A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Eighty One
Jeffrey stops at the Beacon to talk to Olivia but she has already left the hotel. He wants to go on to the office but he knew that he should find her and explain what happened with Ava. Getting back in his car, he heads for Company. Walking in, he looks around but doesn't see her. He goes over to the bar and sits down as Buzz comes up to him. "How are you?" He asks, pouring him a cup of coffee.
"I suppose I'm doing okay." Jeffrey says, taking a sip of coffee.
"I read the article about Olivia, in the paper. Is it true, she…?"
"Yes, it's true. She planned to have me kidnapped and then frame Sam for it." Jeffrey says, while Buzz watches him.
"The article said she worked out a deal with the DA?"
"She did, at my request. Chris offered her a deal and she accepted. She was sentenced to twenty five years, but it was suspended and she has to leave the state."
"Is that why Ava left town?" Buzz asks, as Jeffrey looks up.
"She stopped by here and told me that she would be gone for few days yesterday afternoon. She had Emma with her."
"She's gone to San Cristobel."
"Is she down there for the election? Because CNN was saying that the election should be sometime in the next couple days."
"I'm sure she's down there for William on some level but that's not the full reason she's down there. She took Emma down there to keep her away from Olivia, and I'm afraid that she's not coming back until Olivia's left town." Jeffrey says, as Olivia walks up to them.
"What do you mean she's not coming back until I leave town?" She asks, as Jeffrey turns around, sighing when he sees her.
"I spoke with her this morning, like we planned."
"And?"
"She's in San Cristobel with Emma until you leave town."
"You were supposed to convince her to come back, what happened?"
"I tried, but she's like her mother, she stubborn and she's like her father when she believes she's right. She's not going to come back simply because we ask her."
"Emma is my daughter."
"And Ava feels she has a valid reason for keeping Emma from you. You have to see that she has a valid point Olivia." Jeffrey says, as the judge from Olivia's case walks into Company.
He stops for a moment before he walks over to them. "Mr. Mayor, Ms. Spencer." He says, looking at them.
"Your Honor." Olivia says, looking surprised to see him.
"Ms. Spencer, I believe this is in violation of the deal you made." Olivia opens her mouth to say something but the judge doesn't allow her. "You were given a break, Ms. Spencer. What part of the order to stay away from Mr. O'Neill did you not understand?" He asks, but doesn't allow her to answer. "It seems as though you believe that you will be given special treatment continuously. Is this so?"
"No sir, not at all. We were discussing…."
"I don't care what you were discussing. You were expressly told to have no contact with him. Were you not?"
Before she can answer, Jeffrey spoke up. "Your honor, I was looking for Ms. Spencer. We have a situation with our daughters that I needed to speak to her about."
"Still she was told…."
"I realize what she was told Sir. We were discussing the fact that our daughter Ava has left the country with her sister Emma. I was advising Ms. Spencer that I spoke with our daughter this morning and she advised me that she would not be returning with Emma until after Olivia left the state. Ms. Spencer, in no way sought me out or threatened me while we were talking."
"She was still ordered to have no contact with you as such I find it…."
"Sir, could I speak to you privately for a moment?" Jeffrey says, standing up.
The judge steps back and Jeffrey walks towards the back of the restaurant. When they are far enough away, Jeffrey turns to the judge. "I appreciate that I was the one that asked for the DA to make a deal with Ms. Spencer. I intervened in her case because of her daughters. One of which I am the father of as I'm sure you know. And because of this, there can't be a total break between me and Ms. Spencer."
"I am perfectly aware that you have a daughter with Ms. Spencer. However, could you not contact Ms. Spencer through her attorney and your former partner, Mrs. Bauer?"
"This situation only came up late last evening. Our daughter Ava has taken Emma, her sister, out of the country and we…."
"Has this child been kidnapped?"
"No, Olivia signed over custody of Emma to Ava before she turned herself in. So she was within her rights as Emma's legal guardian to take her out of the country."
"If she was within her rights, why are you and Ms. Spencer meeting."
"Ava took Emma to protect her."
"She's afraid that the child is in danger."
