Shaded Amethysts

3. Avery

3

Avery

Molly scurried forward on her hands and knees to grab her son. The dog relinquished the boy from her life-saving, clenched jaw to the woman’s care.

When Molly went to stand up with the shocked little boy in her arms, the man said in an urgent tone, “The ice can still give way. Scoot a good distance away from this spot before attempting to stand, then rush him to the emergency room. Change him out of those wet clothes on the way and wrap him in something dry.”

After nodding her acknowledgment, Molly began scooting away as quickly as she could. I watched her until she was able to safely stand and run toward shore with Scout cradled in her arms.

For the first time since the fall, I glanced at Grant. His pallor was as white as the snow surrounding him on the shore. I felt bad for the father being forced to watch this horror show from the sidelines, but it couldn’t be helped.

The man’s voice pulled my attention back to our immediate vicinity. “I’m a veterinarian. I’ll take the dog up to my office and make sure she gets the best medical care.”

He angled his head up toward the shore to indicate his home office. It must have been obvious that I was struggling to absorb everything that had happened in the past couple of minutes because the man continued, “Are you able to take care of the other children?”

I glanced at the wide eyes of my nieces and nephew standing on the shore. They must have been so frightened. After nodding, I moved to stand up.

“Roll away,” the man reminded me.

By the time I rolled a safe enough distance away, the man joined me with Pepper cradled in his arms inside his coat. It was my first glimpse of his face, and I gasped in an icy breath at the sight of it. He was very clean cut and handsome, like a masculine, life-sized version of a Ken doll.

The frigid air hit my lungs, making me cough awkwardly. He held the large dog with one arm as he used his other hand to pat my shoulder. “You okay?”

His startling, blue eyes locked onto mine as I nodded. For a brief moment, we stayed frozen there as he gauged the sincerity of my answer. He evidently decided that I truly was all right because he graced me with a wide, perfect smile before he said, “I better get this brave heroine up to my office. She deserves the best treatment available.”

I nodded again, having apparently been struck mute by the man’s stunning level of physical perfection. When he turned to leave, I quickly followed to retrieve my frightened nieces and nephew.

Once we reached the shore, I quickly changed out of my skates and said goodbye to the man who had helped save our day. As I hurried with the little ones back to my car, I removed my wet coat. Thankfully, my clothing had remained dry underneath it. After dropping the kids off with their parents and providing a brief explanation of what happened and where their dog was, I raced to the hospital to check on Scout and Molly.

The drawn looks on Molly and Grant’s faces as I approached had me fearing the worst. My voice came out in a frightened screech when I asked, “Is Scout going to be okay?”

They both nodded before Molly said in a hushed tone, “Yes, the doctors said he’s going to be fine. We got him out of the water before hypothermia set in. He went into shock, but they expect him to make a quick and full recovery. We’re very lucky.”

Her grim tone and their twin concerned expressions didn’t match the positive news she shared. My eyebrows pinched together as I asked, “What aren’t you telling me?”

Molly’s face crumpled as she wailed, “Scout’s birth mother is suing us for custody of him.”

The blood drained from my face as I stared at my best friend, unable to believe this dreadful turn of events. My head shook back and forth of its own accord as I tried to make sense of Molly’s words. Finally, I said, “She can’t do this. Can she?”

“I’m afraid so,” Grant said in a deep voice that was so familiar, even though he was practically a stranger to me.

My gaze darted to the handsome actor. I had almost managed to forget who he was. In the heat of the moment during our emergency this morning, he had merely been a frightened fellow human, but it was impossible not to remember he was a famous movie star when I was this close to him.

“You’ll help us fight this, won’t you?” Molly gave me a pleading gaze.

Of course, I would do anything to help my best friend and her fiancé keep custody of their son, but I was afraid Molly was putting too much blind faith in me.

Just as I started to voice that sentiment, Grant said firmly, “We’ll be hiring the best team of lawyers that money can buy to fight this case for us.”

Molly angled a fiery gaze toward him before saying, “That’s fine, but I want Avery to be a part of that legal team.”

“Molly, I haven’t even passed the bar yet,” I reminded my friend.

Grant gave her a knowing look, as if to say that settled it, but Molly was adamant. “I know that, but you have been studying for months. Everything is fresh in your mind, unlike a bunch of stuffy, overpriced old codgers who graduated law school a hundred years ago.”

Grant started to object, but Molly held up a pointer finger that immediately stopped him. “Besides, Avery knows and loves us. She won’t be in it for the payday. It will be a passion project for her because she actually cares about the outcome and has our best interest at heart. I want her on our legal team.”

Molly’s words were said with such finality, Grant had little choice except to nod his agreement. With that settled, Molly turned to me. “You’ll help us keep custody of our little boy, right?”

Plastering a fake look of confidence on my face, I said, “Of course,” and hoped they couldn’t hear my gulp of fear from knowing that I was in over my head deeper than Scout had been in the pond this morning.