Caleb
Olivia and I work our way down the street picking up after the block party while a handful of neighbors do the same.
She carries a folding chair under one arm, talking to me over her shoulder as she walks toward the Hendersons' garage to drop it off.
The whole block pitched in this morning and most of the heavy stuff is done, which leaves the two of us gathering the small things everyone else missed.
"You're quiet this morning," she says, leaning the chair against the garage wall and brushing her hands off. We missed the bulk of cleanup out here after sleeping in a little. It felt too incredible to wake up with her in my arms. I didn’t want to get out of bed.
And when we did, we had a house to clean up first.
"I'm always quiet," I mumble, picking up a napkin that got lodged in Mr. Henderson's mulch.
"You're quieter than your usual quiet." She sets the garbage bag down and turns to look at me. "Are you okay?"
"I'm good, Olivia." I tie off my trash bag and set it next to hers and try to force a smile, but I'm not sure it works. "Just thinking."
"About what?"
"About how different things look from this side of it." I hook my thumbs through my belt and look down the street. "A few months ago, I moved into that house to do a job. Now I feel like this town is my home." I turn and look her full in the eye. "I feel like you're my home."
Olivia smiles and turns into me, splaying her hands on my chest as she smiles up at me. And it isn't her fake smile she puts on for the world to prove to herself that she can get through anything. This is the smile only I get. And I treasure it more than she'll ever know.
"That might be the most words you've ever said to me in one breath," she says playfully, grinning from ear to ear.
"Don't get used to it."
She rises up on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my cheek, so I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her against my body. "I was thinking the same thing, you know. That this feels right. You and me and Ethan. It feels like the life I was trying to build before Derek started pulling it apart."
"Well, he's done pulling." Just hearing that bastard's name threatens to ruin the moment, but I'm taking a move from Olivia's playbook by refusing to focus on that.
It'll only tear me down and make me miserable.
Today is a new day. We'll go down to the police station to give our statements later when they open, and that'll be that.
We won't have to think about him again until trial.
"I know." Her eyes drop and she picks at a thread on my shirt. "But I don't know if I'll ever feel like I'm safe, like this is over."
"You'll get there."
"You know," she muses quietly, "for the past three years I've been living life walking on eggshells. Every time I turned around, it was one threat after another. I feel like I need someone’s hand to hold just to get through life. That always made me feel weak, but—"
"You could hold mine."
She laughs and threads her fingers through mine. "We should go check on the house before Ethan gets home," she says, "make sure we got everything cleaned up."
"Oh, you're too worried. I'm sure we got every last thing." I close my hand around hers more tightly as she pulls away.
"Humor me." She chuckles, tugging me toward our homes.
We're halfway across her lawn when we see her lawyer's BMW turn onto the street heading toward us. Olivia never informed him of what happened, though with that damning evidence from my phone, the man is in a heap of legal trouble anyway. There isn’t a chance in hell a judge will grant the motion for emergency custody after he broke into her house.
"It's David," she mumbles, leaning into me.
I can understand why his presence would feel like a dark omen after the things she's been through.
David's presence in Olivia's life has to this point represented only negative things coming her way.
But this morning, I have hope that it's something better for her. She deserves a break.
David parks and gets out with a folder tucked under his arm. He crosses the lawn toward where we stand with his reading glasses pushed up on his forehead and half a grin on his face.
"David, what happened?" Olivia asks. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong at all, Olivia." He opens the folder and pulls out a document.
"I got a call from Derek's attorney at seven this morning.
Derek has withdrawn the custody motion as of seven a.m. and will not be pushing the emergency hearing at all.
" He holds out the paper so Olivia can look as he keeps talking.
"It appears he's being charged with breaking and entering, and vandalism, and I heard the DA may be looking at broader charges if Mr. Ward's surveillance is admissible in court. "
Olivia takes the document from his hand and reads the first paragraph.
She pores over the words and her lips part as she reads it again.
She looks shocked and stunned, and I am so happy for her.
I hook an arm around her waist and lean in, kissing her temple.
This woman is finally getting her happy ending, and I get to witness it.
"He gave up?" she whispers.
"His attorney for this legal matter he's dealing with advised him that proceeding while facing criminal charges for breaking and entering, evidence tampering, and assault would destroy whatever credibility he had left.
" David tucks the folder back under his arm and nods his head a few times.
"The video Mr. Ward recorded, combined with the phone records and the prior bar reprimands, gave Derek nowhere to go.
His lawyer told him to cut his losses before it got worse. "
"What about his law license?" I ask. That man doesn't deserve to practice law ever again. After what he's done abusing the system, he honestly deserves a jail sentence.
"Everything's been forwarded to the state bar for review.
Two reprimands plus a criminal arrest for evidence tampering means a formal disciplinary hearing, and Derek could lose the right to practice.
" He turns his eyes on me with a dark expression I understand perfectly.
