Hope Heals Read online

  Not anymore. Not now. Her priorities had been firmly and irrevocably shifted back to where they belonged. Jason and her dad, and Dana and her kids. Sam and Pete and even Betty.

  Family.

  That was her priority now.

  The men stopped by after Jason had already gone to bed. They both looked exhausted and smelled a little funky.

  “Sorry, honey,” Sam said as he leaned in to kiss her. “We just finished up the chores a little bit ago.”

  Pete kissed her, too. “Can we take a rain check tonight?”

  They must have sensed her hesitation before she answered.

  Both men looked at her dad. “What else happened?” they asked together.

  “What? How can you two possibly know something else happened?”

  “Because they love you,” her dad said. Fortunately, he told the story about Sarah’s talk with Roger, because even thinking about it still made Sarah upset.

  Both men looked angered when he finished the telling.

  “I’m sorry we weren’t here for you,” Pete said. “You should have called us.”

  “I didn’t want to interrupt you guys,” she mumbled. “I already interrupted your day once. And it was just a phone call.”

  Sam grabbed her hands. “That wasn’t an interruption, and this wouldn’t have been, either. That’s what we’re here for, to help you through stuff like this.”

  Her dad stood. “I’ll leave you three alone. If you want to spend the night over there with them, go ahead. I’ll be up in the morning for Jason.”

  She started to protest but the men grabbed her arms and dragged her out the back door before she could.

  Back at their house, they both stripped, got her naked, too, and pulled her into the shower in the master bath with her.

  While she’d been hoping for sexy time, she broke down crying. “Why won’t she leave us alone?” she said. “She just won’t go away.”

  Pete engulfed her in his arms. “Some people are just mean all the way through. They get their sights set on something not because they really love or want it, but more to keep it away from someone else.”

  After Sam finished soaping and rinsing, Pete handed her off to him so he could. Sam cradled her against his chest. “Curl up in bed with us tonight, babe. No sexy. Just sleep.”

  That actually sounded like a great idea. She always did sleep better when with the men.

  After they all dried off, they retired to the master bedroom, where the men cuddled her tightly between them and held her until she fell asleep in their arms.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Unfortunately, they didn’t have long to wait for the other shoe to drop. Four days later, the mailman knocked.

  This time her dad went to answer the door while Sarah stood back in the hall, filled with dread.

  He read through the paperwork, a grim look on his face. “She’s hired a firm in Tampa. They’ve scheduled an emergency hearing for next week.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself as she leaned against the wall.

  “I’ll get Lucy on the phone,” he said.

  She slowly slid down the wall, her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

  “This will be okay.”

  “No, it won’t ever be okay, Dad,” she whispered. She was afraid she’d scream if she tried to talk.

  She sensed him kneel in front of her and finally opened her eyes.

  He stared at her. “You’re a Heckman. We’re strong. It takes a lot more than this bullshit to beat us. Don’t you forget it.”

  She slowly nodded.

  He helped her back up. “I’ll call Lucy. Betty’s taking the kids to swimming tonight, so she can watch Jason for us. Go get ready.”

  “You don’t know she can see us today, Dad.”

  “She will. Now get up and go change.”

  An hour later, they were on their way to Tampa, her dad driving them in the Toyota. Lucy was fitting them in after her last hearing of the day. He’d also called Sam and Pete, who would come over and help Betty fix dinner and help Jason with his homework.

  Everyone agreed not to tell Jason anything just yet.

  Isabella wasn’t just trying for visitation. She’d gone all in and wanted full custody, and the right to take Jason out of the country to visit his “ancestral home in Italy,” as it had been stated in the paperwork.

  Sarah knew if Isabella got Jason out of the country, she’d never see him again.

  Over my fucking dead body.

  The attorney’s cover letter also alluded that pictures showing Sarah’s unsuitability as a mother due to her “personal liasons” would be entered into evidence if she didn’t agree to the order.

  Lucy’s face remained neutral as she read the paperwork. Until she got to the end, when she let out a disgusted snort. “Well, don’t know why she’s hired Kennedy, but if it’s the guy I think it is, he’s an idiot. But he’s also cheap and probably needed the money, if I had to guess.”

  She looked at Sarah, eyebrows arched. “We’re going to kick. Her. Ass.”

  Sarah let out a relieved breath. “Really?”

  “Really.” She tossed the complaint onto the desk. “Normally, I’d say we’d file an emergency motion to continue in response, but frankly? I’m thinking we go with this date.”

  “Why?”

  She shrugged, a playful smile on her face. “Because it gives them less time to prepare. Less time for someone in New York to see the paperwork they filed and warn her to find a different lawyer. We don’t want her to have more time or a better lawyer.”

  Her dad lightly whacked Sarah’s arm with the back of his hand. “See, sweetheart? Told you it’ll be fine.”

  “It’s not fine until it’s over.”

  “I’ll file our response in the morning,” Lucy said. “Refuting the claims and tossing in a few of our own, like Michael’s infidelity and financial fraud and malfeasance, and her actions at the funeral, since she’s bringing up quality of parentage.” She grinned, slightly resembling a shark sensing blood in the water. “I’m looking forward to meeting this woman.”

