Page 80 of Bitter Heat
Instead, Yosef had grilled him on his intentions toward Kerry, the extent of his commitment, and what, exactly, he’d be willing to swear to in a court of law and before the Holy Church of Wolf with regard to his continued care for Kerry and his soon-to-be-born son, now and into the future.
Janus had replied honestly, but a niggle had started in the back of his mind that Yosef wasn’t the person who should be hearing these things first. Kerry deserved the full truth, and he deserved it sooner rather than later. Not that Kerry would want to listen. He seemed most content when they lived fully in the present as if there was no baby on the way, and no future to plan for. And Janus, intoxicated by Kerry’s person, had given in all too easily on that front.
That would need to change.
Yosef had made that clear, too, saying that part of their petition to the courts would include a plan presented with passion and commitment. One that both Janus and Kerry agreed to—something to appeal to the conservative judges, and the prudish hearts of the church leaders. Something preferable to sticking to the rule of law.
Entering the clearing from the path, Janus saw that one of the horses was gone and that two patients waited for a doctor outside the stables. Dr. Crescent was nowhere around. Fan, however, was hanging up the wash, his dark hair shining in the sunlight.
Waving at the two betas waiting for his attention, Janus approached Fan with a greeting on his lips. “And where’s doc gone off to?” he asked once Fan had turned around to offer him a pretty smile.
“He left before dawn. Whitehoul showed up this morning. One of his omegas is giving birth. I’m afraid I can’t remember which one. Hopefully, it’s going well.” Fan glanced up at the sun. “It’s getting late in the morning. Those men have been waiting.”
“Sorry about that. I was meeting with a lawyer. About Kerry.”
Fan put down the shirt he was pinning up and then returned it to the basket of laundry, shading his eyes from the sun for a long moment. “He wants to fight them for the baby?”
Janus frowned. “He’s going to fight them forhimself.”
“Ah.” Fan stroked his chin, his eyes going to the middle distance. “I was under the impression he planned to give up the babe to the alpha’s family to raise, once his obligation to chestfeed was over.”
“He won’t have any obligations to them at all if the lawyer can convince the court and the Holy Church of Wolf to dissolve the contract.”
Fan’s brows lifted. “That takes some big balls right there. What grounds is he going to put forward?”
Janus realized his mistake in mentioning this to Fan at all. It wasn’t his place to share the details of the abuse Kerry had withstood. “The lawyer is gathering that information now. He feels there is a decent chance.”
“Lawyers always say that, don’t they?” Fan asked. “They want their money.” But then he shrugged and said, “I wish him the best of luck. Kerry’s not had an easy way of it. He’s not a bad lad. He deserves better.”
Janus agreed. “I better get to those patients.”
Fan nodded. “Best to get them out of the way.” As Janus walked away, Fan added, “I’m glad for him. I am. If I can help in any way, let me know. Though perhaps, given what else I know, it’s best if I don’t testify under oath as a character witness. I have a feeling that my idea of a good man and the court’s idea might be very different.”
Janus nodded and returned to the stable to help the betas. They were both suffering from stomach pains, most likely from a bad fish they’d shared, and Janus sent them away with a tin of tablets and orders to be more careful. Food poisoning was nothing to take lightly.
Neither was going before the court and church. But Janus was willing to do it.
For Kerry.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“He’s admitted totrying to abort the child,” Yosef said, stabbing the sand by the lake with a long stick. “I don’t mean to scare you, Janus, but that doesn’t bode well. We have to do anything we can to prevent that from being exposed in the court.”
“No one knows except for me, Zeke, and the man who gave him the tin of pills. He won’t be speaking, obviously, or he’d implicate himself.”
“Kerry is easily shaken,” Yosef said. “They’ll want to question him about his feelings about the child and your feelings about the child. He might say something without meaning to that will lead them to ask. We need to be ready for that contingency. He must lie fluently. No hesitation.”
“I’ll work on it with him,” Janus offered.
“Yes,” Yosef agreed, the white of his beard shining in the sun. “I’m confident you’ll do your duty by him, prepare him well. It’s just that he’s been through so much. I hate to put him through this, too. You know how these judges are, and the church leaders are even worse. The good news is that they’ll respond well to the idea of you making a family together, of bringing more children into the world and raising them together. But the Monhundys have money. They’ll fight it. Judges and church leaders are supposed to dedicate themselves to the lawandthe faith, but they can be bought.”
“Then theywillbe bought,” Caleb said from where he sat on the log, chestfeeding Bekhem. The child sucked hungrily, causing a red flush to rise up his pater’s chest and into his neck, but Caleb, as always, seemed unperturbed by his situation. “I’ll buy them. Or, rather, Xan will.”
Yosef frowned but didn’t argue, his bushy brows wrinkling up with the thought.
“Kerry wouldn’t want—”
“Xan will be happy to do it,” Caleb said with a ferocious firmness that Janus rarely saw or heard from him, except to reject his suit when he’d begged Caleb to defy his contract with Xan and leave with him. “He has his own score to settle with Wilbet Monhundy.”
