Rob had destroyed every single photo from that day, firstly by ripping them up and when she tried to save them, he’d set fire to the pile he managed to keep out of her reach. She’d been gutted, but over time, she’d come to expect his vindictive actions. It would seem his parents had the same nasty streak in them as well.
This couldn’t go on. Drew was right. She had a life to build on the island for herself and her children. They deserved some happiness after all they’d gone through and she was determined to see they got it. As much as she hated the idea of going back to court, April had no choice if she was going to move forward.
She put the lid back on the box and picked up her phone. “Hi, Atticus. I wonder if you could give me the phone number of a good lawyer, preferably someone local?”
An hour later, she sat in front of lawyer, David Kroger. “Thank you for seeing me at such short notice.”
He gazed at her with a smile and leaned back in his chair, his calm professional attitude easing her nerves. “Atticus said you needed my help. He told me what happened with your in-laws. How about you tell me what you’d like to do about it.”
She gave him a quick rundown of what they’d been through the last year. “I think it’s time to take out restraining orders against them. I don’t think I can cope with them showing up and upsetting the children again. We came here for a peaceful life and so far it’s not going so great.”
David smoothed his fingers over his neat grey beard. The manicured facial hair and dark suit made him seem as though he should be practicing in Washington amongst the rich and famous. Even his office looked as though it was decorated by a prominent stylist with an eye for clean cut, sophisticated décor she was used to seeing on the mainland. “I can do that.” He made notes on his legal pad. “About your ex-husband, do you still have contact with him?”
“No. He died; took his own life.”
Dark eyes assessed her. “I’m sorry.”
“You weren’t to know. I think it’s one of the reasons I tried not to take this line of action. His parents are hurting and I understand that. But I have to think of my children and his folks are being more than a little unreasonable with their actions. They took me to court to try and take my children away from me and lost that battle. Rob instructed in his will that his parents were to raise the children. I wasn’t going to let that happen and I had to fight. Now they’ve decided to harass me at my home and to top it off, they’re trying to turn my employer away from me.”
“Pain and loss can do strange things to people.” He tapped his pen against his legal pad. “Leave it with me. I’ll be in touch as soon as I have something to report. You won’t need to appear in court for this if I can help it. It’s a fairly standard procedure compared to what you’ve already been through. We have the evidence to back everything up if Ben filed a report, which I’m sure he would have done. I can do it on your behalf and I’ll bring up the last case as well to alert the judge to their past dealings with the court.”
“Thank you. I feel better already.” She stood up, thankful it had been so easy to sort out.
“It was nice to meet you, April.” He opened the office door and led her out.
On a small table in his upmarket reception room, she noticed a stack of jars, full of golden liquid, a pricelist on the wall beside them. She had one just like it, thanks to Gigi. “Is that your honey?”
David looked at her in surprise. “Yes. I keep a few hives and sell it from home and from the office. Bees are a hobby of mine, although its gone from a hobby to employing a young couple to take care of the day to day maintenance. It’s nice to have something away from the legal world to give my mind a break every now and then. Would you like some to try?”
“Gigi gave me a jar the other night. It’s wonderful.”
He stroked his beard and smiled. “Thank you. Happy bees equal beautiful honey.”
She hovered near the door, unsure what to say next. “I’d better get back to work. Thank you for taking care of my problem.”
He opened the door and walked outside with her. “In the meantime, don’t worry too much and if you have any more visits or mail, call Ben straight away.”
She hurried to her car, a little embarrassed that she now knew who Gigi’s man was. A flicker of admiration for Drew’s aunt warmed her. Her friend was very handsome and distinguished indeed. Blushing inside, April drove back to work.
* * *
“Thanks, April. Lovely to meet you too.” Drew heard Sally Fraser as she left her checkup and headed out to reception and had the awful feeling she’d tried to push her birthing agenda at April. He tapped on Liam’s door.
“Come in.”
His partner sat at his desk, his eyes scrolling his computer screen. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Sally was just in getting a check-up with April.”
Liam didn’t take his eyes from the computer. “So?”
“I’m a little worried she’s going to push her idea of giving birth on the island. April’s had midwife experience and if Sally finds that out…”
“Oh, shit.” Liam spun around and stared at him. “You’d better talk to her then, before it gets