  “Why?” Sarah asked.

  Lucy laughed. “Because this is like shooting fish in a barrel. You don’t often get wins handed to you like this.”

  * * * *

  Sarah struggled to stay calm in the days leading up to the hearing. She wished they could have gotten a morning hearing slot and gotten it out of the way sooner. Having it in the afternoon would only amplify her stress.

  For his part, Jason was happy to hear he’d miss a day of school. They’d decided the best way to approach it with him was head-on, and waited until the evening before the hearing to break the full news of what it was about. And they simplified it down to Grandma Izzy wanting Jason to come live with her instead of Sarah.

  He put his foot down. “I’ll tell her I won’t go,” he said. “I don’t want to live in New York.”

  “And you might have to tell the judge that yourself, sweetheart,” Sarah told him. “Whatever you do, you have to tell the truth, okay?”

  He nodded. “Okay.”

  That morning, her dad kept Jason busy playing video games while the men stayed with Sarah in her office. They’d made her sit down and stood in front of her.

  Sam held her hands in his and gently squeezed. “It’s going to be all right. No way in hell will any judge with half a brain and a modicum of common sense take Jason away from you. The attorney told you that.”

  “Until I have a signed order stating it, I can’t relax.”

  “We’re going to be right there with you,” Pete said.

  “So what the hell kind of pictures does she have of us? Did they have someone sneaking into the backyard and peeping through the windows?”

  “If they do, we’ll file an invasion of privacy suit against them,” Sam assured her. “They probably got pictures of us out on a date together. Or at one of Jason’s swim meets. Nothing illegal or even immoral about that.”

  “He’s right,” Pete said.
“I’m sure Isabella’s attorney was trying to scare you.”

  “I got news for you both. It worked.”

  “And that’s just what she wanted,” Pete said. “I’m sure her thinking was you were going to fold and agree to unsupervised visitation just from a threat. She never anticipated facing off against all of us. She can’t win.”

  “Don’t say can’t.” She shook her head. “She’s a damn sneaky bitch.”

  They finally loaded up and headed for the courthouse in downtown Tampa. They hadn’t told Jason many of the details, only that Grandma Izzy wasn’t happy Sarah had moved them down to Florida.

  He’d made it perfectly clear to all who would listen that he didn’t want to go back to New York, even for just a visit.

  They were standing outside the courtroom with Lucy Collins, their attorney, when Sarah spotted Isabella walking toward them.

  Alone.

  She must have made a noise, because both Sam and Pete immediately went on high alert, as did her dad.

  “Well hello there, Jason,” Isabella said, her syrupy voice not fooling anyone. She leaned in. “How are you?”

  Sarah didn’t miss how Jason wrapped his arm around her legs and huddled closer.

  Lucy stepped between them. “Mrs. d’Antonio, I presume? You’ll need to wait for your attorney.”

  “I just want to speak with my grandson.”

  “Anything you want to say,” Walt thundered, “you can say right here in front of witnesses.”

  The woman shot him a venomous glare, but refocused her attention on Jason. “Wouldn’t you like to come back to New York with Grandma?”

  “No!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, startling everyone and making other people in the hallway turn and stare. “I don’t want to go back to New York! And I’m not living with you! I’ll run away if you try to take me!”

  Isabella pursed her lips together. “Jason, all your family is up there. You don’t belong here in Florida.”

  “No!” he yelled again. Sarah rested a hand on his shoulder but didn’t quiet him. “I’m living in Florida with Mom and Grandpa. I don’t live in New York anymore.”

  Isabella focused her glare on Sarah and jabbed a finger at her. “You’ve poisoned my grandson against me.”

  “You didn’t need any help from me, Isabella.”

  “You are not a fit mother!”

  Jason threw himself toward Isabella. “You leave my mom alone. Me and my mom are happy.” Before anyone could react, he shoved at Isabella, which didn’t really do much, but she stepped back in shock more than anything. “Just leave us alone!”

  Walt reached for Jason, while Sam and Pete both grabbed Sarah and hauled her back when she lunged at Isabella.

  Lucy stepped between them, in Isabella’s face, forcing the older woman back a few steps. “We’re done here, Mrs. d’Antonio.” She spotted a man hurrying down the hallway toward them. “There’s your attorney now. Anything else you want to say, you can say in front of the judge.”

  Sarah’s jaw hurt from the force of keeping it clenched against the angry scream she wanted to hurl at the woman’s back as her attorney hustled her away.

  Jason looked up at Lucy. “Please, don’t let Grandma Izzy take me back to New York. I don’t want to go.”

  She knelt down in front of him and gave him a smile. “Don’t worry, honey. We’re all going to get to talk to the judge. She’ll even want to talk to you. Everything will be all right.”

  Sarah still wasn’t so sure, but she knew one thing—she wasn’t going down without a fight.

  * * * *

  When the bailiff called them in they all assembled inside the tiny courtroom.

  Sarah knew they were in for a bad time when one of the first things Isabella’s attorney did after court was called into session was a request to enter their evidence into the record.

