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“The date on that report was the same day that your ex-husband, Grant, got into a bar fight and landed in the emergency room,” Nicky’s voice dropped.
She watched Lorry frown and take the accident report, then shake her head.
“His injuries never made sense for a bar fight,” Steph pointed out.
“What are you saying?” Lorry asked them suspiciously. “You think Grant was somehow involved in this car accident?” She leaned back and threw the report on the table. “That’s what Hannah said about his injuries. We all know our younger sister hated Grant, and besides, she’s a psychiatrist.”
“A psychiatrist who is also a trained trauma surgeon,” Nicky defended their sister. “Hannah was convinced he’d been in a car accident, and his blood alcohol level was through the roof.”
“Are you accusing Grant of causing the accident responsible for Megan’s mother’s injuries?” Lorry asked in disbelief. “Grant’s a lot of things, but he’d never do something like this.”
“Really?” Steph looked at her sister in amazement. “Didn’t he kidnap his daughter to get you to change your mind about the divorce?”
“He didn’t want to lose his family,” Lorry defended him. “I’m sure any of us would react similarly if someone was trying to take your child…” Her brow crumpled into a tight frown, and her face fell. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No!” she whispered.
“Tell her,” Steph hissed and kicked Nicky beneath the table.
“No!” Nicky whispered back. “No!”
“Tell me what?” Lorry’s eyes were dark with emotion as she looked at Nicky.
“We saw Grant force a woman into his car that day,” Steph blurted out. “We didn’t see her, only that she had dark hair.”
“What?” Lorry’s face paled as she looked at her sisters in shock.
“The day of Gran’t supposed bar fight,” Nicky told her, “Steph and I were returning from the horse ranch when we saw Grant pushing a dark-haired woman into his car.”
“The same car that he reported stolen the day after the bar fight,” Steph continued the story. “You know the one that was never found again?”
Lorry nodded, looking ashen as their words sank in. “Still, why would Dad pay for everything?”
“Because Grant begged your father to help him,” Pat Scott’s voice made them turn to see her standing, staring at them from the back doors of the house. Riley was asleep in her arms. “It wasn’t Grant’s first DUI or the first time he’d hurt someone.”
“I don’t understand.” Lorry’s voice was barely a whisper, and Nicky’s heart broke for her sister.
“Grant promised us he’d give you the divorce and not contest you getting full custody of Tammy,” Pat admitted. “Your father had fired Jackie the day of the accident after finding out Jackie was pregnant with Grant’s child. Grant and Jackie had been having an affair for three years.”
“What?” Nicky, Lorry, and Steph spluttered.
“You and Dad kept this from me?” Lorry growled, her eyes filling with anger.
“Honey, if you’re looking for an apology, I can’t give you one,” Pat told her, lifting her chin determinedly. “That man put you through hell, and your father and I could do nothing about it. He was your husband, and you loved him.” She swallowed. “We were so relieved when you finally kicked him out of yours and Tammy’s lives. But like a bad penny, he kept turning up, and at one point, we were so scared you would take him back.” She cleared her throat. “What we did, we didn’t do for Grant. We did it for you and Tammy. And as mothers, you all know you’d do anything to protect your kids, even if it means doing what we did.”
“What happened?” Nicky asked, looking worriedly at Lorry who’d gone ashen.
“The day of the accident we found out about the affair Grant and Jackie had been having,” Nelly, their grandmother, stepped out onto the deck beside Pat. “Your father was furious and fired Jackie on the spot.”
“Jackie was distraught and begged your father not to fire her because she couldn’t lose her job because of Megan, and she was expecting another baby,” Pat told them. “That’s how Grant found out about Jackie being pregnant. He overheard your father and Jackie arguing. He was furious and dragged Jackie out of the hotel before we could stop them.”
“Grant was drunk. He’d been in the hotel bar,” Nelly continued the story. “Before we could stop Grant, he drove off with Jackie. An hour later, we got a call from Jackie’s mother about the car accident.”
“Dad blamed himself for what happened,” Lorry guessed. “He covered up the accident so Grant’s parents wouldn’t cut him off because he was already on probation with his family.”
“Dad looked after Jackie,” Nicky finished the story and glanced at the beautiful baby in her mother’s arms. “And now we have Jackie’s granddaughter.”
“What happened to Jackie’s baby?” Lorry asked.
“She lost it that day,” Nelly answered.
