"I know."
"He didn't even change the wording?" She flips back a page and compares something, running her finger down the margin. "The anonymous complaints, the medication records, the push for a psych evaluation—it's all here. Every single thing he's done to me, he did to these other women first."
"And it worked every time. Frasure got his kids, and so did the other fathers."
I see the fear in her eyes when her gaze meets mine. "So he knows it works. He's not guessing. He's running a plan that's already succeeded multiple times, and I'm just the latest name on the list." It's like I can see her gut churning, but she really has nothing to fear now. We have the key to solving this right here in our hands.
"Look, we're gonna get him. This is proof and your lawyer is gonna nail that bastard to the floor now."
"Can this actually help us?" She still doesn’t seem certain, but I am. Derek isn't getting away with this ever again. "David can use this?"
"Two bar reprimands showing a pattern of unethical behavior in custody cases, plus multiple prior cases where he used the exact same strategy." I lean forward and rest my arms on the table. "Your lawyer can use every page of this. It proves Derek doesn't just want custody of Ethan… He's unethical and?—"
"But he'll lose his job," she says softly, and my heart goes out to her. She doesn't want to destroy him the way he wants to destroy her. That's what makes her different from him. She has a good heart. He has nothing but hatred.
"He will," I agree, removing the edge from my voice. I want that man to suffer so badly for the things he's done, but he is Ethan's father. I'm not sure how that will affect Ethan or Olivia. She will mourn for her son when his father doesn’t come around anymore.
"He could go to jail?" Her bottom lip quivers, and I reach up and cradle her cheek, which she leans into.
"He could, but a man like him, it's not likely… My guess is the bar will remove his license to practice and maybe he'll switch careers or become a paralegal. But they'll still allow him to visit Ethan. The good news is, he won't be able to do this to any other unsuspecting woman in the future. And that's a good thing."
Olivia presses her hand on top of mine, then she stands up from her chair without letting go of my hand and walks around the table. I push my chair back as she steps close, standing between my knees with her hand still in mine. Then I pull her closer and kiss her with one hand on the small of her back and the other still holding hers. Her free hand finds the side of my neck as she leans into the kiss, not at all shy about showing me openly that she's not pushing me away.
She pulls back and rests her forehead against mine. "I need to go get Ethan from camp."
"Go get your kid," I say huskily, though I'd like it if she could stay.
She smiles warmly and kisses me again and then pulls away to say, "Stick around for dinner tonight. I'm making the pasta you liked."
"The one with the sausage?" I grin at her, feeling more and more at ease in her presence every time we talk.
"The one with the sausage."
"Will there be dessert?" I growl against her mouth, and she chuckles.
"Depends… The only kind I can think about isn't something a child could be a part of." When she pulls back, she winks, and I feel a surge of attraction rush through my body.
She squeezes my hand once and lets go, then grabs her keys and her purse from the counter and heads for the front door. She pauses in the hallway and looks back at me.
"Thank you, Caleb."
"Go get Ethan," I tell her. "I'll clean up the table."
She laughs and walks out, and I hear her car start in the driveway and pull away.
This woman is making this town feel like home more and more every day. And I think Troy, Ohio might just be the place to put down roots for good. Who knows how many more Derek Bennetts there are out there waiting for a man like me to hunt them down.
25
OLIVIA
Idrag the hose across the front yard, working my way along the flower bed beneath the porch railing. The petunias need water and the marigolds droop in the late afternoon heat. Ethan left about an hour ago for a sleepover at his friend Marcus's house. He packed a bag with snacks and clothes and practically launched himself out of the car when I pulled into the driveway. The house feels quiet without him, but it's a good quiet tonight.
I'm kneeling beside the marigolds when I hear a car slow on the street. When I look up, I see Derek's silver truck pulling to the curb in front of my house. I don't mean to, but I bristle at the sight. He's not supposed to be here. This isn't his weekend, and there's no pickup scheduled. There's no good reason for him to show up unless it's to harass me again or to make more ridiculous demands.
He gets out and walks across the lawn toward me, hands in his pockets, and I rise to my feet. The scowl on his face is normal, but the anger in his eyes isn't. Normally, he's more controlledthan this, like he boxes the monster in so no one can see it, but I always know it's there.
"We need to talk about the Fourth," he says, stopping a few feet from me.
