Helen studied her. “Do you have any idea what this could be about? Has Ed said anything recently that might give you a clue?”
Lynn shook her head. “He’s been giving me a wide berth lately. He doesn’t want to hear any more of my rants about his failure to make the payments he’s supposed to be making. Thank God, I’m bringing in enough money now for us to get by, at least for food and utilities. I’m still scared, though, that we’ll wind up losing the house.”
Helen smiled. “I don’t think that’s likely, despite the way he’s systematically removed the equity from it. I think we’re going to be able to make a very good case to have that situation rectified.”
“You’ve heard from the investigator?”
Helen nodded, looking pleased. “Those Cayman Islands accounts do exist. I can’t prove how much is in them because the secrecy walls are a mile high, but their mere existence is going to infuriate Hal. He’ll garnish every penny of Ed’s he can to make sure you get what you deserve once he knows about those.”
Lynn shook her head. “Has his father acknowledged that he was taking money from the business, too?”
“Not to me,” Helen said. “As you anticipated, he’s protecting Ed till the bitter end. Once I can call him to the stand and have him declared a hostile witness, I imagine we can wrest out enough damning information to make Hal sit up and take notice.”
“Do you think we’re talking about a lot of money?” Lynn asked.
“He wouldn’t be setting up secret, offshore accounts if it weren’t,” Helen said.
“But why?” Lynn asked, still perplexed. “Is he just greedy?”
“That could explain some of it, but I have two different theories,” Helen said.
“Really?”
“First, it’s possible he’s been gambling and suffered some losses.”
Lynn was shocked. “I can’t imagine that,” she said. “He never even wanted to play poker or blackjack when the club had Vegas nights. It just didn’t interest him. What’s your other theory?”
“That he’s being blackmailed.”
Lynn’s mouth dropped open. “Blackmailed? No way. By whom? Why?”
“You have no ideas?”
“Not a one. I’d be stunned if he’d ever done anything at all that someone could use against him.”
“You mean other than stealing from you and the business?” Helen said wryly.
“Yeah, those are shockers, too. I guess you never really know anyone quite as well as you think you do.” She regarded Helen with bewilderment. “But if he has all that going on, why isn’t he more anxious to get this divorce behind him? He could just settle this and focus on all the other craziness.”
“Maybe there’s no money left for a settlement,” Helen said. “Or maybe this motion he’s filed is some last-ditch effort to keep the court from granting you anything.”
Lynn regarded her worriedly. “Is that possible?”
“Anything’s possible,” Helen said. “He can certainly try, but he won’t get away with it, Lynn. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“I still wish I knew what he was up to. I don’t like going in there without a clue.”
“And you can’t think of a single thing?” Helen pressed again.
Lynn thought about the last conversations she’d had with Ed. They’d mostly been brief and contentious. She hadn’t wanted to dwell on any of them. “I do think he’s had some pressure from his folks about the kids. Could that be it?”
“What sort of pressure?”
“They want guaranteed visitation. They’ve been livid because Lexie won’t go over there. Of course, they blame me, even though it was some comments Wilma made that upset Lexie in the first place.”
Helen nodded. “That could be it. Let’s hope so. We should be able to get that resolved fairly quickly. The kids are old enough to have some say in how much time they care to spend with their grandparents, and if we can document that Wilma has been bad-mouthing you in front of them, it’ll definitely weaken their case.”
Lynn regarded her with alarm. “Does that mean Lexie would have to testify? I don’t want to drag her into the middle of this.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Helen said. “It may not be about that at all. Let’s just go in there and see how this plays out.”
Lynn nodded and followed her inside the courtroom. Ed was already seated with Jimmy Bob. She noted that he didn’t even glance at her as she took her seat. That couldn’t be good. And his parents were seated right behind him, their expressions smug.
Once Hal Cantor had been seated behind the bench, Jimmy Bob stood. “Your honor, we’ve filed a motion to amend the shared custody agreement we were originally seeking.”
Lynn stared at him in shock, then turned to Helen. “Can they do that?”
Helen patted her hand. “Don’t worry. Let’s just see where this is going.”
Jimmy Bob’s expression turned almost as smug as Wilma Morrow’s as he announced, “Ed would like to request full custody of Alexis and Jeremy.”
At that, even as Lynn’s head reeled, Helen was on her feet. “That’s absurd. On what grounds?” she demanded.
“It’s all in the motion,” Jimmy Bob said.
“Which, amazingly, has not yet been delivered to my office,” Helen said, skewering him with a scowl. “Your honor, this is outrageous, even for Mr. West. I request an immediate postponement and an order that a copy of the motion be in my hands within the hour.”
“Granted,” Judge Cantor said, regarding Jimmy Bob with disdain. “You know better, counsel.”
