Chapter 16

GREGORY TOOK a deep breath as Fillian pulled to a stop in front of his mother and stepfather’s large house in the Old Mooreland section of town. “I don’t know if I can do this.” He turned toward the house with all the lights on. It looked warm and inviting, but Gregory knew it was just the opposite.

“I know you can,” Fillian told him. “You’ll do it for the kids.” His eyes were so confident. Fillian radiated strength and self-assurance.

“Okay.” He closed his eyes, pulling up images of those damned notes, that stupid doll, and most importantly, the fear the kids radiated when they were leaving the apartment, heading down the back fire escape. “I got this.” He opened the door and got out, then marched up the walk to ring the bell.

His stepfather answered the door. “Charles,” Gregory said, determined to hold on to his anger. “I’m here to speak to my mother.”

He nodded. “She told me, but I just got home to surprise her.”

Gregory stepped closer. “I appreciate that. But she and I have to talk, and she can either talk to me, or I’ll make a phone call and she can spend the evening at the police station. Either way, I’m afraid your reunion is about to crash and burn.”

Charles stepped aside, his eyes widening. “What the hell has been going on?”

“I’m sure Mother will tell you her version of events in good time. But right now, she and I need to talk. Where is she?”

Charles rolled his eyes like Gregory was being overly dramatic. “In the Florida room.”

Gregory strode through the living room to the screened-in room filled with freshly painted white wicker furniture with bright floral cushions. Palms stood in the corners. If Gregory didn’t know better, this room could have passed for a piece of the tropics.

“Gregory,” his mother said, then paused to sip from her glass. “With Charles returning, I forgot you were coming. Can we talk another time?”

“No.” He closed the door and took two steps to stand over her. “It seems you’ve been busy, Mother. So have I, and the police.” He leaned over the chair. “I got each of your little missives. Too bad you weren’t careful enough not to leave traces. And your latest little gift. Do you think we don’t have you on camera?” He stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest, letting some of his anger out but keeping the rest in check. “I got you in full, living color. And my next step is to go to the court to get a restraining order. Those kids will be eighteen before you ever see them again.”

His mother set her glass aside, the first cracks showing in her well-practiced facade. “Gregory, I….”

“What did you hope to accomplish by all this? The notes, the fearmongering.” He wasn’t going to let her off the hook.

“Your brother and that woman he married should have left guardianship of those kids to me. I’m his mother, and I raised both of you. I know how to be a parent. What do you know? What the hell does a man like you know about children? You’ll never have any of your own.” She picked up her glass like she hadn’t just said some of the most hurtful things possible.

“So you decided to do what? Prove that I wasn’t capable?” Gregory asked.

“I don’t need to do that. All I need to do is drive you hard enough that you crack and realize that you can’t do this. You should have seen yourself after that first note. You could never take pressure, and all I needed to do was keep piling it on. That incident with that man attacking you… he was perfect. He started all of it, and all I needed to do was make sure it continued.” She sat back like she was fucking satisfied with herself.

“So you didn’t know that he’s been in custody? That we know the notes weren’t from him, just like we know he didn’t set the fire in my building?” He had to keep the pressure on her. The longer she talked, the more likely he’d get the confession for the big stuff. “Was your plan to burn down the building? Then what? Hope we all came to you for help? Then you’d step in and take the kids…?” Shit, that was it.

She went silent, her lips pursed.

“Was that it, Mother?” he snapped. “Is that what you fucking thought?”

She jumped to her feet. “You never should have been given those kids. They are all I have left of Arthur, and he and that bitch decided that you should raise them. How do you think that made me feel?”

“So you did set the fire?” He wasn’t going to let up. He was too damned close.

“Of course I set the fire, and you were supposed to burn up with the building.” Her eyes were wild, and she shook enough to spill tea all over the floor.

Gregory took a deep breath. “Did you hear all of that?” he asked loudly.

“All the way to the sidewalk, clear as a bell,” Carter answered.

“It’s over, Mother. That is Carter, a Carlisle police officer. I’m afraid Arthur’s children will never be coming to live with you.” He looked around.

Her eyes widened as the full scope of what she’d said barreled into her. “Charles…,” she cried, hurrying to open the door. “Charles….” She stepped into the living room in time to see Carter and Fillian, followed by her husband, waiting for her. “Charles, you need to make all of these people leave. I….”

Gregory shook his head before taking a step back. “You need to go with these men, Mother. They’re going to take you down to the station. They have questions for you.” Gregory walked past her, Fillian, and Carter, heading outside for some fresh air. He needed to breathe and try to clear his head.

His own mother had tried to set his place on fire. She hated him enough that she wanted him to die.

Gregory stepped off the sidewalk as Carter and Fillian guided his mother in handcuffs to Carter’s police car. Once she was secured in the back, Carter got in and drove her away. Gregory tried to feel something for her, but at the moment, he was blank.

“What is happening here? What did you do to her?” Charles asked, hurrying out of the house.

“I didn’t do anything. I’m sure you heard what she said. I’m sure the neighborhood did.” Gregory lifted his gaze. “If you want to help her, then I suggest you get a good attorney.”

“You’re filing charges? Against your own mother?” he asked.

