Page 15 of The Billionaire and His Forever

The look she gives me is full of sympathy. She’s the only one at the estate who knows about Graham and me, all the bullshit we’ve been through. She understands better than almost anyone except maybe Amanda, although my best friend still thinks I’ve been sleeping with an attempted murderer. But Cassie has known Graham for years. She knows he would never.

Once we all tack up and mount, Cassie leads us toward the hills at an easy trot.

“Where do you want to go today, Jude?” she asks. “Sky’s the limit.”

“Let’s go down to the creek! Maybe we can pick blackberries.”

“I love blackberries,” I chime in. “That’s a great idea, Jude. Maybe we can even bring some back to the house for Mary so she can whip up something yummy with them.”

“Ooh. We could have blackberry pie. Or jam! Or shortcakes,” Jude says excitedly.

She takes off, and Cassie and I have to nudge our horses to keep up. I’m so glad Jude has this distraction. She needs this.

We come to a stop under some shady trees and tie up the horses so Jude can play in the creek. It’s a hot day, but the water is still too ice cold for me to even consider joining in, so Cassie and I sit on the grassy bank and just watch her splash and squeal.

“How’s it all going? Have you heard anything from him?” Cassie asks quietly after a few minutes go by.

“We talked for a minute the other day, he called me from jail, but I have no idea what’s going on with his lawyers or when he might be released. I’m a mess.” I exhale slowly so I don’t start crying.

“And Jude?” Cassie says. “Is she holding up okay?”

“Off and on. I mean, she’s worried. She won’t stop asking about her dad. And how long can we keep lying to her? At some point she’s going to realize that he isn’t on some business trip. I’m so stressed out. And having my dad here isn’t helping. I know he seems charming, but he’s seriously the worst. I had a breakdown earlier and he said I was ‘throwing a tantrum.’”

Cassie shakes her head. “That’s so hard. God. I’m sorry.”

“And then Natasha—Jude is dying to go back to the hospital to see her mom, but I don’t even know if she’s doing better or worse. I’ve tried getting the nurses to talk to me, but they won’t tell me anything because I’m not family and there’s this whole investigation going on.”

“No wonder you had a breakdown—you’ve got the world on your shoulders, girl. I don’t blame you. Between Graham and Natasha and Jude and your dad and whatever the hell else is going on, you’re a damn superhero as far as I’m concerned,” she says, and I love her even more.

“I’m doing my best. Trying to keep it together for Jude. Everything just…sucks.”

Cassie nods. “It does. I have no words of wisdom for you. But I get it.”

I try to smile. “God, I’m sorry for whining like this. I just hate that I feel so helpless. There’s like, nothing I can do. I’m so worried about him, and Jude, and even Natasha.”

“You’re not whining. You have every reason to be upset right now,” Cassie assures me, giving me a quick side hug. “This is all just so wild. I mean, there’s no way Graham had anything to do with that OD. How can anyone think that? The justice system really is broken.”

“Yeah.” I sigh. “I hate the media, too. They’re making everything worse. Painting him as the villain now that Natasha’s sick, and it’s all just to be as salacious as possible.”

“Vultures.”

Jude splashes over to us and tells us she’s ready for some blackberry picking, so we join her. We all eat so many that our lips get tinged purple, and then we saddle up again and ride out.

I’m in the process of brushing Lucy down at the stables when my phone buzzes in my pocket. My hands are busy, and I figure it’s probably just Amanda texting—hopefully to apologize for being so unsupportive the other day—so I ignore it. It’s not until Jude and I are walking back to the house, sweaty and pleasantly exhausted, that I remember to check my texts.

My heart starts to pound when I see the text is from Graham’s number.

I’ve just been released due to lack of evidence. Meeting with my attorneys first—will be home directly after. Please keep Jude up until I get there. Love.

I have to read it three or four times in a row before it really hits me. He’s been released! He’s coming home! Thank fucking God. I guess my performance really was convincing.

“Abbie? Are you okay?” Jude asks, glancing between my face and the phone in my hand, her voice tinged with fear.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m fine. Better than fine,” I say, tucking my phone away and finally letting myself feel all the joy and relief. In that moment, I decide not to tell Jude—to let her dad’s return be a happy surprise tonight. “Let’s get these blackberries to Mary and then shower up, okay?”

I put my arm around her shoulder and ruffle her hair a little, my pulse still racing.

The second Jude goes to her room, I give Mary the good news. Her eyes light up, and she immediately starts pulling out recipe books so she can get to work on a welcome back feast. Then I track down Esmeralda and tell her to start preparing for Graham’s return. Well aware of how much she loves being the queen of all things gossip, I give her permission to let the rest of the staff know, so long as everyone keeps it hush-hush around Jude.

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