Page 14

CHAPTER 14

There was an edge now. Rhea felt it in her bones.

Every day when she wasn't on shift, she woke up and went to Chip's room to watch him sleep.

She took random photos with her phone.

Trying to memorize each moment.

Just in case.

And when she was on the job?

Everyone had encouraged her. And by everyone, she meant it.

People she didn't even know spoke to her and told her everything was going to work out.

Just a few minutes ago as they were finishing with a quick check up on Abby Hickson who'd tripped over the edge of the carpet in the kids’ reading nook of the Fallport Library, Raiden Walker had taken a moment to hold the door for them and asked if there was anything he could do.

It had been difficult, to say the least.

Raiden was a big guy, quiet, too.

So to have him reach out and talk to her, offering his support? Yeah. It almost reduced her to tears and that wasn't a good thing. She had to be on the ball.

As they walked outside to the rig, she asked Brody straight to his face. "Am I slipping?"

He looked shocked. Taken aback. "Slipping?"

"My skills. Our calls. Have I given you any indication that I'm not one hundred percent there?"

He opened the passenger door and put her kit inside before he turned back to her. "What makes you ask that?"

She held up her hands between them and she could see that they were shaking. "I feel like I'm shaking apart, Brody. I know you say it's going to be okay. Everyone does, but none of you have met his family. As poor as they are moneywise, Charles said they could be even more cruel and desperate when left to their own devices, which is why he said he kept giving them money."

He pulled her into his embrace and held her even as she struggled to get loose. "Brody, people might see!"

"Rhea, honey... I think you're underestimating how nosy these townspeople are. I'm sure everyone knows how I feel about you. One of my old classmates from high school who I see once or twice a year saw us on a call in Grogan's and texted me that night to ask when the wedding was. People will sniff it out. Let me hold you."

"I don't like this."

He placed a kiss on the crown of her head, and she hated how easily she snuggled into his embrace. "Well I'm not big on you feeling out of sorts, but holding you? I love it."

She turned and placed her cheek against his chest. "You didn't answer my question."

"Hmm?"

She loved the way he gently smoothed his hands over her back from time to time.

The gesture was generous. He just held her and smoothed his palms down her spine and almost rocked her back and forth.

It worked wonders when she was stressed.

She just couldn't let him shoulder so much of the burden. She wanted to stand on her own two feet.

How could she tell the court that she could take care of Chip if she was constantly leaning on Brody every day?

"Am I slipping on our calls? Distracted? Off my game?"

He shifted, taking hold of her arms and holding her away from him to the point where he could look right into her eyes. "No, Rhea. You're not. When you're on the job, you are unshakeable. Just like how you are with Chip. You're a great mom, Rhea. Incredible.

"There is no one, and I mean NO ONE who could look at you with him and not think that you're amazing. He's smart, kind, and loving. He's well behaved. He even eats veggies with every meal. I wasn't like that when I was a kid. I was a stubborn brat when it comes to vegetables."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Ask my mom. She'll tell you all the horror stories."

She shook her head. "I don't want horror stories, Brody. I love getting to know more about you."

"We've got plenty of time for that, honey. There's no rush there."

Her phone rang and she picked it up thinking that it was about the time that Chip was getting home from school.

"Hello?"

"Rhea? This is Nissi O'Neill."

Nissi O'Neill was the best lawyer in town and Brody had taken Rhea in to meet with her about the custody case.

Her face flushed and her palms prickled. "Miss O'Neill. How are you?"

"No need to worry, Rhea. I'm calling for a good reason."

Rhea let out a breath. "Okay?"

"Breathe, Rhea. It's going to be okay."

Rhea turned her head to look at Brody who was hovering but trying not to push her boundaries.

She lowered her phone and put it on speaker. "I'm here with Brody, Nissi."

"He seems to be everywhere you are, Rhea. That's what I call support."

Rhea nodded and smiled at Brody. "I'm beginning to realize that I've got a lot of support."

"You do," Nissi agreed. "I'm calling because I have a colleague I went to Law School with. She's in Richmond where the Russell family filed this case and as happy as I am to go with you to Richmond for the hearings, I'd like you to consider hiring Keely Dawes to work on your case."

A momentary frisson of panic rushed through her. "Keely Dawes."

"She is a bulldog, Rhea. If someone was trying to take my child from me, I'd go to Keely in a heartbeat. She has an opening tonight. In her offices. Seven o'clock."

