A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Thirty Seven
Jeffrey softly plays with her hair, while they lay there. Several minutes pass with neither one talking. "You know, I think you're going to be very protective."
She looks up at him. "And you won't be protective."
"Of course, I'll be protective, especially if we have a little girl."
She leans up to kiss him. "I love you."
"I love you too."
She lays back down, laying her head on his chest like she was before. "Who was the guy that was with Olivia?"
"I don't know. She didn't have time to introduce him and I didn't ask Ava if she told her who he was."
"Do you think they're dating?"
"I have no idea."
"Maybe if she is, then she might begin to relax about you."
"You still think she wants me back."
"Yes, and I think she's wiling to do anything to get you back, including hurting either of us."
"You have nothing to worry about, I will always protect you."
"Who's going to protect you?"
"I can protect both of us." Jeffrey says, as they phone rings. He reaches for the phone, answering on the third ring. "Hello." Sam hears a muffled voice as Jeffrey asks. "Who is this?" "Okay, slow down Megan, she's right here." He says, handing the phone to her.
"Megan, what's wrong?" Sam asks, taking the phone.
"The boys came home this morning and we went to breakfast and when we came back, Patrick was here with the police. He sent the boys into the house and he's forcing me out." Megan says, but she's crying so hard Sam doesn't understand her."
"Megan, I can't understand you, take a deep breath and tell me again."
"I said, the boys came home this morning and we went to breakfast and when we came back, Patrick was here with the police. He sent the boys into the house and he's forcing me out of the house and he's refusing to let me see the boys."
Sam sits up. "He wouldn't do that."
"He is doing that. He had papers ordering me from the house with two bags waiting on the porch. He's filed for divorce and for full custody of the boys. He gave me the papers with court orders to keep me from seeing them until the hearing scheduled for next month."
"He can't court order you not to see your kids."
"He did. I have the papers right here. I can't see them and I can't go back to the house."
"Did he say why he was doing this?"
"He says that I've neglected him and the boys since I started classes. I forgot them one time, once. How many times has he forgotten something they were doing? I'm there every night and every morning. I make sure I'm here. They are fed and clothed. He wouldn't even let them come out of the house to say good-bye." Sam reaches up and brushes back her hair. Jeffrey can feel the tension flowing off her. "What do I do?"
"First, take another deep breath." Sam says, hearing the hysteria building in her voice. "Breathe with me, Meggie." She says softly, letting her hear her breathing through the phone. After a few seconds, Sam hears her breathing slowing down. "Where are you at?"
"I'm outside my shop."
"Do you have someplace to stay?"
"I don't know. I panicked when I left the house and I ended up here. I'm not even sure how I got here."
"It's going to be alright, take a deep breathe."
"I can go find a hotel because I can't stay at the shop."
"Okay."
"Where did you stay after the break in?"
"The Best Western."
"I'll go there."
"Do you have enough to cover the room?"
"I think so."
"If you need help, call me back."
"I will."
"Go get the room, take a long hot bath and try to relax."
"I don't know if I'll be able to relax and I definitely don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight. I've never stayed away from my boys, unless they spent…."
"I knew what you meant. Give it a few days and see if you can talk to him."
"His eyes were cold. There was nothing there."
"You will be okay."
"I don't know. I don't understand why he's doing this. And I don't understand what I did…."
"Baby, you didn't do anything. He's simply upset."
"Upset, he's trying to take my boys away from me because I went back to school." Megan says, as Sam smiles.
"Now that sounds like you."
"Sam that wasn't funny. He trying to take my boys."
"You're not scared anymore and you're ready to fight and that's where you need to be to realize you didn't anything to cause this."
"Thank you and you're right I didn't do anything but hold him to his word."
"Good, now go get the hotel room, take a hot bath and tomorrow morning call an attorney."
"Do you really think I need a lawyer?"
"Do you know what the next step is?"
"No."
"Then I think you need an attorney."
"I'll call around for one tomorrow."
"Good, call and tell me what they say."
"I will. Thank you for calming me down."
"You're welcome and remember you didn't do anything to cause this."
"I will, I love you."
"I love you too, go get the room, take a hot bath and relax."
"I will."
Sam hangs up and then turns to Jeffrey. "What happened?"
"Patrick was at the house when they got back from eating breakfast. He was there with the police. He sent the boys into the house. He had two bags packed for her, along with divorce and custody papers. He also had a court order baring her from seeing the boys until the hearing scheduled for next month." Sam says, dialing the phone.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm calling him."
