Chapter Fifteen
BOTH HIS GIRLS WERE sleeping. Ari looked so small tucked up in their bed, with Pru curled around her. But she was safe. That was the important thing.
Flynn slipped out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. The volunteers had been fed and sent home. Someone else had dealt with their two guests, who’d refused to allow their rooms to be comped. Xander was down at the Sheriff’s Department, doing whatever it was he did at the end of a search. It was down to family in the house, and that meant it was time for him to face the music.
Pru’s sisters were gathered in the family room. They looked up as he strode in.
“They’re sleeping, finally.” He dropped heavily into a chair himself, as the past twenty-four hours caught up with him.
“You look like you ought to be sleeping, too,” Kennedy observed.
“Probably. But there are things to discuss, and I’d as soon do it without Pru. She’s been through enough.”
Athena poured him two fingers of whiskey from the bottle on the table and walked it over to him. “You’re probably gonna need this.”
“Thanks.” It was barely past noon, but Flynn knocked it back, relishing the way it burned through his exhaustion. Maybe, if he were lucky, it would dull the edge of his guilt.
“Is someone finally going to tell me what’s going on?” Maggie demanded.
Flynn had no idea what she’d been told before she flew out, but he didn’t see the sense in delaying the inevitable. “Ari ran away because she overheard her social worker telling us yesterday that she’s seeking an injunction to have her removed from the home.”
“What? Why? What possible justification could they have for that? Pru has been her constant since Mom died. Before that, even.”
“Because we got caught in a lie.”
“About what? Do you have some hideous skeleton in your closet that she uncovered during her background check?”
“No. Not like you’re thinking.” He eyed the bottle of whiskey and wished for more as fortification for this conversation. “Pru and I didn’t meet two years ago in Ireland. We met when I came here for Kennedy’s wedding.”
Maggie narrowed her eyes. “Why would you lie about that?”
“We were having an affair. Pru’s choice. And Ari’s new social worker caught us in a position that made our intimate involvement obvious. I knew it would look awful for her to be sleeping with a guest, so I lied and said I was her fiancé. And as an engagement after less than a week didn’t make her look any better, we came up with a different, more plausible backstory.”
“So, all of this the past two months has been one big cover up?”
“Yes. And no. I love your sister, and I love Ari. The only thing we lied about is when it started.”
“This is…I don’t even know what this is.” Maggie looked at her sisters. “You knew?”
“I had to sell the cover story,” Kennedy said.
“Logan told me they were engaged. I came to get to the bottom of it,” Athena said.
“So, I was the only one who didn’t know the truth?” The frost in her tone made it clear enough how she felt about that.
“That was my idea,” Athena admitted. “None of us were nuts about the deception, but you’d have flipped out worse.”
“You’re goddamned right I would. And with good reason. How could you endanger Ari like that? How could you not know you’d get caught? What the hell was Pru thinking?”
“That in a lifetime of doing things for everyone else, she’d spend five minutes doing something for herself.”
“And look where that got her.”
Temper flashed through him, hot and bright as a wildfire. Flynn didn’t move, but when he spoke, his voice was iron. “You won’t say one word to make her feel more guilt than she already does. She’s just been through absolute hell the past twenty-four hours, and there’s fresh hell to come because some arrogant, by-the-book woman cares more for her rules than what’s in the best interest of that child. You’re angry, and justifiably so, but take it out on me. She’s been through enough.”
He could see a matching flare of temper in Maggie’s eyes before she banked it. “I’m not out to berate her. I’m just trying to understand.”
How could they not see her as he did?
“All her life, she’s been the one you could all count on. Anticipating your needs, cleaning up your messes, being your rock. You’re all so used to it, you don’t even think about it or consider that she might need or appreciate someone doing the same for her.” He’d done that for her. He’d given her the foundation she hadn’t even known she’d needed. And it had been one of the most fulfilling things he’d ever done. “She’s the most selfless woman I’ve ever met, and she needs all of you. She’ll need you more before all of this is over.”
