Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Savannah’s face drained of color, her jaw dropping open. “Why would my mother do that?”
I shook my head, meeting Savannah halfway on the stairs. Pulling her arm through mine, I guided her down the rest of the way to the front hall. “Let’s get to Griffen’s office before they come in. I don’t want you to run into her on your own.”
“I’m not on my own,” she murmured. “You’re here.”
I dropped her arm and slid mine around her shoulders, giving her a tight squeeze as we walked. “Damn straight,” I said. “But I’d rather you meet her with an army at your back instead of one loyal soldier.”
A thin giggle escaped her throat. It wasn’t her usual, robust laugh, but I’d take it.
”It’s going to be okay,” I promised. I had no business promising something so outside of my control, but I did it anyway. Lydia Harris wasn’t going to hurt Savannah. Not again. Not if I could stop her. And she wasn’t getting anywhere near Nicky. Not until Savannah decided it was time.
Savannah gave a grunt of acknowledgment. I could tell she didn’t believe me. I stopped her in the hall, wasting precious seconds outside Griffen’s office door.
“Savannah, look at me.”
She raised her gray eyes to mine, hers stark with fear.
“It’s going to be okay. Do you believe me?”
She swallowed and nodded. I dropped a quick kiss to her lips and pulled her into Griffen’s office, saying to the room, “I just want to make it clear before Lydia gets here that this woman is nuts, and she has it out for Savannah. She’s been demanding to see Nicky.” I looked at Savannah. “She wants custody, doesn’t she? That’s why she wanted to meet in Asheville that day.”
Savannah went stiff beside me, and her jerky nod told me I was right. Dammit. One of these days, she would figure out that she could trust me. She didn’t have to handle everything on her own. Especially not this woman who thought she could take Nicky away.
Hope and Griffen’s eyes shot wide. “Savannah,” Hope said. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Savannah shook her head, some of the color coming back to her face, her voice tight. “I was handling it,” she said. “I didn’t think she would get this bad.” She shot me a glance, but I couldn’t read it. “Finn is right. I think she’s a little unhinged. I know she has a grudge against me, but—”
“Don’t lie to these people,” came a strident, high-pitched voice from the doorway. “It’s not a grudge. You killed my son, and now you’re corrupting my grandson.”
We all turned to face the woman in the doorway. So, this was Lydia Harris. Short, plump, and impeccably groomed. Her hair looked like it wouldn’t move in the stiffest of breezes, and her eyes were narrowed in hate on Savannah. I wanted to shift, to block her view, to shove Savannah behind me, away from this bitter, angry, poisonous woman. I stayed where I was. Savannah wasn’t a child; despite her fear, she could handle this.
“Watch your tone,” Griffen said.
“And your volume,” Hope added, dropping her chin to indicate baby Stella.
Lydia ignored them both. “We don’t need an audience for this, Savannah. I want to see my grandson.”
Savannah drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before saying, “If you had any sense, Lydia, you’d know that it’s a Wednesday, and Nicky is at school.”
Lydia looked momentarily stymied. “I—I thought it was Christmas break already.”
“No,” Savannah said, “not yet. I believe my lawyer sent you a letter saying that you shouldn’t communicate with me directly. The courier said that you signed for the letter. Did you read it?”
That was my girl. Taking no shit, even from her mother-in-law. I rested my hand on her lower back in support, wishing I could transfer strength through that touch, wishing that I could shield her from this.
“I got the letter,” Lydia said. “But I didn’t read it. You think you can make me go away with a lawyer? I want my grandson. You stole my son. Now you’re trying to take Nicky, and you have no right. These people don’t know who you are. They don’t know what you did. You killed Oliver. Nicky isn’t safe with you.”
Savannah stood there, back straight, chin up, and stared down at Lydia. “I did not kill Oliver,” she said, enunciating each word slowly as if Lydia had a hearing problem. “If you want me to get out my file of evidence, I can. I gave it all to my lawyer after you said you were pursuing custody. Every email, every text message. My lawyer has an affidavit from Oliver’s rehab saying that I checked him in, and you checked him out early. Twice. I have the text messages from Oliver’s phone where you agree to get him more pills.”