"Great! I'll be there in a little while," Holly said into the phone as an insistent knock came at her front door. "Goodbye." She hurriedly hung up the phone, checked her watch because she'd have to be leaving soon, and rushed to the door. When she opened it, Blake was standing there, with Kevin and Jason in their double stroller, Jason asleep and Kevin awake. "Blake!" she exclaimed.
"I know I've been busy with these guys," Blake said as she pushed the stroller past Holly and into the house, "but would you mind telling me why I had to find out you're getting a divorce from Fletcher, and why he asked Ross to represent him?"
"I've been busy," Holly said lamely, "moving back here, and filing the papers, and-" And finding a private investigator to get the goods on Dinah and Hart because they're gaslighting your father and having an affair, and most importantly, I want your father back and I'm going to do everything possible to make him trust me and believe in us again. But Holly couldn't tell Blake that, so she finished, "-and I'm actually just on my way out. I'm meeting with my lawyer in a little while." Technically that was true; the private investigator Holly had hired had recommended a lawyer in Bay City, and Holly and Roger were meeting with both the P.I. and the lawyer, who shared an office. It wasn't like there was much for her and Fletcher to divide up; she had moved in with him and Ben after the wedding, but kept her own house, just closed it up while trying to decide if she should sell or rent it, though she never did put much thought into that decision, thankfully. Now she had moved back home-back to the house that she had shared with Roger-and she had also kept her own bank account. Really all the divorce would entail was legally ending the marriage, and dropping 'Reade' from her name, and she should probably find another job. She didn't enjoy the Journal nearly as much as she had enjoyed working at WSPR when she had worked there.
"Who is it?" Blake asked. "Please don't say Leo Flynn. He's become a Spaulding sycophant. I don't think he's even in touch with Dad at all anymore."
"Cass Winthrop," Holly replied.
"I don't know him. I'm not sure if Ross does," Blake said. "You're sure he's not some ambulance chasing creep?"
"Not according to the referral I got," Holly said. "I was going to tell you about the divorce after the meeting with my lawyer today. I didn't want to put you in the middle of anything."
"I can't say I'm sorry that you and Fletcher are splitting up," Blake said, picking Kevin up out of the stroller when he began to fuss. "You haven't been happy for a long time, Mom. You already look happier, and all you've done is file for the divorce."
If you only knew why I look happier already. But you can't know yet. But when you can, I know you'll be happy for me and your father.
"How about I come over for dinner tomorrow night?" Holly offered. "We can really sit down and talk, and I'll help you put the boys to bed before we do that."
"That would be great," Blake replied. "Ross is a little preoccupied with Dinah lately." I'll bet, Holly thought. "I think all she's doing is spending Daddy's money and throwing the fact that she married him in Ross and Vanessa's faces (Vanessa Chamberlain Reardon was Dinah's mother). She only did it to tick them off. And I can't believe Daddy loves her."
He doesn't. He loves me. He just doesn't trust me...yet.
Holly knew that this would require delicacy and diplomacy on her part, because she and Roger were in complete agreement that Blake not know anything until there was something definite for her to know.
Blake was gently swaying Kevin, and hadn't even noticed that Holly had slightly zoned out as she thought these things. Blake continued, "Of course, Ross won't hear one word against his sainted daughter. I'm just afraid he's riding for a really big fall where she's concerned, because sooner or later, she's going to do something that's going to force him to see her true colors. I've stopped trying to get him to see it, because all we ever did was fight about her, and I hate fighting with Ross. I've been so busy with Kevin and Jason anyway. He's going to have to find out for himself. I just hope he doesn't blame me when he does."
"Why would Ross blame you?" Holly asked.
"Okay, maybe not blame me, but hate that I was right about Dinah all along," Blake said ruefully. "I'm not planning to say 'I told you so.' I just... It seems like everything's such a mess, and I can't seem to come up with anything to do to make it better."
Holly put her arm around Blake's shoulders. "Oh, honey," she said sympathetically. "I've been there. I know how frustrating and maddening it is when you feel like that. You just have to hang in there and everything will work out the way it's meant to, for all of us."
"I really hope you're right, Mom," Blake said.
Holly glanced at her watch again. "I'm sorry to run out like this, but I really do have to get going," she said.
