Chapter 12

Sawyer sat next to his lawyer, watching the hands of the clock on the wall slowly slide around and the minute hand click into place. Then, he looked around the courtroom, a bit shocked that neither Helen nor her attorney were there. The judge had been sitting in the courtroom for ten minutes, his face becoming stormier as the time slowly passed, and he wondered if this was going to be easier than he thought.

Helen had promised to fight him, but with only a minute to go, it looked like there might not be a battle, "Tom, what happens if they don't show up?" he leaned over and asked. "Does that mean I win and it's over?"

"Sort of," his lawyer said. "But the judge could also call for a continuance, or put out a bench warrant on both of them."

"I just want this over," he said. "Don't you dare let him grant a continuance, this is just the kind of sneaky trick Helen likes to play."

Just then the courtroom door burst open and Helen's lawyer came rushing in, "I'm sorry that I'm late, your honor," he said, dumping the files in his hands onto the table. "I'm afraid my client isn't going to be able to join us today, and I'm going to have to ask for a continuance."

Tom was instantly on his feet, "Your honor, we strongly object to a continuance. My client wants this finalized today," he said. "This is just a stalling tactic by Mrs. Weston. She still refuses to grant the divorce."

"Where is your client, Mr. Rafferty?" the judge asked, making Helen's attorney begin to shift from foot to foot nervously. "Is there a valid reason why she isn't here today?"

"Your honor, may I approach the bench?" Mr. Rafferty asked, his face slightly pale.

"No, you may not," the judge said. "Answer the question."

Mr. Rafferty looked over at him, then back at the judge, "She's incapacitated," he finally said. "She's very intoxicated and possibly high on something, I'm not sure."

The judge was silent for a second, but his face had turned slightly red, "I see," he said. "Is your client aware that she is required to be here? Is she aware that intoxication is no excuse for missing this hearing? Frankly, Mr. Rafferty, I'm disgusted by this whole case, and I'm ready to rule right now."

"I understand, your honor," Helen's attorney said. "But before you do, I would like to be removed from this case. My bills haven't been paid for a month, and the client won't cooperate."

The judge shook his head, "I'm sorry, Mr. Rafferty, if I removed you now, the case would have to be continued," he said. "You're just going to have to take the hit to your reputation. Perhaps next time you'll be more careful about the clients you agree to represent."

"Yes, sir," Mr. Rafferty said, his shoulders slumping with disappointment.

It took the judge less than ten minutes to dismantle the last three years of his life, but with each ruling, he felt the weight he'd been carrying all that time slowly lifting off his shoulders. The last thing the judge did before he brought the gavel down was put out a bench warrant for Helen, and he felt bad for the officer who would have to go round her up, knowing how abusive she could be when she was high or drunk. It hit him then that he was free, that he could finally move on with his life. The last hold that Helen had on him was broken.

He got to his feet when the judge did, waited until he left the courtroom, then looked over at Tom, "Well, I'm a free man again, at least until I convince Piper to marry me," he said, grinning at him. "We need to celebrate, but I want to go home first and tell her the good news. Come out to the ranch for dinner, bring the wife and kids, and we'll make a party out of it. Mary and Piper were already in the kitchen cooking when I left, and I've got some steaks just waiting for the grill."

"You're on," Tom said, giving him a hug. "I'm happy for you, Sawyer, after everything you've been through you deserve to be happy."

When he drove up to the ranch, he was surprised to see the driveway filled with trucks and cars, but spotted Jayce unloading the back of his truck. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked, walking over to him. "Did I miss something?"

"We're having a party," Jayce said. "Mary and Piper called everyone and told them to come over; we're celebrating your freedom."

"I don't know if I should be horrified or amused, but what the heck," he said. "Let's go have a party. This really is something to celebrate."

"And now you can be an official member of the single father's club," Jayce teased. "My only question is for how long."

"Not long if I have my way," he said, grinning at his friend. "Piper agreed to move in with me. Now all I have to do is pick out the ring."

Jayce shook his head, "I don't know if I should be congratulating you or having your head examined," he said. "But Piper's a special woman, I suppose this was bound to happen, you two are perfect for each other."

"She's my soul mate," he said, suddenly serious. "I never thought it was possible, but Piper is the part of me that I've always been missing. I'm just glad I realized it before it was too late."

