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  "—I saw that you filed a lawsuit against each of your ex-husbands."

  Though it made her heart clench, she knew the suit was of public record. Not all the details, but that she'd filed it. "Thank you, but no thank you, I already have a lawyer."

  She was setting the phone back in the dock—a little harder and less satisfying than the easy slam she could do with her grandmother's old corded model—and if she hadn't missed the dock, she wouldn't have heard him.

  "Mrs. Leland! Wait! I've already been retained for you."

  Picking up the phone she'd fumbled, Shay pressed it back to her ear, "I'm sorry?"

  "I'm covered already. Free of charge to you." The voice was soothing, educated, ready to respond. "Allow me to explain."

  She didn't. "Craig?" It was the only thing that made sense.

  "Yes. Mr. Hibbets is covering the charges." There was a smile in the voice now. "When can we meet? Since the two suits are already filed, and there's already a countersuit in process, I'd like to get going as soon as possible."

  "I have a lawyer." She gritted it through her teeth, Zoe watching with narrowed eyes now. Shay sighed. She'd also had a lifetime of owing people. Either for things she needed, or for them just stepping in, doing something for her, then telling her she owed them. "Thank you, but no."

  "Mrs. Leland!" The voice was sharp enough to make her jerk.

  Shay's eyes darted to Zoe's as she thought to hit the speaker button. Her sister was now at her side, quiet as she listened in.

  "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have burst out like that." The apology sounded sincere, but there was something in the tone that told her he'd caught on to the change in the phone. He knew he was on speaker. "Is either of your ex-husbands present?"

  "No."

  "Are the children in earshot?"

  "No." She was giving as little as possible.

  "Then, assuming I'm on speaker, there's a reason. Who is there?"

  "A friend." She ground it out. It wasn't his fault Craig hired him without asking her.

  "A bit of legal advice: it's not wise to have friends in on your legal discussions or correspondence. Especially if they have ever been associated with your defendants."

  "It's my sister." She sighed then explained. "I'm sorry that Mr. Hibbets hired you and that you won't be able to collect, but I have a lawyer."

  "May I speak, please?"

  She rolled her eyes at her sister. He was so damn polite she didn't have it in her to say no. But she wanted to. "Fine."

  "If you truly refuse my services it will be the easiest money that I have ever made. Mr. Hibbets paid a large retainer that's non-refundable. I've already made the money."

  Turning to Zoe, she mouthed, He probably did it so I wouldn't say no!

  Zoe nodded her head in agreement, understanding all of it in the way of sisters.

  Before Shay could comment, the lawyer began again. "I've met your lawyer. She's solid, but takes a variety of cases. I take only child custody cases and only after I've vetted the parents in the case. I have, on more than one occasion, offered my services to the parent the person who originally contacted me was trying to sue.

  "I. Won't. Lose. Mrs. Leland, children's lives are at stake. Mr. Hibbets told me your story, and I agreed to take your case."

  "What if he's lying?" Zoe blurted out.

  Shay's eyebrows rose in shock.

  "Hello, you must be the sister. I told you, I check the background for all my cases. I know the records—one Shay Leland Masters gave birth to a singleton son, 'Owen,' in Knoxville, Tennessee, listing Jason Gregson Masters as the father of record."

  He went on listing both the boys’ dates and places of birth, as well as their fathers'. He listed Shay's information, then paused. "Need I go on? I know this case already."

  "That's disturbing." Shay admitted, feeling a little cold at the recitation.

  "It's all in the public record. Including the dates of your divorces. We can win this one." His voice was soothing now and his words hit her hard.

  "I need to make a decision. I'll need some time." Shay said, taking charge in a conversation that had run off the rails a while ago.

  "Take some time. But honestly, I've seen lawyers mess things up in cases like these. For example, what has your current lawyer done to research the men's past interactions with the law? Please decide sooner rather than later." He left her with his private number and said he was leaving the office for the evening. Then he added that the number would go to his cell, and she should call any time.

