“Is anyone in this family an open book besides me? I mean… sweet Lord, have mercy!”
Tyler laughed softly. “Momma, I didn’t mean for this to happen. It took me a while to believe her, first of all, then to come to terms with it. Don’t worry—after everything that happened with Matilda, I did a DNA test recently, and it was a match. Cecilia is mine.”
“Her name’s Cecilia?” Rita couldn’t believe it. She had a granddaughter? It was what she’d always wanted. She hadn’t pressured her kids to get married or have children, and had begun to wonder if it would ever happen. But now to find out there was a little piece of Tyler somewhere out there, running around and she’d had no idea— emotion choked her.
He nodded. “Cecilia Honey Buchanan. It’s Candy’s last name, but she’s agreed to add mine as well now that I’m back. So, she’s about to be Cecilia Honey Buchanan Osbourne.”
“Well, ain’t that just a mouthful?” Rita cleared her throat. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
“I’m going to see her tomorrow at the park. We’re meeting there for a play. You can come with me, if you’d like to.”
Rita’s eyes filled with tears, and she choked back a sob. “I would love to. Thank you, bud.”
Chapter Six
Matilda stared at the letter in her hands. She inhaled a long, slow breath in an attempt to calm her racing heart. This couldn’t be happening. She refolded the letter and calmly slid it back into the envelope marked with the veterinary clinic’s address.
She was being sued.
It didn’t make sense. She looked blankly out the car window, willing herself to remember. The letter stated it was a white Pomeranian going through kidney failure. Then it came to her. It’d happened about three months earlier. The dog didn’t really stand a chance, but the owners wanted Matilda to do everything she could to save it. So she had, but to no avail. And now they’d notified her of a lawsuit against her and the clinic.
Her eyes squeezed shut, and she breathed deeply. Everything seemed to be going wrong lately. Despite the huge renovation to the clinic last year, she’d recently had to replace all of the pipes after discovering several leaks beneath the floorboards. She was so busy that she barely had time to see her husband most days. And now this lawsuit? She wasn’t sure how much more she could handle. The anxiety was starting to get to her. It squeezed around her heart and made her head light.
The clinic was profitable, and that was the only reason she was able to keep going. Thankfully, she’d managed to pay for the plumbing repairs without too much difficulty, although her corporate account had gotten a bit low, what with all the salaries and the mortgage payment. Still, she’d gritted her teeth and made it through, and now it might all be for nothing. She tried to remember what her insurance said about lawsuits and couldn’t. She’d have to make a call to her lawyer to find out about her coverage. Just another expense to worry about. It was never-ending.
She thought back fondly to the days in Australia when she showed up for work each day, did her job, went home, and received a paycheque every two weeks. It’d been a simple life, one she missed terribly. Although she loved being married to Ryan, the distance from her family back in Australia, along with her friends, the beach, Brisbane, her house… everything about her life back home… thinking of it caused an ache in her heart and made her want to cry. But she couldn’t cry. She had to hold it together, drive home, and tell Ryan about the lawsuit. He’d done so much to help her build and grow this business, the least she could do was give him the bad news without falling apart.
She set the envelope on the passenger seat, wiped her eyes with her fingertips, and started the car. She could do this. It was all part of being a business owner. She couldn’t take it personally. This was why she had an insurance policy. She nodded firmly as though to put an end to the inner conversation and headed for home.
By the time she got home, she’d realised that the lawyer she knew specialised in real estate, and she’d have to find another one who could handle a lawsuit. What kind of lawyer did that? A lawsuit lawyer? She didn’t even know if that was a real thing. The ball of anxiety in her throat grew larger and threatened to steal her breath away. She pulled the car into the driveway of their newly renovated lake house and ran inside, gasping for air. Her heart hammered against her rib cage and she launched herself onto the couch, then stared at the ceiling, counting backward from one hundred in the hopes that it would help calm her down. Her chest constricted, her head spun, and her breathing was shallow and rapid.
“Are you okay?” Ryan leaned around the doorway to look at her, a tea towel slung over one shoulder and his brow creased with concern.
He took one look at her face and crossed the floor in two long strides to kneel beside her. “What’s going on, Matilda?”
He rarely called her Matilda. It was always “baby,” or “honey,” or her favourite, “sugar pie.” He was worried—she could tell. She was a little concerned herself at this point.
“I’m not sure. I think I’m having a heart attack or something.”
“Pain in your arm?”
She lifted both arms and shook them. Nope. No pain. “Just tightness in my chest, and my head is spinning.”
“Slow down your breathing, baby. Did something happen to upset you?”
Matilda focused on taking slower breaths. Gradually, she began to feel a little better and sat up. Ryan sat beside her on the couch, held both her hands, and gazed into her eyes.
“Talk to me, baby.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m being sued.” And then she burst into tears and leaned against his shoulder to cry.
He cupped her head to his shoulder and stroked her hair until she calmed down and her sobbing faded. “I’m sorry—I wasn’t going to cry. But you were looking at me so kindly, and I’m worried I’m going to lose the clinic. You’ve put so much into it…” Tears threatened again, so she drew a deep breath to stem the flow.
He grunted. “Don’t worry about me, or how much I’ve put into the clinic. I did it for you. But what’s this lawsuit about?”
She told him all about it, and he sat with her. His words were comforting. He was making steak for dinner, he said. She should have a shower and sit outside, since the weather was so nice. He’d bring her a glass of wine. He said they’d deal with whatever happened together, and it was all going to be okay.
She followed his instructions as though in a kind of trance. She didn’t know what to do, so having someone hand her a step-by-step plan of action was exactly what she needed in that moment. As she dried off after her shower, fatigue overcame her. She hadn’t comprehended just how tired she was — it seemed to go deep into her very bones.