Kennedy frowned. “What are you getting at, Flynn?”
“This is my fault. All of it. And I intend to make that clear to the judge.”
“Clear how?” Athena asked.
He gave in to the urge and leaned over to pour himself more whiskey. What did it matter if they judged him now? “I’m going to tell him the truth. I am, apparently, the problem, so if the judge deems it necessary, if he’ll let Ari stay with Pru, I’ll go.” The mere thought was a knife to his gut. To leave the home he’d found here, leave the woman he loved, the child he adored. But what other choice did he have? What other means did he have left to fix what he’d broken?
“You’d walk away from her?” Maggie asked.
Flynn’s hand fisted so tight around the glass, he thought it would break. “If I have to.”
“She loves you,” Kennedy murmured.
“And I love her. But she can eventually get over me. She’ll never get over the loss of that child. And there is nowhere on earth better for Ari than with Pru. She’s more important than I am. It’s what she needs. So, if the judge will agree, I’ll do it.”
He took the shot, but it didn’t give him the numbness he wanted. It did nothing to dull the ache around his heart. He had a feeling after this was over, nothing ever would.
~*~
Because of the very public nature of Ari’s disappearing act, Lydia Coogan was able to get an audience with the judge within twenty-four hours of her return. It was only through the fast-talking of Robert Barth that Pru and any of the family were present for the occasion to present their side. It wasn’t enough time for Robert to work up any kind of a solid defense. They’d barely had time to fill him in on what was actually happening before making the collective pilgrimage to the courthouse, where they were nearly late for lack of parking.
“All rise for the Honorable Jefferson Moseley.”
As she got to her feet, arm tight around Ari, Pru felt the first glimmer of hope. Judge Moseley had been on the bench since God was a boy. He himself had presided over her own adoption and that of all her sisters. He knew their family. That had to count for something.
But Judge Moseley wasn’t looking friendly as he emerged from chambers and took the bench. His black hair had gone gray since Pru had last seen him. It stood out now in stark relief against his mahogany skin. His thick, salt and pepper brows drew down in a scowl over dark, serious eyes, and his mouth was a thin line of disapproval as he surveyed their group.
“Be seated.”
Ari leaned over and whispered. “He’s scary looking.”
“Shhh,” Pru murmured, giving her a squeeze.
Judge Moseley opened the file he’d carried in, presumably the complaint issued by Lydia Coogan. He read over it in silence before looking up at Pru and her sisters. “Well, this is certainly not what I’d expected to see you in my courtroom for.”
Pru resisted the urge to duck her head in shame.
“I was sorry to hear about your mother.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He shifted his attention to the social worker, who sat at the opposite counsel’s table on her own. “Miss Coogan, you’re new to DHS in this region, are you not?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’ve taken on much of the caseload of Mae Bradley, while she’s been out recovering from back surgery.”
“That is correct, sir.”
“Tell me why, exactly, you have dragged us all here today.”
“As I explained in my report—”
“I’m not interested in reading your full report just now, Miss Coogan. I would like a succinct explanation why you are seeking an injunction to have the minor child, Ariana Rosas, removed from the care of Pru Reynolds and her fiancé Flynn Bohannon.”
Annoyance rippled across the woman’s features before she pulled herself together. “Quite simply, your honor, because they lied.”
“About what, exactly?”
“The nature of their relationship. They did not meet two years ago, as indicated by Mr. Bohannon’s exception to policy paperwork.”
Judge Moseley looked back to their table. “Is this true?”
“Yes, your honor.”
“If they lied on official paperwork, what else are they hiding? Add to that, the child ran away two days ago—”
“Because you were going to take me away!” Ari shouted. “I heard you.”
Judge Moseley looked at Ari and his expression softened a fraction. “You heard her?”
Ari hunched back against Pru. “I was eavesdropping. Sir. She said she was going to take me away from Pru and Flynn for no good reason.”
“I have a reason,” Lydia interrupted.
