Through the Storm (Bellingwood Book 8)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  "What do you want, Anthony?"

  "Wow, what happened to your friend?" he asked, pointing at Polly. "What did the other guy look like?"

  "He's still in the hospital," Polly retorted. "They're not sure if he's going to make it."

  His eyes grew big, then he laughed. "Right. Whatever."

  She winked at Jeff, "Whatever is right. Call the Boone hospital and ask for Rudy Pierce. They'll tell you."

  He gave her no more than a passing glance and said, "Sylvie, could we talk for a few minutes. I would like to straighten some things out with you. I haven't been drinking and if we're going to live in the same state, we need to settle this."

  "There's really nothing to settle, Anthony. I'm done with you. I was done with you seven years ago. Now I just have the courage to say so without having the sheriff around."

  "Look, I don't want to discuss this in front of everyone. Come on. Let's go for a ride or something."

  "I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't trust you. You've never given me a reason to and I'm not about to start now. Especially not after Sunday night."

  "I had a few beers. Give a guy a break. I was just hanging with my buddies."

  "Uh huh."

  "Okay, then. If you want to talk about this here, we will. I want to see my boys."

  "That's not happening."

  "They're my boys and I have a right."

  "Anthony, you gave up all of your rights when you beat the hell out of me and threatened Jason."

  He flinched and looked around at the others in the kitchen a bit sheepishly. "Sylvie, stop it. Don't be airing our dirty laundry in front of everyone. I done my time."

  "You didn't do enough and I'm not about to have you influencing Jason and Andrew."

  "I said stop it." His face became red and his voice grew louder.

  Polly stepped off the stool and moved closer to Sylvie. She glanced behind her and saw Rachel and Hannah had suddenly become very involved in what they were doing, trying to avoid watching the confrontation escalate.

  "Anthony," Sylvie warned.

  "No. I asked you to walk away from these people so we could talk, but you want to trash me in front of them. They don't even know my side of the story."

  "You don't have a side," she said. "Don't make me say it again."

  "I have a better lawyer now. If I want to spend time with my sons, he and I will make it happen. You can't stop me. I'd have preferred to do this with your approval, but he says that if I can show good behavior, a judge will let me see them again. I got out early because of it and my parole officer knows everything that I'm doing and will put in a good word for me. So will my boss."

  Polly felt Sylvie wilt beside her and took her friend's hand.

  "Why do you want to do this?" Sylvie asked. "You didn't want anything to do with them when we were married, why do you want to see them now?"

  "Because they're growing up and I want to make sure they become men. That little one is a pansy-assed baby, running on about his books and writing and some stupid girl who likes to draw. Is that all he does, play with girls? Are you raising a fag on me, woman? Because I'll fix that, first thing. He needs to get some dirt under his fingernails and learn what it means to be a man."

  A quick look at Jeff's face and Polly was barely able to contain her laughter. This was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard and Jeff's demeanor told her that he was hearing the same thing.

  Sylvie looked back and forth at the two of them in panic. "I'm sorry," she said to Jeff. "He doesn't know what he's saying."

  "Hey," he remarked. "I hate dirt under my fingernails. That one doesn't sting."

  "God, what a joke," Anthony spat. "All of these women and a fag in the building and you think you're raising my boys? I'm going to put a stop to this if it's the last thing I do."

  Things were beginning to get out of control now and Jeff bit his lower lip, as if to keep from blowing up. Sylvie put her head down, not knowing what to say next.

  "Well, I guess it's up to me," Polly said, dropping Sylvie's hand. "Do you have anything more you want to say to him, Sylvie?"

  Sylvie shook her head. "No. I'm done. I don't know why I even allowed it to continue this far."

  "Anyone else have anything they need to say? Jeff?" Polly asked.

  Through gritted teeth and slitted eyes, he simply said, "No. It's not worth it."

  "Fine." She turned back to Anthony Donovan. "Then, I will politely ask you to leave my property. You aren't welcome here."