Rhea turned to look at Brody and found him already on his phone.

"Joshua. I need to ask you a favor."

Rhea stood there, shocked as Joshua and Brody spoke back and forth, words flowing easily.

And in less than a minute, or at least what felt like lightning speed, Brody was smiling at her. "Thanks, Joshua. We'll head back now."

He dropped his phone in his pocket and leaned in to press a kiss on her cheek. "We can be there, Nissi. I'll drive Rhea into Richmond for the appointment."

Nissi's voice was punctuated by soft laughter. "Okay. I'll let Keely know and I'll text you both with her address and phone number. Rhea?"

Shaking herself free of her stupor, Rhea looked down at the screen of the phone. "Yes?"

"You're going to be okay."

"Yeah," she nodded and smiled up at Brody, "yeah. We will."

She hung up the phone and waved her on.

"Let's go back to the firehouse. Johnson from next shift is there early. If Jesse isn't there by the time we arrive, Joshua will ride with Johnson until Jesse can get there and clock in."

He opened the passenger door for her and closed it, starting to move away when she reached out and caught his arm through the open window. "Brody?"

He smiled at her and that one look was enough to set her heart beating like a racehorse. "Yeah?"

"Do you want to come with me to Richmond? If you don't, I can drive there on my own."

He didn't speak at first. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand and then he looked right in her eyes. "You can do all kinds of things on your own, but I want to be there for you, Rhea. I'm planning on being there with you, for you, for the rest of our lives anyway. This is just a great place to start."

She nodded. "Okay."

"So... we're going?"

She smiled. "Yeah. We." He jogged around the front of the rig to his door. "I like 'we' a lot."

* * *

Brody was stunned.

It was a constant state when he was around Rhea.

Stunned.

And hard.

Every time she did something amazing, which was every few minutes or so, he was just left amazed at the woman she was.

Knowing what she said about her early life and what she'd become in the last few years, he found himself marveled and thankful to have found her. To have her in his life.

Driving there, he'd tried to get her to sleep along the way. Instead, she went over her notes and the timeline that she'd assembled after talking to Nissi about what a custody case would entail. Rhea, like in other aspects of her life, was driven and totally dedicated to what she loved.

And Chip topped that list.

Now, he was sitting in the waiting area in the offices of Dawes and Dawes, a father and daughter law firm, of which the elder Dawes was completely up front that the first Dawes in the firm's name, was Keely's.

Keely's father had left before they'd started their consultation and while Keely was more than happy to have him in the office for some of it, he understood when she'd booted him out to talk to Rhea alone.

There were things that they'd have to discuss, and he wanted Rhea to be able to speak frankly to her attorney.

While Rhea had given her okay for him to remain, he wanted her to talk about anything and everything without wondering what he might think.

There would be years ahead for them to share whatever she wanted to tell him, but the most important thing at the moment was keeping Chip where he belonged. With Rhea.

The office door opened up and Brody got up on his feet, his gaze trained on Rhea the moment she stepped outside.

She looked... shaken, but hopeful.

He didn't like the first, but he liked seeing the hope in her eyes.

She deserved to be happy.

She deserved the world.

"Thanks for coming into Richmond tonight. I know it was quite a drive, but I have every confidence that this is going to be a win for you, Rhea. I'll contact the people you listed for me from your old neighborhood and Chip's day care programs. That will give us a good start. And I know Nissi well. The support she says that you have in Fallport? That's good."

Brody wrapped his arm around Rhea, settling his hand on her hip.

He wasn't sure that she knew that she'd leaned into him, but it felt good to be there for her.

Keely looked at him with a smile. "Brody? Before you two leave, could I talk to you in my office for a moment?"

"Sure." He turned and walked Rhea to the couch he'd been sitting on. "You going to be okay out here?"

Rhea looked up at him and nodded. "I have a lot to think about."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and followed Keely into her office.

Keely gestured to the chairs in front of her desk. "Do you mind if we just sit down together?"

He looked back at the closed door. "Sure. I want to get back to Rhea."

Keely looked at him and he wondered what she saw when she looked at him.

She crossed one leg over the other and folded her hands in her lap. "I think this is going to be pretty straight forward as cases go. I have requests in for any kinds of official paperwork that they have on Chip, her husband, Charles, and Rhea herself. I'm not sure what kind of case that the Russell family thinks they have, but that's not something you have to worry about. I want to know what your commitment looks like in this case."