"Right, the meeting with your divorce lawyer," Blake said. Kevin was now asleep as well, and Blake strapped him back in the stroller. "Well, I won't hold you up. Good luck at your meeting. You can tell me about it tomorrow night. But do you mind if we just order in for dinner? These guys still aren't sleeping through the night, and I was never a very meticulous housekeeper anyway, so the house will be kind of a mess when you come over."
"I'll bring dinner myself," Holly promised, "anything you want."
Blake hugged her mother then. "I'd better get Kevin and Jason home for their nap. Jason fell asleep in the car on the way over here, and Kevin just went down, and hopefully I can lie down myself for 45 minutes or so until one or both of them needs something. I'll call you tomorrow afternoon about dinner. Will you be here or at your office?"
"Here," Holly replied, hugging Blake back. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, then."
"'Bye, Mom," Blake said.
Holly followed Blake outside and helped her load the sleeping boys into their car seats. After Blake had driven off with a wave, Holly hurried to pick up the purchase that the phone call she had gotten right before Blake arrived was about, and with it tucked safely in the secret compartment of her purse, she drove to the country club to pick Roger up.
The private investigator and the lawyer were both in Bay City, which was about a 35-minute drive from Springfield. On the drive, Holly told Roger about her visit from Blake, and what Blake had said.
Roger couldn't help himself; he was curious. "Is it going to be a big hassle? The divorce, I mean?"
"Not as much as in the past," Holly admitted. "I kept my house, and I've already moved back there. I kept a separate bank account. I think I unconsciously knew it wasn't going to last. Probably the biggest hassle is going to be finding another job. I don't see myself staying at the Journal much longer. My heart's not really in it. It never really was."
"What are you thinking of doing?" Roger asked.
"I'm not sure yet," Holly replied. "Exploring my options, I guess." She glanced at him before returning her full attention to the road. "Right now, I'm concentrating on getting the divorce and helping you prove what Dinah and Hart are doing. And most importantly of all, earning your trust again."
Roger was still wrapping his brain around the fact that Holly wanted him back and was determined to regain his trust so they had a future together. She had never been this serious or this resolute about him or about them before, and it would take some getting used to. He wanted to be able to trust her again; he wanted to be with her again. But he had to be sure this time that she wouldn't leave him for the next "good man" that came along.
"And Chrissy doesn't know about anything but the divorce?" Roger asked.
"There's nothing for her to know yet, is there?" Holly asked. "You don't trust me yet, and we don't have concrete proof of what Dinah and Hart are up to yet." She looked at Roger out of the corner of her eye.
He nodded. "I'm going to give the money back," he said then. "Dinah's trust fund. I shouldn't have taken it in the first place. I shouldn't have married her either." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Marrying Dinah was..."
"A reaction to me marrying Fletcher," Holly replied matter-of-factly.
"Yes, and a big mistake," Roger said.
"We really have to stop doing that," Holly remarked. "Making big mistakes like marrying other people."
"Yes, we do," Roger agreed evenly.
They had arrived in Bay City now, and a few minutes later, they were walking through the front door of Cass Winthrop, Attorney-at-Law.
A redheaded woman a few years older than Blake was sitting at a desk in the outer office area. She looked up from her computer when she heard Roger and Holly walk in, and she stood up, greeting them with a warm smile. "You must be Ms. Lindsey," she said as she rounded the desk to greet them.
"Holly," Holly said, extending her hand to the woman.
"Frankie Frame," the redhead replied as she and Holly shook hands. Frankie looked at Roger then. "And that would make you Mr. Thorpe," she said.
"Roger," Roger replied, shaking hands with Frankie.
"Cass is in his office," Frankie said. "Follow me." She crossed the outer office area and knocked on a sliding wooden door that was slightly ajar. "Cass, our two o'clock is here!" she called before opening the door and walking in.
Cass Winthrop was tall and looked to be about seven or eight years older than Frankie, with dark, curly hair and a pair of reading glasses that he took off as he stood up from his desk and folded, putting them in his shirt pocket. He buttoned his collar button and cinched his blue-and-white-striped tie tightly again before pulling the navy blue suit jacket off the back of his chair and shrugging into it. He closed the file he was working on, and reached across the desk to shake hands with Roger and Holly as they introduced themselves.
