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“I don’t love it and I still think it should be more than just you two, but if he agrees, I don’t see an alternative.” Cade stopped and looked directly at Luke. “It’s your family so it’s ultimately up to you, but you’re my family and that makes you all mine now. If Mr. Smith agrees, then I will go with you.”

“Me too.” Ryker stood. “I have more experience with people like her. No offense,” he added for Paisley. “I’ll be better able to tell how sincere she actually is about everything.”

They all agreed, and Luke stepped into his office to call Mr. Smith. He had no idea if the man would say yes, but he knew his hatred for his father was real and that would hopefully be enough to get him to help.

“Mr. Smith,” Luke said as he answered.

“Luke, it’s good to hear from you, but I assume this isn’t a social call?” Mr. Smith answered.

“Sadly, it’s not. I wish it were,” Luke admitted.

“How can I help?” the other man asked.

Luke gave him the rundown of what they knew and what they wanted to do. Mr. Smith listened patiently and didn’t interrupt him.

“Well, that’s some story,” he said, and Luke felt the knot in his stomach clench. He was going to turn them down or, worse, didn’t believe him. “I would be happy to help. Let me see if I can think of any other ways. Is he still using the same lawyer?”

“Thank you, sir. And yes, he is.” Relief rushed through him as he collapsed into his desk chair.

“It would be a shame if he couldn’t practice anymore,” he mused.

“We don’t have anything legal or concrete to put against him.” He wished they did. If the lawyer was his father’s lackey like it seemed, it would certainly go a long way to getting things to stop.

“Don’t you worry about that. Call me back and let me know when you plan to meet her sister. If she’s willing to go to rehab, I’ll be her sponsor.”

“Mr. Smith, you don’t have to do that, but thank you so much.”

“I wish I could do more.”

“Thank you again, sir.”

Luke ended the call and took a relieved breath before composing himself and joining everyone else again.

“He’s in. He offered to be her sponsor, too, if she agrees to rehab,” Luke informed them. “He has also decided to see what he can do to get Father’s lawyer in trouble and not be able to practice anymore.”

“I always knew he hated Father, but that’s more than I expected,” Cade said.

“It was for me too. He said to call him when we know when we want to go up there.”

“Let’s make a plan then.” That came from Jake who hadn’t said much. “I know he’s your father, but I’m so ready for this to be over finally.”

They all agreed with that sentiment.

Chapter Twenty-One

Paisley

“What happens if we’re wrong?” Paisley asked Luke after everyone had left.

He took a deep breath and seemed to struggle with how to answer.

“It’s okay. I probably shouldn’t even speak that into the universe.” If something went wrong after this, she would definitely blame herself.

“No. I just don’t have an answer. I know that legally all of us are doing what we can with what we have. Mr. Smith will probably get his lawyer off the case at the very least and that will help a ton.”

“I know. It’s just terrifying that we have kind of put all our eggs into one basket here and what if we’re wrong just keeps replaying in my head.” She’d not had a moment where that wasn’t in her thoughts since they’d woken up.

“All we can do is what we can. If nothing else happens, then great, and if something does, we will figure it out then just like we have all along.”

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