“He’s had long-term mistresses. Those old-school guys tend to keep that tradition alive. Is that what you’re asking?” he asked, raising a single brow.
“No, I’ve had a couple of women who worked in the executive offices of Richmond Holdings approach me with accusations of some truly awful acts. There’s enough evidence that I believe I’ll begin to take a deeper look,” I explained, my arm coming to the top of the fence, helping to support me there. “How does this look for me to handle a case against my family? Am I coming off as vindictive or vengeful?”
Carter stayed silent for several long moments. “I can’t say. Can you keep your cool with all the baggage between you and them? The next question: do you have the resources to cover such an investigation? I envision he’ll bury you—”
I rarely cut him off, but did this time, lifting a hand between us. “When I dive in, I’ll handle the pre-suit. If we do have a class action, Lon’s agreed to partner. I spoke with him this morning. I’ve beat my father before over my Dallas home. He fought me for years. With him, I’ll have to cut through the emotional bullshit, and stay focused on the task. It’ll be hard.”
“I can ask around,” Carter offered. “Someone has to know something.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want this on anyone’s radar until I get through the investigation and build the case. I can’t imagine pulling it off, but I’d really enjoy throwing Richmond Holdings for a loop.”
“It’d be something if you surprised them. Keep your cool and remember you have a family who loves you,” Carter said, my support system through all of my adult life. “Have you told Beau?”
“We tossed it around last night. At first, Beau was a hard no, then I released more information than I normally would, and he changed his mind. I’ll have some rules to follow, but he’s good.”
“I’ll talk to Linda. She loves feeling useful to you all. Kailey was shocked and happy to have Livie doing her same homework,” Carter said. “That’s quite an achievement in a school known for their academic success.”
“Livie’s struggling with the friendship side of being so smart. We heard of a Mensa support group in Houston. It’ll be a lot for Beau to handle while I’m traveling. I need to hire someone to help him and Amelia. I wish Belle hadn’t gone on to bigger and better,” I said.
“Ask Linda for what you need. She’s already picking them up from school. I’ve never seen her so happy as being here with the grandbabies. She’s patient with West, Fisher and Hunter, and handles them very much like Beau does, kind yet firm. It’s remarkable to watch. I can see the teacher inside her. I’m certain she’ll make herself available for anything you need. Beau’s become chopped liver to her since the grandkids arrived.”
I couldn’t help but beam. I understood the sentiment. These bursts of joy that we called children taught me love was not singular—centered only on Beau, but infinite.
“I believe Lon’s your best choice. He has a whole department dedicated to employment law. They’re go-getters,” Carter said, giving my shoulder a friendly squeeze over the fence. “Keep me updated with whatever can be shared. I’ll pay closer attention in my circles.”
I watched him walk away, feeling more confident after our talk. Carter wouldn’t steer me wrong. He never had.
“No, I’ll get the boys,” I said to Beau, hearing the distinct sounds of the churning ocean lapping in the background. Beau’s voice jostled in and out. I swore I heard the zip of a fishing line being cast. My guy never tired of being on the water.
“Then go inside and find out why the school wants to talk to us about Fisher.”
My brows knitted together. That was news to me.
“They want to talk to us?” I asked, watching the rear camera as I backed out of a garage.
“Yeah. They asked me to come inside this afternoon when we were in the drop-off line this morning. I didn’t ask if it was negative or positive. I can only assume…” I waited for him to finish his sentence, but he didn’t.
“What’s the assumption?” I asked, again feeling left out of the loop. And my family was a circle I tried my best to stay within.
“Amelia had to sign a couple of notes about Fisher bein’ disruptive in class. When I found out, I upped the way I work with him to learn to contain his urges. He’s such a sweet guy, full of energy. He can’t help his outbursts right now. He knows he’s annoyin’, but he’s tryin’, and that’s all we can do until he learns to control himself.”
Again, all of this was news to me. I was at a loss for words.
“I think they believe it’s ADHD. I feel like they’ll want our approval to have him evaluated for their special ed program,” Beau said, as if we were in a typical Tuesday where life happened and I didn’t know about it. Oh wait, we were. Fisher was barely more than a baby. Sure, he could have ADHD but that was an awfully young age to pin him down like that.
Instead of going in that direction, I stuck with my thought on why this was the first time I’d heard about this. Amelia was getting a talking-to too. A simple updating text message wasn’t too much to ask for.
“Well, if you know the problems, and it’s news to me, why do I need to go in?” I said with hostility. Except, I recognized that was the exact opposite of what I wanted to happen.
“Slow your roll,” Beau said in a mix of compassion and authority. “We all know Fisher has some energy and focus problems. I was the one who happened to be droppin’ them off this mornin’. You’ve got a lot goin’ on…”
“Oh come on, being late one night…” I shot out, ready for one of our rare arguments. If he and I were a team, I needed to be informed no matter the situation.
“No, that’s not what I’m sayin’. I just forgot. That’s it. You were preoccupied. I gave you space then forgot to say anything. We had a nice night. I don’t know anything except he’s gonna be fine because we’ll take care of him. Now my head’s occupied with everything you got goin’ on. The idea of bringin’ your shitty family back into our lives is a worry. Not for me but for you.” Beau stopped and took a breath as I pulled the SUV to the side of the road. He wasn’t appeasing me, only causing me to worry more. “And I fuckin’ hooked myself this mornin’. It hurts like a bitch.”
I let go of a heavy sigh. Beau was always doing things that caused him physical pain, and I freaked out every time.
“Sorry about that. I don’t know how you deal with that kind of pain every day.”
