Page 55 of Shelter for Shay
“Can you call during these training things?”
“Every night,” he said. “You’re not alone, Shay. Not in this. Not in anything.”
“I was thinking about having the real estate agent come over before this trial begins. I want to know what I can sell this place for and what it would take to get it ready to list.”
“Are you sure you’re ready to do that?” He held both her hands, running his thumbs over her soft skin. “I don’t want youto let go of something that matters to you so quickly. This was your childhood?—”
“The plan was always for me to sell it after Mom died,” she said. “Yeah, so much of my life is tangled up in these walls, and while I’m a lot like my mom, this is one area we are total opposites.” Shay scooted her chair closer.
Moose decided he’d rather pull her to his lap.
She rested her hands on his shoulders and held his gaze captive. Whatever this woman wanted, he’d give her. Not out of obligation, but out of love and the simple fact he’d never be able to say no.
“My mom knew I didn’t want to live here. Not in this house and not in Lake George. It’s why taking out that mortgage kind of made sense to me. It was her one last effort of making sure I wasn’t left with a pile of bills I’d never get out from under.”
He wasn’t about to tell her that’s exactly what her mother had done. At least not until he knew more about this LLC.
“I’ll support you no matter what.” He kissed her sweet mouth. “But what are you going to do if it sells quickly? As in before the trial ends?” He pressed his finger against her lips. “Because if it’s after, I was hoping you’d move to Virginia. My house isn’t huge, but it’s nice. However, Danni says it’s not fit for a female to live there, so you might have to?—”
She pushed his hand away. “Are you asking me to move in with you after only dating for a few weeks?”
“You’ve gotta move somewhere.” He shrugged.
Palming his cheek, she smiled. “I doubt I’ll be able to unload this place quickly, especially this time of year. But I was looking into what I’d need to do in order to update my credentials in Virginia.”
“Have you now.” He smiled. Wide. So wide his cheeks hurt.
“Don’t let that go to your head.”
“Too late.” He laughed.
“But seriously,” she said softly. “I want to give us a real chance and that would be easier if I’m in Virginia. I won’t promise that I’ll live with you right out of the gate, but I want us.”
He kissed her tenderly. With purpose. Coming back to Lake George had started out as a goodbye and ended up being the start of his future.
14
SHAY – LAKE GEORGE, NEW YORK
MORNING OF OPENING ARGUMENTS
The kettle hissed softly on the stove, but Shay didn’t move. She stood by the window, arms folded tight across her chest, watching Rufus Brown lean back in her mother’s old kitchen chair like it was a seat in a poker hall. He didn’t glance at the tea she offered earlier nor the slice of coffee cake Becca had insisted on dropping off that morning. His focus was razor-sharp. His tone was just as deliberate.
Moose’s voice filtered through the speakerphone on the table, low and steady.
“All right, Rufus,” he said. “What’d you find?”
Rufus adjusted the brim of his weathered cap. “Well, I talked to him. Bradley Morrison. Nice guy. Not the defensive type. He answered every question without blinking, even though he was surprised as hell to have a private investigator sitting in his office.”
Shay leaned forward, heart thudding. “What did he have to say about knowing my mother? Or possibly being my father?”
“He didn’t deny knowing Margaret, but he said it would be impossible for him to be your dad,” Rufus said.
“Is he willing to take a paternity test?” Moose asked.
“He is,” Rufus said. “He told me he and Margaret had gone to the same high school, though they barely knew each other. However, they also attended the same college and were in a few classes together. He remembered her as quiet and kind. He said they talked a few times and he even flirted with her, but she wasn’t interested in him at all. Never dated. Never slept together.”
Shay’s stomach twisted. “So… he wasn’t lying?”
