“I appreciate that,” Chloe replied.
“Take care, and I’ll be in touch soon,” Laura said before ending the call.
Chloe set down her phone and leaned back in the chair. She’d felt sick to her stomach when she’d read the email from Paul’s lawyer, but talking with Laura had made her feel a little better.
As she stared through the window, her thoughts drifted to Oscar—his infectious laughter, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about his latest drawing or adventure with Liam and Trixie. The idea of him being away from her, especially with Paul, filled her with unease.
Her phone buzzed, pulling her from her thoughts. It was a text from Liam.
Just checking in. Hope your call went okay.
A small smile tugged at her lips. She’d told Liam about the email from Paul’s lawyer and how worried she was.
She typed a quick response.Thanks, Liam. Just got off the phone with Laura. Feeling better after speaking to her.She didn’t have to wait long for his response.
That’s awesome. Let me know if you want a distraction. I found something on one of Eleanor Whittaker’s sketches.
Chloe had asked her friends at the Smithsonian to find any information about Eleanor and Samuel, but she hadn’t had time to do any research herself.I need to send my lawyer some information, but after that, I’d love to hear about Eleanor. Can I call you later tonight?
Sure. I’m having dinner at Steve’s house, but I should be back by eight-thirty.
Chloe smiled.I’ll call then. Talk later.
Liam sent back a thumbs up emoji, and she sighed. Just knowing he was thinking about her made everything with Paul a little easier to bear. Leaving her phone on the table, she turned her attention to the stack of documents she needed for Laura.
Opening the drawer of her desk, she pulled out a folder. Four years ago, when she saw how much money Paul had taken from their joint accounts, she’d printed off the statements that showed the withdrawals. A part of her had hoped there was a logical explanation for the missing money. But when a friend mentioned seeing Paul with another woman, her heart had broken.
After their divorce, she’d nearly thrown out the evidence of what had happened but, thankfully, something had stopped her. She still had the old bank statements showing his gambling debts, copies of threatening letters from creditors, and printouts of emails that documented his affairs. Each piece of paper was a painful reminder of the past she’d worked so hard to leave behind.
She hesitated over one photo—a snapshot of Paul and Oscar on Oscar’s first birthday. They were both smiling, a rare momentof happiness frozen in time. Chloe felt a pang of sadness, but quickly pushed it aside. She couldn’t afford to dwell on what had happened in the past.
After scanning the documents and attaching them to an email for Laura, she hit “Send” and closed her laptop. As she took the documents back to her desk, she sighed. She didn’t know what Paul’s motive was for asking for visitation, but if he thought she’d make it easy for him to take Oscar back to Washington, D.C., he’d have to think again.
Later that night,Liam parked outside Chloe’s cottage and stepped out of his truck. He’d called earlier to see if it was okay to see her on his way home. What he’d found was too important to discuss over the phone, especially when it answered a lot of their questions about Eleanor.
Clutching a worn leather folder filled with documents, he held open the truck’s back door for Trixie. “Ready to see Chloe, girl?”
She wagged her tail excitedly and jumped onto the sidewalk.
As he walked toward the cottage, he thought about Chloe. When he’d called her, she’d sounded as eager as he was to see what he’d discovered about Eleanor. Reaching the front door, he knocked lightly, not wanting to wake Oscar. Moments later, the door swung open.
“Hey, Liam.” Chloe greeted them with a warm smile. “Hi, Trixie!”
“Hi, Chloe. Thanks for seeing me so late.”
“It’s no problem,” she said, stepping aside. “I’m looking forward to hearing about Eleanor. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Coffee would be great, thanks,” Liam said, following her into the kitchen. He set the folder on the table and shrugged off his jacket. Trixie made herself comfortable on the rug beside him. While Chloe made their drinks, he took the newspaper articles and photos out of the folder.
“Were you able to send all the information your lawyer wanted?”
Chloe nodded and handed him a mug of coffee. “It didn’t take as long as I thought it would. Hopefully, it helps.” She sat beside him and studied the papers. “That looks interesting.”
“As I was leaving Steve’s house, Percy called me. He told me about some old newspapers and letters that were found at the old steamboat museum. He’d forgotten all about them. When he looked through them, a couple of the stories mentioned Eleanor Whittaker and... her involvement in the Prohibition movement.”
Chloe’s eyebrows shot up. “Prohibition? Eleanor was involved in that?”
Liam handed her a faded newspaper clipping. “Quite significantly, it seems. I stopped at Percy’s house on the way home. This article from 1921 describes her as a leading advocate for the Temperance Movement in Montana.”