“This is an emergency, your honor,” Jimmy Bob insisted. “I’m sure the courier has already made his delivery by now.”
The judge didn’t look impressed. “If I had my copy yesterday in order to schedule this so-called emergency, then Ms. Decatur-Whitney should have had it yesterday, as well. I can only assume it was a deliberate oversight on your part.” He skewered Jimmy Bob with a look. “Not on my watch, Mr. West.”
Ed’s parents looked vaguely shaken by the judge’s unmistakable fury. Clearly, they’d come expecting to leave the courtroom today victorious.
“Helen, we have to know what this is about,” Lynn said urgently. “I need to understand this now.”
Helen nodded. “Your honor, before we go, perhaps Mr. West would like to summarize the grounds for this emergency change in the previously approved shared-custody arrangement.”
Jimmy Bob jumped up eagerly. “We have just learned that Mrs. Morrow is now working in a bar and is involved with an alcoholic. With both children at such an impressionable age, this is no longer the appropriate environment for them. Mr. Morrow, whose parents are more than eager to help out with their care, is requesting full custody, with only supervised visitation by Mrs. Morrow to be permitted. I think there’s little question that the Morrows are respectable, God-fearing individuals who will provide a safe environment for Alexis and Jeremy.”
Lynn heard his words with mounting shock and anger. She was on her feet before Helen could restrain her. “Are you crazy?” she demanded, her heated gaze going from Ed to the sanctimonious Morrows. “This is the most outrageous claim I’ve ever heard in my life. You’re going to regret it, Ed. You can count on that.” She turned to Helen. “Let’s get out of here. The smell is making me sick to my stomach.”
Helen gave her a commiserating look. “Hold on a sec. Give the judge a chance to leave,” she murmured. “Hal’
s looking a little ill himself.”
“Court’s dismissed,” the bailiff said when Hal had left the room.
Lynn headed for the door with Helen right on her heels. She couldn’t even bear to look at Ed as she went. When this had started, she’d vowed to do everything in her power to keep it civil for the sake of the kids. Allowing Ed to malign a man like Mitch in order to gain custody of their kids—not because it was right, not even because he really wanted it, but to satisfy his parents—was beyond the pale. That he would dare to attack her for taking a job that he’d made a necessity by his own irresponsible behavior was even worse.
She turned to Helen. “All bets are off,” she said tightly. “Get that investigator to dig in every nook and cranny until we know exactly what Ed’s been up to. If there are skeletons, drag ’em out of the closet. My children will not live with a man who’d resort to something like this.”
“It could get really ugly,” Helen cautioned. “If I’m right, either about the gambling or, worse, about Ed being blackmailed, there won’t be any holding it back. The kids are bound to find out, especially if there’s anything illegal going on.”
The warning gave Lynn pause. She wanted to do everything possible to protect her children, but the best way to do that, she felt certain, would be to keep them away from the man and his parents who would put her in this position in the first place.
“I don’t care about ugly,” Lynn said wearily. “I just want my kids safe from the likes of those people. It will be a very cold day in hell before Wilma Morrow gets her hands on my children.”
* * *
Mitch’s head was spinning as Lynn paced around her kitchen, clearly furious, but so far not saying a word that made a lot of sense. He’d stopped by soon after she’d returned from the courthouse to see what had happened and had found her in this state.
He stood up, put his hands on her shoulders and commanded, “Stop. Let me fix you some iced tea. You’re obviously upset. Once you’re calmer, you can tell me what on earth went on in court today.”
“I don’t think I can sit down. The only thing keeping me from screaming is pacing.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Then pace away. I think I’ll pour that tea, anyway. Anything else I can get you? Are you hungry? I’m mostly hopeless in the kitchen, but I could probably whip up an omelet.”
To his shock when she faced him, there were tears in her eyes.
“Here I am, acting like I’ve lost my mind, and you’re being so sweet,” she said, the tears tracking down her cheeks. “You don’t deserve this mess I’ve dragged you into.”
“What mess? And how am I in the middle of it?” he asked. “Are you talking about the divorce?”
She nodded, suddenly starting to sob.
Mitch gathered her close, carried her into the living room and sat on the sofa with her in his arms. He’d been envisioning a moment like this for a long time now, but it certainly had been under different circumstances. For one thing she wouldn’t have been sobbing as if her heart were breaking.
“Tell me,” he said gently. “What’s Ed done?”
“He’s filed…” The rest of her words were lost to sobs.
“What’s he filed for, sweetheart? Tell me and we’ll sort it out. I promise.”
She swallowed hard, took the tissues he’d grabbed from a box on the table and dabbed at her eyes. “He wants full custody of Lexie and Jeremy,” she finally managed to reveal.
Mitch stared at her, stunned by this latest evidence of Ed’s cruelty. “He’ll never get it,” he said confidently. “You’re an incredible mother. No judge would ever take those children away from you.”
