Matthew—and you—back in our lives again.”
* * *
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Evan pushed through the doors of Neverland. Kelly was seated at a table surrounded by patrons, a cup of coffee between her hands. The place buzzed with everyone’s chatter. Meanwhile, her staff was practically jogging to keep up with the food orders. She saw him and reached out a hand.
Her fingers were cold to his touch. She looked pale but fire lit her eyes. He slid into the chair next to her. “Bunny called. I got here as fast as I could.”
Harry, the construction dude, slapped Evan on the back. “You should have seen her, man. She stood up to that SOB like a roaring tiger.”
All at once everyone started telling Evan their version of the story. He started laughing. “Hold on now, folks. I think Kelly can fill me in just fine.”
Harry motioned to his two coworkers. “Now that you’re here, Evan, we’ll head home. Just wanted to make sure our girl was okay.”
Kelly stood and hugged the man, uncaring if he had dust on his overalls. “I’m fine, Harry. Thanks so much for standing up for me. Free lunch tomorrow.”
He waved a hand. “No bother, girl. This was more fun than reality TV!”
Kelly glanced around to the others. “Thank you all for showing your support. I never felt stronger in my life than I did with you all here.”
Evan took her hand again. “Let’s go to your office.”
As soon as the door closed he pulled her into his arms. He was glad she let him. She fit so perfectly. He inhaled her scent of coffee, cinnamon and apple, or was it strawberries? He pressed her head against his chest, kissing the crown of her hair.
“So, you battled Goliath and won?”
She looked up at him, her eyes huge with concern. “This round. And thank you.”
He tilted his head. “What for?”
“Your name. Having your wedding band on my finger slowed him down.”
“What did he say.”
She laid her head back on his chest. “Will you just hold me for a moment, Evan? Right now, I need your strength. He scared the devil out of me.”
Tightening his hold, Evan chuckled. “Oh, I think there’s plenty of devil left in there, Red. You’re just needing a breather.”
She started to giggle. His hands roamed from the small of her back massaging up to her shoulders. He couldn’t help it. “I’m proud of you, woman.”
She stepped out of the circle of his arms. “We’re going to have to speak with Quince.”
He sat on the small couch across from her desk and patted to the seat next to him. Once she settled he said, “I did this afternoon. But first, tell me what happened.”
Her brow creased. “Buzz said he’s already started the process to fight for custody.” Her lower lip began to tremble. “He says he’ll take Matt by Christmas.”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “No he won’t, Kelly. Mark my words. He was pushing you around. He wants you to stay quiet about the assault.”
“He made me so angry. I can’t stay quiet any longer.”
“We’re going to have a small problem. Proving the fact that Campbell assaulted you may not be enough to keep him away from Matt. That DNA test pretty much cements his paternity. Our focus has to be on proving him unfit as a parent to have access to Matt.”
Evan used the word assault instead of rape because Kelly always seemed to wince when the R word was used. The last thing on his agenda was to make his wife uncomfortable.
His wife.
She’d gotten his attention yesterday when she walked into the penthouse with Madeline Campbell by her side. Evan had never met the woman, but he’d seen her enough on television to know who she was. Her small stature surprised him, but it belied the woman’s courage.
He’d listened for a full half hour while Madeline explained how her marriage evolved with Buzz, how, even though he was a doting father and a loving husband, their intimate life had started to dwindle. Buzz seemed preoccupied at times with certain women employees. He’d had three women quit from his campaign staff in just as many years. And then she explained her view of what happened to Kelly, and how she’d known Buzz had hurt her. He was floored by her willingness to end it all now. She had decided that after hearing Helen Thompson speak and hearing how Buzz lied on Dean’s interview that she would no longer pretend that her husband was