Landon sat next to Aly on the couch,hersomeone,herpartner.She didn’t know if she would have handled the past six months without that.Without everything stepping over that friendship line had given them.
So naturally her gaze fell to Cal, who had pulled in a chair from the kitchen rather than sit on the third cushion of the couch.
It left him alone, which made Aly sad, she could admit.Not that having a significant other fixed everything, but she wished he didn’t feel theneedto be so alone.She wished there was someone—romantic or otherwise—he’d let in.To take care of him more than the superficial ways he let her take care.
But they were all together right now.Eating.Working through the problem, hopefully.Instead of heading off to separate corners, licking wounds and distrusting each other.That was what mattered.
“Did you get anywhere on a connection to the cousin who helped Bo?”Cal asked Sam.
Sam shook her head.“No.Nothing to Ben.Nothing to the lawyer.Hell, nothing to Montana.Detective Hayes IDed the guy who tried to break into Honor’s Edge as a private investigator out of Wisconsin.Obviously, a connection to Wisconsin can’t be overlooked, but I haven’t been able to tie it to this cousin yet.”Sam sounded beyond frustrated.“Maybe it just needs more time.”
No one said anything to that, and Aly wasn’t sure anyone believed it.Sam was nothing if not a good investigator.If there was a connection, maybe it was too deeply hidden to find.
“We already knew that the guy who tried to break into Honor’s Edge was connected to Dad’s lawyer regardless of identity,” Nate said.“And we knew he was aware of Bo’s existence, and a potential connection to Glenda.It shouldn’t be a surprise that they know, that they’re trying to use it.”
But itwasa surprise.At least to Aly.How could this be used to support Ben’s innocence?
“But it just paints Ben in a bad light,” Jill said, echoing Aly’s thoughts.“His wife wanting to hide one of his sons?It supports the prosecution’s case that he was abusive, doesn’t it?”She looked at Cal, so Aly did too.
Cal didn’t meet anyone’s gaze, but he spoke after a heavy silence.“They’ll try to paint Mom as unstable.Bring up character witnesses to corroborate.My bet is they’ve got a witness or two that connects to the pregnancy, or they wouldn’t have brought it up.”
“No one would corroborate that Mom was unstable,” Landon said.“Because she wasn’t.”
Cal lifted his head then, met Landon’s gaze.“She got rid of one of her kids.Kept the other three.”
It brought a silence to the room.Heavy.Tears threatened.Every time Aly thought of Marie deciding to send one of her children away, it broke her heart.For the baby.For the boys who now felt like they’d been sentenced by their own mother.
But mostly, for Marie.Because no matter how Aly couldn’t make sense of the choice, sheknewhow much Marie had loved her children.Marie had lovedher, and she hadn’t had any reason to.Aly was just an orphan, more or less.Marie hadn’t had to step into any kind of mothering role.She’dchosento.
She must have been so desperate when she was pregnant with Bo.So lost.And all alone, except for when she could get to Glenda for help.
Aly slid a look at Glenda.It was then Aly realized Glenda was signing to Jill.
Jill cleared her throat, so everyone looked her way.“Um, Grandma is basically saying…” Jill frowned a little, watching her grandmother sign.“Marie thought she was protecting the three of you pretty well.That she could handle three.But she was worried, with a newborn, that you’d all be… in danger.”
All the boys looked at Glenda.It was strange to see, these similar-looking faces deal with that information, externally, in completely different ways.She knew Landon well enough to know that as stoic as he wastryingto look, there was nothing but desolation in his eyes.Maybe guilt.Cal looked like he was in actual, physical pain.Nate… blank.Like nothing ever permeated that cold outer shell.
But Aly also saw that Nate’s hand was gripping Sam’s in between where they sat together.So no, not cold.Not unaffected.
“Even if they paint Mom as unstable, she wasmurdered,” Landon said.His voice being a little lower register than usual the only clue he was hurting.“It’s not enough to get Dad off.”
“No, though it could be used to mitigate the severity of sentencing.”Cal studied his pizza.Aly was relieved to see he’d actually taken a few bites.“But I… I think there’s more.There’s going to be more.”
He seemed so sure, it left Aly unable to finish her piece of pizza.She set it aside.
“Like what?”Landon demanded.
“Hell if I know.”Cal rubbed a hand over his mouth.“I can’t work it out, but I know a lead-up when I see one.They introduced the pregnancy to prove some point.We have to figure out what it is, fill Vanderbilt in, before the prosecution rests.”
“And if we don’t?”
Cal inhaled deeply, let that breath out slowly.He looked around the room, at every single person looking to him for information.For hope.
And then he dashed it all.
“Then there’s a chance he gets off.”
*