***Piper***

Piper was standing in the kitchen talking to Tory and Bridget when Sawyer walked in with Jayce. He looked around the crowded kitchen, then walked over to her, a big smile on his face. Without saying a word, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a big kiss, then pulled back and looked down at her, clearly not angry that he'd come home from court to a house full of people.

"I hope you don't mind about all the people," she said, a blush on her cheeks. "It was your mom's idea; I couldn't say no."

"It was a great idea, we should be celebrating," he said, giving her another kiss. "Helen is out of my life, and after today, I don't think the judge will hesitate to give me full custody of Reese."

"That's wonderful, Sawyer," she said. "I'm just sorry you had to go through all of this."

"As long as I have you, it was all worth it," he said, then realized they had an audience. "I should really go up and change out of this suit. Tom and his family should be here anytime. I didn't warn him that half the town was going to be here when I invited them over."

"Don't worry, I called his wife earlier this afternoon," his mom said. "We couldn't leave them out of the celebration. Tom has been there for you since this mess all started."

"Thanks, Mom," Sawyer said, giving her a hug. "Where's Dad?"

"Out manning the grill," Tory said, rolling her eyes. "You know how he is."

He laughed, "I'll go out and give him a hand as soon as I get changed," he said. "This is a nice surprise, Mom. Thanks for going to all the trouble."

Sawer's mom smiled up at him, "This ranch has seen too much sadness and disappointment the last few years. I thought it was time to bring back some laughter and happiness," she said. "And what better way than a party?"

Piper led Buttercup into her stall, pulled the halter over her head, backed out before securing the gate, and stood watching the mare sniff her breakfast. When she turned and let out a disappointed snort, Piper laughed, "You know I've got a treat for you, don't you," she said, slipping the carrot out of her pocket. "You're too smart for me."

Buttercup nuzzled her for a second before taking the carrot and beginning to much happily on it, "That's a beautiful horse," a voice she hadn't heard in six years said from behind her. "I bet she's a great little cow pony."

She didn't turn around right away, instead, she took several deep breaths before facing her mother, "She was a gift from Sawyer," she said, a bit surprised to see how much her mother had aged. "He gave her to me earlier this spring after I saw her at an auction and fell in love with her."

"That's a very generous gift," her mother said, taking a few steps toward her. "You're lucky to have a boss who values you that much."

"He's a bit more than just my boss," she said, then remembered who she was talking to and shook her head. "What are you doing here?"

"It's been six years, Piper, I wanted to see you," her mother said, a look of sadness in her eyes. "You're a grown woman now, and I missed it."

"That was your choice," she said. "I let you know where I was when I started working here, and I haven't gone anywhere since then. You could have seen me any time you wanted."

Her mother looked away, "Oh……well, your father……he wouldn't have liked it," she said, then brightened up. "But he wants to see you now. He wants you to come to dinner tomorrow night."

Piper studied her mother for a few seconds. "Is that supposed to be good news?" she asked, wondering how she could be so different from her mother. "Does he really expect me to come running to him when he calls just like nothing ever happened? Never mind, don't answer that, I know he does. Nothing ever changes with him. You can tell him that I politely declined his invitation. I'm doing just fine here on my own, and it's going to stay that way."

She turned away from her mother and started toward the door, more shaken than she wanted to admit, but determined not to let the pain in her mother's eyes change her mind. "He's sick," her mother said. "He's dying and he wants to make things right before he does. He's changed, Piper, he's not the same man he was six years ago."

Her mother's words froze her for a second, then with a sigh, she turned around, "What do you mean he's dying?" she asked. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's got cancer," her mother said, walking over to her. "We've known for about six months. At first, he was sure that he could beat it, but none of the treatments have worked. The doctors gave him a year at the most."

She searched her mother's face, looking for any sign that she was lying, not quite ready to believe her, "I don't know why I should care," she finally said. "He wanted to use me like a broodmare, mother, and when I wouldn't agree, he kicked me out. All those years I worked so hard, sure that the ranch would be mine someday, only to have it thrown back in my face because I'm a woman."

"Piper, your father is just old-fashioned, he was only doing what he thought was right," her mother said. "It was your decision to leave."

"You're still defending him," she said, shaking her head. "Marrying someone because it was good for business might have been the way things were when you were young, but times have changed, Mother. I left because I refused to be married off like I'm a piece of property. I wasn't going to be sold to the highest bidder, and you should have been on my side."

"Please, Piper, that was a long time ago," her mother said. "Just come to dinner. Your father just wants to apologize for everything that happened back then."