“Thank you for coming by to see the boys,” his mother was saying as they walked out of the elevator. There was a hallway that led to his place, and the temptation was right there to walk down and invite Vanessa to join him. They’d spent the majority of the afternoon talking about her, after all.
But he couldn’t. Despite what his mother had said, there were still massive walls to scale when it came to Vanessa.
That missing money being the worst of it. Although the fact that Junior was trying to set her up wasn’t helping. He would have to find a way out of that trap. He could prove the photos weren’t real, and he could prove someone else uploaded them with the security footage they had, but it might not be enough for some people. He thought he had some time when it came to the photos and blackmail scam. Junior would need to spring that trap closer to the trial.
“They miss their Uncle Michael.” JT strode across the hall.
“Only because I let Jasper climb me like a jungle gym.” He adored his nephew, but he only saw him a few times a year. JT’s family lived out on the ranch, and it was an hour and a half away. Three hours round trip. Not that there wasn’t space for him out there. His parents kept a room for him, but he always found a reason to make the trip back to Dallas. Probably because waking up and having breakfast with JT and Nina and the kids made him realize his life was flying by without any of the passion he’d thought he’d find.
Until Vanessa.
His mother knocked on the door. “Well, I’m sure our darling Chelsea will be happy to drop the boys right back in our laps. I’m going to offer to bring Sophy back with us so she and Simon have a bit of time alone. He’s been working on some case, of course, and she’s always busy. Everyone’s busy. Nina’s off at one of our satellite offices, and poor JT works all the time. Such industrious children.”
They were all still kids to his mom.
“Well, we have to be since Dad opted for the lazy life,” JT snarked.
His mother shook her finger JT’s way. “Don’t you say that around him. I just convinced him to retire. He gets to enjoy his golden years.”
Dad would enjoy them when he wasn’t pissing off his wife and getting sent out to the camp. Michael was smart enough not to say that. He usually knew how to handle his mom. Agree with her. She was almost always right.
Except about Vanessa, though she’d thawed considerably.
His mother frowned because it had been a while since she’d rung. She pressed the bell again, hearing it chime behind the door. “I hope Chelsea’s all right.”
JT grimaced. “Me, too. The boys can be a lot.”
The door opened, and Chelsea stood there, a slightly wild look in her eyes. She stared for a moment and then seemed to remember she could speak. “Hey, Aunt Ava. Uhm, a little something came up, and I needed some help with the kids.”
“Are they okay?” JT’s brow had furrowed, and he was trying to get a glimpse behind Chelsea into the condo where his kids were supposed to be.
“The kids?” Chelsea nodded. “Oh, I’m sure they are for now. I mean, I totally fixed that one problem, but you know how these things are. It’s like whack-a-mole. I should get back to my computer. I’m not cut out for this anymore. It used to be a fun game, and now all I can see is bombs potentially going off and countries going to war. I got out of this life, damn it.” She started to turn but stopped. “Oh, the kids are with Michael’s new girlfriend. I legit didn’t have another choice. She seems nice. Familiar, though. It was weird. I’ve seen her somewhere. Anyway, they’re down the hall, and nothing’s blown up yet. Well, nothing’s blown up here.”
Oh, fuck. The boys could be so much trouble, and Sophy could do her own damage. She spent a lot of time with the Taggart kids, so she had skills kids shouldn’t have. Skills Vanessa wasn’t ready for. Vanessa had never even mentioned liking kids, and she’d been left to deal with his nephews?
“Well, my darling, we shall handle everything.” If his mother had picked up on Chelsea’s end-of-the-world vibe, she didn’t show it. “I’ll get the boys from Vanessa and take Sophy with me. She can stay out at the ranch for a few days.”
Chelsea’s eyes widened, and then she threw her arms around his mother. “I love you, Aunt Ava.”
He would have witnessed more of his cousin-in-law’s gratitude, but he took off down the hall because someone had to save Vanessa.