I pulled in breath.


He gestured to the chair opposite his, asking, “Please, can you sit with me for awhile?”

I nodded and he waited until I was seated before he sat.

I looked at his plate and with years of experience my eyes moved from it to him and I asked, “Devil’s food with dark chocolate buttercream?”

His brows went up in surprise and he answered, “Why, yes.”

“Practice,” I explained.

He nodded then stated, “It was delicious,” I smiled my gratitude for the compliment then he queried, “Would you like me to buy you a cake and coffee?”

“Honey,” I said quietly, leaning in a little, “I own the joint. I don’t have to pay for the goods.”

“Every penny counts, Tess, and it would be my pleasure.”

I sat back thinking, God, Olivia was so totally dumb. First, she had Brock and killed that dead. Then she had Dade and did the same.

Complete idiot.

“That’s very nice but I’m good,” I told him and he nodded again.

Then he announced, “Although the subject matter I’ve come to discuss is unpleasant, my reason for coming to discuss it with you is not. I see you’re uncertain about our chat but I wish you to know that, before I leave, you’ll be happy I came.” He paused before he finished,

“I hope.”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t play poker,” I joked and he smiled.

“Definitely not.”

“Okay then, sock it to me,” I invited.

He sat back and rested a hand on the manila ensconced mystery items beside his plate. I looked down at them then up at him when he started talking.

“I’ve been in contact with my attorneys. They’re poised to file divorce papers and will be doing this next week. Once they’re filed, I’ll be giving Olivia two weeks to find alternate accommodation.”

Oh man. Time had run out. And although Brock’s lawyer was pushing Olivia as well as doing what he could do at the courthouse to get something done, and soon, about custody, as they do, the wheels were grinding slowly. Brock’s attorneys had learned that Olivia had just hired her own attorney two days ago and the first thing he did was pour cement on the proceedings. Fast-drying cement. Guardian ad litem cement. She wasn’t going to sit down and discuss it. She was going to drag it out as long as possible which figured since she was a bitch and didn’t give a shit about her kids. It also sucked just because she was a bitch and didn’t give a shit about her kids.

He continued, “I have a prenuptial agreement with Olivia. If we were to dissolve the marriage for anything other than infidelity, she would have walked away a very wealthy woman. Unfortunately, we will be dissolving the marriage due to a variety of reasons and one of those is infidelity. The clause in the prenuptial is that, if she were to be unfaithful to me, she would walk away with nothing and this, my attorneys assure me, is ironclad so this, my attorneys assure me, she will do.”

Well, good.

Kind of.

“Okay,” I said when Dade said no more.

He looked at me then he looked out the window then he looked at the manila folder and envelope under his hand then he sighed.

Then he looked back at me and said quietly, “I’ve known Joey and Rex now for nearly four years.”

My heart started beating harder.

“Yes?” I prompted.


“They’re good boys.”

“Yes,” I whispered, “they are.”

“After what happened here a few weeks ago and, I’ll say now, I’m sorry that happened to you and the boys. Although I heard it from her perspective I know what most likely happened and I’m certain it was unpleasant.”

“Unpleasant is one word you could use,” I told him, he gave me his solemn smile again and went on.

“Well, after that, she has been doing nothing but ranting about you, about Lucas, and she does not hide this from the boys.”

“I know,” I said, “they tell their Dad.”

And they did, or at least Joel did. That cell Olivia bought him was in overdrive. Brock had been fielding calls from an alternately anxious and fed up Joey since it happened.

Surprisingly, Brock was keeping cool about this but he really had no choice. Joel needed patience, understanding and a listening ear, not more intense emotion.

It was me who dealt with the sandpaper atmosphere after Brock hung up with his son. And my tactics were sometimes beer, sometimes bourbon and sometimes blowjobs.

All, luckily, worked a charm.

So far.

Dade nodded before he remarked, “I do not see good things for their immediate future.”

“You and me both,” I agreed.

“I do not want that for them.”

I held my breath and nodded.

He leaned forward and as he did, he slid the manila envelope and folder toward me. Then he leaned back, leaving it in front of me.

“My private investigator’s reports and photos,” he stated, I blinked and let out a heavy breath then sucked in a heavier one. “Copies, of course.”

“Dade,” I whispered.

“Also, I’ve made a sworn affidavit as to her behavior subsequent to our marriage, specifically her behavior around the boys and also the escalation of it once your relationship with Lucas became known to her. That’s what’s in the envelope.”

Oh my God.

“Dade,” I repeated on a whisper.

“She is not a fit mother for a variety of reasons and those documents explain them all. I’ll have my attorneys call Lucas’s attorneys to let them know, if the affidavit is not enough, I will stand as a witness should this go to trial.”

I said not a word, just stared at him.

“I believe, with what I’ve given you, there will be enough that this doesn’t see a courtroom. However, I will also be doing my utmost for Joey and Rex to try, if it does, to make this happen quickly. Joel, I can see, is learning to stand up for himself and his brother.

This is difficult to witness no matter how proud I am of him for doing it and I am proud and have found quiet moments to tell him so. But it’s difficult because Olivia is not taking kindly to it. That will likely continue and also escalate. Something must be done and I have…” he hesitated then said, “contacts. ”

When he said no more, I asked, “Contacts?”

“Friends,” he replied.

“Friends?” I was still not getting it.

“Friends, Tess, friends who wear robes and command gavels.”

Oh.

My.

God.


Dade kept speaking. “Once I leave here, I’ll be making calls.”

