crossed the lawn. She’d deliberately come late, hoping her children would have time to talk. To think.
Even to worry…because her fear for what would happen was broken up with pure anger.
She’d never spanked them. What a shame it was too late to start now.
There they were, standing by a picnic table.
In tan shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, Hailey wore her long brown hair pulled back in a no-nonsense braid. Ready for business.
Her husband, Rom, sat at another picnic table, close enough to hear, distant enough to not be part of the conversation. He held an eReader.
Valerie’s grandson was sleeping in a stroller beside him.
Her stomach clenched. Had Hailey brought Luca as a form of emotional coercion?
No, she’d give her daughter the benefit of the doubt.
Across the table from Hailey was Dillon. He wore cut-off jeans and a T-shirt…and an obviously bad attitude.
Valerie sighed.
Finn had offered to come with her, but she’d refused. His presence would have sparked more conflict. But she sure felt awfully alone right now.
And wasn’t that a sad thought when she was walking toward her children?
“Mom.” Dillon’s mouth was set in a line, his jaw jutted out.
Yes, she’d already been tried and convicted.
Hailey’s gaze was troubled, but the way she held herself said she continued to believe Barry’s lies.
Valerie’s heart broke even more. Didn’t they know her at all? Maybe she should walk away from it all.
No. She wouldn’t let the bastard steal her children from her. Not without a fight.
Rising, Dillon crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what you hope to accomplish by this. We’ve heard everything that happened.”
“I’m sure Barry said a lot.” She kept her tone mild because she’d always try for peace before war.
When Hailey started to speak, Valerie held up her hand. “Here are the ground rules. This is my time, so I get to speak without interruption. When I’m finished, I’ll take questions. Is that reasonable?”
They hadn’t forgotten their lessons on fairness and grudgingly nodded.
“Good. First of all”—her temper rose so hard and fast she almost choked—“I have never, ever cheated on your father. Never.”
Dillon’s face turned red. “You’re lying. He said—”
“Be. Quiet.” Valerie pointed at him. “This is my time to talk. Not yours.” She imitated the authoritative snap Ghost put into his orders. “Sit down.”
Huh. It works.
“This is what happened before I left and why we’re divorced. I apologize in advance for offending you at the news parents have a sex life.”
Hearing Hailey choke, Valerie barely suppressed a hysterical laugh. Gods, she was shaking already. She shoved her hands into her shorts’ pockets.
“After you two moved out, we were trying to put some life back into a marriage that had turned…quite frankly…boring. We joined a BDSM group and were experimenting with some of the kinky facets of the lifestyle.”
Hailey’s eyes went wide.
“With each other, mind you, no one else.” Valerie eyed her self-righteous children and couldn’t resist. “I discovered I rather like being spanked.”
This time it was Dillon who choked.
“Your father uncovered a different desire. He wanted to be served, or I should say, he wanted to have a slave. To that end, he found Alisha. She’s in her thirties and was thrilled to live with us and serve Barry.”
Hailey whispered, “No way.”
“Truth.” Valerie wrinkled her nose. “Since Barry wanted so much to try it, I agreed. Very reluctantly.”
“You liked her, too?” Dillon asked slowly.
Well, at least he wasn’t a homophobe like Natalia’s relatives. Valerie shook her head. “No, I didn’t. It might have been different if I was interested in women, but I’m not. I allowed her to live with us to please Barry.”
“You let another woman live in your house? And sleep with Dad?” Hailey whispered.
“Yes. It gets worse, though.” Valerie could hear the bitterness in her voice. “After three months, I told Barry a three-person relationship wasn’t working for me. Rather than telling Alisha to leave, he brought in another woman.”
At the silence, Valerie looked at Hailey. “Kahlua is about a year older than you.”
Dillon shook his head. “I don’t believe a word—”
“Be quiet,” Valerie snapped and was gratified to see Hailey shoot him a glare.
“Alisha works a few hours a week at a part-time job. Kahlua does nothing. Neither of them cooked meals nor kept the house up—so I ended up being the housekeeper. My hard-earned salary went to feeding and clothing them and to the expensive gifts your father gave them. If I’d liked them at all, maybe things would have been different. Instead, they spent all their time running me