Brody gave her a smile even though he wasn't all that sure of what she was asking. "Is this like the equivalent of someone asking me my intentions toward Rhea and Chip?"

She thought about it for a moment before she answered. "Basically. In a perfect world," she explained, "we'll get a judge who will take one look at this case, see it for the crazy it is and dismiss it with prejudice."

He must have had a confused look on her face, because she explained. "That just means that the case is over and as my favorite law school professor said, 'they won't get another bite at the apple.'"

Brody rubbed his palms on his thighs. He was still wearing his uniform since they hadn't taken the time to change before they got in his Tahoe and headed out.

"And," she nodded at him, "if this continues, we'll have to see what reasons they're giving for wanting to transfer custody to Charles' family. That should be an interesting discovery period. I just wanted to touch base with you and see if this thing between you two is something you're sure about."

He narrowed his eyes at Keely. "I'm sure. I might work with Rhea, but this," he put his hand on his chest, "this isn't just some kind of crush or a passing interest. I haven't really had relationships before. There were women I could have dated. Some I did, but there was never a real connection with them. I didn't feel like they were everything to me. I didn't feel like I wanted to invite them to family dinners and have them in my life forever. As far as I'm concerned Rhea and Chip are going to be my family. So you should know that I'm in this for them. I'll be here to support them every step of the way."

She sat quietly for a moment and then she uncrossed her legs, setting both feet on the floor.

Keely stood up and he stood up with her. "I'm a very good judge of character, Brody. I've based my career on it. I don't take people as clients if I don't like them. People make jokes about lawyers," she smiled, and it was a wry twist of her lips, "I've heard thousands, just about as many jokes as I've heard about blondes." She tipped her head to the side and a few of her curls brushed back behind her shoulder. "So I choose my battles, quite literally, because I like to help people and... I like to win."

"Well, I'm hoping that we win, too. Chip is everything to Rhea and I love him like my own. I want to be the man he looks up to for the rest of his life, and the man who is there to cheer him on when he needs it and to be a shoulder he can lean on. I know I'll never replace his biological dad, but that doesn't mean I'll love him any less." He held out his hand and she took it, giving it a good, solid shake. "If you need anything. If there are fees that we need to cover I'm happy to pay."

She moved to the door and put her hand on the doorknob but spoke before she opened it up.

"That's something you should discuss with Rhea. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking she wouldn't like you doing that behind her back no matter how good your intentions are."

He smiled and nodded. "I think you're right."

Keely opened the door and followed him out into the waiting area. "Let's all hope for the best and fight hard to avoid anything less."

Brody put out his hand and felt his heart kick against his chest when Rhea took his hand as she reached his side. "Thank you, Miss Dawes."

"Yes, thank you," Rhea's voice was steady if a little softer than usual. "I'm glad you agreed to represent me."

"We'll win this, Rhea. Keep your thoughts on that goal."

"I will. Thanks."

Before they even got down to his track, Brody broached the subject that worried him the most at that moment. "Bea knows she can call on Kay or Rachel if she needs help."

Rhea nodded. "Mmmhmm."

"I'm hoping you're okay with staying here overnight and heading back tomorrow."

Rhea looked up at him as they stood in the elevator and smiled. "I was wondering if you wanted to drive back tonight."

He held his breath knowing that he'd drive her back if she wanted him to.

"But you're right. Soon we'll have been up more than twenty-four hours. Getting some rest sounds good."

He smiled. "Good. I've already called about a room." He lifted his chin a moment later toward the elevator doors. "I did it while you were talking to Keely."

The elevator stopped at the lobby, and they walked out together, their hands joined together.

"I didn't want you to think that I was expecting anything."

They stopped at the side of his truck and Brody reached for the door and opened it for her.

He turned to look at her and she caught his face in her hands.

"Brody?"

"Yeah, honey?"

She smiled and shook her head as she looked up into his eyes. "You're something special."

He grinned, leaning toward her. "My family seems to think so."

"I know so. You didn't have to come with me today. You didn't have to help me figure out how to make this all happen, but you did. You did all of it without me having to ask. I'm so grateful to have you in my life. I'm not sure if I deserve it, but I hope I do."

"Rhea, you deserve the world. I just want to help you get it."

"I don't need the world." She smiled at him, "but I know I want you in my life. In Chip's, too."

"Well, honey. You've got me."

The kiss she gave him made him feel like a king, but the trust he saw in her eyes when they broke apart?

He was going to do whatever it took to make sure she always looked at him like that.