  Shay hung up, shaky now. She looked to Zoe. "What do I do?"

  "We research the hell out of him, that's what." Zoe tromped over to her bag and pulled out her laptop—much newer and shinier than Shay's. "If he knows that much about you, then you should know that much about him.”

  "You're right. We need fuel for this." Shay headed into the kitchen while Zoe began tapping around. "Hey Shay, get this, he's in Elizabethon, works all three of the tri-cities."

  "That's a drive." Shay commented as she emerged from the kitchen with bowls of chocolate ice cream, then squished into the corner of the old couch next to her sister.

  "So far, so good." Zoe commented before taking a bite. She tapped some more, balancing the bowl and her laptop. Then she was silent for a moment before turning the screen toward her big sis. "Shit Shay, read this."

  While Zoe ate, Shay read an interview her sister had pulled up. In the article, a child had been murdered by his biological mother. Parker Wilcox had lost the case for the father and the step-mother just four months earlier. The quote from him was "Every time I lose a case, I fear it will go this way. I pray for the best, and I fear this. When I lose, I know there's a child in the wrong place, and I don't sleep until they're home."

  Shay looked at Zoe. "That's pretty heavy handed isn't it?"

  "Shay, it's from seven years ago. He didn't set us up. He's been doing this a long time and according to this—" she hit a few more buttons "—his win-to-loss rate is excellent. Better than your lawyer. Did your lawyer check out Jason or Brian's criminal pasts?"

  "No." Shay admitted, but stayed mad. "I don't want to owe Craig! I don't want to owe anyone!" She stood up abruptly, nearly spilling the dregs of her ice cream.

  Zoe became quiet. "I understand that. I do. But I don't have enough money to fix this. I have some. Give your money to this guy, then. I'll help with the rest."

  "Zoe." She sighed her sister's name. "I can't take your money any more than I can take Craig's."

  Zoe nodded, speaking quietly. "You have your standards, and that's good. But your case—cases—are complex. You've already got a countersuit filed against you. Are your standards more important than your kids?"

  Chapter 21

  It was the tiny, high pitched attempts at barking that woke him. Craig scratched his head and stared at the small dogs, frowning. They were going off like there was a siren outside or something. But there wasn't.

  He checked his clock—3 a.m.—and rolled his eyes. "What do y'all want?"

  But they just kept going. As tired as he was, it was still disturbingly cute. They were trying to bark like little badasses, but they couldn't bark yet. Their voices hadn't dropped. "Do you need to go outside?"

  They seemed to say yes to this, hopping back and forth on their front feet, almost like they were dancing. He opened the door to the crate, comfortable now with them running through the house if he was watching. They still needed leashes in the back yard until the fence was installed. Back yard, he thought with a dejected sigh. He'd need shoes, the grass would be wet. But they were sitting at his bedroom door, looking to him and he grinned.

  Once he opened the door, Gunnar and Scarlett beelined down the short hallway, but instead of going to the sliding glass door that led out to the backyard and their play space, they went straight to the front door and sat, looking at the knob as though it might do something interesting.

  "Is someone—" He didn't even finish. The knock interrupted him.


  Who was at his door at 3 a.m.?

  Then he didn't finish the thought. Either he was getting robbed, or someone was in trouble. He threw open the door expecting to see one of the guys or Kelsey or—

  "Shay?"

  She looked up at him, surprised, as though she hadn't expected him to be at his own house. Or that maybe he just wouldn't answer his door for her. Then, quick as a lightning strike, her expression changed. "Can I come in?"

  She asked before he could decipher her look. A tiny paw on his foot reminded him that there were two adorable terrors running loose. "Um. Sure."

  He turned away from her, scooping up the closest puppy, who was hiding behind his legs, and looking around for the other. "Gunnar?" He called out, then turned the little dog in his arms and looked it in the face. "Yup, you're Scarlett."

  "Gunnar and Scarlett?" Shay raised her eyebrows as though she could mock his choice of names in the middle of the night unannounced.

