Green Mountain Collection 2

by Marie Force

  “Sure thing,” Will said. “Good luck with Charley. Not that I think you’ll need it or anything.”

  After everything they’d said, Tyler was quite convinced that it was going to take a lot more than luck to win Charley Abbott’s heart. It was going to take military-level strategy, too.

  CHAPTER 12

  Riddled with anxiety about the task before him, Max drove Grayson to Burlington to see Chloe on Sunday afternoon. He told himself that Caden would be there, too, which would make this difficult task bearable. This was for Caden. Everything was for him now.

  Knowing he would soon see his son, Max pressed harder on the accelerator and cut thirty minutes off the trip.

  “If you always drive this fast, you’ll be needing a lawyer to bail your ass out of jail,” Grayson said.

  “Want to see my baby. I hate that he lives so far from me.”

  “Have you asked her to move to Butler?”

  “I’ve mentioned it, but she’s not interested.”

  “Even if it would make things easier?”

  “She’s not inclined to do anything to make things easier for me.” Max tightened his grip on the wheel. “She wasn’t like this before. She was fun, you know? Easy to be with and happy. After she got pregnant? Totally different story. And since he was born . . . Well, I don’t know what’s going through her head. She won’t talk to me, even about him.”

  “What about her family?”

  “We haven’t heard much from them since she got pregnant. I guess her parents are really strict and they saw this as the worst thing that could’ve happened. Can you imagine that? He’s a beautiful baby. How can that be anything other than a miracle?”

  “One thing I’ve learned in my practice is that there’s no telling why people are the way they are. Why would her parents turn their backs on her when she needed them most?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t imagine my parents ever doing that.”

  “You got two of the good ones.”

  “And I know it after the last few months. Believe me. I know it.”

  “When my dad left,” Grayson said, staring out the passenger window, “I remember thinking how could he, you know? How could he have eight kids and just walk away like we meant nothing to him? I’d never leave a kid of mine. Ever. Even if things didn’t work out with the mother, I’d still be there for my kid.” Grayson shook his head laughed, but there was a bitter edge to his laughter. “I never talk about this shit.”

  “I’m sorry if this is opening old wounds.”

  “It’s okay.”

  They arrived at the tiny house Max and Chloe had rented near the University of Vermont campus. Every time he opened the gate and walked up the sidewalk to the front door now, his stomach knotted with tension because he never knew what to expect. He knocked softly on the door before he pushed it open.

  Chloe was stretched out on the sofa. The small living room was cluttered with clothes and baby equipment. A box of diapers sat untouched on the floor where Max had left them the day before.

  Aware of Gray behind him, Max resisted the immediate urge to go find his son.

  “What’re you doing back so soon?” she asked Max in a dull, flat tone.

  “I was hoping we could talk. My cousin Gray is with me.”

  She tied her robe around her waist and sat up, pushing blond hair back from her face. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Caden. Where is he?”

  “Asleep in his crib, and please don’t disturb him. He was up all night.”

  “He’s too little for the crib, Chloe. We’ve talked about this.”

  “No, you’ve talked. I couldn’t get him to sleep in the bassinet. I’m doing the best I can.”

  Max went to the doorway of the baby’s bedroom and looked in on him, staring at him until he saw his chest move. Then he returned to the living room, where Gray stood awkwardly inside the door. “Come in,” he said to his cousin. “Have a seat.”

  While Grayson took the used easy chair they’d bought at a yard sale, Max carried in one of the kitchen chairs. “I asked Gray to come with me today because he’s a lawyer, and he suggested we consider some sort of formal custody arrangement for Caden.”

  “What’s wrong with what we have?”

  “We don’t actually have anything in writing, and we should.”

  “Why do we need it?”

  “Because, Chloe,” Max said, his patience waning, “we’re not together as a couple anymore, so we need a formal custody arrangement for the baby.”

  “You have a number of options.” Gray handed both of them several papers he’d brought with him, outlining the pros and cons of each type of custody. “You can arrange for joint custody where you share in all the parenting decisions and costs, and determine a schedule for when each of you will have physical custody of Caden. It could be something like weekdays are Chloe and weekends are Max or whatever you deem suitable for the two of you. Once you’ve agreed to everything, I can draw it up for you in a legal agreement that you’d both sign.”

  “What are the other options besides joint custody?” Chloe asked.

  “One of you could assign full custody to the other, with liberal visitation, of course.”

  “I’d never go for that,” Max said firmly.

  “You wouldn’t want full custody?” she asked almost hopefully. What was that about?

  “I want Caden to have both his parents in his life,” Max said. “And I’d never sign away full custody. That’s not an option for me. At the very least, I want joint custody.”

  Chloe turned her attention to the paperwork, seeming to read it over carefully.

  “I took the liberty of drawing up a couple of different sample agreements that encompass a variety of options,” Gray said. “You don’t have to decide anything today, but I recommend you figure this out sooner rather than later. It’s in Caden’s best interest to get this done.”

  The baby monitor on the coffee table crackled to life.

