Page 33 of Reunion at Mistletoe Lodge
“Yeah, he’s the best pediatrician, and we’re lucky to have him,’ Emily stated. “He works between here and Denver.”
“Oh!” Barb said, sipping her coffee. “He’s not bad on the eyes either.”
“No, he is not,” Emily grinned. “And now I’m even happier I called for his help.”
“Ah!” Barb realized. “Well,Liamwas not amused by the attention the handsome doctor was giving Charlotte or me!”
“That’s good,” Emily said. “We’ve managed to crack his armor.”
“I don’t know,” Barb sighed. “He also told me in no uncertain terms that he means to contest the divorce now that he knows about Charlotte.” Her eyes narrowed angrily. “He’s also lumped Oscar into it, as he said, now that there arekidsinvolved.”
“I’ll get my grandmother to help you,” Emily said and bit the side of her mouth. “Although I thinkAvery mentioned that she saw my gran in a meeting with Liam in Denver last night. Her firm represents him.”
“If that’s the case, I doubt whether she’d take my silly divorce case,” Barb pointed out. “Conflict of interest.”
“Then we’ll get one of Giles’s hotshot attorneys to handle it,” Emily told her. “Let’s face it, when it comes to giants, you don’t get much bigger than Giles Holland.”
“Thanks, Emily,” Barb said with a nod. “I was trying to keep Giles out of it. That’s why I went to this attorney who was recommended to me by an old colleague of mine. This woman is apparently very good.” She pulled a face. “I may have lied to Liam and told him my attorney was a man for some reason.”
“No harm in that,” Emily replied. “Knowing Liam, he’ll probably be trying to find out who it is. I know the type. He’ll try to find a way to stall you getting them or something.”
“No!” Barb laughed. “I doubt it. He’ll just go into his pretend attorney mode and find a way to contest it.”
“Actually…” Emily said. “I found out that, like his brother, Zac did actually study law and forensic science.”
“Oh!” Barb’s eyes widened. “Just a few more things I never knew about my husband.” Her voice was tinged with bitterness. “Liam told me a bit about his family during our time together.”
“That was nice of him.” Emily’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“He was so good with Charlotte, though,” Barb admitted. “I managed to get at least two hours of sleep in that uncomfortable recliner while he looked after her.”
“That’s even better.” Emily grinned. “If he is Zac, as we think he is, I bet this experience has him reeling, which is good. We’ve just got to keep hitting him off guard.”
“He wants to have a sit down with me and Zac,” Barb told Emily, then told her about how Zac cornered her. “It was so strange.” Her brow creased. “He kept talking about Trevor as if he wasstill alive.”
“You did say Zac thinks it’s still ten years ago,” Barb pointed out. “You can’t put much into what he was saying.”
“I know,” Barb agreed. “But now that I think of that time…” She shook her head. “Everything was like a big blur of pain and disbelief.” She cradled the warm coffee cup between both hands. “I didn’t even get to see Trevor to say goodbye. He didn’t have any family. Only his FBI colleagues were at the funeral, which I wasn’t allowed to go to for my safety.”
“So there is room for doubt that Trevor isn’t dead.” Emily nodded. “Surely he would’ve tried to contact you?”
“I doubt it,” Barb said. “Especially if he believed my uncle or someone involved with him was responsible for trying to kill Trevor.”
“I see your point.” Barb nodded. “There is one way to find out about Trevor, and that’s to ask Zac again.”
“I know.” Barb glanced at the fireplace. “But I’m not sure that until Zac gets his memory back, I’ll get any coherent answer from him.”
“What if Trevor is alive?” Emily asked her.
The question hit her like a ton of bricks as she hadn’t thought of what would have happened if he was still alive. Instead, Barb had only wondered if he was. She frowned, realizing she hadn’t thought of what the implications would be if Trevor were still alive. He’d probably moved on as she had. It had been ten years.
“I don’t know!” Barb answered honestly. “I’d like to think he’d also moved on.”
“Like you did,” Emily stated.
“Yes.” Bar nodded, suddenly feeling guilty for her feelings for Zac.
She gave herself a mental shake. She had nothing to feel guilty about. If by some miracle Trevor was still alive, like Zac, he’d left her to mourn his loss, which Barb had done. A spurt of anger rushed through her.I have nothing to feel guilty about. They were the ones that left me.She blew out a breath.I have every right to move on and pick up the pieces of my life—a life that theyhad shattered.