"Sam, I'm not sure…." He says, as she holds up her hand.
The phone rings twice before a woman answers the phone. "Hello."
"Yes, is Patrick there?"
"Maybe, who's this?"
"Someone that needs to talk to him, so who's this and is he there?"
"Why are you calling my man?"
"You're man, honey he's married, so let me talk to him."
"This isn't his wife, so who is this?"
"And how do you know this isn't his wife." Sam asks, as Patrick walks into the room and Sam hears him ask the woman about who's on the phone? "I can hear him, so let me talk to him."
"This ain't your house, so don't be telling me what to do."
"It ain't your house either, so let me talk to him, now." Sam says, as Patrick takes the phone from the woman, thinking it's Megan on the other line.
"Hello, Megan…."
"This isn't Megan." Sam says, getting out of the bed while Jeffrey watches.
"Sam, why are you calling? Did she go running…?"
"What the hell are you doing Patrick Wayne?"
"This is none of your business."
"None of my business, that's my family you're f****** with, that makes it my business." Sam says, as Jeffrey gets out of bed.
"Megan, did this to herself?"
"Megan didn't do anything but hold you to the promises you made her, and she waited an extra two years to do it. So who's the woman, Patrick? Because I know, I know you are not stupid enough to kick my cousin out like yesterday's trash and move someone woman into her house, with her boys. I know you're not that stupid."
"Her place is at home with my children. Not running around town like she's some eighteen year old co-ed."
"And how many times has she not been there?"
"I don't have to justify this to you. Please do not call here again or I will have a restraining order placed against you." Patrick says, before hanging up.
Sam stands there a few seconds before she realizes that he's gone. Jeffrey sees her raise her hand and he's there before she can throw the phone. "Okay, calm down." He says, pulling the phone out of her hand as she starts to raise her arm again.
"That son of a *****, give me the phone."
"No, you need to calm down." Jeffrey says, putting the phone out of her reach. "Take a deep breath."
"I don't want to calm down. He's gone after my family." Sam says, pacing back and forth, clenching and unclenching her hands.
"What are you going to do? Call him back and harass him until he files a restraining order on you."
"Yes."
"Sam, come on, calm down." Jeffrey says, watching her and knowing what she's about to do. "Don't even think about punching something. I'm not going to let you hurt yourself. I've never seen you this angry."
"He's hurting…." Sam stops pacing and looks at him before she starts to cry and he pulls her to him.
"Shhh, Beca." He says, wrapping his arms around her and she clings to him. Bending over, he picks her up. Carrying her over to the chair by the window, he sits down, holding her while she cries. "It's going to be okay." He whispers after awhile.
"I know." She says, hiccupping softly as she sniffs. "I don't know why I'm crying so hard. But we've always been together and we've always had each others backs." She says, sitting up. "And…." She reaches up to wipe her eyes when she starts to cry again.
"And you're not there for her now." He says, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear.
"Well, there's that but I never thought this would happened to them. And I'm like Megan I don't understand why he's doing this to her." She says, wiping her eyes again.
"What happened when you called?"
"A woman picked up, and if he hadn't've taken the phone from her I doubt that she would have let him talk to me."
"Did you recognize her voice?"
"No. I have no idea who she is."
"But you think he's sleeping with her."
"I find it very suspicious that he kicks Megan out of the house, refuses to let her see the boys and there's a strange woman there not even a day later. She's comfortable enough there to answer the phone. And besides that she called her man."
"You think he's cheating on her."
"It's the most logical explanation." She says, tearing up again.
He reaches for her and she lays against him. "If you want to go back out there. You can do that."
She leans back. "You would let me do that?"
"Yes, if you need too. I want you to be happy, so if you need to go to her then we can book you a flight."
"I might want to go to the hearing, but I can't go right now. Cassie's wedding is coming up and I can't miss that for her."
"Okay."
"Thank you for offering to let me go."
"You're welcome. William and Ava may be over here soon, so maybe we should get dressed."
"Okay." She says, leaning in to kiss him. When she sits back she says. "I love you."
"I love you too." He helps her up and then gets up himself. "I'm going to go take a shower."
"Okay." He watches her walk over to the dresser. She picks up her robe and then leaves the room. He reaches for the phone, dialing Noah's number.
"Hello, Noah Chase."
"Noah, it's Jeffrey."
"Hi, how was the honeymoon?"
"Wonderful, listen I need you do a favor for me."
"Alright."
