Hollywood Ever After (Red Carpet 1)

“Who is Regina?” Nathan cut in.

“My lawyer,” I said. “Yes, I called her. She contacted Daniel’s office and they said he had been checking in remotely from the drill site he’s stationed on.”

“But how can that be? Since you’ve both seen him here,” she asked.

“She’s trying to verify his presence with the site manager, Marty. Without proof that he’s not where he’s supposed to be, Claire doesn’t have the legal grounds she needs to pursue things,” Josh said softly, rubbing my back with long, soothing strokes.

“Hasn’t he broken his probation by coming here?” my mother asked.

“Yes. And the restraining order, too.” I paused.

“The flowers were from him. He’s been doing his best to make this trip as miserable as possible for Claire. And scaring the shit out of her as well.” Josh squeezed my hand.

Marty looked back and forth between the two of us. “So what will you do, Claire?”

“I’ve asked Regina to look into how we go about suspending his parental rights. He needs help, that’s obvious. But I know he won’t look into getting it on his own.”

“I know I’m going to sound like a bastard for saying this, but you don’t need to help him get help. You need to take care of you and the children. Your safety is all that matters, Claire,” Josh said urgently.

“He’s right, Claire. I know it’s instinctual for you to try to make things better for the kids’ sake, but that’s not going to work this time.” My mother shook her head as she spoke, her face troubled.

“It sounds like he needs to be locked up. For some time.” Nathan regarded each of us. “Is he dangerous?”

My mother nodded. “Very.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’ve acquired the giants to look after everyone, Josh.” Nathan turned back to the sink. “Marty, do you know how to make proper Yorkshire pudding?”

My mother turned narrowed eyes on the man’s tall back. She stood and went to his side. “I know how to make delicious Yorkshire pudding, Nathan Wiley. Whether or not it’s proper.”

I stood, shaking my head at the two of them. “I need to wake up Will or he’ll never sleep tonight.”

Josh smiled up at me, looking mischievous as he said, “We can’t have that.”

“I’m hoping a long hike will wear him down. If you’d like to keep us company?”

He stood. “Might as well look for a dragon or two while we’re at it.” I laughed. “Marty, care to join us?” Josh asked.

“Go on, boy, Marty and I have a bit of cooking to do yet.” Nathan shot a smile at his son, winking.

I felt my eyebrows rise but didn’t say anything until we’d left the room. Then I turned to Josh. “Really? My mother and your father?” My tone was disbelieving.

He shrugged. “Da’s been alone for a long time. Marty’s a handful. I can understand his interest.”

I shook my head. “Really?”

We headed to the room I would share with Will. We opened the door to find him sitting up, playing his video game. “Hey, Mom. Hey, Josh. I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t.”

I sat on the side of the bed. “How about we go for a walk? It’s not raining right now.”

“Okay!” He jumped to the floor and bent, reaching under the bed for his boots. “This looks like a place for dragons.”

Josh nodded. “That’s just what I was telling your mum.”

We headed out a few minutes later, an umbrella under my arm. Angus followed at a safe distance, amazingly unobtrusive for someone his size. As we crested a sizable hill, we stopped to enjoy the view. A patchwork quilt of color greeted us, shades of yellow, cream, green, and red, all neatly manicured squares. Several small houses and farms broke up the pastoral vista, adding to the quaint sight.

“It’s like a painting,” I murmured, ignoring the slight drizzle that had begun.

“It’s like your quilt at home, Mom.”