I felt tears fill my eyes and, yet again, I whispered, “Dade.”

“If Lucas provides this information to his attorneys and her attorneys do not see the wisdom of moving forward quickly to grant your boyfriend sole physical custody then I will see what I can do to get the ball rolling so this can be done quickly for Joey and Rex.”

I blinked away the tears in my eyes, momentarily speechless. Then that moment passed but, although no longer speechless, I still couldn’t find the right words.

“I don’t…” I shook my head and started again, “I don’t know what to say.”

“There is nothing to say, Tess. This business is distasteful for all concerned and there is no reason to drag it out for the innocents caught up in it and, as I’m sure you know, Olivia will do her best to drag it out. The others of us who genuinely care for those boys need to do what we can.” He leaned forward and said softly, “And I genuinely care for them so I’m doing what I can.”

Then he leaned back and held my eyes so I said the only thing I could say, “Free cake for life.”

Instantly, his face split into a smile that was not solemn and took ten years off his age. He was not difficult to look at normally but he was extremely handsome when he smiled.

So I told him so. “You have a very nice smile, Dade.”

“Thank you, Tess, and hopefully in the not too distant future, I’ll be doing it more often.”

I nodded. “I hope so too,” I said quietly. Then I said, “I’m sorry this is happening to you.”

His smile turned small again before he used my words to reply, “You and me both.”

Then I shared, “Evidence is suggesting that I may be in the boys’ lives for awhile and, if I am, I’d like for us to work together to find ways for you to stay in their lives too.”

The light died in his eyes but they got bright in another way, he swallowed, controlling his emotions and his smooth voice was rough when he said, “I would appreciate that, my dear.”

“I’ll talk to Brock,” I whispered, reaching out and grabbing his hand.

He turned it in mine and gave me a squeeze.

Then he let me go, started to stand and I went up with him.

“Take care of yourself, Tess,” he said and I moved toward him, put my hands on his shoulders and touched my cheek to his.

Leaving it there, in his ear I whispered, “You too, Dade. Anything you need, I’m here.”

His fingers curled around my upper arms, gave them a squeeze and I moved back. He again let me go, smiled his solemn smile and then walked out of the shop.

I snatched up the folder and envelope, hoofed it to my office (which was now Martha’s office, really) and found her on the computer.

“Can you give me two shakes?” I asked. “I need to talk to Brock. Private. Good news. I’ll fill you in in a sec but he gets the news first.”

She studied my face, nodded and didn’t delay in dashing out and closing the door behind her.

I pulled out my phone, called Brock and held it to my ear as I dumped my purse and the folder and envelope on my desk.

“Babe,” he answered as I opened the folder.

“I got a surprise visitor at the shop today,” I told him and didn’t make him wait. “Dade came by.”

“Shit,” he clipped.

“No,” I said quickly, turned over some papers and went mute at seeing a photo of Olivia doing it doggie style with a very muscled young man at least twenty years her junior and I also noted that repeated commentary from Brock was proved irrevocably correct through photo evidence. She was beautiful but she was bony.

Ick.


“Tess?” Brock called, his voice terse.

I slapped the folder closed and grunted, “Ugh.”

“Babe, what the fuck?”

“Um… wait a sec while my retinas recover from being seared.”

“Tess,” he growled.

Crap. Time to pull it together.

“Honey, Dade just gave me copies of his private investigator’s reports and photos as well as a sworn affidavit as to Olivia’s behavior after their marriage as it pertains to the boys. He’s going to be contacting your attorneys to tell them he will stand as a witness to her unsuitability to parent. And, if what I just saw does not set her attorneys scrambling to give you everything you want, he’s going to talk to some of his buds who ‘wear robes and command gavels’, his words, to see that this nightmare is sorted out sooner not later.”

Brock was silent.

Then he asked, “What did you just see?”

“Let’s just say what I saw means you aren’t getting one of your favorite positions for a long time because it might take eternity for the image of her getting boinked by what appeared to be a boy toy to heal considering it’s burned like acid on my brain.”

More silence then, “No shit?”

“Would I shit about that?” I asked then I answered before he could. “No.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” he muttered, sounding shocked but also pleased.

I sucked in breath.

Then I told him softly, “He cares a great deal about Joey and Rex.”

A pause and then, “Yeah. The boys think he’s the shit too.”

This was good.

“Do you want me to bring these to you at the Station or do you want me to drop them by your attorney’s office?” I offered.

“You got the time, take them to Smith. If you don’t, I’ll try to get away and take them myself.”

“I’ll carve out the time.”

Another pause then, “Thanks, sweetness.”

“My pleasure,” I said with feeling then asked, “Do you drink champagne?”

“If I have to,” he answered and I started laughing.

Through my laughter I told him, “Well, tonight, you have to. We have things to celebrate, baby.”

“Fuckin’ finally.”

“Yeah,” I whispered.

Then he commenced in rocking my world.

“You got a lot on your plate and on your mind but I hope to God what McManus gave you means there’s no time to waste. So, if my boys make a move it’s probably best for them that they make a permanent one, not one that leads to two. A buddy of mine in the unit just left his wife, moved in with his brother and sister-in-law. He’s not a big fan of his sister-in-law and only a slightly bigger fan of his brother. He’s lookin’ and he’d sublet from me. He left with nothin’ but suitcases so he’ll sublet furnished which’ll give us time to sort out two houses full of stuff. And it’s time we put this two house bullshit to rest, babe. It’s gonna happen eventually, it might as well happen now.”