“Miss Coogan, it is not your turn to speak.”
The woman sat back as if she’d been slapped.
“Ari, go ahead. Why did hearing that make you run?”
“Because I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to go anywhere with her. She’s not like Mae. She’s not nice, and she’s more concerned with the rules than what’s actually best for people. I was going to hide at Logan’s until everything got straightened out.”
“And who is Logan?” Judge Moseley asked.
“Logan Maxwell, your honor. A close family friend,” Pru explained. “He has a farm about ten miles from our house.”
“Ten miles? Holy crap, is it really that far?” Ari asked. “No wonder I didn’t make it.”
“I believe it’s safe to say, your honor, that Ari wants to stay with Pru,” Robert said.
“Duh,” Ari answered.
Pru gave her hand a warning squeeze.
“The law is not about what people want but about what’s right,” Lydia said.
“Miss Coogan, you will not tell me in my own courtroom about what the law is or is not.”
Flynn stood up. “Your honor, if I may have permission to speak? I’d like to address the allegations Miss Coogan has leveled against us.”
“Granted.” The judge leaned back in his seat and waited.
“I arrived in Eden’s Ridge the last week of June, just a few days before Kennedy’s wedding. That was the first time I met Pru. We were attracted to each other, and after the wedding, I opted to extend my stay to pursue that attraction.”
Pru appreciated him leaving out the part where she’d propositioned him.
“When Miss Coogan became aware of the intimate nature of our relationship, I’m the one who lied in an effort to protect Pru. I’m not from here. I didn’t know anything about how your foster system worked. But I wasn’t willing for her involvement with me to in any way endanger her adoption of Ari. It was my lie. And I’m the one who convinced her and Ari and Kennedy, who I have known for years, to go along with it. I changed all my plans, and I stayed to make sure that everything happened as it should. And I fell in love with her. I fell in love with them both. I don’t know at what point the lie became real, but it did.”
Flynn turned to look at her, and Pru could swear there was apology in his eyes as he said, “I love this woman. It may not have been for as long as we claimed, but that doesn’t make it any less real.”
Pru smiled at him, so relieved to have him on her side, this whole ordeal seemed just a little less scary.
He turned back to the judge. “Don’t judge Pru’s fitness as a parent based on her behavior since I came into her life. She is an amazing mother, and Ari shouldn’t be anywhere else. I’m the problem in all of this. I’m the reason we’re standing here. I’m the reason Miss Coogan wants to take Ari away.” He paused, his throat working, before he squared his shoulders and looked at Judge Moseley. “So take me out of the equation. Let Ari stay with her mother, and I’ll go.”
There was a sound like a dying animal. A short, sharp cry of pain. Pru didn’t realize it had come from her until everybody turned to look at her. But she could only stare at Flynn.
He was going to leave her. After everything they’d been through, he was going to leave. She’d be alone. Again. The shock of it was a stunning agony that left her breathless.
“No.” The word came out barely above a whisper.
But Flynn heard it. He took a step toward her, his face twisted with regret. “Mo chroí—”
Ari exploded up from her seat. “Why are adults so stupid?”
Horrified, Pru reached for her, but the girl jerked away.
“The rules are stupid!” Her shout echoed through the courtroom, all her teenage outrage spilling out in a torrent. “Flynn loves Pru. Period. End of story. Why should it matter when or for how long or why? The three of us are better together, and only a total moron would think otherwise.”
It was all too much. Pru’s world was positively crumbling around her. Flynn had just stabbed her through the heart, and her child was pitching a hissy fit in front of the man who would be deciding her fate. Somehow, she kept her voice even. “Honey, we don’t call people stupid or morons.”
She stamped her foot, flinging her arms out to encompass the entire assembly of adults in the room. “But they are, Mom!”
Robert cleared his throat in a way that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “Uh, your honor, I beg the court’s indulgence to present some additional evidence as to the verisimilitude of the relationship between Miss Reynolds and Mr. Bohannon.”
