“I just came by to check on Maeve and see how the garden center was doing,” he replied.
Kara wrinkled her nose in confusion but didn’t reply. Narrowing her eyes, she watched as he picked up a cracked decorative orb that was waiting to be returned to the distributor and juggled it from one hand to another. Maeve hid her face in Kara’s T-shirt.
“Really?”
“Um, well, I did come by to see Maeve, believe it or not, but I also wanted to see if you’d had time to think about what we talked about.”
“What we talked about?” repeated Kara, raising one eyebrow.
Jamie scowled in response. “Yes, before I hire a lawyer, I wanted to see if you had come to your senses about the garden center.”
“Oh? What about it, exactly?”
Jamie’s scowl deepened. “I’m talking about you selling it and the land here. I think you need to make a decision about that soon.”
Kara got to her feet and set her daughter down gently. “Maeve, I want you to leave here now and go find Granny Mary,” she directed the little girl. “I have to talk to your dad.” Walking her to the door, Kara watched as Maeve ran to the front of the store and took Mary’s hand.
Kara sighed and stepped back into the office, warily leaving the door open. Given how their last encounter went, she didn’t know how Jamie would react to what she had to say.
“Jamie,” she said, folding her arms in front of her and lifting her chin. “Whatever I decide to do with the garden center has nothing to do with you or Maeve. I am Maeve’s mother, and that is a responsibility I take very seriously. And everyone, except obviously you, in Larkin Bay knows it.”
Jamie scowled at her as she paused for a moment.
Kara ignored his frown and continued. “And whether I decide to keep the garden center or sell it is a completely separate issue from the custody of our daughter. I resent you trying to push me into doing something with my business by using your relationship with Maeve as a threat. If you want to sue me for custody, do it. I doubt you’ll get very far, and the only thing you’ll really be hurting is your wallet. But you need to know that if you ever scare Maeve or threaten me again, I’ll do everything in my power to protect her and keep you and the rest of your family away from both of us.”
Jamie raised a hand briefly toward her, but then dropped it. He scowled back at her. “I’m not sure what’s made you so brave all of a sudden,” he replied slowly. “But I do think you should sell the garden center and use the money to look after our daughter. That is, if you want to keep custody of her. And if you’re not willing to do that, I’m still more than happy to get a lawyer involved to make sure you do.”
Kara took a half step toward him and narrowed her eyes. “Do it. Find a lawyer. Waste your money. I don’t care, but you will have an endless fight on your hands if you expect to get your way with this. I will not allow you to bully me into deciding what the best thing to do is. Now, please leave. You are no longer welcome here.”
“You can’t ask me to leave. It’s a public place of business,” replied Jamie.
“Yes, she can, and if you don’t leave, I will help her make you leave,” came a calm, deep male voice from the open doorway.
“Hello, Scott,” said Kara, smiling up at him. “Good timing. Jamie was just leaving.”
Shooting him a murderous look, Jamie turned away from Kara, pushed by Scott and left without a backward glance.
“Well, he seems happy,” said Scott with an amused smile, stepping farther into the office.
Kara suddenly found her legs were unsteady. Turning away, she sat heavily in the chair behind her desk and smiled weakly up at him. “He won’t be happy until I sell this place,” she replied. “What I can’t figure out though is why?”
“Courtney and I have been trying to figure that out too,” Scott replied. “Actually, that’s one of the things I’ve dropped by today to see you about.”
“Is everything okay?” asked Mary, appearing in the doorway.
Kara nodded. “Yes, thank you, Mary.”
“That’s a relief.” Mary looked up at Scott and then back at Kara. “I’ll just go watch the store and keep an eye on Maeve so you two can talk, then,” she said and, reaching out, pulled the door closed, leaving them alone in the office.
Scott sighed. “I’ve been poking around and discovered that Jamie has negotiated some sort of a deal with the developers in return for ensuring that you sell them the garden center. He might even have received some payment for doing it already.”
“That explains the fancy car.”
Scott nodded. “All signs are pointing to him being the one who sought out the investors to make the offer.”
“That makes sense. He doesn’t seem to have returned to Larkin Bay because of any love for either Maeve or me.”
