High Intensity (High Mountain Trackers HMT 2G #2)

Chapter 29

Twenty-Nine

Jillian

God, I’m so relieved to be done with that sling after wearing it for almost three weeks.

I’ll still be seeing the physical therapist on a regular basis, but at least I won’t be fumbling around with one hand anymore. I had a great night sleep, and even walking with the dogs along the creek is so much easier. It’s amazing how unbalanced you feel when you’re limited to one arm.

Lucas sees me coming and opens the back door, catching the dogs as they come in so he can quickly wipe their feet.

“You know what a good addition would be? Building a mudroom onto the laundry room with a designated back entrance. Room for boots and coats, dog leashes and whatever else,” he suggests.

“Yeah, right…” I start but promptly snap my mouth shut, because that’s really not a bad idea.

Right now, it’s mostly just snow and ice we’re tracking into the house, but come spring it’ll become mud, and that’s going to leave a much bigger mess.

“I’m actually not averse to that idea, but I’m thinking it won’t be easy or cheap,” I point out, shrugging out of my coat.

“I can look into it if you like, but first we need you to try something.”

He jerks his head to where Hayley is standing by the kitchen island, holding a plate of muffins.

“Where did those come from?”

“We baked them.” My girl is wearing a big smile.

I point at her. “You did?”

“Me and Lucas. They’re banana muffins.”

“How is that possible? I was barely gone an hour.”

“We were quick,” she says proudly.

“Well, can I have one?”

She nods, offering me the plate, and I grab one. Then she informs me, “We packed some up for Lucas’s mom as well.”

“That’s a great idea.”

We are heading to Kalispell to have lunch with Trudy Wolff. Lucas has been to see her, and has updated her on all that happened, but she really wanted to meet Hayley and see me. Since I haven’t done a session with the dogs at Wellspring in about a month, we’re bringing Peanut and Nugget as well.

“Do you want another coffee with that?” Lucas asks, just as I take a massive bite of my muffin.

All I can do is nod while I chew. The muffin is delicious, and I’m about to tell Hayley that when the dogs start barking just moments before the doorbell rings.

“Quiet, guys,” I call to the dogs as I weave my way through the bodies to get to the front door.

I open it to find an entire contingent on my porch. Sheriff Ewing, along with the CPS social worker whose name has escaped me, a gray-haired woman with a round face and a friendly smile, and a man in a suit and an overcoat oozing money. I’ve never seen those two before.

The sheriff speaks first.

“I would’ve called first but was asked not to.”

It sounds ominous, and that delicious bite of muffin is turning sour in my stomach. In the background, I hear Lucas telling Hayley to take the dogs in the bedroom before he joins me at the door. I’m grateful when I feel his steady hand settle on my hip in support.

“I’m afraid that was my doing,” the social worker pipes up. “As a matter of policy, we don’t always announce our visits. It allows us to get a more… accurate representation of the home situation.”

What the hell is her name? Something B…Becker? Babcock?

“And is it also policy to show up with the sheriff in tow?” Lucas questions sharply.

“Ms. Buckman didn’t ask the sheriff to attend. That was me,” the man in the suit announces with some authority.

Elizabeth Buckman, that was her name.

All of this feels like a weird standoff and it’s making me very uneasy.

“And who are you?” Lucas demands to know.

“My name is Oliver Levitz with Chambers, Levitz, Cromwell, and Associates,” he recites.

Lawyers. My stomach is officially in knots.

“Forgive us for barging in on you,” the lady with the friendly smile apologizes. “I’m sure we all want what’s best for Hayley. Could we come in?”

It’s too soon. On some level I’ve known this would be a temporary solution, but I haven’t allowed myself to think too far ahead.

“My name is Heather Iverson,” the woman continues when we reluctantly step aside to let the group inside. “I am… was the Vallard family’s housekeeper.”

“As per the Vallard’s last will and testament, Ms. Iverson and I were jointly named guardian for young Ms. Vallard,” the lawyer explains.

My heart sinks.

“We would like to speak with Hayley,” the social worker announces.

Lucas squeezes my hip before letting go. “I’ll go get her.”

“Actually,” she stops him. “Ms. Iverson and I would like to speak to her in private.”

I get the sense this entire invasion was carefully orchestrated, and quite possibly intended to keep us off-balance. Still, my protective instincts rear up and, although I probably don’t have a leg to stand on, I try to at least regain some control for Hayley’s sake.

“Only if she is okay with that,” I insist, challenging each one of them with a look.

Junior Ewing winces, the lawyer shrugs, and the social worker presses her mouth in a stubborn line, but it’s Heather Iverson who answers.

“Of course.”

I find Hayley cuddled up on our bed, surrounded by the pack. Her eyes are big and scared.

“There are some people here to see you.”

“Are they taking me?”

I can’t bring myself to lie to her, so I evade the question.

“For now, they want to make sure you’re okay.”

She untangles herself from the pile of dogs and climbs off the bed, grabbing my hand as we walk down the hallway.

The housekeeper is the first to react, her eyes filling with tears when she catches sight of Hayley.

“Oh, my dear girl,” she softly coos, wrapping Hayley in a hug. “It does my heart good to see you.”

“I don’t want to go home.”

Even though the words are whispered, the message is loud and clear to everyone in the room. A look I can’t identify bounces back and forth between Levitz and Heather Iverson.