"I need you to have a couple agents follow someone."
"Okay. Who's the target?"
"His name is Patrick Wesley. He's the husband to Sam's cousin Megan. They live at 21933 Sycamore Dr. in Reston."
"Okay, can I ask why?"
"I want to know what he's up to. He's doing some things that are upsetting Sam and I want to know what's going on."
"I'll put a couple of agents on him. Should I call you at home when we have some information?"
"No, call me on my cell."
"I'll be in touch when we find something."
"Thank you, Noah. One more thing, did you ever get the reports back on Olivia?"
"Yes, there was nothing unusual there. I can send you the report."
"Okay, send to the office."
"I'll send it out tomorrow."
"Thank you again."
"You're welcome." Noah replies, hanging up a few seconds later.
Jeffrey goes to the closet to get his clothes as Sam is getting out of the shower.
Richard is finishing up in the barn when he hears a car pull up. Walking over to the door, he sees a man get out of his car. The man looks around until he spots Richard standing in the door and he walks towards him. "Can I help you?" Richard asks when he's closed enough.
"I'm looking for my sister Cassie Winslow."
"Who are you?"
"I'm sorry. My name is James Rockford Marshall." JR says, holding out his hand.
"Richard shakes his hand as he says. "I'm Richard, Cassie's husband."
"It's an honor to meet you, Your highness."
"I'm not a Prince anymore, so it's just Richard. Cassie is in the house with her sister."
"Sarah is here?" JR says, looking at the house.
"Sarah, no, her sister Reva."
"Oh okay." JR says, obviously relaxing.
"Is something wrong?" Richard asks, watching him.
"I need to talk her. Is she busy?"
"I don't know. We can go inside. Can you tell me what is going on?"
"I would like to tell her first, if you don't mind."
"Follow me." Richard says, walking towards the house with JR following him.
Richard opens the door. Stepping back, he holds the door for him. Closing the door behind them as JR walks into the kitchen and Richard follows him. Richard walks into the living room. "Cassie." He calls.
"We're in the study." She calls, turning back to Reva
They walk back to the study. Walking in, he finds her and Reva gathered around his computer. "What are you doing?"
"Looking at…." She looks up and sees JR, standing behind Richard. "We're looking at some baby stuff for Sam and Jeffrey and Ava and William." She says, closing the window. "I'm surprised to see you." She says, looking at JR.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to talk to you." JR Says, looking at Reva.
"This is my sister Reva. Reva, this is JR, my brother."
"Hello." JR says, holding out his hand.
"Hi." Reva replies, shaking his hand.
"How did you find out where I live?"
"I asked James and he told me."
"Oh, I didn't realize that he knew where I lived. Is there a problem?"
"I wanted to talk to you about Sarah." JR says, looking at Richard and Reva.
"Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of them."
"I'm concerned about the way she is reacting to you being apart of the family."
"Why?" Richard asks.
"Sarah doesn't adjust to change easily and she's had our father solely to herself for several years now."
"What about you?" Reva asks.
"I spend most of my time traveling, so I am rarely in London and she can pretend that she's our father only child."
"And now you're saying she can't." Richard says.
"That's right."
"We're not moving to London." Cassie says.
"Maybe not, but my father is about to retire and turn the business completely over to me, probably after we finish the Beacon deal. That will leave him a lot of time to travel and I suspect that he will be here several times a year, now that he's found you. Sarah is going to believe he's abandoned her."
"And how do you know he's gong to be here a lot?" Cassie asks.
"Because I spoke to him before I came to see you."
"Why do you think Sarah is going to make trouble?" Richard asks.
"A couple days ago, I was on the docks in London and I happened to see Sarah leaving a tavern with a known private investigator. He works some times for the Daily Sun. I have since found out that she left immediately after that meeting, for here."
"Maybe James sent for her." Richard says.
"No, he was surprised when she showed up at the Beacon."
"I also overheard her talking to someone about Cassie and the comments she made when I asked her about it were not flattering for either of you." JR says, looking at Richard and Cassie. "And with the comments she made when we were at the Beacon." JR says, looking back at Cassie.
"I know." She says, nodding.
"What did she say?" Richard asks, looking at her.
"She made the comment that I must not be worried about getting into my wedding dress after I ordered the other day."
"You have to eat more…." Richard says.
"I know." Cassie says, looking at Richard.
"Maybe she won't do anything. Maybe you should try to reach out to her." Reva says.