  Max was out of his chair at the first sound from his son. “I’ll get him.” He went into the baby’s room and looked down at the little guy in the crib, his arms and legs bicycling. His eyes lit up when he saw Max there, and his arms and legs moved faster.

  Smiling at the warm reception, Max lifted the baby out of the crib. “Hey, buddy. How you doing?”

  The question was met with gurgling and other adorable baby noises that defied description. Max placed the baby on the changing table and removed the heavy diaper, relieved to see that the rash hadn’t gotten any worse overnight. He applied the ointment his mother had recommended, stuff they carried in the store, and put a fresh diaper and sleeper on him.

  Keeping the baby tucked into the crook of his arm, he carried him to the living room, eager to show him off to his cousin.

  “There’s the man of the hour,” Gray said, smiling when Max entered the room. “Wow, he’s so tiny.”

  “He won’t be for long,” Max said, gazing down at the little face that had taken over his life—and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “The books say he’ll be running around within a year. Hard to believe.”

  Gray reached out a finger, and Caden wrapped his hand around it.

  “Look at that grip.”

  “He’s already getting stronger.”

  Chloe watched them with the same indifferent expression she’d worn since the day the baby was born. It was nice to have Gray here to share in the wonder of the baby since his mother was unwilling—or unable—to do so. Or maybe she just didn’t want to share in it with him. Max didn’t know, and after months of beating his head against an unmovable wall, he didn’t care anymore. All he cared about was Caden and what was best for him.

  “So you’ll take a look at the papers Gray gave us?” Max asked her.

  “I said I would.”

  Gray handed her a business card. “My cell number is on the back. I don’t have service in Butler, but I’m looking for office space outside of town so I’ll have service. W
hen you’re ready to talk, leave me a message and I’ll get right back to you. You can also call my mom’s house. That’s the second number on there.”

  “Okay, thanks.” To Max she said, “Do you want to take him tonight?”

  Surprised by the offer, he said, “I won’t be able to get back here again for a couple of days.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “My brother’s wedding is Saturday.”

  “Why don’t you keep him until Sunday, then.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  Max wasn’t about to try to talk her out of it. “Would you mind holding him while I pack a bag for him?” he asked his cousin.

  Gray hesitated but only briefly. “Of course.” He reached for the baby and handled him carefully, which Max appreciated.

  “Make sure you support his head.”

  “Got it.”

  Anxious to take his son and get the hell out of the house and away from the woman who had sucked the life out of him over the last few months, Max went through the dresser looking for clean clothes for the baby, but there wasn’t much to be found. To hell with it, he’d buy him whatever he needed rather than argue with Chloe about why she couldn’t be bothered to wash Caden’s clothes. Then he noticed the bag he’d brought back the day before, which was full of clean clothes she hadn’t unpacked. He picked it up and headed for the living room to grab the box of diapers, taking both to the car and then returning for Gray and Caden.

  “I’ll talk to you on Sunday,” he said to Chloe after he’d bundled the baby into a lightweight snowsuit for the ride to Butler. He tried not to think about the logistics of six days with the baby in the midst of a family wedding at his parents’ house. Whatever. He’d deal with it.

  “Okay.”

  Max headed for the door, wanting out of there. He emerged into the fresh, cold air and took a couple of deep breaths. Being around Chloe these days left him off balance and out of sorts.

  “How about I drive so you can ride in back with him?” Gray asked.

  Max handed the keys to his cousin. “That’d be great. Thanks.”

  When they were on the road to Butler, Gray caught his gaze in the rearview mirror. “You think she’s okay?”

  “Hard to say. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get her to talk about what’s wrong, how she’s feeling. I even went so far as to contact the doctor to express my concerns about her mental state, but there’s only so much I can do. She’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to be my responsibility, so what can I do?”

  “Nothing more than you’ve already done, I suppose.”

  “I’m tired of feeling helpless where she’s concerned. And I’m tired of feeling like she blames me for everything that happened, as if she wasn’t right there with me when we made this little guy.” Max paused before he said, “The funniest part is she pursued me. She was totally into me until she got pregnant, and then the whole thing became my fault.”

  Max stared down at his adorable son in the infant car seat. “I can’t look at him now and see a mistake, Gray. I just can’t do it. And that’s how she wants me to feel.” His voice broke and his eyes swam with tears. “He’s not a mistake.”

  “No, he isn’t. He’s your destiny, and he’s damned lucky to have you.”

  “I’m lucky to have him. I’m not quite sure how to describe what it feels like to know he’s dependent on me for everything. It’s like he’s given my life meaning or something.”

  “You’re doing all the right things, Max. As difficult as everything seems now, as long as you keep doing all the right things, it’ll be fine. I promise.”

  Max took comfort in those words from someone he’d always looked up to and respected. As Caden wrapped his hand around Max’s finger, he smiled, relieved to have the next six days with his son to look forward to. The rest would work itself out. Somehow.