  He didn't answer, but he did find Gunnar hiding behind the couch. "You two are going to be watchdogs one day, right?" He spoke to them as though they would answer. They looked away, ashamed. "No worries. You're little." He kissed them each on the head then sat down on his couch, one dog tucked under each arm. They didn't squirm, just watched Shay as she looked around for a moment then decided on the armchair. It was just as old and worn as the stuff at her house. If she'd been surprised that his furniture wasn't better, she was hiding it.

  She perched on the edge, hands clasped. "I didn't know you had puppies."

  "I didn't either." He just looked at her while she frowned back at him. Her silence forced him to explain. "I mean, I just went to the shelter on a whim, and boom, suddenly I have two puppies. Why are you here?"

  Then, suddenly it struck him. "Is everyone okay?"

  He'd been reading her nervousness, but maybe she wasn't nervous about something she was going to say or do, but about asking him for something. She nodded, looking around the room at everything but him.

  He wasn't sure what to do. She'd told him no. She was clear. And he was the last man to pressure anyone into anything. So he just sat, stared at her for a moment, waiting.

  Finally, she looked him in the eye. "You can't give me a lawyer, Craig."

  He opened his mouth to ask why not, to explain, but she railroaded him.

  "I have spent my whole life owing people for what they did for me. Things I thought I wanted. Things I truly needed but no one would give to me. Everything." She was standing now, almost but not quite pacing around the room. "I've had a long drive to think about this and I can't take the money."

  "I—"

  She held her hand up. Apparently she was here to speak her mind, not to have a conversation.

  Long way to drive to yell at me, he thought, but sat still. He'd been here before. Sometimes it was better to be quiet and just let the other person ride it out themselves. Things hurt less that way.

  "I appreciate that you found the best lawyer in the tri-cities." She looked at him and nodded, then looked away, her hands still wringing. "I will take the recommendation, but I can't take your money. I have my own savings and I can't owe you."

  "Okay." He stayed on the couch, watching her.

  She broke his heart sometimes. So strong because she had to be, but also sometimes she had to be because she pushed people away. Here he was trying to help, with no strings attached, but she insisted that she hold up the entire sky herself.

  He'd never done that. Never held up the sky for anyone. Just helped hold things together with the band when times had been lean. But never had that been all him. Even the puppies—he kissed their little, fuzzy heads—didn't pose the kind of struggle Shay was going through.

  She turned to face him. "That's it? You'll take your money back?"

  "No." He looked at her like she was nuts. "Those aren't the same thing."

  "What do you mean? You can't do this!" She opened her mouth as though she had more to say, then closed it.

  Just as he was getting ready to speak, she started again. Craig shut his mouth.

  "Thank you." She took a deep breath, just long enough for him to think That was easy. But it wasn't. She spoke again. "It was a generous offer. No, it was well beyond generous. But I can't take it. I'll pay for the lawyer myself."

  She said the last line with far more conviction than anyone should have if they'd driven almost six hours in the middle of the night.

  Craig waited. The puppies squirmed and he set them down, telling himself he'd keep an eye on them.

  Before he could speak, Scarlett closed the distance between herself and Shay and pawed at Shay's pant leg. She leaned over. "Aren't you just the cutest thing?"

  Though both puppies had shied away from Shay at first, they seemed to be warming up. They also seemed to not have ever been petted before. They acted as though Craig had ignored them for weeks on end.

  Stunned, he looked at the dogs while he spoke. "I swear, I feed them and pay plenty of attention to them."

  She grinned up at him, as beautiful as the moment he'd seen her standing on the beach in that yellow dress. "This is normal. At least it is with kids. No matter what you do, they want attention from everyone else. They act like you never give them ice cream or popsicles or love."

  "Well," He conceded. "I don't ever give them ice cream or popsicles."

  "They're clearly very well taken care of." She smiled again, picking up Gunnar who'd weaseled his way in between his sister and Shay. "You got them on a whim?"

