It Had to Be Fate (An It Had to Be Novel Book 3) (14 page)

While she thumbed through the channels, he ate his pizza. She finally stopped on a classic movie channel.
Casablanca
was just about to begin. “This okay?”

He nodded as he finished off his third piece of pizza. “My mom loved this movie. But I’ve never seen it.”

Her handful of popcorn stopped halfway to her mouth. “How is that even possible?”

“It’s old, in black and white, and a sappy romance. Not my first choice in movies.” He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d watched a movie in bed with a woman. How had his life gotten so complicated?

“Excuse me? It’s Bogart, Bergman, evil Nazis, and the best dialogue ever written. If you really listen, the misdirection they both use is masterful. It’s a romance, sure, but these two are not necessarily nice people! She breaks Rick’s heart and he has to decide which is stronger, his anger or his love for her.”

She was really getting worked up about the movie, so he couldn’t help but tease her. “Sounds depressing.”

She slanted a dark look his way. “Just watch, and when it’s over I
dare
you to say this isn’t one of, if not
the
best movie you’ve ever seen.”

“No way it’ll be better than a classic action flick. Like
Die Hard
,
Lethal Weapon,
or
The Terminator
.”

“
The Terminator
?” She cocked a brow.

“Well, maybe not
Terminator
.” He stole a handful of popcorn from her bowl.

She shook her head and turned up the volume. “You are in
dire
need of a movie palette expansion. Watch and learn!”

After he got past the black-and-white part and got sucked into both of the characters’ shady backstories, it
was
a good movie. About three-quarters of the way through, he glanced at Casey nestled at his side. “Okay. This is good.”

“So much better than
Die Hard
.”

“I didn’t say
that
.” But the movie was getting really interesting. Would Rick take her back, or punish her forever by withholding his love? The guy had it bad for Ilsa. That was for sure.

She snuggled closer. “Bet you a buck you will.”

“You’re on.” He chuckled as he laid a kiss on the top of Casey’s head. He’d never been with a woman so easy to just hang out with. Even better, she didn’t talk through the whole movie.

Still deeply enthralled by the plot, Zane lifted his head at a noise in the living room. “Was that the front door closing?” He muted the sound and was just about to go investigate when a man’s voice sounded just outside the bedroom. “Are you decent,
mon amour
?”

Casey’s eyes grew wide. “It’s Tomas.”

Looked like he was about to meet Tomas while in bed with the man’s ex-wife.

C
asey laid the popcorn bowl on the nightstand and sat up in bed as Tomas strode through the door. Why would he show up unannounced? And so late at night? It made no sense.

When he spotted Zane, Tomas stopped dead in his tracks. “What the hell, Casey?”

“I should ask you the same question. What are you doing here?” She held her hand out toward Zane “This is—”

“I know who he is.” Tomas narrowed his eyes and then pulled his phone out and took a picture of them. “And I know all about Ty’s accident. What I didn’t expect was to see you in bed with the guy when our kids are right down the hall! This picture will come in handy in court.”

Court? Casey’s stomach took a dive. How much did Tomas know? Had the boys told him after all? This wasn’t going to help her bid to keep the boys where they belonged.

“Hang on.” Zane rolled out of bed and stood toe to toe with Tomas. “You need to relax, pal. We were just watching a movie.”

Casey scrambled out of bed and stood by Zane’s side. Tomas was a terrible hothead. The last thing she needed was for those two to start something. Or for Tomas to provoke Zane into doing something in anger, giving Tomas more than just the picture he now had.

She laid her hand on Zane’s forearm. “Thank you, Zane, but I don’t have to defend my actions to my ex-husband.” She met Tomas’s gaze. “And you need to give my key back. You had no right to barge in here in the middle of the night. You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you!”

Tomas raised a single brow. “There’s a gun in the house that my boys could find?”

Dammit. He was going to twist
everything
she said and use it against her. “It’s in the exact same place it was when you lived—” Casey stopped herself when Caleb appeared.

“Dad? What are you doing here?”

Tomas quickly pasted on a grin and tousled Caleb’s hair. “I’d never miss your first day of school, would I? I told Ty he was getting a surprise and guess what? It’s me.” Tomas spread his arms wide. “Don’t you have a hug for your papa?”

