you out,” I tell him. “But I won’t make Matty do anything he doesn’t want to. And that includes seeing you.”
Chad smiles, flashing that boyish grin that once had me weak in the knees. “Done. Diner tonight? Seven?”
“Fine.”
Chad turns and leaves, completely ignoring Silas. When the door closes behind him, the newest addition to Knight Security moves closer to my desk. “Are you okay?”
“Annoyed. Angry. Grateful you showed up.”
“Elijah called. He’s on monitor duty since Michael, Jaxson, and Lance are with Sheriff Vick right now. I was close, so I was able to get over here quickly.”
A bite of panic pushes past my anger at Chad. “Is everything okay?”
“I haven’t gotten the update yet,” he replies. The man is all business every time I see him. Except when he’s out with his four-year-old niece, the little girl he’s been raising ever since her parents passed. “You good, though? I can hang out a little longer if you’re worried he’ll come back.”
“No, it’s okay.” I wave him off. “Thanks, though. Chad got what he wanted. He won’t be coming back.”
Silas offers me a single nod, then turns and leaves the B&B. The little bell over the door jingles as it closes behind him. Taking a deep breath, I lean my head forward and try to steady my nerves.
Surely Chad isn’t coming after me for partial custody. Not after he already gave up his rights. Can he do that? Can he come after me now that our agreement is finalized? Anxiety fuels my panic, so I head into the kitchen for a glass of water.
No. Chad cannot have Matty. I told myself that I would never stand in the way if Matty wanted a relationship with his father, but I will fight tooth and nail to keep my son from being forced to share a space with his cheating, abusive alcoholic father.
Not that anyone knows about the abuse. I never told a soul—especially not Micheal. My brother would have killed him.
The former Army Ranger would have made my ex-husband disappear, staining his soul with the blood of a man undeserving to even breathe the same air as him.
It was not a risk I could take, so I kept it to myself.
The bell dings, and a stab of panic shoots through me. Is he back?
“Mom?” a familiar voice calls out.
I press a hand to my heart and take a deep breath. “Back here!” After setting the water down, I head out of the kitchen and meet Matty near the front desk. Anthony Bell, Matty’s best friend since kindergarten, is with him. “Hey, boys. You got here early.” I glance at the clock, surprised that it’s not actually that early.
“We ran.” As evidenced by his red cheeks and breathless smile. “Mom, can I stay the night at Ant’s? We’ve got a science fair project due in a month and we both really want to get working on it.”
I study him closely, looking for any tells that it’s a lie, but get none. Anthony is a good kid. One of the only boys Matty hangs out with who is an actual good influence on him. Is it possible my son is finally getting back to normalcy? Back to the study-loving, happy boy he was before his world imploded?
A wave of hope flushes through me.
And then the remnants of Chad’s desire to get close to him seeps in. What if Chad ruins it? What if seeing him reverts Matty to the troublemaker he was right after Chad left, tagging police cars and stealing candy from the corner store?
“Your parents are home?” I ask Anthony.
“My dad will be. Mom is working the night shift at the hospital. I can have him call you if you’d like, Mrs. O’Connell.”
I try not to wince at him calling me by Chad’s last name.
“Anderson,” Matty corrects, elbowing his friend lightly.
His cheeks turn red. “Mrs. Anderson. Sorry.”
“No worries, hun. It’s a hard habit to break, trust me.” I smile. “If you could have your dad call me, that would be great. You guys will just be working on the project then? Not going anywhere?” I hate that he won’t be home tonight—that I’ll be alone, but Matty behaving like a typical thirteen-year-old is a balm to that wound.
“Yes, Mom.” Matty rolls his eyes. “I’ll call you right after dinner and before I go to bed, too. ”
“And you better not be late for school tomorrow. If you are?—”
“I know, I know, trouble city.” He laughs.
“You got it.” I open my arms, and he steps in closer, wrapping his around my waist and hugging me. I breathe him in, enjoying every second of this moment before he pulls away. “You guys have fun. I love you, Matty.”
My boy grins at me. A sideways smile that reminds me of his father at that age. Before he became the womanizer he is now. God, please let my boy stay kind. “Love you, too, Mom.”