  He nodded. Best whim ever. Right up there with saying hello on the beach.

  She rubbed a little head and set the puppy down. "So you'll call your lawyer and get him to send your money back?"

  "No."

  Stunned, she only stared at him for a moment, then found her voice. "Why not? I told you, I'll take care of it."

  "Did you ask what he charges?" Craig looked at her. She'd told him how much she'd saved. She could get started, and if everything went perfectly, she might be able to cover it. Might.

  "I'll figure it out." She said.

  "Don't. It's taken care of. Get yourself a new car or start college funds for the boys with it." He sighed. He should have known it was going to be a battle. But he thought, if anything, she'd call. Then he could tell her no, it was done, and hang up on her. Hard to hang up on the person standing in your living room.

  "I can't owe you." Her hands were clenched at his sides.

  "You don't. It's a gift. You don't owe me anything." He was about ready to assume the same stance himself.

  "It doesn't matter! What happens when you want a favor from me? That's how it starts. You'll think I'm not grateful enough or I'll spend every moment being so grateful you can't possibly fault me. I can't do that again." Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes and he tried to forgive her the harsh judgment of him. One he didn't deserve.

  "Then don't. Don't owe me. Don't be grateful. I don't want it anyway!" He was yelling by the time he'd finished, the puppies running behind the couch from the vehemence of the words, and his heart fell that he'd scared them. Instantly on his hands and knees, he forgot about the woman behind him as he spoke soft words, stroked little heads, and apologized until they came out.

  A few licks to his face un-seized a heart he hadn't realized had stopped when he saw what he'd done. Sitting on the floor now, puppies sequestered in his lap, he looked up at Shay. "I'm not an asshole. I'm not going to turn into one. You know how I know?"

  She shook her head.

  "Because I haven't become one yet. Because you keep pushing me away, and I'm still not being one. Even in my thoughts, I'm not. I try to understand and most of the time I do." He took a breath. "I've been with the guys in the band going on five years now. I have never once not had their backs. I'm good to these little guys. Didn't think I had it in me, but I'm a good dad to my dogs. So you can stop looking at me like you're waiting for a monster to crawl out of my skin."

  She opened her mouth to say something, but th
is time he railroaded her. "I get it. That's all you've seen happen, but judging me by what other people did to you is a shitty way to treat me."

  She didn't move. Just stood, towering over him, not speaking, not visibly reacting.

  So Craig kept going. "There's a lot you don't know about me." He almost started to say what he'd been doing these past weeks without her, but he held his tongue on that. Instead he gave her something else.

  "I told you I moved nineteen times in sixteen years, but what I didn't tell you was that I was in foster care. Those moves weren't just to new houses or new apartments, they were to new families. Some good, some bad, some not even families, just facilities. I ran away when I turned sixteen and I can't even count how many places I lived after that. So I don't need your shit about not understanding."

  He took a breath, anger radiating off of him, but he tried to keep his voice calm for the little creatures in his lap who trusted him and looked to him as their beacon.

  "I see how much you protect them. I see how you take care of those boys, even though you won't let me meet them. Even though you don't even want me around. In sixteen years, no one adopted me. I ran away when I gave up. No one looked out for me like you do for those boys."

  He was grinding his teeth. The fact that she'd finally reacted with a hand to her mouth and tears starting to roll down her cheeks only pissed him off more. "No one. The truth is, I'm jealous that someone is there for them. Because my case worker was the greatest constant in my life and, honestly, I had about nine of those. So you don't owe me a damn thing because I didn't give you the money. It's not yours to give back. It's theirs. You can help your boys by giving their lawyer all the information you have. Your call."

  Chapter 22

  Shay drove home with tears in her eyes. She didn't want to cry, but it seemed the best she could do was leak tears down her face and sniffle silently. Sometimes, when she thought about what he'd been through, she sobbed. For Craig. For her boys. For the shit way she'd treated a good man.