"Let's just say she's concerned." Jeffrey says, guessing that the judge might think Olivia wasn't capable of caring for Emma and order her permanently removed from Olivia's custody. "Those concerns were what we were discussing when you walked up. Olivia did not come looking for me. She hasn't threatened me or Sam. She's abiding by the deal she made. So I see no reason to have her arrested because of this."
"She was ordered to stay away from you. How can you say she's abiding by the deal she made?"
"Sir, we have a daughter so we can't completely cut ties. I haven't seen Olivia in private and she hasn't sought me out. We have witnesses to attest to that."
The judge glances at Olivia and then back to Jeffrey. "Alright, I suppose this is a valid reason for you and Ms. Spencer to have contact. As long as there will be no private meetings and the only contact you have pertains to your daughters."
"It's the only contact we'll have." Jeffrey says, as the judge glances once more at Olivia before nodding and leaving as Jeffrey walks back to the bar.
"Is he…? Am I…?" Olivia asks, as she looks at him.
"No, he's not going to have you arrested. But we have to keep these meetings in public and we can't have any other contact."
"That's fine." Olivia says, letting out a soft sigh. "Now what do we do about Ava?"
"I'm going to suggest that you consider the possibility that you won't be able to take Emma with you when you leave Springfield."
"She's my daughter."
"I know she's your daughter. But you need to look at this from Ava's point of view. You may have hurt her when you went after me."
"Emma would have had no contact with my plans to kidnap you."
"We have no way of knowing what might have or would have happened if you had carried out your plans. But because of those plans, Ava is concerned about Emma's welfare."
"I wouldn't hurt her. And I did what I did to Ava before I knew she was my daughter. I've never laid one finger on Emma."
"There is more to consider than just physically hurting Emma. I know you would never knowingly hurt her, but can you say honestly that you haven't taken out the anger you've felt towards me and Sam on Emma. Ava told me about what happened when we were in Niagara. You grounded her because she spoke to me the morning after the wedding. What did you expect her to do, ignore me. Emma and I were beginning to build a friendship before we split."
"So, you think I'm a bad mother too."
"No, that's not what I'm saying."
"So, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you've made mistakes as we all do and Ava has a right to be concerned and maybe you should be prepared to leave the state without Emma."
"And when does it end. When will I be allowed to see Emma or have her with me again after I leave? She's my daughter."
"And Ava's your daughter too. I've seen what you have done to Ava when she didn't do what you believe she should have done."
"So, you believe that I should never have Emma back."
"No, I believe you need to take some time and work out what ever was or is going on with you since we broke up. Maybe James can help you do that, maybe he can't, I don't know. But maybe Ava's right, and for right now Emma might be better off with her than leaving with you. Emma has a life here. She has friends and she has family. Is it fair to force her to give that up when you leave?" Olivia looks at him for a moment before she shakes her head no. "We may be worrying and discussing something for no reason. Ava may have realized that you would never hurt Emma and bring her back, but until we know you need to prepare yourself to leave without her." Jeffrey says, glancing at his watch. "Listen, I know it's not the resolution you wanted, but it the best one we have right now and I need to get to City Hall. I've got a meeting with Billy about a project he's doing for me. Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine." Olivia says quietly as he gets up.
"Let me talk to Ava again, maybe I can convince her to come back and bring Emma with her." He says, pulling his wallet out and paying for the coffee. "Thanks." He says, to Buzz taking his change.
"Alright." Olivia says with a small smile.
"I'll see you later." Jeffrey says, nodding as he leaves. Olivia leaves a few moments later.
Richard turns the water off after about an hour. He leans over and softly kisses her. "I love you."
"I love you too." She whispers, softly smiling again. "But I think it's time we get out of here and get ready to leave."
"Yes ma'am." He says, saluting as he opens the shower door and gets out, turning to help her out. Giving her a towel, they dry off quickly and both leave the bathroom at the same time. Taking their suit cases, they get dressed. Cassie's in the bathroom, finishing her makeup when Richard comes to the door. "Darling, I'm going to go up on deck."
"I'll be up as soon as I finish this." She says, putting on her mascara.