  While Megan opened a mountain of gifts and fully examined each one before moving on to the next, Charley was happily relegated to the sidelines as Nina and Hannah, her other attendant, tended to the happy bride. That would never be her. Not in a million years did she want what all the other women in her family seemed to want—home and hearth and husband and babies. The thought of it made her queasy.

  Although, despite the queasiness, Charley was astonished to realize she’d actually missed Tyler during the afternoon with her family. Jeez, what was that about? When was the last time she’d missed a man?

  A sharp pain in the vicinity of her heart was a reminder of the last time . . . Michael Devlin, the man she’d fallen hard for in college only to discover she was one of many women he was stringing along. His deception had hardened her heart, and she’d never forgotten the painful lessons learned during her sophomore year at UVM.

  No one close to her had even known about him. He’d insisted on secrecy for reasons that became apparent after his web of lies was uncovered by one of the many other women he’d professed to love. Charley hadn’t even told Ella about him, mostly because she’d been embarrassed and made to feel foolish by a man she’d thought she loved. Not only had he broken her heart, he’d stolen money from her, too. How sad was it that the only real “boyfriend” she’d ever had turned out to be a con artist of the highest order?

  Ella had known about what Michael had done. The entire campus knew. But no one knew Charley had been one of Michael’s victims. Others had pressed charges against him, but Charley had remained silently locked in her own private agony, too ashamed to speak up. She’d believed him when he said he loved her, that she was the only woman he’d ever love, that they were destined for a life together. Because he’d been the first guy she loved, she’d given him the gift of her virginity. Even hearing he’d been convicted on fraud charges a year and a half later hadn’t soothed the ache she carried with her to this day.

  Thinking about him now made her burn with rage, as if it had happened last week rather than years ago. Michael had been run off campus by a mob of angry women, and she’d never seen him again. But the damage he’d done hadn’t been tempered by time. If anything, it had hardened her into the woman she was today—cynical, slow to trust new people and unwilling to risk more than she had to lose. He had stolen her belief in fairy tales and happily-ever-afters. Even seeing her siblings falling for their perfect partners hadn’t softened her to the idea of love for herself.

  Never again would she be in such a vulnerable position with a man, including Tyler. As much as she liked him—and she liked him a lot more than she’d ever expected to—she wasn’t capable of loving him or any man.

  That she was even thinking about shit from a lifetime ago was a sign that it had been the right thing—the fair thing—to put Tyler on notice about what wasn’t going to happen between them. Thanks to what Michael had put her through, Charley handled her interactions with men with an overabundance of fairness and honesty. She never led anyone on. She never let them believe they were going to get anything more than a good time from her.

  That was how she’d become a serial dater. Of course the fact that she didn’t get “involved,” so to speak, was how she’d also gotten a reputation for being easy when it came to sex, which wasn’t necessarily true. Yes, she liked sex. She even loved it under the right circumstances, but she didn’t give herself to just any guy who expressed an interest. There had to be some sort of interest on her part, too.

  Despite what people liked to think about her, in the last five years, she’d had exactly three lovers—all guys she’d had long-term sexual relationships with. There’d been no dating, no promises, no talk of love or forever or any of the trigger words that sent her running. The first two sex-buddy relationships had died out over time. The third had been ongoing until she got hurt, and Tyler stepped up to care for her.

  She wondered if man number three knew she’d been hurt or if he wondered why he hadn’t heard from her. Probably not. Sex-only relationships didn’t include checking in between hookups, which was how she liked it.
/>
  As if she’d conjured him from her musings, Tyler came into the room looking windblown and sexy in a black sweater and faded jeans. The sight of him had her questioning her own rules. Maybe just this once . . .

  No. No. No. Never again.

  As Tyler said hello to the others and crossed the room to her, Charley thought about the first date he’d saved for her and how much she wanted to let him take her on a romantic overnight trip to Boston. Maybe she’d allow that much in addition to whatever happened between them physically, but nothing more.

  “Hey,” he said when he reached her, right where he’d left her hours ago. His gaze drank in the sight of her, paying attention the way no one else ever had—except her mother, of course. “You’re hurting.”

  “A little.”

  “Let’s get you home to your pills.”

  “You make me sound like an addict.”

  “You’re far from an addict.” He retrieved her crutches and helped her up, putting an arm around her until she got her balance.

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  Charley looked up to find every set of eyes in the room on her and Tyler, watching them with interest. She wanted to say, Show’s over, but she held her tongue and walked slowly toward Megan. “Congratulations. You got some beautiful gifts.”

  Megan got up to hug Charley. “Thank you so much for the place settings and the crystal. I love them.”

  Charley didn’t bother to mention that Ella had handled the gift buying for her. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you next weekend, if not before.”

  “Oh we’ll be up to visit before then.”

  “Don’t worry about me. Enjoy your big week.”

  Charley hugged the others on the way out, each of them promising to come visit her in the next few days. Her mom handed Tyler a basket. “You won’t have to worry about dinner tonight.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Abbott.”

  “Call me Molly.” Watching her mother hug Tyler, Charley experienced an odd sense of concern over the way her family was taking to him as if he were already one of them.