  "Little thing like you going to make me?" he asked.

  "Do I need to? Are you going to hit me? Look at me," she said, gesturing to her face and shoulder. "I'm an easy target and I'm on so many painkillers right now, I don't know that I'd even feel it. But I can promise you that if you hit me, you'd better make it permanent because I will come after you with every law enforcement person I know and you will pay in ways that you have never even imagined. So, I'll ask you one more time to leave." Wow, she was kicking bullies out at an alarming rate.

  "I'm going to see my sons, Sylvie Donovan. And I'm going to be involved in their lives. Just you wait and see," he said and turned to go. Then he stopped and spun back around, shaking his finger at Polly. "Just so you know, I'm not scared of you."

  "That's fine with me," she responded. "But you need to know that I'm not scared of you, either. And I'll thank you to never step foot in here again."

  He left and she waited to breathe until the front door slammed shut. Jeff walked out and in a few moments, returned, saying "He drove away. What a jerk."

  "I'm sorry, Jeff," Sylvie said, her face red and eyes brimming with tears. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe he said those horrible things to you."

  "Stop it. I've had worse things said to me by people I cared more about. If I reacted every time someone called me a fag, I'd have wasted most of my life away. He's not worth it."

  She dropped onto the stool that Polly had used earlier. "What if he really does take my sons away and what if he tries to mess with Andrew? He's such a good kid. He'll never be able to withstand that man's abuse. And Jason, I feel like we're just starting to get him back after a very weird summer. If he spends time with his dad, he'll become someone none of us likes very much."

  "Rub her back for me, will ya?" Polly asked Jeff, smiling. He chuckled and obeyed.

  "It will be okay," Polly said. "Do you have a good lawyer?"

  "Not any longer. I can call the guy who did all of the custody stuff when I divorced Anthony. I don't even know if he's still around, though."

  "Call him. The next time you see Anthony, tell him you won't have any more conversations without your lawyer present."

  "I can't believe he's decided that he needs to be in their lives. He didn't care about them at all when they were little. He hated being a dad." She looked up at them. "Do you think it's because he's trying to hurt me or does he really want to do this?"

  "It's probably a little of both," Jeff said.

  "Look at me." Sylvie held her hand up so they could see it trembling. "I can't believe I'm shaking again. I felt so confident after that confrontation at Pizzazz on Sunday. Like I'd finally gotten it all together and could hold my own against him. But I can't do that if he threatens to take my boys away."

  "Honey, you're being ridiculous," Polly said. "No judge is going to let him take them away. You've been a great mom and he's been ... well ... in jail. For nearly killing you. You are letting his big mouth scare your little heart. Don't forget about that whole kidnapping thing. And after all of this harassment, you can probably even get a restraining order against him. He doesn't know what he's talking about and probably doesn't even have a lawyer yet. The only one that would take a case like his is one who just wants Anthony's money."

  She stopped and thought. "And speaking of that, how does he even have any money to hire a lawyer?"

  Sylvie shook her head. "I don't know. He never had any when we were married. I had to pay off a ton of his debt after we were divorced." She
looked at Polly and jumped off the stool. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Here. Sit back down."

  "I'm fine. Really. My legs aren't broken. Now I know this is going to be impossible for you to do, but you have to let this go."

  "He's threatening my kids this time. I can't."

  "Just for the rest of today. We're celebrating your graduation tonight. People are going to tell you how proud they are of you for doing what most women your age would never dream of doing. You have changed your whole life and shown your boys that dreams can come true. You can worry about all of this tomorrow."

  "No," Sylvie said. "If you don't mind, I'm going to use your office and call that lawyer. Tomorrow's Friday and I'd like to talk to him before the weekend. I can't stand the thought of having this hang over my head."

  "We've got this," Hannah said. "Don't worry about us."

  Sylvie nodded and left the kitchen, heading for the offices.

  "She's going to really need us now." Jeff gave Polly a smirk. "I have friends back in Ohio who could deal with this once and for all."