  The judge looked over her glasses at him. “You can enter any evidence you want, counselor, but considering I’ve already read the complaint I can guess what kind of evidence you want to enter. I will warn you now, if your evidence doesn’t directly reflect upon this mother’s care of her child, you may want to give second thought to it.”

  He hesitated on his way up to the clerk before finally handing her the envelope he carried.

  Lucy stood. “Objection, your Honor. Counsel has failed to provide us with a copy of the evidence.”

  He returned to his table and held up a second envelope. “Right here, your Honor.”

  The judge nodded and he handed Lucy the envelope. With a carefully schooled face, Lucy opened it and glanced at the photos before handing them to Sarah to look at.

  She gave Sarah a wink.

  They were pictures of the three of them in the stands at Jason’s swim meet.

  Sarah desperately clamped down on her giggles as she slid the pictures back into the envelope. If that was the best they had, proof that her and the two guys were together at a swim meet, then she knew they would win.

  Until they had that judgment, however, she wouldn’t count it as a win.

  Sam took Jason outside when Isabella was called up to testify. Sarah felt more relief creep in as the woman basically reiterated the same bullshit she’d stated in her complaint.

  Then she had her turn.

  Isabella’s attorney tried to make her look like a bad mother, and failed at every attempt. When Lucy stood to cross-examine her, Sarah glared at Isabella and got to tell her story.

  And tell it she did, her tears flowing as she recalled everything that happened the day of the accident and the weeks following until she returned to Florida.

  When she finished, she looked at the judge. “Yes, Samuel and Peter Hope are close friends of mine. Whose business is it? They’ve done nothing but be generous friends and employers. They’ve taken not only Jason, but his two cousins, under their wing. They’re adopted family, as far as I’m concerned.” She glared at Isabella again. “They pay a far better quality and quantity of attention to my son than his father ever did.”

  Isabella started to stand, but her attorney hauled her back down into her seat.

  The judge pointed at her. “You will not disrupt this court, Mrs. d’Antonio. You had your chance to tell your story.”

  Her dad was questioned next. Relief filled her when she saw how calm and confident he stayed. Betty was questioned next, and she went out to take Sam’s place with Jason when it was his turn on the stand. Fortunately, their attorney objected to questions about their sex life, and the judge sustained them.

  Every lost argument made Isabella’s face turn a slightly darker shade of red, Sarah gleefully noted.

  Finally, it was time for Jason to speak. When Isabella’s attorney called him to the stand as a witness, one of the bailiffs went out into the hall to call him back in.

  * * * *

  Judge Ingalls looked at both of the attorneys. She was already prepared to rule on this case, but knew if she did so pre-emptively, it would give the grandmother a legitimate chance to appeal.

  “I want to speak to Jason in my chambers before we go any further.” She looked at the little boy. “Is that okay with you?”

  He nodded.

  Bless his heart, he looked scared.

  She stepped out from behind her bench and offered up her hand to him. “Adjourn to my chambers. Now. Court reporter and attorneys only,” she said over her shoulder. “Everyone else stay here until we come back.” The little boy looked up at her before taking her hand.

  She gave him a smile. “Come on, I’ll show you my office and pictures of my dogs.”

  That earned her a grin. “Okay!”

  She led him out of the courtroom and down the back hallway toward her chambers while the two attorneys, one of her bailiffs, and her court reporter all scrambled to follow.

  Once they were in her office, she took off her robe and hung it on the coat tree beside her door. Then she sat on the sofa and pointed at the bookshelf behind her desk. “Go ahead,” she said. “You can go look.
You can even sit in my chair, if you want.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  He was a polite little boy, to be sure. While the two attorneys stood there looking wary, and the reporter got her machine set up again, the judge watched Jason as he examined the many pictures of her dogs.

  “How many dogs do you have?” he asked as he studied a picture of her black Lab.

  “I’ve had a lot in my life. Right now, my husband and I have three.”

  She glanced at the two attorneys and waved them to chairs in the corner. Once they were seated, she returned her focus to Jason.

  “Okay, we’re back on the record,” she said. The court reporter’s hands hovered over the keys of her machine.

  Jason looked at her. “Did you mean it when you said I can sit in your chair?”

  She stood and walked over to him. “Of course I did. Help yourself.”

  “Thank you.” He hopped up into her chair. She was glad to see he’d seemed to relax a little.

  She glanced at the two attorneys and pointed a finger at them, warning them to keep their mouths shut.

  They nodded.

  “Jason, can I ask you something?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Do you understand why we’re here today?”

  “In your office?”

  She chuckled. “In court.”

  He frowned a little. “Mom didn’t want to talk about it. I know Grandma Izzy did something. Grandma Izzy told me out in the hall she wants me to go with her back to New York. I don’t want to. I want to live with my mom and Grandpa and Sam and Pete and everyone.”

  “Here in Florida?”

  He nodded.

  She offered him a smile. “You have to say your answer out loud. Did you mean here in Florida?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And why’s that?”

  He cocked his head a little as he looked at her. “My dad died.” His gaze dropped to his lap, where he’d clasped his hands together. “We were in the car together and he was yelling at someone on the phone and there was a tire in the road,” he quietly said. “We wrecked and he died.”