“No, but you’re responsible for your own.”
He knew that only too well. The choices he’d made at the Bureau had been costly for so many. And then there was Evie. Now with Sophie. “I wanted Sophie to stop letting her father hurt her. I wanted to end her pain.” Brad had hurt her more.
Evie walked up behind them. Two very different women and yet so fiercely united.
“Would you do it all again, Evie?” His mother spoke to her friend, but kept her gaze fixed on Brad in the window.
“Would I give you what you’d need to ensure my husband’s defeat in the election again?” Evie grabbed Brad’s hand and squeezed. “Yes, without question.”
“You knew?” Brad asked. He’d brought down her husband and she’d known. She’d wanted it to happen. He looked at his mother. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You wouldn’t have listened. You accused me of only ever speaking lies,” his mother said.
Brad pinched his eyebrows together with his fingers as if that would make him see everything clearly. “Evie, why did you do it?”
“Because I loved my husband, always, and I was desperate,” she said. “He was reckless in the pursuit of his political goals despite his declining health. He refused to pull out of the mayor’s race and seek treatments for his cancer.”
Brad crossed his arms over his chest and faced his mother and her best friend. “So you made the choice for him? You let me ruin him?”
“I made a choice to try to save someone I loved.” Evie lifted her chin, her gaze unwavering, her belief in her decision absolute. “I never once thought that when Richard lost the primary he’d simply give up on life.”
“Sophie suffered tonight,” his mother said.
“She won’t give up,” he said.
“But will you? I wouldn’t have thought Richard would give up after his defeat. I never imagined that politics was more important to him than me. Than us. But I was wrong.” Evie grabbed his shoulders and pressed her cheek against his. “But I would do it all again. Would you?”
Evie hugged his mother and returned to the ballroom.
“Perhaps now you understand some of my choices. Why I’ve done what I’ve done for you and to you,” his mother said.
He faced her and pulled back at the fierce protectiveness in her gaze. The shrewd, cunning politician replaced by a mother who willed her son to understand. She’d brought him home after he’d left the Bureau, given him purpose and focus, all to ease his own suffering. She’d stood by her friend’s decisions to try to ease her pain.
“You might resent my methods and doubt me,” she said. “But never doubt my love for you and my family. I’ve only ever wanted to shield my family from any hurt or misfortune or slight. I won’t apologize for loving you enough to watch over you.”
“When you love someone, aren’t you supposed to set that person free? Isn’t that how it goes?” He’d set Sophie free. That should be enough.
She placed her hand on his cheek. “Sometimes there’s more freedom in belonging than in solitude.”
“Do you consider yourself free?” He didn’t bother to conceal the disbelief and scorn in his tone. His mother was handcuffed to her agenda. Nothing appealing or freeing about that.
“I don’t want to be free.” She cupped his jaw and drew his gaze down to her, clearly to make him listen. “I want to belong to a political party that institutes positive change, to a marriage that gives me security and unconditional love, to a family that loves despite our faults. And to a cause like Sophie’s that supports ordinary people doing extraordinary things for a community that needs them.”
He would not second-guess his decisions. Not now. “Sounds like a political speech for the campaign trail.”
She smiled, but sadness seemed to weaken it as her hands dropped to her sides. “I wish I knew the day you stopped seeing me as your mother and only saw the politician.”
“Why?” he asked. She’d always wanted him to be like her, like the politician.
“That’d be the day I’d go back to and change,” she said. “You’ve only ever seen the politician. Until Sophie. When you’re with her, you treated me more like your mother and less like your enemy.”
She made them enemies with her interference. “You like Sophie because she advances your platform. She’s good for your agenda.”
“It’s true I can help Sophie with her cause as much as she can help my political goals.” She set her palm on his chest, covering the hollow place where his heart used to be. “But that’s not why I like her. I like her because she reached your heart and gave you balance—light to soften the dark.”
“I misled her. Lied to her,” he said. “Betrayed her trust.”
“Did you stop loving me when I did the very same things to you?”
“No, you’re my mother.” But he’d planned to leave town and not look back.
“And what is Sophie?”
“The only woman I’ll ever love.”
“Don’t you think you should tell her that?” She kissed his cheek, then went over to his father, took his hand and together they left as a team. Always together. By each other’s side. Never alone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ELLA SLEPT SPRAWLED across her mattress, arms spread wide as if prepared to wake up and hug the world. She even smiled in her sleep. Ella’s pretty dress, back on its hanger, no doubt thanks to Ruthie, hung on the closet door with her silver sparkle sandals facing the hallway as if ready to dance into the morning.
Sophie had sent Ella home with Ruthie once the DJ had ended his second thirty-minute encore. Sophie, her sorority volunteers and foster families had loaded the kennels and ensured every animal made it home. Tomorrow the families arrived for the adoptions. Sophie hoped the families hadn’t just been caught up in the music and the fun. But that worry slipped lower on her list—below finding a new apartment, closing the Pampered Pooch and telling Ella.