"It's a good thought, but it won't matter. When Sarah gets something in her head, no one can change it." JR says. "And I don't want to see you hurt. From what I understand, you've been hurt enough and this situation with our father was not your doing. And I know a little bit of your history together and it hasn't been easy for you." He says, looking at Richard and Cassie.
"Thank you, I appreciate that." Cassie says, getting up and hugging him.
"You're my sister and you maybe older but I'm still your brother and I will protect you."
"Thank you."
"I'm going to go, but please watch out for her."
"I will and I already realized that she was someone I needed to watch."
"Good, I will see you later. It was a pleasure meeting you." JR says, looking at Richard and Reva.
"It was a pleasure meeting you." They reply.
James leaves as Cassie goes back to the computer. "Cassie." Richard says.
"I already knew she was an issue I was going to have to deal with."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I didn't want to upset you and there really wasn't anything to tell. She wasn't completely nasty yesterday. She just made a comment."
"You have every reason to gain weight right now. And when you do I'll still think you're most beautiful woman in the world." He says, going over to her.
"Thank you, but I'm not worried about my weight. At this point I'll still fit into my wedding dress, so it doesn't matter."
"You didn't want to tell him about the baby."
"No, I didn't."
"Listen, you guys. I'm going to go. The boys should be back by now and ready to eat whatever they've caught."
"You don't have to leave." Cassie says, looking at Reva.
"I think I do, it seems like you guys need to talk." She says, getting up. Cassie stands up and they hug before she turns to Richard and hugs him. "I'll see you later."
"Thanks, for coming by." Cassie says.
"Take care." Reva says, walking out of the room.
Richard turns back to her. "Are you hungry?" Cassie asks, walking towards the door.
"Cassie." He says, reaching for her. "You didn't want to tell him about the baby, why?" She looks away and he turns her face back to his.
"I don't know." She says, looking up at him. "I feel like it's not right to tell them yet. Maybe I'm afraid of how they'll react and I want it to be just you and me."
"You told Reva and the rest of the family."
"I know. But I knew Reva and the rest of the family would be happy. I'm not sure how they are going to react."
"I will support you, but after meeting James and JR, I think they'll be happy for you. Can you show me what you and Reva were looking at?"
She sits back down and opens the window. "We were looking at nursery pieces. I was thinking of taking Tammy's room and turning it into a nursery. It's closest to our room." Cassie says, looking at him.
He leans down and kisses her. "If you want to make Tammy's room the nursery that's fine with me."
"She will always be my little girl but she's gone and I think she would be happy for us."
"I know she would be happy for us and I think she would have been the first to volunteer to baby sit." Richard says, as Cassie smiles.
"I think you're right. And maybe she would've been pregnant herself by now."
"If my son is anything like me. She probably would have been." Richard says, looking very male.
"You're such a man." She says, leaning up and kissing him.
"You happen to like that feature." He replies, deepening the kiss.
"Umm, yes I do." Cassie says, wrapping her arm around his neck as the screen door slams.
"Mom." RJ calls.
Richard pulls back, and looks down. Seeing the desire in her eyes, leaning down he kisses her softly as he whispers. "We'll finish this tonight."
"I'll hold you to that, your highness." Cassie says and RJ calls again. "We're in the study."
He walks in a few moments later. "I'm hungry." He says.
"Okay, where is your brother?"
"He's still outside. He said he wasn't hungry."
"Go tell him to come inside and I'll fix you both something to eat." Cassie says, getting up as Richard moves back.
"Yes ma'am." RJ says, turning to leave as Richard steps back.
A few minutes later, RJ and Will come in. Cassie is in the kitchen. "You boys go get cleaned up." She says.
"Yes ma'am." They reply, walking into the living room
Cassie finishes making the chicken salad and puts it on the table along with fruit and fresh veggies. She gets a glass of milk for RJ and Will as Richard walks in.
"What were you doing back there?"
"Just taking care of some business." He says, putting his arm around her.
"You're not going to tell me, are you?" She says, looking up at him.
"You'll find out soon enough. What are we having?"
"I made some chicken salad, fruit and veggies. Did you get the barn ready?"
"Yes, it's finished and ready to go."
"Good, maybe you should take the rest of the day and relax."
"We could take the boys and go for a ride."
"That sounds good." Richard says, as the boys come in.
"Did you wash your hands?" Cassie asks, putting their milk on the table.
"Yes ma'am." They reply, showing her their hands, both sides.
"Good, then sit down and we'll eat." She say, carrying the veggies to the table while Richard gets them something to drink.