Michael Willard had an ugly meeting in five minutes, but he paused to gaze up at the graceful limestone arch framing the weathered oak doors that led into the TGU administration building. He used to swell with pride when he walkedthrough those doors as a child, holding his grandfather’s hand. Grandpa Ezra had been dean of students here. He had guided and supported a generation of TGU students, and everyone had expected him to be named president as the capstone to a long career serving the university he loved. But the university hadn’t loved him back. The trustees passed over Grandpa and chose a smooth-talking young Legare named Pierre. As a consolation prize, they gave Grandpa a small pension and a long lease on the big house that used to be the president’s mansion. And then they kicked him to the curb.
Grandpa made the mistake of trusting the university and the Legares. Michael was about to meet the woman who embodied both: Savannah Webster. She had requested this meeting “to talk about Simon’s best interests,” but when had a Legare cared about the best interests of anyone else, especially a Willard? Michael would have rejected the meeting out of hand, but he had his own agenda for it. He glanced down at his battered steel briefcase and smiled. This would be fun.
Michael pushed open the heavy doors and walked down the middle of the wide hall, his leather-soled shoes clicking on the marble floor. The place had a faint smell of must under the janitorial disinfectant—the odor of old money that had started to rot. What must it have been like before Savannah’s grandfather Andre started the university down the dark path of corruption and the resulting decay?
The old guard behind the security desk glanced up from his phone long enough to point Michael toward the carved oak doors leading to the presidential conference room. The Websters rose as he entered, and Savannah caught him with those gold-flecked green eyes that were so like her mother’s. She hadMarie’s auburn hair, too, but the rest of her face had the aristocratic lines of a Legare.
Savannah spoke first. “Thanks for coming in, Michael. Please have a seat.”
Hez eyed the door as they sat. “Should we wait for your lawyer?”
Michael sneered. “I won’t need a lawyer for this.”
Savannah gave a tentative smile. “Good. I hope this can be a friendly conversation. We all want what’s best for Simon, of course.” She swallowed hard. “We’d be open to some form of joint custody.”
Michael glanced down at the briefcase beside his chair, but he decided not to open it just yet. “Why should I agree to joint custody?”
Hez cleared his throat. “Because no matter who wins a custody fight, the child usually loses.”
Michael turned to Hez. “So don’t fight. You can’t win.”
“But you can still lose.”
Michael stared Hez in the eye. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Hez’s gaze didn’t waver. “You need two things to adopt Simon: Erik’s consent and proof that the adoption would be in Simon’s best interests. You’ve got the consent, but you may have difficulty proving that it’s in Simon’s best interests for you to adopt him.”
Embers of anger glowed in Michael’s chest, but he kept his voice calm. “I’m his grandfather. I’ll raise him better than you could.”
“Jess disagreed.”
Michael smacked his palms onto the table. “How dare you use my daughter against me!”
Hez shrugged. “Her words will carry a lot of weight in court.”
Michael’s fury flared and he reached for the briefcase, but Savannah spoke before he could open it. “Please respect her wishes, Michael. I know how much you loved her—and how much she suffered from the conflict between our families. Let’s not make Simon go through the same pain.”
“She suffered because the Legares hurt her. Not the Willards. I’m going to keep Simon safe from y’all.”
Hez scoffed. “Oh, come on. You know Simon is safe with us. Probably safer than with you. We know about your criminal connections—and those will come out during a custody fight. You really are better off making a deal with us.”
So they were going to play the same game Pierre did all those years ago, blackmailing Michael to keep him in line. It wouldn’t work this time. “Simon almost drowned when he was with you. Should I wait until he’s dead, like your daughter?”
Hez turned a satisfying shade of red, and Savannah gave a little gasp.
Michael picked up his briefcase and put it on the glass-topped table. He opened it, pulled out a thick envelope, and tossed it on the table in Hez’s general direction. “My lawyer just filed this. It’s an emergency motion for full custody of Simon because he’s in danger. See you in court.”
Michael got up and walked out of the conference room. His anger cooled as he walked back down the hall and out of the building. Thunder rumbled and a gusty wind tossed the moss-draped tree branches overhead. He first kissed Marie on a daylike this, sheltering under a huge old oak as a storm swirled around them. He held her tight that day—and he never should have let her go. He hadn’t known how to fight the Legares back then, but he was older and savvier now. Everything was going according to plan. Even Erik Andersen had a role to play, though Michael didn’t trust him.
The first fat raindrops splattered Michael’s truck as he got in. It had rained on the night Marie died too. Pierre should have paid for her life with his, and maybe it wasn’t too late to arrange that.
Would Hez Webster need to die too? Michael wouldn’t let anyone get between him and his grandson, and if Hez chose to put himself in harm’s way, that was his fault. Besides, James Hornbrook might just do the job for Michael.
Michael smiled and drove off into the storm.
Chapter 15
Kids carrying backpacks streamed from the school doors. Savannah parked in the pickup line and craned her neck through her open window to watch for Simon. Ever since Michael had taken her nephew without permission, she’d made sure to pick him up herself. The man had gone rogue, and there was no reining him in. Rules didn’t apply to him, and he made sure everyone knew it. The problem was he was right—everyone fell in line with his demands, and she wasn’t sure how she and Hez could win this battle.