Richard leaves, taking their suitcases with him. The air is clear and crisp as he walks out on deck. Sitting the suitcases down, he looks around and notices that there are no crewmembers on deck. He goes into the salon, expecting to find someone from the galley there, but no one is. Going behind the container, he puts on a pot of coffee and then he goes out on deck. Cassie comes up a few moments later. "Where is everyone?"
"I'm not sure." Richard says, putting his arm across her shoulders. "It's going to be a beautiful day."
"Yes, it is. Do you want something to eat?"
"We can go over to the restaurant and get something. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, I brought up the last of everything."
He takes his arm from her shoulder as he finishes his coffee. "Then let me get everything in the car and we'll go get something to eat."
"I can help."
"I'll do it. You stay here and relax." He says, leaning over and softly kissing her.
"Richard…."
"It's only going to take a few moments." He says, putting his cup in the sink behind the counter. "I'll be right back." He says, leaving her standing in the salon.
Gathering up their luggage, he leaves the yacht. She's standing that the railing watching him as he goes to the car. He returns a few moments later, gathering everything else he goes back to the car and puts it in the trunk. He's walking back to the yacht when the Captain comes up behind him. "Mr. Winslow." He says, surprised to see him up.
Richard turns to see who spoke to him, seeing the captain, he nods. "Hello, Captain Marsh."
"Good morning. Did everything go okay last night?"
"Everything was fine, thank you." Richard says, walking towards the yacht.
When they reach the yacht, the captain lets Richard go abroad first. He follows him into the salon where Cassie is waiting. "Mrs. Winslow." He says, nodding to her.
"Hello, Captain Marsh." Cassie says, as Richard walks over to her.
"Would you like another cruise around the lake before you leave?"
"No, thank you." Richard says. "We were getting ready to leave. But we had a wonderful time." Richard says, holding out his hand.
"I'm glad that we were able to help with the honeymoon. I wish you all the love and happiness."
"Thank you." Richard says, shaking the Captain's hand.
"You're welcome."
Richard and Cassie leave the yacht with Richard helping her and as they walk away, Richard slips his arm around her waist. "I like this ending better." He says, smiling as she looks up.
"You don't miss the reporters and photographers in your face." She asks as they walk down the dock.
"No, I don't. I didn't want all of that when we came back the first time. And I was really irritated at Colonel Dax for interrupting us that morning."
"Well, there is one thing that we know for sure that we didn't know then. I can get pregnant, even if this pregnancy is a miracle."
"Our whole lives have been a miracle." Richard says, as they walk up to the restaurant. He holds the door for her and then follows her in.
An hour later, he holds the door for her as they leave and taking her hand they walk down the sidewalk towards their car. Opening the door for her when they reach the car, he closes it when she's inside and then walks around to the driver's side. Getting in, he asks. "Do you want to go directly to the cabin?"
"Sure, unless you want to do something else?"
"No." He says, starting the car. They drive back to the cabin and Cassie goes inside after Richard insists on bring in the luggage. Cassie is upstairs gathering up their clothes to wash before she starts to pack. Richard brings in the last of the luggage as she comes downstairs with a load of laundry. "You're going to do laundry?"
"Yes, it'll make it easier when we get home. I can just put the stuff away."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Just make sure we've got everything gathered up so I can get it packed quicker."
"Alright." He says, going for the other rooms in the cabin while Cassie goes to get the laundry started.
Olivia walks into the Beacon shortly after leaving Company. James will be in meetings with JR for the morning so she had time to think about what Jeffrey said to her before he left. Going up to her room, she sits down and looks around the suite. Spotting different things that belonged to Emma that she had missed when she had packed her bag for Ava's. She gets up and goes over to pick up one of Emma's stuffed animals. Going back to the couch, she sits back down. Emma was a precious gift when she was born.
After the complications with Lizzie and leaving Springfield. She was grateful that Emma had survived. She was terrified for the first few months after she was born, terrified that Phillip would find her and bring her back to Springfield or take Emma from her. And then Reggie had showed up and at first she was certain he was there to do exactly what she feared, bring her back to Springfield so that Phillip could take Emma from her. She used every thing she could think up to keep him from returning them to Springfield and eventually she was able to turn him.