“Courtney and I will come up with a plan to help you deal with him now that we know what’s going on,” Scott replied.
“Thank you.”
“But I didn’t come here to talk to you just about the awful Jamie,” Scott said, smiling and taking a step toward her. “I also brought you this.” He placed a brochure on the desk in front of her.
“Guide dogs?” asked Kara, her brow creasing in confusion. She picked up the leaflet. “Why would I be interested in a seeing eye dog? Do they need help? I’d be happy to make a donation,” she added, looking up at Scott with a puzzled expression.
“Not a guide dog—a diabetes service dog,” he replied. “I’ve been researching them. They’re trained to detect sudden changes in someone’s sugar levels and alert them so they can correct it. A dog could alert you if anything was happening to Maeve. One of these dogs would help keep her safe, give her more independence, and give you peace of mind.”
Scott flipped the brochure over to show Kara the paragraph he was quoting from. She studied it for a moment, then looked up as Maeve opened the door and tumbled into the room, closely followed by an exasperated Mary.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Once she saw that Jamie had left and Scott was still here, I couldn’t stop her from bothering you. She insisted on coming back in here again.”
Scott laughed and reached over to scoop a giggling Maeve into his arms. While he cuddled the little girl, she snuggled into his chest and looked over at her mother with a delighted smile.
“Gott’s here,” she announced.
“He is,” her mother acknowledged, “and he’s trying to convince me to get us a dog. Crazy Gott!”
“A dog?” asked Maeve, her eyes rounding. She looked in astonishment from Scott to her mother and back again. “A real dog for us to keep? Can he sleep in my bed?”
“Maybe,” Kara replied with a smile.
Mary and Scott both laughed and exchanged a meaningful look, knowing that “maybe” probably meant that very soon Maeve was going to be getting a dog of her own.
Once everyone had left her office, Kara took another long look at the garden center’s financial records before putting her head in her hands and groaning. She didn’t want to sell the garden center, but when she looked at all the figures, she honestly didn’t feel like she had much of a choice—she had people depending on her for paychecks. And because of the huge plumbing bill she’d just paid, if anything happened that was unanticipated, she no longer had any cushion—there was nothing left to fall back on to keep the garden center solvent.
On the other hand, if Kara took the offer for the land, she could use some of the money to open another garden center in Larkin Bay, one with newer buildings and more up-to-date utilities. It would also ensure that everyone could keep their jobs. There was even the possibility that, if she was careful, there’d still be enough money left from the sale for her to buy their rental house and ensure she and Maeve had some financial security.
By selling, she might also be able to give Maeve everything she needed, even the diabetic alert dog Scott had found. Kara knew the dog’s training was probably subsidized, but she suspected she would still be responsible for paying for the rest of its care. When she considered the cost of vet appointments, dog food, and everything else it would need, she assumed having a dog could get very expensive.
Getting up from her chair, Kara left her office and walked through the garden center, stopping for a moment to hug Maeve, who was now busy coloring at her corner table with Rachel. Kara smiled at the older girl, who gave her a bright grin back. It was hard to believe this pretty and patient young teen was the same terror at home that her mother complained about from time to time. Kara shuddered as she remembered her own teenage years and briefly wondered what would happen when Maeve reached them.
Kara went and found Mary at the front of the garden center. “I was just thinking about how Maeve is going to be a teenager one day. She’s going to have to deal with being diabetic—she’s never going to be able to eat junk food whenever she wants or starve herself for a few days to fit into her prom dress better. She’s going to have to worry about her nutrition, needles, and glucose levels instead.” Kara’s voice was shaking, and she reached up to wipe a tear away as she looked at her friend.
Mary reached over and hugged her. “Yes, she will. But that’s a long way off, and medicine could change a lot between now and then. This diagnosis is new for both of you, so it just seems overwhelming right now. But by the time Maeve is a teenager, it won’t be. She won’t know any different, so all those worries you just rattled off won’t matter to her. It’ll all just be a part of who she is.”
Kara sniffled. “Do you really think so?”
Mary nodded. “I do. Besides that, she and you won’t be alone. You’ll have me to talk to, and Maeve will have Rachel, and we’ll both help. It’s scary, but it’ll be okay. Maeve will take it all in stride. You’ll see.”