“My mother set fire to the building I live in. She confessed to it not ten minutes ago. She damaged my landlord’s property. She harassed me and the kids for weeks. I’m sorry, but any charges that she has coming were brought on by herself. She did all of it. It’s my job to protect my niece and nephew, and I will. Part of that is now to keep them away from her.” He shrugged.

“Yeah,” Fillian said gently.

“Is he responsible for all this?” Charles asked.

“Your wife is,” Fillian said. “We have her confessing to it, and there are multiple witnesses. This is as open and shut as anything I have ever seen.” Fillian put an arm around Gregory’s shoulders. “Come on. It’s time to go. Nothing good can come from any of this.” He squeezed Gregory gently, holding him in strong arms. “But Gregory is right. Get her a good lawyer and an even better doctor. She’s going to need both of them.” Fillian guided Gregory back to the car.

“What more can I do?” Gregory asked. “And what do I tell the kids?” He climbed inside and closed the car door, staring out the front window down the residential street.

“Nothing. At least not now. Wait until they ask, and then tell them a version of the truth. That Grandma did something bad and that she needs help. Because your mother definitely does. From there, you see what happens and how things play out.”

“But my own mother…,” he said softly. “She wanted to drive me into giving up the kids… and I actually wondered if I was doing the right thing. I let her really get to me and….”

“Yeah. But those kids love you, and you were worried for their safety, the way the best parents would be. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Fillian started the car, and Gregory rode back to the house in silence, sinking into his own thoughts.

THE KIDS were excited to see him, crowding around for hugs, and Gregory put on a mask of happiness for their sakes, then thanked Fillian’s mother for watching them. The kids went to play, and he sat at the dining room table and stared at the wall, his eyes tracing a crack in the plaster.

“I take it things were difficult,” Verona said as she sat down. “Being a parent isn’t an easy job.”

Gregory lifted his gaze, wondering if she was going to try to defend his mother. At the moment, Gregory didn’t think he could take that. He needed to be angry and indignant, to hold on to it, or he was likely to back down.

“I’m aware,” he said flatly. “It’s the hardest job there is.”

“And yet anyone can be a parent. All you have to do is have a kid. There are no training classes or certifications. Consequently, some kids get great parents who give all the love and attention possible. They get the ones who spend time with their kids and help them grow into responsible adults. These parents give of themselves and love their kids, putting them first.” She rested her hands on the table. “Your mother is not one of those, and she never will be. But you are. I know you feel bad about what happened, but you didn’t have anything to do with that. Your mother brought it on herself, and not merely because she was a bad mother. She took her behavior and made it criminal.” She patted his hand. “You did what you had to for the kids because you are a good parent.”

“Really? I feel selfish and….” He didn’t even have the words. Maybe roadkill was a better description.

“Gregory, those two adore you, and you feel the same about them. You put them first, which is how it should be.” Fillian rested his hands on his shoulders. “Now stop beating yourself up for things that are out of your control and remember what’s truly important.”

Weston came over, and Gregory slid back in his chair. Weston climbed onto his lap and leaned against his chest. Fillian gently kneaded Gregory’s shoulders, and Gregory closed his eyes as he sat with Marnie next to him, doing his best to let the shadows and worry slip away.

Verona pushed her chair away from the table and stood. “Thank you,” Gregory whispered.

“Oh, you’re welcome, honey.” She checked the time. “I think I need to get home, and you need to get these two munchkins to bed.” She smiled, lightly patting Fillian on the cheek before leaving the house.

“I know your mother is right,” Gregory said quietly.

“Do we have to go to bed?” Weston asked, sounding half asleep already.

“Yes. Now go clean up your toys and go upstairs to wash up and put on your pajamas. I’ll be up to tuck you in, and tomorrow we’ll go back home.”

“Why?” Weston asked. “I like it here. Grammy took us out back to play. I like it, and if we stay, then we could get a dog because there’s a place for it to go poop.”

Gregory turned to Fillian, and they both broke into smiles. “I see. You think you have that all figured out.” Gregory tickled Weston before putting him down. “Go and get ready for bed.”

Weston raced up the stairs. “Marnie, we’re going to get a puppy.”

“I didn’t say that,” Gregory called, but it was clear that no one was listening to him. “God,” he groaned.

“You know,” Fillian said softly, “you could get the kids a dog if you all moved in here. We could rework the rooms upstairs so they each had their own space, and yeah, we could get a dog.” Fillian slipped his hands around Gregory’s waist and rested his head against the back of Gregory’s shoulder.

“Isn’t it too soon?”

Fillian humphed. “We’ve known each other since we were kids. But it isn’t something you have to decide today or tomorrow. It’s just something to think about. The kids would have more room, and there’s the yard.” He tightened his hold a little.

Gregory agreed as he slowly turned in Fillian’s embrace. “Do you have any idea how tempted I am to say yes? To take the chance and get to sleep next to you every night and wake up next to you each morning? That’s so enticing.”

“I know exactly how you feel,” Fillian said. “So is that a yes?”

“Let’s take things one step at a time.” Right now, at this moment, that was the very best Gregory could offer. There had been so much upheaval in all their lives that he needed a little distance, and it was hard to think of anything else when he was this close to Fillian.

He drew even closer, Fillian’s breath ghosting over his lips. “As long as those steps lead me to having you, I’m all for it.”