Casey wanted to roll her eyes, but refrained. Tomas hadn’t given a flip about their first day of school—ever. What was the man up to?

While they hugged it out, Zane asked softly, “You want me to stay or go?”

“Stay!” she whispered back. “Tomas is going to be the one to go.”

Ty showed up next, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Dad?”

“Hey, buddy!” Tomas swung around and gave Ty a hug too. “Sorry about your arm. But why didn’t you tell me how serious your accident was?” Tomas’s eyes found hers. “Not telling the whole truth is the same as lying.”

Dammit. Tomas knew all the details. That’s why he’d shown up unexpectedly.

Ty shifted nervously from foot to foot. “You know the rules, Dad. We can’t talk about our guests. I
couldn’t
tell you how Zane saved me from drowning.” Panic lit Ty’s face as he looked at her. “I swear I didn’t tell him, Mom.”

“Me neither,” Caleb added.

She hated the worried look in the boys’ eyes. But then how could Tomas have possibly figured it out?

Tomas said, “You’ve trained them to lie very well, Casey. But unfortunately for you, your dad’s assistant never took me off the e-mail loop. I know exactly who your guests have been and what goes on here with my boys.”

Crap! How could that have happened? What a freakin’ disaster. He’d have that much more ammunition to use against her now.

But she refused to argue with him in front of the kids. “Caleb and Ty, say goodnight to your dad and then hit the hay, please. You both have big days tomorrow.”

After the boys said their goodnights and had shuffled back down the hall, she gritted her teeth. “You have no right to show up out of the blue and disrupt our lives like this. You had all summer with them. It’s my time now. And it’s late. Please leave.”

“I thought we agreed we’d be reasonable about visitation. Or did you and Daddy have another tiff?” He shot her one of his charming, fake grins. “Is that what’s put you in one of your little moods,
chérie
?”

Before she could let Tomas have it, Zane stepped in front of her. “She asked you to leave. So, go.”

“Just because you’re sleeping with my wife, that doesn’t give you the right to stick your nose in this. So, if you’ll excuse us, we have a few things we need to discuss in private. One of them being I don’t want
you
anywhere near my kids!”

Zane calmly replied, “No, you’re going to leave like she asked, or we’ll call the sheriff and let him decide. I’m guessing Ryan would jump at the opportunity to arrest you for trespassing.”

That got Tomas’s attention. Zane was right. Both her brothers would love to beat the crap out of Tomas. Arresting him would be even better.

“Go, Tomas.” She held out her palm. “But hand over the key first.”

“Fine. We can talk tomorrow. I’m jet-lagged anyway.” He dug the key from his jeans pocket and dropped it into her hand. “Which room is vacant?”

“Sorry, we’re all booked up. And so is Meg. If you’d have called first, I would have told you to make a reservation down south, because who knows? They might be booked up too.”

His jaw clenched. “You’re really going to make me stay at that fleabag inn fifteen miles away?”

“Yep.” The last thing she needed was Tomas snooping around looking for more things to throw at her in court. Clearly he wasn’t going to play fair.

“You’ll pay for this, Casey.” He turned and stormed down the hallway. “And I’m sure the judge is going to hand me the kids in a heartbeat when he finds out you and some deviant rock star are shacking up in front of our children! Thanks for the proof.”

When the door slammed closed behind him, she crumpled onto the bed. “I can’t believe he still had access to the e-mail loop. He probably
will
make me pay, Zane.” She held her head in her hands and fought back the tears that burned in her eyes.

Zane sank beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her against his side. “I’m sorry, Casey.”

She let her head fall onto his shoulder. “This makes no sense. The last two summers when the boys were in France, Tomas pawned the kids off with his parents for half of their visit. And then to show up here out of the blue like that is just another of his mind games. To catch me off guard to get what he wants. But the boys’ well-being is at stake.” Could Tomas really believe the boys were better off with him than with her? They still got plenty of male-bonding time with her brothers and even Dax. They loved Dax.

Zane ran a hand up and down her back as she pulled it together. He asked, “What does your lawyer think?”

