Page 76 of 7+Us Makes Nine

The phone call fell silent as I wiped my tears away.

“I’m sorry for all the times I hung up. For all the holidays I missed. For all the Christmases I didn’t come home and all of the anniversaries I never called you guys on. I’m so sorry, Mom and Dad. I’m sorry, Hannah.”

“It’s okay,” my mother said. “It’s all right. I’m just… you have no idea how happy I am right now.”

“I think she does,” my father said. “I think we all do.”

“Does this mean I get to spoil the babies come Christmas?” Hannah asked.

I giggled through my tears as Jace dropped

his lips to my neck.

“You guys can do whatever you want for them come Christmas,” I said.

“Will you come home for Christmas?” my mother asked.

I looked over at Jace as he raised his head from my skin.

“Whatever we do for Christmas,” Jace said, “we’ll do as a family. One big, happy family.”

And we all rejoiced before we started making holiday plans for the first time in eight years.

Twenty-Five

Jace

“Breaking News: Anya Petrov, Hollywood’s favorite Fallen Angel from grace, has been caught scoring drugs off an undercover cop. According to authorities, Miss Petrov was arrested at-”

My cell phone rang out as I stared blankly at the television. Footage of Anya being arrested rolled over the screen. No one was up yet. Catherine was still sleeping and the kids had stayed up so late the night before that I could still hear their snores permeating the hallway. I sat on the edge of my bed and reached for my phone, watching as my ex-wife’s face was plastered on the television screen.

“This is Jace,” I said.

“It’s me,” my lawyer said. “I have good news.”

“No you don’t,” I said. “Something like this is never good news.”

“Are you watching the television?”

“I am.”

“Turn it off and listen to me.”

I reached for the remote control and promptly turned the television off. I didn’t want to digest the heartache of that news story any longer.

“That happened last night,” my lawyer said. “And the second it happened, I got a call from Anya’s lawyer. He was panicked, to say the least.”

“Attempting to hammer out a last-minute deal?”

“Yep. So this is what’s happening. Anya is currently in jail. She’s been there since last night. And when they drug tested her, they found that not only was she high on pills and heroin, but she had an extensive blood-alcohol level. They won’t be releasing her anytime soon, which means she won’t make her court appearance.”

“Which puts her in contempt,” I said.

“I’ve been on the phone all night back and forth with this lawyer and a very good friend of mine who happens to be a judge. He’s willing to see the case with just counsel, and it’ll probably be quick. With Anya being in jail for intoxication, public indecency, the use of drugs, as well as buying them off an officer, they’re not likely to release her.”

“Where do we go from here?” I asked.

“Nowhere. It’s done. The judge is already aware of what Anya got caught doing. There are scores of pictures with her drinking at all hours of the night last night and plenty of camera footage at stoplights I can have pulled at the drop of a hat to prove she was driving drunk. I know this judge. Once I bring all of this to him, he won’t even hear the case.”

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