He hopes Derek Bennett goes under just as much as I do.
"I think that's what finally made him back down. He saw the walls closing in."
Olivia holds the paper against her chest and stares at David. "Could he actually go to jail for what he did?"
"The breaking and entering charge carries jail time on its own, and the assault makes it worse.
His attorney will try for a plea, but the prosecutor has the video and the phone records and a long paper trail.
If they pursue all of it, Derek faces real consequences.
" He sighs and runs a hand over his partly balding head.
"It somewhat depends on the two of you. If you press, the defense may have to yield. You are the victims here."
I'm not sure about Olivia, but I want that jerk punished to the fullest extent, if not for me, for those moms out there who lost their children because of him.
"And Ethan's visitation?" Olivia asks with a hint of trepidation in her tone. "Does he still have to go over there?"
"Derek has bigger concerns than visitation right now.
" David takes his glasses off and holds them.
"If he stays out of jail, the current arrangement holds, but you have every right to petition for a modification.
Given the domestic violence charge and the documented harassment, the court would very likely restrict him to supervised visitation only, at least for a while.
" He pauses to sigh, then says, "It's your call, Olivia. You're in control of this now."
She stares down at the document as her shoulders relax and the fatigue on her face lightens. "Thank you, David," she says quietly, almost in tears.
"Thank the man standing next to you," David says, nodding at me.
"He did the work. I just filed it." He shakes our hands and walks back to his car, and we watch him pull away.
This all feels too good to be true. I can't believe all that mess is finally behind us and I get to have this woman to myself.
It's the most incredible feeling in the world.
Olivia stands in her yard holding the withdrawal notice as the tears come rolling down her cheeks and dripping off her jaw.
She looks at me with an expression of relief and joy and starts laughing as she's crying.
It's a broken, grateful sound from somewhere deep inside her that only intensifies as I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her off the ground.
She grabs my shoulders and laughs harder as I spin her until I set her down.
Then I kiss her and smile against her lips. "It's over," I whisper.
"He can't take my son." Her head shakes, but I see the resolve in her eyes and know she's just celebrating.
"Nobody's taking Ethan from you now or any time soon.
He's safe, and you're safe." I hold her against myself, all the while wondering how on earth I'm going to explain to Reilly why Troy, Ohio is the best location for our firm.
He's gonna complain it's not farther south, but I'd move to the north pole for this woman.
When she pulls away, I hear the sound of feet slapping the pavement and look up to see Ethan running at us.
He has syrup smeared on his face and he's wearing the same dirty clothing from the block party last night, but he looks happy.
I don't know how much seeing his father get arrested will affect him, but for now he seems normal.
"Hey, Mom. Hey, Caleb." He looks back and forth between us and squints. "Why are you crying?"
"Happy tears, buddy." Olivia crouches down and pulls him into a hug so tight he squirms.
"God, Mom, stop," he grunts, pushing her away, but she keeps smiling.
"Really, really happy tears," she repeats, and I chuckle at the way he wrestles against her. Just yesterday, he didn't mind hugging. He's growing up fast, and one day, getting a hug from his mom in public will be fully humiliating.
"You're squishing me."
"I know." She squeezes him harder and he groans. But when she lets go, he straightens his shirt and looks up at me.
"Can I have food? Marcus's mom only had a few pancakes. I'm still starving." Then he huffs. "And they were the bad kind too…"
"What kind is the bad kind?" I ask, trying to figure this kid out. Usually, he eats anything you put in front of him.
"The raisin kind." He wrinkles his nose. "Raisins shouldn't be allowed in food."
"He's not wrong," Olivia says, wiping her eyes. So they're not raisin lovers. Noted.
"What happened while I was gone?" Ethan asks, looking between us again. "Did something good happen?"
Olivia crouches down and puts her hands on his shoulders and looks at him. "Something really good happened, buddy. I'll tell you about it later, but right now we're going to celebrate."
"Celebrate how?"
I put my hand on his shoulder. "How about I take you and your mom out for breakfast? Whatever you want."
"Can I get a milkshake?" Ethan asks, acclimating to my suggestion immediately. It's something Olivia normally would protest, but she grins at me and winks, so I make the kid's day.
"You can get two."
His face lights up and he tugs on Olivia's hand. "Mom, he said two milkshakes." He looks skeptical, but she looks blissfully unaware. I've never seen her so light and happy.
"Go inside, put your bag away, and brush your hair," she tells him, standing up. "We're leaving in ten minutes."
"My hair is fine," he grumbles.
"Your hair looks like you slept in a wind tunnel. Go brush it." And as he runs off, she shouts, "And put on a clean shirt!"
He sprints for the house, and while he's gone, I pull Olivia in for one more kiss, stealing the precious moments of privacy I know will be limited with Derek under the gun.
I love this woman and more than ever, I know I want to spend the rest of my life with her.
No one else could ever make me feel the way she has.