Page 99 of Kidnapping Their Third

“Welcome,” Kimble said. “Thank you for coming. Please be seated.”

“It’s been months, and I don’t even get a hug?” Daniel asked. He was smiling, but it didn’t reach his eyes, and his tone was full of censure.

“Not yet,” Cora said. She dropped back down to her seat. Her expression was focused, but Kimble could feel the emotions rioting inside of her at the sight of her family.

Placing a hand on her thigh, he put his mouth to her ear. “We have a plan.”

Her mind calmed a little at that reminder. The three of them had spent days pre-gaming this meeting. They’d even called Annette to help them strategize. All that effort was reflected in the three-page document Pike was currently handing out.

“Before we begin, we’d like you to read through this,” Pike said.

“What the hell is it?” Daniel asked as he accepted his copy and scowled at the first page.

Now it was Kimble’s turn to speak. “That will become self-evident once you finish reading it. Please be aware that the moment even one of you raises your voice or starts using insulting language, everyone will be escorted off the property. This is non-negotiable and will result in a delay of reconciliation between all of you and Cora.”

“Jesus Christ, you sound like a damn lawyer,” Caleb said with a grin. “I like it.”

Cora laughed, and Kimble felt some of her tension ease. “You would.”

“Is this what you want, Cora?” Daniel asked, his brows furrowed in confusion this time. He used the paper to indicate the setting. “You want to treat us like some kind of business thing?”

Kimble felt a spike of hurt and anger come from Cora. Pike must’ve felt it too because both of them leaned in close to lend Cora their support. Cora placed one hand over Kimble’s on her thigh and tangled her fingers with Pike’s hand on the table.

She pulled in a deep breath before she spoke in an even, reasonable voice. “Read the paper, Dad. Then we’ll talk.”

Daniel and the brothers seemed to realize she wasn’t going to be baited, cajoled, or teased out of this. All of them bent their heads and started reading.

Chapter 37

Cora

Predictably, Caleb was done first, and he smiled broadly as he set down his copy. “I accept all terms of this contract without reservation.”

Cora felt something ease inside of her. Caleb was only one of seven men sitting across the table from her, but it felt good to know someone else was on her side. She hadn’t really worried about her brothers accepting the contract. It was her dad that was going to be the biggest issue.

She honestly didn’t know how he was going to react to the contract the three of them had labored over for hours. So many family injustices were addressed in those three pages that Cora was surprised the paper didn’t weigh hundreds of pounds.

As she watched her father read, she was impressed the paper didn’t catch fire from the way he was glaring at it. His reading glasses were perched on the end of his nose, and his mouth was settled into a severe frown. When he got to the last page, the paper crumpled under his tightening grip until he realized what he was doing and set it on the table to finish reading.

By the time her father was done, the rest of the brothers had long since set their copies down. Everyone remained silent, waiting to see how the patriarch of the Walsh family would react.

Sitting back, Daniel took his glasses off and gently folded them up before tucking them in the front pocket of his shirt.

“It seems you think I don’t love you,” he said, breaking the silence.

Cora had been ready for the ploy, but it still hurt. She employed the tactic Annette had taught her. “If that was the case, why would I go to so much effort to bring you back into my life?”

It was obvious Daniel didn’t like his question being answered with another question. He kept his tone even, but his motion was violent as he pushed the paper across the table. “It’s obvious, isn't it? It says it right there, in black and white, I’m a shitty father.”

“It does?” Kimble asked, pretending to examine his copy. “I don’t remember using those words anywhere.”

“The words aren’t there, but I can read what you meant,” Daniel sneered. “I’m not allowed to say mean things even if I’m doing it in a,” he raised his hands to make air quotes, “a teasing way. That’s because I call Cora my second biggest disappointment, isn’t it? She knows I don’t mean it.”

Cora took a deep breath. It was time. Her next words would cause Daniel to either blow up or stay and hash this out.

To her surprise, Caleb spoke up before she could get a word out.

“I want the same contract as Cora.” Everyone looked at him in surprise as he stood up and walked around the table to sit next to Pike. “I’m done being called your greatest disappointment. I have a career I enjoy, a wife I love, and children I can’t imagine living without.”

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