Legend (Arizona Vengeance 3)

“I’m her mother,” she says imperiously.

“No, you’re not,” I reply. “You gave birth to her but then you abandoned her. You’re not her mother.”

Lida’s face flushes red and her lips flatten. She bares her teeth at me, “We’ll see about that. Where’s Legend?”

“Not here,” is all I’m willing to tell her.

“When will he be home?” she snaps.

“No clue.”

I can see this infuriates her, but she’s clearly no dummy and realizes she’s getting nowhere with me. Her face softens and her voice gentles to an almost supplicating whine. “I didn’t abandon her. I was suffering from severe postpartum depression. I wasn’t in my right mind.”

My heart produces a small thump of sympathy, but I hold strong. That won’t gain her access to Charlie on my watch. If Legend feels otherwise, so be it, but he’s not here to make that decision.

“Look,” I say kindly, hoping to diffuse what could become a volatile situation. “He’s not here and won’t be back until tonight. But I do understand the two of you need to talk. I think you should call him and set up a time. I’m sure you understand his schedule is incredibly hectic during the season.”

She regards me a moment and I have no clue what’s going on inside that brain of hers. She weighs my suggestion and the purse of her lips tells me she doesn’t like it. But the droop to her shoulders also tells me she’s accepted the fact that she’s not getting into that house right now.

“Fine,” she clips and pivots away. She takes the steps like a fashion model, clearly at home in such high heels. I watch as she walks down the driveway and to a blue economy car parked parallel on the street. As she starts to pull away, I text Legend. Not emergency but Lida was just here. I convinced her to leave.

I hit send, turn to knock on the door so Lucy will let me in, but Legend is already responding. I’m coming home. Please stay there.

Done, I reply.

Lucy must have been watching out the window because I hear the lock being turned and she swings the front door open to let me in. She’s got Charlie settled in the mamaRoo in the living room and she’s holding the largest butcher knife that Legend owns.

“You are awesome,” I tell her as I nod at the knife.

Lucy lets out a relieved sigh and her arm that was holding it relaxes. “That freaked me out.”

“What happened?” I ask as I come in and shut the door behind me, engaging the lock again.

“She knocked and I opened the door. Figured she was selling something. She asked for Legend first and when I told her he wasn’t here, she told me she was here to see her baby. I panicked. I just told her she had to leave and slammed the door in her face. That’s when I called you.”

“You did an amazing job, Lucy,” I tell her sincerely as I take the knife out of her hand. “Legend and Charlie are lucky to have you.”

She puts her hand on her chest and gives a nervous laugh. “I think I aged ten years.”

“It’s all good,” I reassure her, hoping my voice sounds more confident than I’m feeling on the inside. I walk into the kitchen to return the knife to the knife block on the counter. “Legend’s coming home now.”Chapter 17LegendIf I thought being a famous hockey player with lots of money would get me immediate access to my attorney, I’d be wrong.

He’s apparently in a deposition and I’ve been wearing the living room rug thin with my incessant pacing since I got home.

I’m lucky a cop didn’t pull me over because I was breaking sound barriers it seemed as I drove from the arena to the house. I had just put on some workout clothes after our film review when I got Pepper’s text.

While I was confident that Pepper had things in control, I couldn’t anticipate what Lida would do next. Would she return? What lengths would she go to so she could see her child?

I put an immediate call into my attorney, Jim Foppiano, but was told by his receptionist he was not available. I insisted she interrupt him. She advised me she could not as he was in a deposition. With acute frustration, I left my contact information and made her promise me she would stick it under his nose the minute he was done. She gave a surprised gasp when I told her I was Legend Bay so I’m pretty sure the message will be passed along.

Pepper is sitting on the couch in the living room, watching me carefully. I’d sent Lucy home half an hour ago, as there was no way I was going out again today. My protective instinct that’s rearing up right now dictates that I might not ever leave this house again unless Charlie can come with me.