Once she knew that Emma was safe and protected from the Spaulding's she decided on her own to come back to Springfield. The rest is history. Phillip went crazy. Alan shot him and for months they thought he was dead. And still he didn't come for Emma. The two of them built a life for each other. And they had an amicable relationship with Alan and the rest of the family.
But over the last few months, she felt her carefully built life spinning out of control. Jeffrey left her after agreeing to give each other a chance. If she wanted to be honest with herself, it started before she cancelled the wedding to Buzz. Once she found out that Jeffrey was supposedly the man that raped her that night at the embassy, she felt herself slowly slipping away and she didn't know how to stop it. Buzz and Jeffrey both were good men and neither one deserved what she had put them through. She had two beautiful daughters and neither one deserved to be treated the way she had treated them for the last few months.
Jeffrey and Ava were right. She had taken her anger out on Emma and Ava too. All the fights with Ava about William and the baby had been a way to channel the anger she still felt deep inside herself for what happened that night at the embassy. She puts the stuffed animal down as she gets up and leaves. James is finishing up a conference call with JR. when she knocks on his door. "JR, hold on, someone's knocking." James says, getting up as he puts the phone down. He goes to answer the door. "Yes… Olivia." He says, surprised.
"Hi, I know you're busy."
"I'm still on a conference call with JR."
"I need to talk to you."
"Can I find you after I finish with this call?"
"I guess so." Olivia says, turning to leave.
"Olivia, wait. Come in. I'll be finished in a few minutes and we can talk then." He says, stepping back as she turns to him. She walks into the room as he closes the door behind her. "I'll only be a few minutes, we were wrapping up."
"Okay." Olivia says, sitting down as he picks up the phone and goes back to the call.
Ten minutes later, he finally hangs up. "I'm sorry. We have to find someone to cover for Sarah."
"Sarah, what's going on with Sarah?"
"She didn't return home after the plane landed in London. She hasn't been to the office since then either. Arthur hasn't heard from her. Her mother hasn't seen her. It's like she disappeared."
"Have any of her friends heard from her?"
"Not that we know of but JR is tracking that down."
"Do you think she'll go after Cassie?"
"I doubt it. She will pretend that Cassie doesn't exist. So, what did you need to talk to me about?"
"I found Jeffrey this morning at Company?"
"Did he talk to Ava?"
"Yes, she's insisting on keeping Emma. She's not coming back to Springfield until I leave."
"Is there anything else he can do?"
"Not legally, I gave custody to her. And like he said she's like her father. She's believes she's doing the right thing so we have to convince her that Emma is better off with us. She has a point." Olivia says, getting up and going over to a window.
"What do you mean, she has a point?"
"This stuff with Jeffrey didn't start last summer. It's been building for the last year or so and I didn't do anything about it, partly because I didn't know what to do and because I didn't want to admit there was a problem."
"You've had a lot to deal with."
"Even so, I've ignored it and Ava feels that I've endangered or will endanger Emma because of what I've done to Jeffrey and her."
"So what are you saying? Do you want Ava to keep Emma?"
"I don't know. Emma's my daughter. I'm proud to be her mother and she helped me deal with the emptiness I've felt in my life, but maybe she shouldn't be that crutch for me."
"Kids are supposes to be important to us."
"I think I should make my plans to leave and leave the decision about Emma until the last." Olivia says, turning from the window and walking back to him and sitting down.
"You're going to let Ava decide what to do."
"Yes, I am. Because I'm not sure that right now I need to hang on and demand that everyone do as I think they should do."
"We'll do whatever you think you should do. I'll talk to my…."
"I'm not staying at your apartment."
"Olivia…."
"I think I need my own space for the time being when I get to London. I'm not saying that I'm not open to us living together."
"Alright, I'll have my assistant start looking for something, maybe a flat in Piccadilly."
"Whatever it is, I don't want something extravagant. And since I will be there, maybe I can work with JR on the Beacon model."
"I think that could be worked out. It is the model of your hotel that we're building."
"Then I'll be happy to work on the project and since I am, I should probably find a place closer to the construction site."
"You want to live in the Lake District?"
"It makes sense for me to live there instead of in London."