Sophie tugged Ella’s comforter from the floor and covered her niece. The thought of breaking the news to the little girl terrified and angered her. She never wanted to be the one to cause Ella to lose her smile. Tomorrow, after the adoptions, when it was quiet and they could celebrate the animals finding forever homes, then she’d tell Ella this wasn’t their forever home, like she’d once promised.
Her phone vibrated in the clutch purse she’d borrowed from Evie. Stepping out into the hall, she answered, wondering if it was the venue calling to tell her she’d forgotten something. But she’d triple checked and accounted for all the supplies, decorations and animals. Yawning, she said, “Hello, this is Sophie.”
“The credit card was denied.”
Tessa’s frantic voice crackled through the static. Sophie walked into her bedroom, closed the door and stepped out of the strappy four-inch heels. “There’s no more money.”
“What do you mean no money?” Censure coated Tessa’s voice, displacing any concern.
“It’s gone.” She’d used the credit card tonight for the DJ and then to close out the bill with the Pavilion at the Reserve. There’d been a few extra overages for audio equipment she hadn’t known about until this evening.
“But I need to pay the spa.” Tessa’s tone was demanding. “You promised to pay for my extended stay here.”
Sophie had promised Pacific Bank and Trust she’d pay the mortgage. She’d promised to pay her vendors. She’d promised to keep a roof over Ella’s head.
“Sophie? Did you hear me?”
“Yes, but I don’t think you heard me, Tess.” Sophie dropped onto the bed in her gown, her legs too tired to hold her up. But this wasn’t the tired that came from dancing too many hours in a crowded ballroom. This tired was the soul-deep kind that spread into every bone, every muscle. Nothing pleasant about this tired. “There’s no money.”
“
What am I supposed to do?” Tessa whined.
What was Sophie supposed to do? Plant a money tree and hope it grew in twenty-four hours? If only Olivia sold Jack’s magic beans in her café. Taking on a giant for a bag of gold sounded much easier than dealing with her sister and father. Her body sank deeper into the bed. Lifting her free arm to massage her forehead where an ache throbbed required too much energy. She could at least still talk. “You’re going to do what I’ve done for the past decade...figure it out.”
“What did you do with all our money?”
The thorns in Tessa’s voice needled into Sophie. When had her bank account become the Callahan community checking account? Her sister had never made a deposit. Never lifted a finger in the store. Never contributed to the family’s welfare. “You’ll have to ask Dad about the money. But I believe the jail limits him to one phone call.”
“Jail?” Tessa screeched. “What are you talking about now?”
“Sorry, Tessa, I have to go.” Exhaustion had consumed her and mustering the strength or the patience or the encouragement to continue the conversation had left her. Just one time, Sophie wanted someone to ask about her. Someone had asked about her, cared about her: Brad. No, she wasn’t going there tonight. Closing her eyes, she said, “I love you, Tessa, but I have a life to figure out.”
Sophie ended the call and dropped the phone on the bed. The phone vibrated immediately. Apparently Tessa had more than one call, unlike their father. Sophie’s voice mail chimed before the phone vibrated again, followed quickly by the jingle of a new text message. Next, the video-chat ringer hummed.
Sophie picked up her phone and looked at her sister’s smiling picture filling the screen. Tessa never asked about Ella. Never asked about Sophie. Never considered what they might be up against without money. Everything was always about her sister.
Except now. Now it was about Ella and Sophie.
Sophie turned off her phone, turned off the past and threw it across the room. The phone bounced off the wall and smacked against her dresser. Something banged inside Sophie—perhaps it was the power of saying no. The freedom in simply saying no more. The crack of the phone on the hardwood floor released her smile as if her new backbone had tested its strength and won.
She pulled the throw blanket over her and shut her eyes. She needed a few hours to sleep, enough to face tomorrow and design their new life.
* * *
MONDAY MORNING, SOPHIE sat in the leather chair across from Beth Perkins at Pacific Bank and Trust. Sunlight streamed into the window behind Beth, the only shadows the ones created by the pigeons flying up and down to the sidewalk in search of their breakfast. The same floral tissue box squatted on the desk between the women.
“We have bank regulations and complicated federal laws to follow. I want to shake your hand and tell you that will be more than enough to extend your loan.” Beth broke form and yanked a tissue from the box. She dabbed the tissue underneath her glasses. “There are days I hate my job. And I can tell you that today is one of those days.”
Sophie clung to the purple folder in her lap. “It’s my fault that I don’t have the funds to pay off the loan.”
“I was really pulling for you.” Beth removed her glasses and wiped her eyes fully. “Really wanting you to shove a check across my desk this morning.”
Sophie had been pulling for herself, too. Unfortunately, too many other people had been pulling against her and she’d lost the tug-of-war. “How much time will I have to move our things out?”
“I have quite a bit of paperwork in the queue and most likely won’t be able to start the foreclosure process until the end of this week or next.” Beth tossed the tissue in the trash bin, replaced her glasses and her reserved, professional tone. “Could you be out by the end of the month?”
Sophie sagged into the leather chair. Three weeks was like a stay of execution and Sophie wanted to reach for the tissue box at the unexpected surprise. They wouldn’t be homeless tonight or even that week, and for that she was so very grateful. Sophie straightened in her chair and assumed a more businesslike tone. “The end of the month won’t be a problem.”