“But, sweetheart, what about your school? Your friends? Your things? Don’t you miss them?” the woman prompts gently.

My heart breaks when I catch the internal struggle reflected on Hayley’s face and step a little closer to her. She seems to sense my proximity and leans her body back against me, and I fold my arms around her.

“I do, but I miss my family more.”

“I know you do, but are you sure you wouldn’t rather be at home where you can remember them?”

She shakes her head and declares in a heartbreakingly solemn voice, “They’re not at home anymore. They’re up here, in the mountains, and I want to stay.”

The older woman smiles sadly. “Of course.”

An awkward silence settles over the room I am afraid to break, but Lucas doesn’t hesitate to take charge.

He nudges Hayley. “Hey, kid. How about you and me take those dogs outside for a bit before they claw their way through the bedroom door? We’ll leave the grown-ups to figure things out, okay?”

I give her a little squeeze and drop a kiss to the side of her head before letting her go.

“Don’t let Nugget run too hard, okay?”

No one says a word until the pack, along with Lucas and Hayley, disappear outside.

“It’s for the best,” Oliver Levitz says. His statement is clearly meant for the housekeeper.

“Can someone clue me in on what is going on?”

“Of course,” he returns. “Since Ms. Iverson and I are jointly named as Hayley’s guardians, we have to agree on any decisions made for her care, her well-being, and her future. That turns out to be more difficult than it sounds.”

“I thought it might be best for her to try and keep as much of her life the same as it had been,” the housekeeper admits. “I only want to give her the best, most normal childhood possible.”

“Whereas, I was concerned Hayley’s return home would trigger ongoing harassment by the press, who lap up human misery indiscriminately. She would not only make great fodder for a story, but also a vulnerable target for every kind of criminal,” Levitz clarifies before turning to the older woman. “Being hounded by press and surrounded by bodyguards would not constitute a normal childhood.”

Surprisingly enough, I have to side with the expensive-looking lawyer on this.

“So…what happens now?”

Wolff

“Wow.”

It’s all I can think of to say.

I glance to the window where I can see Mom playing some card game called Go Fish with Hayley in her room. Jillian and I slipped out under the guise of letting the dogs do their business, since we really haven’t had a chance to talk one-on-one since that gong show at the house this morning.

By the time those people left, we had to hustle to get to Kalispell in time for our lunch date with Mom. Of course I didn’t want to ask anything in front of Hayley, but I’ve been dying to know what was discussed.

“Yeah, I know,” Jillian commiserates. “I’m almost afraid to believe it.”

Only moments ago, she finished telling me about the proposed plan outlined by that lawyer, Oliver Levitz. His suggestion was to have Hayley stay in Jillian’s care, but anonymously.

She would be given a different surname and new paperwork under that new name—much like in a witness protection program—so Jillian could enroll her in school and is able to get her healthcare. At twenty-one, Hayley would have the choice to revert to her birth name or carry on under her assumed name.

As for her inheritance, Vallard Holdings’ board of directors is already looking for a new CEO, and Chambers, Levitz, Cromwell, and Associates will hold the remainder of the estate in trust until Hayley has reached a certain age. The trust would pay out a generous monthly stipend to Jillian to cover any expenses for as long as Hayley lives with her.

Jillian’s been asked to think about it.

“It seems like a no-brainer to me,” I volunteer.

“I know. That’s what freaks me out. It’s almost too perfect, I feel like there should be some struggle to make it more real. Nothing comes this easy.”

I can’t help myself; I have to laugh at that.

“Easy? Nothing about this has come easy. Need I remind you of everything you went through to get to this point?”

I tug her close and look down into those beautiful green eyes. “This is karma the way it’s supposed to work. Good things should happen to good people, and you’re one of the best people I know.”

She does a face plant against my chest. Her “God, I love you,” is muffled by my down-filled parka, but I feel it down to my bones.

Over her head I catch sight of Mom and Hayley, their worried faces looking out at us through the window. I give them a reassuring thumbs-up behind Jillian’s back.

“Come on, let’s go back in before Mom teaches the kid how to cheat.”

She tilts back her head to look up at me.

“Your mom cheats?”

I bark out a laugh.

“At cards? Like a fucking shark.”

Tucking her under my arm, I start walking us back to the entrance.

“She seems too sweet.”

“Oh yeah? My mother has the questionable honor of being the only resident at Wellspring Senior Living who is permanently banned from the monthly euchre tournaments.”

Jillian’s peal of laughter as we walk in has Marcela at reception lift her head. She cracks a smirk and raises an eyebrow when she notices my arm around Jillian’s shoulders. I shoot her a wink in passing.

Peanut immediately lumbers over to my mother when we enter her apartment and lays her head on Mom’s lap.

“Brrr, you guys are bringing the cold in with you,” she complains, but the sparkle in her eye tells me she’s anything but unhappy.

I don’t think she’d ever admit it to me, but I would bet Mom always held a spark of hope alive I would one day end up with a family.

“Look at this cool trick Mrs. Wolff showed me,” Hayley says excitedly.

“My mother was Mrs. Wolff, why don’t you call me Mimi?” Mom gently suggests, confirming my suspicions.

Hayley nods distractedly, she’s too busy showing us how to palm a card and slip it back into the deck.

“Mom?”

My mother bulges her eyes in a failed attempt to look innocent, which has Jillian burst out laughing again.

I throw up my hands.

“See? I told you.”