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Fawn’s mouth tightened in an angry line. “Ciara is a girl. She should be living with her mother.”
Living with her mother?A cold chill went through him. “Sorry, but I have full custody.”
“Not for long, Morgan. I’m married now. I can give her a real home with two parents.” Her head swiveled back and forth as she glanced around. “And the house I live in makes this place look like a dump.”
Morgan sighed. His gut knew this was coming so why not spell it out. “So, that’s your plan? To try and take her from me?”
“You bet it is. And you keeping Ciara from seeing me today only gives me more I can use against you to win my case. Gavin can get me the best lawyers around no matter how much they cost.”
Morgan controlled his reaction, his voice deep and steady. “I am not keeping her from seeing you. But I won’t let you parade her about for a mommy-daughter photo op that puts her safety at risk. And toys with her feelings, messing with her head.”
Fawn barked a laugh. “That’s it, isn’t it? You are afraid Ciara will love being famous like her mommy and she won’t even remember you anymore.”
“You’re wrong on that because you don’t even know her. Ciara is not as shallow as you are,” Morgan said, ignoring the stab of doubt Fawn tried to inject into his relationship with the daughter he loved. “My offer stands. You can stay here and have some private girl time with—”
“I’ll see you in court,” Fawn said, and stomped out the door, slamming it behind her.
Morgan watched her go, then climbed the stairs to check on Ciara—before heading to his office to call his attorney.
* * *
Blake Sheehan satup in bed and reached for the lamp on the night table. Switching it on, she saw the wall clock read 2:48. Meaning she had tossed and turned for almost two hours.
Heaving a frustrated sigh, she snatched up the little glass bottle of lavender pillow mist on her nightstand and spritzed like mad around her pillow, the bedding, and even the lampshade. Not that it would do any good. Sure, Blake had heard it was the best thing for relaxation and sleep, but right now she wouldn’t mind a good dose of car fumes and street noise.
“I never should have given up my Manhattan apartment,” she murmured to herself, wishing she could go back there right now. Except the college had dropped the courses she was teaching and booted her out along with them, so, duh, it was impossible to pay rent without an income.
She straightened out her covers, then tried once again to settle into a comfortable position in the bed.
“What’s that sound?” Blake sat up, listening for that odd clickety cough she’d heard. Or maybe it was a chirpy snuff. Hard to tell through the blaring choir of crickets and katydids. She blew out a sigh. “Probably just a deer.” She swung her feet to the floor and got out of bed. “Please be a deer, please be a deer,” she muttered to herself as she went to the window.
Blake stared out into the yard but could not see a thing. It was soooo dark out there. Before she’d moved into this cottage in the woods of the North Fork, Blake had figured there would be sensor lights around the place, but yesterday when she had mentioned that to her friend Elena, who owned the place, Elena had acted like that would be a sacrilege and said those kinds of lights disturbed the ecosystem for nocturnal animals.
Well, the animals might be having a great night, but Blake sure the hell was not. “Who would have thought Long Island could feel like the middle of nowhere?” she grumbled. “New York City is only a couple of hours away.”
She donned a robe over her tank and boy shorts—her favorite jammies. The early September days were hot and humid, but the nights got cool. Making her rounds, Blake checked the locks on all the windows, the back door, and the front door. When she peeked out the glass panes on the front door into the night, she hunkered down in a half squat so she could not be seen from the outside. But it was impossible to see anything.
Flicking on the porch light, thinking it would help, she realized that might be a dumb move signaling her presence. She was all alone out here. There were other houses around, but none were too close. The cottage was surrounded by woods that would no doubt block any sounds if she screamed.
A sudden crash out back near the garden shed had her dashing for her phone that sat on the kitchen table. Someone was definitely out there. But what if the someone turned out to be a fox or a raccoon? If she called 9-1-1 over that, the local cops would not take her seriously if she ever needed them for real in the future.
So she did the next best thing. She called her big brother.
Typical Harper, he picked up after one ring. Blake used to tease her firefighter bro about always being on the lookout for an emergency, dubbing him Mr. Ever-ready, and of course he just laughed and translated it into a guy thing about his sexual prowess. But right now she was kind of glad for his alert and overprotective nature.
“Blake? What’s up? Is something wrong?”
“I, uh…” Now she felt embarrassed. It was the middle of the night and her brother had a wife and a kid and a business to run. “I’m sorry I woke you. I’m probably just having a panic attack over nothing. I shouldn’t have called. I—”
“Don’t say that. What’s wrong?” Yeah, he sounded completely awake. He was one of those people who did not even need coffee to transition from sleep to on-game status. Blake had to have at least three cups of coffee before she could be coherent. “Tell me,” he said. “What’s going on?”
It all came out in a babbling rush. “There are noises outside the house and then a big crash out back, but I can’t see a damn thing in the yard. I’m surrounded by dark shadows and woods. I feel like a sitting duck. I hate it out here. I wish I could go back to the city, but I have no job now and—”
“Hold on. It’s going to be all right.” He cut her off in that solid grounded voice of his. And, yeah, just hearing it made her feel a little better. “There are plenty of well-populated areas here in the North Fork where you would be fine,” he said. “Don’t ask me why you agreed to move into that dilapidated backwoods cottage.”
“Because my friend only uses it in the summer so she said I could stay here rent free from now until next summer if I just pay utilities.”
A throaty grunt. “You are doing your friend more of a favor housesitting for her than she is doing for you. I guarantee the heating bill in the winter will be outrageous in that drafty hovel. You’ll be paying through the nose and will still freeze your butt off. I told you the extra room in our house is yours if you want it.”