“If you need a reference on a new apartment, I’d be happy to give one,” Beth added.
“I’m not sure a foreclosure is something a new landlord wants to see on a tenant’s application.” Sophie bent the edge of the folder.
“There isn’t a foreclosure yet. And up until this point, you haven’t missed or been late on any of your mortgage payments.” Beth looked at Sophie and smiled. “Send me the paperwork when you have it and I’ll give you that reference.”
Beth dropped her buttoned-up persona and gave her an open, natural smile. One given to a friend, not a negligent customer. The kind that offered no judgment, only support. The kind that reminded Sophie good existed and extended even to her. Overwhelmed, Sophie managed to nod a silent thank-you.
She started to stand and noticed a newly framed photo of a little girl holding two kittens. Now Sophie could return one kindness for another. “As it turns out, I’ve several boxes of kitten food that can’t be returned to the vendor. I could drop it off later this week.”
“I’d appreciate that.” Beth grinned at the picture. “The food definitely won’t go to waste, given the two new additions at my daughter’s birthday party this past Saturday.”
“Then I’ll see you later this week with the food.” Sophie stood.
“And your reference paperwork.” Beth pulled out her keyboard.
Sophie checked the time on her phone as she strode through the bank’s lobby. Now, Sophie had her own birthday surprise to orchestrate.
Outside, she ran across the intersection to catch the bus headed for downtown. She preferred walking to her destinations, but this errand was too important. She didn’t know if there’d be lines or extended lunch hours at the courthouse. She opened the purple folder and confirmed Tessa’s signature and date on the paperwork terminating her rights as a mother.
Sophie hopped off the bus and ran up the stairs to the courthouse entrance. Turned out she was a runner after all. But she ran toward her future, not away. Toward a commitment that she’d made in her heart ten years ago. A commitment that she wanted the world to recognize. Today she began the process for permanent guardianship and when funds permitted, she’d begin the formal adoption paperwork.
Today she became Ella’s mother.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“YOU’RE GOING TO forgive Callahan’s loan.” Brad leaned against the granite counter in his galley and stared down the man seated at the table. He’d chosen to have this discussion on the boat for privacy and a lack of recording devices, aside from his own. “We’ll consider it a measure of goodwill.”
Teddy tipped his chair back, crossed his arms over his chest and met Brad’s gaze. “Don’t believe in goodwill.”
“Then how about this? I know what you did to Leo Baxter.” Brad tossed a stack of documents on the table.
The front chair legs rapped against the floor. “No one knows nothing.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” Brad tipped his chin toward the papers. “I imagine it’d be bad for business if word got out that you snitched on your associates to help out your detective cousin in Texas.”
“Don’t know nothing about Texas.” Teddy lifted out of the chair. “Besides, every copper in this town who’s tried to pin something on me has failed. You don’t even have a badge. You got less than nothing.”
“Take a look, Teddy.” Brad shoved away from the counter and pressed his fists into the table. Better than planting his fist in Teddy’s nose. “Depositions. Police reports. See what the guy without the badge knows about you.”
Teddy slammed back into the chair as if he’d slammed into Brad’s fury. Teddy flipped through several pages before he pushed them aside. “This is more like ex
tortion. I could have you arrested.”
Brad noted the calculating gleam in Teddy’s stare as if the man were running through potential scenarios to gain the upper hand. But this was Brad’s meeting. Brad’s rules. And the deck belonged to Brad and he’d decide when to deal Teddy in.
“I’d be very careful right now. These aren’t the only copies.” Brad slid his cell phone out of his pocket. “And I’ve got several of your local business contacts on speed dial.”
Teddy ran his palms smoothly over the armrests. His fingers never twitched, his shoulders never sagged. But defeat was there in the way he avoided looking Brad in the eyes. “I’ve always considered myself a forgiving man. We’ll consider Callahan’s loan a gift.”
“The gift, Teddy, is me letting you walk out of here, instead of getting into a police car. Don’t ever threaten or harass Sophie and Ella again. You ever try to collect again from any Callahan and I’ll arrange a tell-all across the entire West Coast. I’ll ensure you have no place to run.” Brad flexed his fingers, but never stepped away from the table.
“I get it. You can stop.” Teddy raised his hand. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“Go about your business, whatever that is, and try not to get arrested,” Brad said.
Teddy pushed out of his chair, glanced into the media room and rubbed his chin. “Think the owner will mind if I conduct some business out here?”
“Do you want to get arrested for trespassing?” Brad asked.
“Never seen a boat this pretty.” Teddy shrugged, but his tone remained pensive and almost sad. “Makes me want to set sail and never look back.”
“That was the owner’s intention.”
Teddy followed Brad out onto the main deck and asked, “What happened?”
“He looked back.”
Brad escorted Teddy Gordon down the dock, through the gate and into the parking lot. He waited until Teddy drove away before returning to the boat and locking up. He still wanted to punch the guy for scaring Sophie, but his heart wouldn’t be in it. Not today. Unfortunately, Brad didn’t foresee that feeling dissipating anytime soon.
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