“Thanks,” she murmured, sniffing.
“What’s his reasoning?”
“He says it’s because I’m working in a bar,” she began, then regarded him miserably, “and because I’m seeing you.”
Mitch hadn’t expected that. He’d known Ed didn’t like him hanging around with Lynn or the kids, but for him to use their relationship to try to take her kids from her was far beyond anything he could have possibly anticipated.
“He won’t get away with it,” he said tightly.
“I know that. Helen says so, too, but now you’re smack in the middle of this. I am so, so sorry.”
“Did he say what his big objection to me is?” Mitch asked, as much out of curiosity as anything. Whatever it was, maybe he could fix it.
“He says you’re an alcoholic,” she confessed in a whisper. “Added to me working in a bar, he thinks that’s grounds for the kids to be with him and his parents.”
Mitch closed his eyes against the wave of pain that washed through him at Lynn’s words. There might not be a bit of truth to Ed’s claim, but added to Lynn’s own fears about his drinking, this could be the end for them. If there was even the tiniest possibility that associating with him could cost her Lexie and Jeremy, he needed to walk away, no matter what it cost him to do it. This was not a battle she should have to fight.
He cupped her face in his hands and waited until she looked at him. She was obviously embarrassed by having to admit what had been in those court documents.
“Listen to me, Lynnie. I will not be responsible for you losing your children.”
“This is about Ed and his sick, twisted mind,” she insisted. “It shouldn’t be about you.”
“He’s made it about me,” he argued. “Now, I may think he’ll have an incredibly difficult time trying to prove I’m an alcoholic, but it would be a lot smarter to take me out of the equation entirely.”
She blinked, her expression dismayed. “What are you saying?”
“That I’m going to walk away,” he said, every word like a knife to his heart. “It’s the only thing I know to do to make sure that he can’t use me against you.”
“But that’s so unfair,” she objected. “You haven’t done anything wrong. Neither have I, for that matter. Mitch, Helen is going to fix this.”
“Nobody has more faith in Helen than I do,” he said, “but I’m going to make it easier for her.” He touched her cheek, stroked a finger over the silken curve of it, wondering if he’d ever be able to be this close to her again. “I want it to be easier for you.”
He stood up, set her gently back onto the sofa, then bent down and kissed her quickly.
“Mitch, please don’t go,” she called after him. “Not like this.”
Filled with an unimaginable sorrow, he faced her one last time. “It won’t be forever,” he promised. “If you need me, you call me.”
“I need you now,” she said.
He absorbed the sweet admission, but managed to make himself shake his head. “Right now, the best thing I can do for you is to walk out of here.” He held her gaze. “Let me do it, Lynnie.”
Once more tears spilled down her cheeks, but slowly she nodded. “Thank you for being stronger than I am,” she whispered.
He smiled at that. “No one is stronger than you are. No one.”
Certainly not him, he thought as he fought his own tears as he walked out of the house and away from the woman who’d come to mean more to him than life itself. He’d wanted to give her his heart. How ironic to discover that the best gift he could give her for now was her freedom!
22
Lynn had been in a daze for what felt like an eternity, but in fact had been less than a week. Between Ed’s courtroom stunt and Mitch walking out of her life, the stability she’d only recently thought wit
hin reach was suddenly shattered in unexpected ways.
She spent almost every night lying awake, which meant she looked exhausted most of the time and felt wretched all the time.
She told Helen what Mitch had done, taking himself out of the equation in an attempt to protect her. She’d expected Helen to be as distressed by that as she had been.
“Sadly, he’s probably right,” Helen said, regarding her sympathetically. “If Ed’s going to be unreasonable, it’ll help to have one less thing to fight about when we go back to court next week.”
“But Mitch isn’t an alcoholic,” Lynn said, surprised to discover as the emphatic defense left her mouth that she honestly believed what she was saying. There was no doubt he’d had a drinking problem for a time, just as he’d admitted, but she’d brought her own history to bear on the situation, reacting out of fear, even when all the evidence favored Mitch. He simply wasn’t her father. She had absolutely no reason at all to believe he’d follow the same drunken path her father had.
She gave Helen an indignant look. “I don’t even know where Ed came up with such a crazy idea.”
Helen smiled wearily. “Probably the same sort of gossip we heard from people who saw him in Monty’s after Amy died.”
“But he hasn’t hung out there in months,” Lynn said.
“Until you started working there,” Helen reminded her. She held up her hand when Lynn started to jump once more to his defense. “Look, I know why he’s there, and I’ve spoken to Monty, who’s willing to testify that he hasn’t had a drop to drink on any of those occasions, but frankly, it’ll be easier if this is one less battle for us to fight.”
“It’s just wrong,” Lynn said, totally frustrated by the injustice of it.
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