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Chapter One

LYNAE

END OF APRIL

As I drive north out of Tucson, heading toward Prominence Point, I think back on everything that happened today. I’m excited by the results, but I still worry. Cherise Benedict doesn’t make threats lightly. My lawyer says we’ve done everything we could, and that the divorce will be finalized in the next couple of weeks. The judge won’t allow the Benedicts to file a motion to continue, but I still can’t shake the feeling of unease.

I questioned whether the divorce was still necessary now that Sayler is presumed dead. My attorney thinks it’s best to follow through, just in case he isn’t, and it would keep his parents out of my life. His mom and dad are a bit on the crazy side. Not only did they force me at sixteen to marry their twenty-year-old son, but they had also coerced me and my father into signing an unreasonable and unethical agreement. They got away with it all because several judges on the bench are friends with Mr. Benedict. That’s why my attorney had to fight so hard at the beginning of this process to get the judge we did. We needed one who would be fair.

Is it mean that I don’t want Sayler to ever come back? He just wasn’t right for me. I’ve tried to bury all the bad memories and remember the good times. He was once a friend. In the end, though, he hurt me and proved my point that love and marriage are just fairy tales that don’t exist in the real world.

An hour into my drive, I pull my Jeep Rogue off the highway and stop for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Once I order, I lean back in my seat, letting my mind wander to the appointment I had earlier.

I sat on the examination table, trying not to fidget so the paper wouldn’t make noise. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Cherise typed away on her phone. I hadn’t wanted her to be there, but she insisted on being a part of every step of the process. It felt violating, and now I wish I’d fought harder against it.

Sayler’s mother had never been kind to me. She would bully me into wearing clothes she deemed appropriate. She hated when I wore my cowboy boots or when I let my hair be wavy. She said it looked better straightened. The only compliment she’d ever given me was that it was a good thing I was pretty, claiming I was at least going to give her beautiful grandbabies to raise. That wasn’thappening. Any child that came from this damn process would be mine alone, and she and her husband would only have visitation.

I hated that this is one of the concessions my attorney and I had to make. My body should have been off-limits. Yet, because Sayler was missing in action, and there was that ridiculous clause in our prenup, I had no choice. I had to produce an heir to carry on his family line, regardless of my own feelings. Thankfully, the judge had stipulated I only had to try once. If this attempt didn’t work, as I suspected it wouldn’t, I wouldn’t be forced to keep trying. I was still in shock that clause was in the prenup. I had no memory of agreeing to it.

“Stop fidgeting.” Cherise huffed as the door opened. “I don’t see what my precious son ever saw in you.” She grumbled as my doctor entered.

One thing I had control over was choosing my own doctor. Mrs. Benedict had hated that, but Dr. Kendall had treated me since I was a teenager and went on birth control to regulate my cycle. My doctor disagreed with this whole process, but I’d held off as long as I could. It had been almost a year since Sayler’s unit was struck by enemy fire and he’d gone missing. A few weeks ago, we met with the judge. It had been decided that I had to give it one attempt.

I had very little choice over my body, while men and Sayler’s insane mother told me what I had to do with it. I should have had a say, but because of a piece of paper, I had no choice. I was twenty-one now, and I still had no say.

My IUD had been removed the day after the judge reached a decision. I was immediately put on hormones to boost egg production. Four weeks later, I had been inseminated with Sayler’s sperm. Through it all, Cherise had been there, not to hold my hand, but to ensure everything was done to her specifications. My doctor had voiced her concern, stating my body needed to adjust to being off birth control first. But Mrs. Benedict hadn’t cared.

“Hey, Lyn.” Dr. Kendall smiled at me before schooling her features and turning to my companion. “Mrs. Benedict.” She flipped open the file, and I shifted again. Cherise’s eyes flashed to me, and I shrugged slightly. “I’m sorry, but if you had listened to me, this wouldn’t have happened.”

I tuned in and shook my head.

“What did you say?” I asked, realizing I missed part of the conversation.

“That’s impossible.” Cherise stood up so fast, her chair hit the wall. “You did something wrong.” She pointed at me. “I spokewith a fully educated doctor, and he said this was the process we had to follow.”

“No, she didn’t screw up anything,” Dr. Kendall responded. “I told you her body wasn’t ready. She’d been on the IUD for so long. It takes time because it had hormones too. As for my education, it’s better than several doctors in the area.”

I just sat there, processing everything.

I wasn’t pregnant. I wasn’t pregnant. The single thought repeated in my mind, over and over, as relief filled me. A smile formed on my lips. I was free. Grammy would have been happy. She would have said, “Dance a jig and move on, babycakes.”

I jumped off the table, ready to dance that jig, when Cherise’s next words stopped me.

“We’ll be leaving and going to my doctor. She’ll be going through another round. We have another vial of my son’s sperm.”

“No,” I said, my voice soft, but Dr. Kendall heard me.

“What did you say?” Cherise turned sharply toward me.

I straightened my back, standing taller. Screw it! I moved to my cowboy boots and slipped them on. The heels gave my five-foot-three stature a little bit of height. I looked her directly in the eye and stared her down.

“I said no.” The word came out firmly. “I only had to do one round, per the judge. I’m done.” I took a step back and gave her a tight smile. I won.

For once, I won, and I kind of liked the feeling.

Cherise stood over me. “I’ll turn you in. You’ll lose everything.” She’d used that threat before. She’d accused me of using Sayler’s military GI bill to attend college, but I hadn’t touched it. My grammy paid for my college education.

“Lose what?” I chuckled. “You threw me out of the condo. I’m done with school, and my grandmother paid for that. The military already told you they won’t take away the other deathbenefits. You lose.” She couldn’t touch my inheritance from my grandma, which would be mine when I turned twenty-five. I currently received a monthly stipend.

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