"I understand we're dealing with two separate issues here," Cass began as he regained his seat. "Holly, you're getting a divorce and need a lawyer, and then you and Roger both want to hire Frankie to tail a couple of people."
"That's correct, yes," Holly said as she and Roger sat in the chairs in front of Cass's desk. Frankie was seated next to Cass's desk, pen and notebook at the ready to take notes.
"Why don't we start with the people you want me to tail, and why you want me to tail them," Frankie said.
"Their names are Dinah Marler Thorpe and Hart Jessup," Roger said. "Otherwise known as my wife and my son." He handed snapshots of Hart and Dinah to Frankie. She studied them intently for a moment, nodded, then reached for an empty manila folder on the corner of Cass's desk, tucking the snapshots inside it, after which she took Dinah and Hart's home and work addresses, their license plate numbers, and descriptions of their cars.
"She's cheating on you with your son, and you want proof for your divorce," Frankie said after she had finished taking down all that information.
"Well, that would be helpful," Roger admitted, "but that's not the main thing."
"Dinah and Hart are gaslighting Roger," Holly piped up then. "We need proof of what they're doing."
"Preferably something that would stand up in a court of law," Roger added.
Frankie started writing again, and while she was doing that, Holly happened to notice two of the framed photographs on the credenza behind Cass's desk: a wedding portrait of Frankie and Cass emanating pure joy and gazing adoringly into each other's eyes in a courtyard, and a picture of the two of them beaming with a giggling redheaded toddler girl perched half on Frankie's lap and half on Cass's lap. They're married and have a daughter, Holly realized. She hadn't known that was the case when she had initially spoken to Frankie over the phone, and Frankie had recommended Cass when Holly had mentioned that she was looking for a divorce lawyer for herself.
Frankie looked up from her notes then. "Why are they trying to gaslight you? Other than wanting you out of the way so they can be together. Gaslighting someone is really sinister."
"It's complicated," Roger said, looking at Holly. She started to reach for his hand, then stopped herself, not wanting to push him. They looked at each other for a minute, Holly trying to gauge whether she should take Roger's hand, Roger trying to decide if he should let Holly take his hand. Cass and Frankie exchanged their own look at this; there was clearly a story here with these two people.
"Break it down," Frankie said encouragingly. Those three words broke the spell; Holly slowly, reluctantly rested her hand on the arm of the chair in which she was sitting, and Roger ducked his head, looking sheepish. It was one thing in Springfield, because everyone knew him there and expected the worst of him at all times. But this P.I. and this lawyer were, as far as Roger could tell, nice people who didn't know him. Frankie Frame did not strike him as the type that would bend or outright ignore the rules, or doctor any evidence in his favor, and in this case, he didn't want that. He wanted everything to be honest and aboveboard. As far as that went, Frankie was the right investigator for the job, but would she still take the case if she got to know the kind of man Roger was, if she came to see him the way everyone in Springfield did?
Roger looked at Holly again, and she met his gaze once more. "I married Dinah for all the wrong reasons. She's younger than our-my daughter," he hastily corrected himself. Again, Frankie and Cass both noticed this. "I do want to get out of it, yes. But I compounded my mistake by draining Dinah's trust fund, though I'm prepared to give back every cent. She knows where it is, which bank in the Cayman Islands I put it into, and she can have it."
"The problem is that she and Hart want to drive Roger crazy enough that he's in a mental hospital or psychiatric ward, and then go down to the Caymans and get the money," Holly said.
"And probably have a romantic vacation while they're at it," Cass said.
"Of course," Frankie agreed. She regarded Holly now. "You said when we spoke a few days ago that you heard them discussing this in the park, and they didn't know you were there."
"That's right," Holly said.
"Proving the affair will probably take less time than proving they're trying to gaslight you into a mental hospital," Frankie continued. "I'll get proof of both, but the infidelity will be enough for you to file for divorce, Roger."
"We definitely need proof of both," Roger agreed. "They think the gaslighting is working. They don't know that I'm onto them and faking being driven to the edge, or that Holly knows too, or that you're going to be tailing them to get evidence."