  "You do not. Stop that," Polly said.

  He laughed an evil laugh. "Actually, I do. But we don't talk about it very loudly. You didn't hear it from me."

  "You're a scary man, Mr. Lyndsay."

  "And don't you forget it."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  "Are you sure you girls have this?" Sylvie asked, taking off her apron.

  "Of course we do," Hannah said. "Go on, get out of here. We'll see you tonight. Dress pretty!"

  Polly walked with Sylvie out the back door. "What did the lawyer say?" she asked.

  "He's going to pull up the old files and look at the custody agreement. He didn't seem too worried." Sylvie shrugged. "I don't know. I just want things to go back to normal."

  "It will. You'll see. What are you doing this afternoon?"

  "I'm moving back to the apartment. At this point, Anthony can't do any more harm and I want my own bed."

  "What does Eliseo think of you moving out?"

  Sylvie blew air through her lips and forced a short laugh. "I don't know. Why would he think anything of it? He was just doing us a favor."

  "So, the kiss? Did you guys talk?"

  "I told him that I'm not ready to be in a serious relationship. I like him a lot, but my life is too out of control right now. Gah, Polly. I don't want to have to take care of someone else. It's enough that I'm dealing with two boys. Jason has been about more than I could handle these last couple of weeks."

  "Okay." Polly shrugged and put her hand on the door leading up to the apartment.

  "That's all you're going to say? Okay?"

  "Sweetie. I'm not going to tell you what to do with your love life. If you don't want to be in a relationship with someone, that's your business."

  "So, you aren't going to tell me that I couldn't have handled Jason without Eliseo?"

  "Hmm. It doesn't seem like I need to."

  "Damn it, Polly. I don't want this right now."

  "Then don't do this right now. I mean it. You'll know when it's right. And if it's never right, you'll know that too. Good heavens, Sylvie. You have to trust yourself."

  "I'm not very good at that. Especially when it comes to relationships. Anthony really messed me up."

  "Look, you have two boys that need you to be sane. If that means you can't be in a relationship of your own, then so be it. Eliseo is a big boy. He'll understand."

  "I hope so. He means the world to me and the boys both adore him. I just don't want the rest of it."

  "And you told him that, right?"

  "I suppose. I hope I didn't hurt him."

  "Well, you probably did. That's what rejection does, but he'll get over it. How will the boys feel about moving off the farm?"

  "I think they'll be fine. I told them it was happening this week and today seems as good a time as any. I don't have anything I need to do this afternoon and Hannah and Rachel both told me I shouldn't be in the kitchen at all. They've got the party covered tonight." Sylvie started to walk away, then turned back. "You think I'm a fool, don't you."

  "Absolutely not. But I also know that it took me a long time to realize that my life wasn't going to be over just because I married Henry. I was so worried about losing myself that I didn't realize what I was gaining. I'm not sorry that I spent all of that time living alone and building this place, but sometimes I wish I hadn't wasted time fighting with him about it. He was always so sure and confident. I should have listened to him."

  "But everyone knew that the two of you were supposed to be together."

  "I didn't," Polly said. "And honestly, I was the only one who counted. When I figured it out, then things started to make sense."

  "Do you think I should be with Eliseo?"

  "I think that if you find you love him, he will make you very happy. And honey, you will never have to worry about him hurting you or your boys. He'd sooner walk back through fire than do something that would hurt you."

  "Maybe that's what I'm so scared to find out. Men in my life have never been what you'd call 'good.' There was always something in them that made them want to be in control. I never want to live with that again."

  "Do you think that the animals in the barn would respond to him like they do if he was mean and controlling? They love him and do what he asks because of his gentle nature. In all of the horrible situations we've been in around here, the only time he was violent was when he was trying to protect me."

  "Yeah. Down in the barn. I remember that."