"I'll have my assistant find places around the construction site for you to look at when you go over."
"What about the Beacon?"
"Cassie has her half and I gave my half to Ava. But since she's working with Lewis, and Billy has promoted her, she may sell her half to Cassie. That will be her decision to make."
"I'll talk to my assistant tomorrow morning and have her start looking for places in the Lake District and I'll contact JR to let him know that you're going to be working on the project for the hotel."
"Will he be okay with me doing this?"
"He'll be fine." He says glancing at the clock. "If I hurry, I might be able to catch my assistant before she leaves for the evening and then I'll call JR."
"Then I think I'm going to go to my office. I need to speak with our wholesalers and distributors, explain what is happening and advise them that they will need to speak with Cassie from now on." Olivia says, getting up.
"Alright, I'll see you later." He says, reaching for the phone as she leaves.
Cassie walks into the living room after putting some clothes away. Richard is on the phone. "Do you have any idea where they've gone too?" Richard asks, as Cassie sits down beside him.
"Yes, but I didn't have agents go any farther with contacting her because you wanted to wait." Noah says, sitting at his desk.
"Can you have them contact her? Now that the wedding is taken care of, and we can settle down to a routine. I think it's time we meet."
"I call the Chicago office and have my agents, follow up on the leads we have. I'll call you once I've heard something from my agents."
"Thank you, Noah. I do appreciate this?"
"You're welcome. How is Cassie doing?"
"She's doing fine."
"And the boys?"
"They are fine too. Will is settled in and RJ is captain of his football team. Will started soccer this fall, and he's doing really good at that. There's something else I need to tell you though." Richard says, looking at Cassie.
She nods as Noah asks. "What?"
"We got a bit of a surprise a few weeks ago."
"A surprise, from who?"
"Dr. Sedgwick actually."
"The pediatrician at Cedars."
"Yes, Cassie's pregnant."
"She's what! Oh my… How? I thought she was told that she couldn't have anymore kids."
"She was and we're not exactly sure how, but she's about two months along now. She's being monitored closely and it's going to be a long nine months, but Dr. Sedgwick seems to have every confidence that Cassie will be fine as will the baby."
"Two months along, that means it happened right after you guys got back from San Cristobel."
"Yes, or shortly there after."
"Go ahead and tell him about James." Cassie says, tucking her feet between the cushions.
"There's something else we found out too." Richard says, nodding that he heard her.
"You're not having twins?"
"No, it's too soon to know what we're having or how many we're having." Richard says, smiling at the look on Cassie's face. "No, this is about the kids grandparents."
"Did something happen to Hawk?"
"No, no, Hawk is fine. He was at the wedding with Rusty. But Cassie's found her biological father, well actually he found us. He came to Springfield to find Cassie a couple months ago. He was at the wedding also."
"Cassie's biological father is in Springfield and he was at the wedding with Hawk."
"Yes."
"How did he handle that?"
"Hawk was very understanding. We told him before the wedding and he still gave Cassie away but we did invite Cassie's father and her brother JR to the wedding. Her sister Sarah came as well but didn't stay after she tried to humiliate everyone during the reception by revealing Cassie's past again, something James already knew about."
"Her biological father just showed up out of the blue, no warning, no contact, he just appeared. Are you sure he's her father?"
"Yes, we did a DNA test. It was a 99% biological match to each other. He's her father. We apparently met him on a state visit to France when I was Prince. He recognized her from her resemblance to Sarah. That's what he told her when he was meeting with her about the Beacon."
"Why were they meeting about the Beacon for? He's not trying to take the hotel over?"
"No, he's not. He wants to use the Beacon as a model for similar hotels across Europe."
"And on top of all this, you want to add you're family."
"Yes, I think we can handle it." He says, smiling as he takes Cassie's hand.
"Alright, I'll speak to the agents and I'll get back to you. Congratulations about the baby and tell Cassie congratulations about finding her father."
"Thank you, and thank you for taking care of this for me."
"You're welcome. I'll let you know when I hear from the agents."
"Thank you."
"We'll talk soon." Noah says, as Richard nods although Noah can't see him and they hang up.