"And let's keep it that way," Frankie said. "The fewer people who know you're faking being gaslighted and I'm gathering evidence against Dinah and Hart, the better. What kind of time frame are we thinking here?"
Roger and Holly exchanged another look now. "As soon as possible," Roger said. "They've been gaslighting me for two months, and I'm letting them think it's working."
"You'll need to keep that up while I'm investigating them," Frankie said.
"Don't worry, I will," Roger said.
Frankie scribbled something else in her notebook, then looked to Cass and said, "Okay, Winthrop, you're up."
Cass put on his reading glasses once more and reached for the pen and legal pad he had standing by. "Frankie, Roger, if you'll excuse us," he began.
But Holly said, "They don't need to leave, Cass. There's nothing you could ask me that Roger can't hear, and the same goes for Frankie."
Cass paused for a moment, then said, "All right. Now, it's my understanding that you've already filed for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences?"
"Yes, three days ago in Springfield," Holly replied. She then produced copies of the forms she had filled out at the Springfield courthouse and handed those to Cass.
He perused the forms, then dove into the questions, making notes on what she told him about assets, and that the only thing she really wanted was a legal end to the marriage and her last name legally changed back to 'Lindsey.' "How long do you think it will take until the divorce is final?" she asked.
Cass consulted the papers again. "Fletcher isn't contesting it?" he asked.
"No," Holly replied.
"Once he gets his copy of the papers and goes over them with his lawyer, it's mostly a matter of getting a date on the judge's calendar to have the final decree granted," Cass said. "You're not asking for spousal support, you have no joint assets that need to be divided or sold such as a house, cars, a joint bank account, no custody issues because there are no children. You do still have time to change your mind about things before the final settlement, and we'll need to meet with Fletcher and his lawyer at some point, just to make certain that we're all on the same page before we go before the judge. I don't know what the judges' calendars are like in Springfield, so I can't say for certain exactly how long it will take before you get a court date, but do you happen to know who Fletcher's lawyer is?"
"Ross Marler," Holly said.
"Ross is representing Fletcher?" Roger asked, surprised.
"Fletcher got to him before I did," Holly said. "It's fine, really."
"So much for family loyalty," Roger muttered.
"Family loyalty?" Cass asked.
"Ross is our-my son-in-law," Holly said. She looked at Roger. "You're not going to make this a thing with Ross, are you?" she asked.
"No," Roger replied. "I think Dinah will be enough of a thing."
Frankie consulted her notes now. "Dinah and Ross are related?" she asked.
"Ross is Dinah's father," Roger said. He waited for some kind of horrified reaction from Frankie, Cass, or both of them, but there was no reaction at all. "You're not shocked by this?" he asked after a moment.
Frankie waved a hand dismissively. "We've seen stranger things than that," she said.
"Yes, we have," Cass agreed. He set aside his legal pad, then took the papers Holly had given him to the outer office, where he copied them. He returned a moment later and gave the original papers back to Holly. "Once Fletcher receives his documents, he'll have thirty days to respond or risk a default judgment. Once he has responded, you and I will then schedule a meeting with Fletcher and his lawyer, so if you think you might change your mind about spousal support or anything else, it would be a lot less complicated all the way around if you would do that before we sit down with Fletcher and his lawyer."
Holly nodded her understanding. That was more than fair. The sooner she and Fletcher were divorced, the better off they would both be.
"I think that's everything for now," Cass said. "Frankie?"
"I have enough to get started," Frankie said. All four of them stood up and shook hands again. "I'll be in touch with a progress report in a week. If your contact information changes, let me know where to reach you."
"Thank you," Holly said. "Both of you."
"It's what we do," Frankie replied. She held the handshake with Holly for a few seconds longer than absolutely necessary, looked her right in the eyes, and said, "Everything is going to work out."
Holly was strangely comforted by Frankie's assurance.
"Thank you," Roger echoed.
"I'll be in touch," Cass told Holly.
"I look forward to hearing from you," Holly replied honestly.
After Roger and Holly had left, Cass said, "Well, that was interesting."
"There's a story there," Frankie mused.
"Definitely," Cass agreed. "They both slipped and said 'our,' then corrected it to 'my' when they mentioned their daughter and son-in-law."
