Harper was as loyal as a sister could be, and Brooke loved her for it, no matter how misguided she was.
“Could you please quit pacing and sit down while I read this?” Garner complained. “You’re making me dizzy.”
Cole marched to Garner’s desk and ripped the pages from his attorney’s hands, shaking it in his face. “I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation. I’ve been served! Brooke filed for divorce.”
How had it happened so quickly? Saturday had been an amazing day, with his sister pulling off a surprise shower that had brought Brooke to happy tears. By the next morning, Brooke had left him, driving off to Houston in her old junker of a car and giving him no information concerning her whereabouts. After several days, Mack had located her in a run-down motel in the worst part of town, and Cole had taken measures to ensure her safety. But he’d had no time to celebrate that victory before being served with divorce papers in his own office by a star-struck Sheriff’s officer who asked for his autograph.
“I don’t see the problem here,” said Garner. “Isn’t this divorce what you planned all along?”
“Not yet! You’re the one who said we should wait until after the baby came.” Cole flopped into the leather desk chair, the pages wadded in his grip.
“That’s not what I said, but this is a moot point. We can’t undo what’s been done. And like I told you, the court may not grant the divorce until the baby’s born, anyway. I’m hoping that document you both signed acknowledging that you aren’t the baby’s biological father will be enough for the divorce to proceed. That’ll be the best way to get you out of this mess.”
Cole finally understood the term wanting to pull your hair out. “You’re not listening to me. I’m asking you how we can stop the divorce. Can’t we contest it?”
Garner blinked a few times and gave his head a shake. “Did I hear you right? Did you just tell me you want to contest this divorce? The one you arranged months ago, before you ever got married?”
“Yes! That’s exactly what I want.”
“Excuse me…” Garner held up a finger as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a large plastic container of fruit-flavored Tums. He opened the lid and popped a couple into his mouth. As he was returning the Tums to his drawer, he looked at Cole, then hastily dumped out a few more antacids, chewing them and washing them down with a long drink of water. He then folded his hands on the desk in front of him and leveled his gaze on Cole. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you want to contest the divorce?” he asked with a slightly crazed inflection, as if he might jump out the twenty-second story window if Cole gave him the wrong answer.
“Because…” Cole honestly didn’t know the answer. “Because I want to protect Brooke and the baby from Nathan.”
“So you just want to delay the divorce.” Garner’s chest deflated like he’d been holding his breath. “I thought you’d changed your mind altogether. It should be easy to delay things, and that works out well for you, money-wise.”
“How so?”
“The quarter-million. Brooke won’t get it until the divorce is final. We can keep things tied up in the courts for quite a while if we play our cards right.”
Obviously, Brooke needed that money as soon as possible. That’s why she’d filed so quickly, despite Cole’s warning about her ex.
“I’m issuing the settlement check today.”
Garner pressed his fist against his chest. “You can’t issue the settlement check before the divorce is final. The courts won’t allow it.”
“It’s my money. If I want to give it to her now, who’s going to stop me?”
“No one can stop you, Cole,” said Garner, as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out the Tums container again. “You could write Brooke a partial check now, but you’ll still have to pay the full $250,000 when the divorce is final.”
“I don’t think she’ll take more than we agreed on. She’s too proud. But I don’t care if she does.”
“Before you start throwing money at Brooke, you’d better remember that I still can’t guarantee you won’t end up paying child support.” Garner ate a few more antacids and left the container out on his desk. “I’d make the check as small as possible, just in case.”
“If you don’t want to be involved, I can have Mack deliver it in cash.”
“No, no, no!” Garner’s face went pale, and he started writing on his legal pad. “Let me draw up a contract. I’ll do an addendum to the prenup, based on funds paid in advance. It’s worth a try. What amount are you going to pay early?”
“All of it.” Cole chuckled when, once more, Garner reached for the antacids. “I believe that makes ten Tums you’ve eaten, now.”
“Yes, I knew you were coming, so I had to be prepared. After much consideration, I stocked my desk with Tums calcium tablets, though the decision was difficult,” Garner said, with a deadpan expression. “Perhaps cyanide would’ve been the better option.”
“Hello, Brooke.”
Nathan popped the K sound, as he’d always done when he was talking down to her, which, come to think of it, had happened on a daily basis during their five-year marriage. Why hadn’t she noticed that while she was living with him? Thank goodness she was having this conversation on the phone. In her present state of mind, she might have slapped the sneer right off his face.
“I’m surprised to hear from you,” he continued. “I thought you were way too uppity to talk to commoners like me anymore.”
She ignored his bait, weirdly numb to his words. “I’m calling to let you know you’re the father of my baby.”
“Ha! I’d have to see a DNA test to believe it. It’s obvious you were sleeping around the whole time we were married. Any Joe out there could be the father.”
She realized she didn’t care one iota what he thought of her and wondered that his words had ever had the power to hurt her.
“It doesn’t matter to me whether you believe it or not. I just thought you deserved to know, though maybe you don’t.”
“What do you want from me? Money? Doesn’t your billionaire husband give you a big enough allowance?”
“Cole and I are getting a divorce.” The lump in her throat made it hard to talk. It had only been a few days. Surely the rawness would go away. “Don’t worry, though. I don’t want anything from you. On the other hand, if you decide you want visitation rights, I will go after you for child support.”
“You’re not getting a dime from me, and I want nothing to do with that baby. My real son is due in two weeks.”
