Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71110 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
She sighed, a heavy sound. “I love you, too.”
But sometimes love wasn’t enough.
* * * *
Daphne pulled all of her righteous anger around her as she strode up to the big suite her mother-in-law was staying in. Naturally the local motel wasn’t good enough for the pampered ladies of Hanover Prep. They were staying in one of Austin’s finest hotels. Of course, the teachers were crammed into the smallest rooms while the students were in suites. Daphne was certain that helped with authority issues.
Damn, but she wished Boomer was here with her. Leaving him behind had been so fucking hard. She’d wanted to walk into his arms and take all the comfort he could give her.
And if she’d done that, she would have been an emotional wreck. She had to keep it together until she’d talked to Lou. Lou had to have a say in this.
She loved Boomer. He’d been a dumbass when he hadn’t mentioned Sanctum, but she believed his reasons why. When she got back, they were going to go over everything. Well, everything that wasn’t classified.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to go to Sanctum. Okay, she was sure she wanted to go, but she wasn’t sure she should. She would be going out of sheer curiosity, and that felt wrong.
So she would do what she’d learned to do. Research. Talk to her friends. Think about it and then make the decision with Boomer about whether they would try it out as a couple.
Deep breath. She was procrastinating because she was worried that there might not be a later for her and Boomer if Lou was too scared of what came next. If Lou was anxious about the possibility of a legal fight over her, she might have to back off from the man she loved until everything was settled.
Sorrow welled inside her at the thought of even a few months away from him. He’d become a huge part of her life, but she had to think about Lou. He would understand, but she prayed it didn’t come to that.
She was going to have to apologize for not answering his calls earlier. She’d been on the phone with her employees trying to move around the schedules so everything could get done. That hadn’t been fair to him.
She was worried she hadn’t handled that situation as well as she could have, but emotion and fear had gotten the better of her. At least they’d both said I love you.
Daphne forced herself to step up and ring the doorbell. Of course the suite had a doorbell.
She couldn’t offer Lou this life. Not in any way.
Amelia opened the door and stared at her, surprise obvious on her face. “Daphne. What are you doing here?”
So she’d either properly intimidated the supervising teachers or they didn’t care enough about Amelia to give her a heads-up that hell was coming her way. Daphne stepped inside, shoving the door open. “I’m here to pick up my daughter.”
Amelia gasped and moved out of the way. “You certainly will not. This trip is not over, and legally she’s my responsibility right now.”
“I’ve informed the supervising teacher and filled out all the paperwork needed to take my daughter home. If you need anything else, you can contact my lawyer, Amelia. I’ll text you his number.” She’d had a long discussion with Mitchell Bradford on the drive from Dallas to Austin. The lawyer had gotten to work quickly, going over everything he could do on his end to protect her from what her mother-in-law was planning. CPS did good, meaningful work, but no agency was completely without corruption. He was going to be careful, but he would be in touch with the right people to ensure any investigation was fair and aboveboard. She would comply with all requests for interviews, and Mitch would do his work in the background.
And according to Mitch, Big Tag’s head had practically exploded, and he was planning a bloody battle that might leave her in-laws with very little left. Apparently Big Tag believed in scorching the earth.
Amelia’s lips curled into a genteel snarl. “I suspect my lawyer will have something to say, too. You should understand that I intend to petition for custody of my granddaughter since you have proven to be utterly unsuitable. Do you have any idea what those people are involved in? It’s disgusting.”
“It’s private and between consenting adults and has nothing whatsoever to do with you. I need you to understand that I will fight you with everything I have. I will not allow you to take my daughter. I’m sorry your son died. I’m sorry Lou’s dad died. I will not allow you to turn her into a replacement for him. She is her own person.”
“She is my granddaughter, and I will not allow her to be raised by a mundane mind.”