Frankie nodded. "And did you see Holly start to reach for Roger's hand at one point and stop herself, and the way they looked at each other after that? It was like you and I weren't even here."
"He looked like he wanted her to take his hand, but he wasn't sure if he should let her," Cass said. He sat down in his chair, and Frankie sat in his lap and put one arm around his neck.
"He doesn't trust her," Frankie said. "She loves him, she wants to comfort him, and he wants to let her, but he's holding back because he doesn't trust that she's not going to hurt him again. She hurt him when she married this Fletcher guy, and he obviously married Dinah as a reaction to that."
Cass winced. "You really think so?" he asked.
"I really do," Frankie replied.
"Thank God you didn't do that," Cass said.
"Who was I gonna marry? Ryan? Please. You and Vicky and Donna all thought we were having some torrid affair, when all we were doing was trying to nail Carl and Signet," Frankie reminded Cass. "All along, Ryan just wanted to be with Vicky, and he only sent her away to keep her safe from Carl, and I just wanted to be with you."
"Well, Donna and Vicky were a lot more worried than I was," Cass said.
"Uh huh," Frankie said with a smirk. "You were the one that busted into that motel room and scared Signet away, totally ruining the stakeout Ryan and I were on. Vicky was in Switzerland at the time, and I don't know where Donna was, but she wasn't with you."
"And that's why I don't listen to Donna Love anymore," Cass said. "It was her fault. She was the one insisting that you and Ryan were at some motel on the interstate with vibrating beds and X-rated movies."
"Well, that's what she gets for listening to Ryan's answering machine," Frankie said. "We were there for a stakeout. And you were crazy jealous." She laughed at the memory, not for the first time grateful that she could laugh about it now. She had been furious then, thinking that her best chance to expose the danger to Kathleen and get her out of Cass's life had just slipped through her fingers.
"I was," Cass admitted. "The thought of you with Ryan, with anyone else, made me feel like my insides were leaking out." He looked at her intently. "Trying to recapture the past with Kathleen was the biggest mistake I ever made."
"We got through it," Frankie reminded him, running her fingers through his hair. "You're the only man I've ever loved, Cass, and the only man I ever will love. It was true before Kathleen came back, it was true after she left town, and it will always be true."
"You are the love of my life, Mary Frances," Cass replied, "forever." After they kissed, Cass brushed Frankie's hair behind her ear and said, "I know that look."
"What look?" Frankie asked innocently.
"What look, she says," Cass said. "You're going to get the whole story on Holly and Roger, and do everything you can to help them find their way back to each other."
"It's good karma," Frankie said. "Besides, I remember what it felt like when you and I were in that place. It's hard. You need friends and family around you. If I hadn't had Ryan and Sharlene and Dean, and you hadn't had Felicia and Stacey, it would have been even harder for us than it already was."
"That's true," Cass replied. "Well, I'll do my part, and represent Holly in her divorce. It's going to come down to the two of them, though. She's the only one that can get him to trust her again."
"And maybe you could give Holly some advice on how to regain Roger's trust? You were in her position with me then," Frankie said.
"Only if she asks," Cass said.
After leaving Cass's office, Holly asked Roger, "Would you like to go somewhere and get a cup of coffee or something?"
"Okay," Roger agreed.
They were both silent on the drive, and when Roger saw a restaurant called The Harbor Club, he said, "Here?"
"Looks good," Holly replied. She pulled into the parking lot, and they went inside.
The Harbor Club was an upscale restaurant and bar. As it was only 4:00 PM, the place was mostly deserted, since it wasn't time for the dinner rush yet. After Holly and Roger were shown to a table, seated across from each other, and after they had ordered coffee, when they were alone, Roger said, "I think we need to establish some boundaries."
"Boundaries?" Holly asked.
"Back there, in Cass's office, you started to reach for my hand before I told them about Dinah's trust fund," Roger said. "You stopped yourself."
Holly smiled ruefully. "I wanted to take your hand, but I didn't want to seem like I was pushing too hard," she replied. "This is new for me."
"For me too," Roger said. After a beat, he said, "I wouldn't pull away. If you held my hand. I didn't pull away when you hugged me the other day." He folded his hands and rested them on the table. "I want us back too, Holly," he said. "I do. More than anything, I want us back. But if we're ever going to be together again, it has to be forever."