“What evidence?” Lydia Coogan demanded. She might have said more, but a sharp glance from Judge Moseley shut her up.
“Counselor, approach the bench please.”
Robert moved to the front of the courtroom and spoke to the judge in a low voice. Pru kept her eyes on him. She didn’t dare look at Flynn again. Not after that whole speech. She’d break, and she didn’t have that luxury.
“Very well, you may proceed.”
With what? Pru wondered.
Robert strode to the back of the courtroom and opened the doors. “Come on in.”
People poured into the courtroom—Abbey, Logan, Porter, Ford McIntosh, Crystal, Reverend Hodgeson, Denver, Cayla, Clyde Parker, Kacy and her parents. They kept on coming, until it seemed half the population of Eden’s Ridge filled the rows of seats.
Pru leaned back to whisper to Kennedy, “What are they all doing here?”
“I called them.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew he was going to do this, and I wanted you both to have a fighting chance.”
One after another, Robert called people up and asked them questions about Flynn, about their impressions of him, his involvement with the community since he came to Eden’s Ridge, and about his relationship with Pru. One after another, they supported Pru and Flynn, as a couple and as prospective parents. With each testimony, Lydia Coogan’s face flushed further.
When everyone was through, Robert faced the judge. “I believe evidence indicates the legitimacy of the relationship and the type of parents Miss Reynolds and Mr. Bohannon actually are.”
Judge Moseley looked at Flynn. “Mr. Bohannon, you claim to love this woman.”
“With all my heart, sir.”
“Do you actually want to leave her?”
Flynn turned his gaze on Pru and she felt the punch of it down to her marrow. “No. I’d sooner have my fiddle hand broken.”
“And do you actually want to walk away from this child?”
“Absolutely not, your honor.”
The judge looked to the disgruntled social worker. “Your issue with this is?”
“They lied,” she repeated, as if that outweighed everything else.
“About the length of their relationship. Were the intimacies of that relationship conducted in front of the child?”
“No! Of course not,” Pru said.
“Then the child is endangered by this how, exactly?” Judge Moseley asked. “Because from where I’m sitting, I see a man who has turned his life upside down for love of them both. I hardly think that’s a poor environment to raise a child in.”
“What kind of a person gets engaged after a matter of days?” Lydia demanded. “How is that proof of a solid relationship?”
“I met and married my wife in a month, Miss Coogan,” Judge Moseley said. “We just celebrated our fortieth anniversary. Sometimes, you just know.”
The woman began to sputter. “But…the rules. They exist for a reason.”
Judge Moseley looked at Ari and winked. “Sometimes the rules are stupid. Injunction denied.”
The slamming of his gavel was the best sound Pru had ever heard.
Everybody in the courtroom cheered. Ari leapt up and threw her arms around Kennedy.
Flynn closed the distance between them and pulled her into a tight embrace. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I made you cry.” He wiped away her tears. “But it’s over. We won.”
“You were going to leave.” The truth of that, even now, had her wanting to crumble.
Regret streaked over his face. “It would have killed me. But I didn’t see another choice.” He stroked her cheek. “Forgive me?”
“Partners,” she reminded him, taking a fistful of his shirt and giving him a shake. “That was the deal we made. That means no more self-sacrificing decisions that don’t include me.”
“Never again,” he promised.
As pressed his lips to hers, Pru felt her world shift back to its proper axis.
“Thankfully some of us were a little less extreme in our planning,” Kennedy said, arm hooked around Ari’s shoulders.
Head resting against Flynn’s chest, Pru smiled at her sister. “Thank you.”
Athena and Maggie clustered around them, each adding an arm to the family chain.
“I’d say a celebration is in order,” Maggie said.
“What’s an appropriate celebration for aversion of epic disaster combined with an engagement? Athena asked.
“I’d say Ari gets to pick,” Xander added, coming to stand behind his wife.
“There is only one right answer to this question,” Ari said, meeting Flynn’s gaze. Grinning at each other, they shouted, “Pizza!”