The Outsider Series: The Complete Omnibus Collection

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

“Keith, for f**k’s sake, what the hell is taking so long?” Brad shouted into his cell phone as he paced in the north field, away from Emily’s prying ears.

He had done everything he could to get Bob to sign the papers and for three months the man had stalled. Even after dealing with Crystal and all she’d put this family through, Bob had surprisingly turned out to be an unexpected challenge for Brad. The problem was that he had underestimated the man. Brad had never considered Bob as conniving and dishonest, with a mind as calculating and devious as Crystal’s. If he’d approached Bob from the beginning as if he were dealing with a snake, this would have been settled, and he and Emily would be happily married.

The fact was he thought Bob wasn’t by nature a cunning manipulator. He’d just stumbled by accident into a position of power. By refusing to sign the divorce papers to free Emily to marry another man, he had made Brad automatically assume it was because he’d got a plan to shake him down for a lot of money.

But, now, as Brad thought about it—and he’d had plenty of time to do that—he realized it wasn’t about money. Bob was so angry and hurt at Emily for leaving him that this was his way of hurting her. Brad also suspected that Bob still loved her, but the hate he carried within overshadowed any affection. Katy was just a pawn to him. That much Brad had figured out. Bob wasn’t really interested in seeing his daughter, which wasn’t very often anyway; only every other weekend for two days, and more often than not he cancelled for one reason or another.

After the disastrous wedding day that didn’t happen, Brad’s brothers and parents had rallied together. Jed had suggested they drive down to Olympia and have a talk with Bob. Neil, too, was on board, flexing his muscles and saying they wouldn’t leave until he signed. Brad was all set to go, but it was Rodney who reminded his hot-headed sons that putting a man in the hospital wasn’t the best way to solve the situation. And it was Becky who had told them sternly, “Cool off, all of you, before you land your butts in jail; then where would Emily be?”

Becky was, of course, right. And Keith, Brad’s long-time friend and lawyer, was handed the reins to clean up the mess so that the couple could be married before their baby was born.

But here they were, with Emily huge with child and tired almost every moment of the day. Brad could see the stress etched in the lines on Emily’s forehead, which weren’t there before; the gray, translucent skin smudged under her eyes; and the tightness around her mouth. Only last night he’d found her sitting on the bathroom floor, crying silently so that she wouldn’t wake the kids or bother anyone.

He had held her while she trembled and voiced his own fears: “I love your baby, this baby, and my worst fear right now is having your baby and being married to Bob. I’m thirty-six weeks. This baby could be born any time.”

Now, as Brad paced the field, waiting for Keith to come back on the line, he worried that Emily might be proven right. He was furious that a selfish, jealous man was all that stood between their legal marriage, and the peace and happiness that Emily so deserved.

“Bob is coming in this afternoon, but I don’t want you here,” Keith barked into the phone.

Brad considered showing up at his lawyer’s office anyway; not to say anything, but to scare Bob into signing, because if there was one thing of which he was aware, it was that he made the man extremely nervous, like a cat with a mouse. He didn’t want any more delays. “Are you sure he’s going to sign this time?” he asked.

“Listen, Brad, I’m hopeful, but if you show up here, I guarantee you that he won’t. In case you haven’t noticed, this really isn’t about money. He wants to hurt Emily and you, too. I’ve seen this before. You want him to sign, but you can’t bully him. He’ll dig his heels in.”

“What if he doesn’t sign? What then? Emily’s doctor has already warned me that she is stressed. Her blood pressure is a little too high and she is being monitored closely. She could have the baby any time now. I want her to be my wife before she goes into labor.”

Keith sighed on the other end. “Brad, I will do everything I can to make sure that happens. Go and look after Emily. I’ll call you this afternoon after the meeting; I promise.”

Brad took his time walking back to the house. He shoved his hands into the lined pockets of his sheepskin coat. The weather was becoming colder and the rain had tapered off today. It was fall and Halloween was only a week away, but it seemed more like the dead of winter.

He stopped at the back door and shut his eyes, sending up a silent plea for Bob to sign the papers, and open his eyes to how he was hurting Emily and their innocent baby. Opening the door to the house, Brad stomped off the mud caking his worn cowboy boots onto the mat. Hanging up his coat, he listened for the floorboards to squeak.

Sure enough, Emily appeared in the doorway, with her hair tied back and her hands pressed into the small of her back to support her belly, large with his child. Emily was so tiny that Brad couldn’t imagine her belly becoming any bigger. For a minute he worried that she’d have trouble giving birth.

“Did you sleep?” asked Brad, wandering over. He rested his hands on her shoulders and squeezed softly, looking into her eyes at the weariness she was trying to hide.

“You know I can’t sleep during the day,” Emily replied. “And I’m getting tired of sitting around all the time. I wanted to do something, but Mary was here, and I know you called her again. She took Katy home with her again, saying she’d bring her back before dinnertime.”

Brad slid his arm around Emily’s shoulder and turned her. As he did so, he smelled an aroma wafting from the kitchen. “You cooking something?”

She grinned up at him. “I made some soup and there is a plate of sandwiches in the fridge. I thought you’d be hungry when you came in.”

Brad stopped at the table and pulled out her chair. “Well, I am starving, so you sit and I’ll dish up.”

Emily hesitated, but she knew that when Brad decided upon something, you had more chance of moving a mountain than changing his mind. He’d obviously decided that she was to rest, and do as little as possible. Emily glanced up at the ceiling, shook her head and sat down.

“Good girl.”