“He says I need to be concerned. There have been other court cases in the state that set a precedent. But Tomas never even mentioned he was unhappy with our visitation arrangement. If he was genuinely worried about the boys, why wouldn’t he call and discuss this with me before he filed a lawsuit?”

Zane laid a soft kiss on the top of her head. “I happen to know a few good lawyers. Maybe there’s a way out of all this.”

She laid a hand on her aching stomach. “Thanks. But it’s my problem, not yours. Seems you have plenty of your own.” She stood to get ready for bed. And maybe be sick. “It’s late and you need rest. I’ll call my lawyer in the morning.”

She closed the bathroom door behind her and let her pent-up tears flow freely down her cheeks. Her boys needed to grow up somewhere safe. Surrounded by people who loved them. They belonged in Anderson Butte.

While Casey was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, Zane finished up the phone call he’d made to his lawyer, then slipped under the sheets. After Casey’s teary explanation of the situation with her ex, he needed to be sure she had the best representation she could get. Getting her to accept his help would be the next hurdle. But the lawyer told him his reputation, along with the picture, could hurt her case, so if he really wanted to help he needed to back off.

Casey stepped out of the bathroom dressed in her robe, with her hair up in a ponytail. She sat on the edge of the bed next to him. “I’m sure Tomas will ask the boys where I slept tonight, so I’d better bunk on the couch.” She laid her soft hand on his chest and forced a smile. “I’m sorry I dumped all of my troubles on you just now. I don’t usually do that. I’m usually the dump-ee.”

He wrapped up her small hand in his and gave it a quick squeeze. “I’m sorry to cause you more trouble with your boys. I’ll move back to the guesthouse tomorrow.”

“That’d probably be best.” She laid a soft kiss on his lips. “I texted Ben and he said since you’re feeling better I could wake you just once tonight, so sweet dreams. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Goodnight.”

After she closed the bedroom door behind her, he blew out a long breath. He’d finally met a woman he’d been instantly attracted to, loved to spend time with, whose kids he liked—but he couldn’t have her.

Because of his damn brother.

He’d wait until after the paternity test came back. If it was a positive match, maybe a preemptive strike would be in order to make Nick think twice before lying about their father’s death.

Just before seven thirty the next morning, Casey and Dax were talking in the hotel’s kitchen when her cell rang. She hit the “Send” button. “Hello?”

A deep voice said, “Mrs. Anderson-Bovier?”

“Yes, how may I help you?” Her father probably gave one of his friends her private number again.

“Good morning. I’m Roger Wells. Zane Steele thought I might be able to help you with a case.”

The
Roger Wells? The most famous divorce attorney in the US. “Hello, Mr. Wells. That was very nice of Zane, but I’m not sure I can afford—”

“No charge. I often take on pro bono cases. The international aspect of yours is a challenge I find interesting.”

It was probably pro Zane, not pro bono. She couldn’t accept a gift that large.

Before she could refuse, the boys appeared in the hotel’s kitchen with their backpacks weighing them down. “Mr. Wells, I have something I have to attend to. May I call you or text you at this number later?”

“Absolutely. I look forward to working with you. Goodbye.”

“Bye.” She quickly hung up and smiled at the boys. “You two look mighty handsome in your new clothes.” She planted a kiss on the top of Ty’s head and then Caleb’s, not caring if they liked it or not. It was the first day of school so she was entitled. “Be good and have a great day, you two. And remember, it’s straight home right after school because you’re both still on restriction.”

Caleb moaned, “Aw, Mom. Dad’s here. How are we going to do fun things with him if we’re on restriction? Can’t we have a pass until he goes?”

“Nope. That’s the price you pay for disobeying.”

Ty stuck out his stubborn little chin. “Maybe Dad would have been here to say goodbye if you hadn’t made him go away last night.”

Tomas knew what time school started. It was his own fault he wasn’t there to see them off. “You know how long the flights are from here to France. I’m sure he’s tired this morning. Maybe you’ll see him this afternoon.”

Casey’s phone dinged with a text.

Tell the guys to have a good first day of school!

She smiled and turned the screen so the kids could see it. “A message from Zane.”