Page 70 of Falling for You
“Well this says that in the first week it’s probably that they were served with their paperwork. So maybe something to do with that?”
Relief instantly fills my chest with the knowledge that it probably isn’t something bad.
His phone rings and we move closer together to accept the call.
“Hi, Mr. Thomas.”
“Good morning.”
“I have good news. The Ryans were served with their papers and they now know you have a lawyer. They were shocked to see that they were being served, so I don’t think they expected you to fight for her.”
“They can’t just think we’re going to roll over and accept what they say as law?” I blurt out unintentionally.
“Unfortunately, a lot of times that is what people are hoping will happen. That they won’t hire a lawyer and fight back.”
“Okay, so what are the next steps?” Rome asks.
Mr. Bardeau shuffles some papers on his end. “Well, we go over the pros and cons, the only real con I can find for you is that you’re a single parent household.”
“I’m not. Emma is my fiancée. She stays home with Olivia during the day too.”
“I apologize. I didn’t realize you were engaged.”
Rome looks at me, “It’s new. But real.”
“Okay, well, don’t rush off to get married. It might look like this is only for the custody case and we don’t want that. But being engaged and the fact that Ms. Keaton stays home with her is a huge win in our favor.”
“We couldn’t get married without Olivia being there,” I admit.
“Good. Good. Well, it sounds like everything is on track, and I’ll let you know when I hear about a court date.”
We hang up and both of us sink back into the porch swing.
“That was fast.” I break the silence.
“Wyatt did say he was a shark.” He groans. “I guess I’ll have to say thank you.”
I tap his leg. “I have to go to the inn. I need to meet with Liam on the books today so we can get our quarterly information to the accountant for taxes. What are you doing?”
“I’m going to go to the brewery tonight. I’ve been gone a lot and want to make sure I’m there when I can be. I want to be free to do whatever I need for Olivia.” He gives me a weak smile. “I just keep hoping that they’ll change their mind and not make us go through this.”
I reach over to place my hand on his arm. “I know. Me too.”
We both get up and call Fiona inside. I need to get ready to go meet Liam, and prepare myself because I know that all my brothers are going to be there, and they’ll all want to talk about Roman and my miscarriage that they now know about. They’re going to be a mix of angry and protective.
A few hours later I’m sitting in the office with Liam, reviewing our books when every single Keaton brother walks in, except G. He and Willow are back in Nashville this week to meet with a new artist. After Willow experienced the underbelly of the music industry, she started a non-profit to help young girls get into the industry, and not be taken advantage of by the men in their lives. She and G split their time pretty evenly among Nashville, Lupine Valley, and Balsam Cliffs.
Liam stares at the three other brothers who are just standing in the doorway. Cooper looks between me and Hunter before taking his seat on the small loveseat in the office.
“This oughta be fun. I should have Vi make me some popcorn.”
“I have cookies! I’m coming! Wait for me!” Violet yells from the kitchen that’s right next to the office.
“What the hell are you idiots doing here?” Liam asks.
“Uh… well...” Hunter stumbles through whatever he’s trying to say.
“Mom told them both they needed to apologize to you and Roman for how they acted.” Cooper grins ear to ear as he tattles on his brothers. Just like when we were kids.