"I'm not going to change my mind and decide that I don't love you, or that I don't want to be with you," Holly said. "I've spent a lifetime fighting it, and I don't want to do that anymore." Now she did reach across the table, resting her hand atop his folded ones. "When we were together, before everything went to hell, that year was the happiest, the best, the most fulfilling time of my life."
"Mine too," Roger admitted.
"I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. No third parties, no secrets, no lies, no running away from each other no matter how upset or angry we get or what we think has happened, no jumping to conclusions, no assuming the worst and reacting destructively and thoughtlessly."
"You really think we can do that?" Roger asked.
"Yes," Holly said firmly.
"I need time," Roger said. "Time to be sure that you're not going anywhere, time to learn to trust you again, to trust that this is real, that I'm not imagining the whole thing...that Dinah and Hart's gaslighting isn't starting to work on me."
"It's not. It won't. We won't let it," Holly insisted. "You can have all the time you need. Just..." She unfolded his hands and threaded her fingers through the fingers of one of his hands. "Let me into your life. Let me prove to you that I mean everything I'm saying, that I've never meant anything more in my life, and that you can trust me not to hurt you like that ever again."
"We're both going to have to change," Roger said. "No secrets, no lies, no assuming the worst, no running away from each other. We both messed up. I let myself get blinded by the pursuit of Spaulding, and in the process I drove you away."
"We were both at fault, yes," Holly agreed anxiously. "What about Spaulding, though?"
"I think if we're ever going to have a real chance, I have to give up on it," Roger replied.
"I'm not making you choose," Holly said.
"I know you're not. I am," Roger said. "Spaulding is toxic. When has it ever really made me happy? When has it ever really been worth all the trouble?"
"Am I worth all the trouble?" she asked.
Roger looked deeply into Holly's eyes. "You are," he said. "You really are."
Roger and Holly were so engrossed in their conversation that they paid no attention when the door to The Harbor Club opened and a tall man about Roger's age, with a mane of dark blond hair shot through with fine strands of silver and wearing an impeccably tailored black suit and yellow tie, entered. The man scanned the restaurant with a slight frown, not finding who he was looking for, but then he saw Roger, who was facing the door, and he did a double take. Could it be?, he wondered.
The man approached Roger and Holly's table, and peered at Roger critically, intently. "It is you!" he exclaimed after careful scrutinizing Roger's face for several seconds. The exclamation wrenched Roger and Holly's attention away from each other and they both turned to look at the stranger staring at them in delighted surprise. "The one and only Black Fox! More of a Gray Fox now, I guess, huh?"
Roger's eyes lit with recognition, and his face took on the same look of delighted surprise. "Rotorhead?" he asked.
"You're the only one who ever called me that," the man said. "I was actually-"
"Hawk," Roger and the man said at the same time. "Yeah, well, you'll always be Rotorhead to me." Roger grinned, stood up, and shook hands with the man, then pulled him into a one-armed hug that the man returned.
"I wouldn't want to be anything but Rotorhead to you," the man said with a grin.
Holly looked at Roger and this man, fascinated. But she was completely blown away when the man looked at her and said, "Hello, Holly."
"How do you know my name?" she asked, looking from the man to Roger.
"I'd know you anywhere," the man replied, grabbing a chair from a nearby table and sitting down with Roger and Holly. "The Fox Head here and I told each other everything about the girls we left behind and vowed to one day return to. I'm really happy it all worked out for you and Roger."
Roger's smile faded now. "Ah, well, it, um, hasn't exactly all worked out yet, Rotorhead."
The man known to Roger as Rotorhead looked from Holly to Roger. "Are you trying?" he asked.
"Yeah," Roger replied.
Rotorhead rapped his knuckles on the table. "That's what matters," he said.
"Excuse me, but who are you, exactly?" Holly asked.
"I'm sorry," Roger said. "Holly, this is the best helicopter pilot in the history of the CIA, Michael Hudson. Michael, this is Holly Lindsey."
Michael smiled and shook Holly's hand. "It's nice to finally formally meet you after all these years, Holly," he said.