  "If that's what is stopping you from giving him a bit of your heart, you need to take some time to think about what you know of Eliseo. If it's something more - if you just don't have feelings for him, then be honest about it and we won't talk about it ever again."

  "I honestly don't know. How's that for useless?"

  "You'll figure it out. Once things settle down with Jason and you work through the process of custody with Anthony and his lawyer, you'll find yourself again."

  "It's funny. I thought that once I finished with college and had my dream job, everything would all of a sudden be sunshine and rainbows." Sylvie huffed. "Not so much. I have more stress today than when I worried about how I was going to pay the rent."

  "It will get better, I promise."

  "I hope so. Much worse and you're going to find me in a lump, surrounded by empty Pringles cans and candy wrappers."

  Polly chuckled. "Is Eliseo helping you pack up your things?"

  "No. I'm just going to go deal with it. I'll tell him later that we're gone."

  "He doesn't even know you're leaving today?"

  "No. I don't want to get into it with him. And if he finds out that Anthony was threatening me again, he'll find some way to convince me to stay longer. I need to get out of there before he knows that or I'll never leave. It will just be too easy to stay."

  "I'm sorry, Sylvie." Polly said quietly.

  "For what?"

  "That things stink right now. You should be able to pursue a relationship or not without all of life crumbling in on you."

  "That's the thing. Life is always going on, isn't it? If all of this hadn't happened, Eliseo might never have gotten the courage to kiss me and I wouldn't have had to start thinking about things."

  Henry came in from the garage. "Thinking about what things?"

  "Getting ready for tonight," Polly quickly responded. "I'll talk to you later. Sorry I can't help this afternoon."

  "It's probably better that I take care of it myself. Give me time to think. Thanks for hosting this tonight. I'll see you then." Sylvie turned to leave and Henry followed, opening the door for her.

  He came back to the door going upstairs and opened it. "Would you like me to walk with you?" he asked.

  "I think I have it. Would you take Obiwan for a walk?"

  "Send him down. We'll make it a quickie." He winked at Polly. "So what was that all about?"

  "Girl stuff. I'll tell you later." Polly opened the door and looked u
p the steps. Obiwan was wagging his tail madly at the top. "Come on down, you goofball. It's better to have you out of my way on the steps." The dog ran down and she dropped her hand for him to lick.

  "We'll be back in a bit. Are you sure you don't need me to go up the steps with you?" Henry asked.

  "If I hadn't been chatting with Sylvie out here, I would have long since been upstairs and you wouldn't have been there to help. Quit worrying."

  "Not happening." He put his hand on the dog's collar and waited.

  "What?" she asked.

  "Go on. Get started. I just want to make sure you have a good sense of equilibrium."

  "Not with you staring at me. Take the dog and leave."

  "You're going to be like that?"

  "I absolutely am. Now go."

  Henry leaned in and kissed her cheek. "If I find you sprawled on the steps, I'm going to be really mad."

  "I know. I know. I'll be fine."

  Polly waited for him to go out the back door and then, putting her left hand on the railing, started the seemingly insurmountable trek up the steps. Dang, everything hurt. She'd been downstairs much too long this morning and standing in one place for the last fifteen minutes or so talking to Sylvie hadn't been helpful. All she wanted to do was collapse somewhere comfortable.

  She finally got to the top of the steps, taking them one at a time and stood in front of Henry's desk, wondering if she could just lie down on top of his things. This had already been a long morning. Polly turned around and rested her bottom on the edge of the desk and shut her eyes. Maybe no one would notice that she hadn't gotten any further.

  The sound of the downstairs door got her moving again and she was in the media room trying her best to look nonchalant in front of the television when Henry walked in.

  He gave her a look and said, "What would you like for lunch? I saw sandwich makings in there."

  "That sounds fine," Polly said. "I'm going to just sit down over here and watch something on television."

  "Why don't you do that. There are extra pillows behind the sofa if you want them." He went on through to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door.

  "Henry?" Polly asked.

  He looked over the top of the door, "Yes, Polly?"