“Yes, Noah,” Lemon says as her arms fall to her side, and I take her into my arms for support.
A part of me wants to believe Noah somehow pulled a miracle out of his rear for me. And yet another part of me wants to keep my feet firmly rooted in logic.
Whatever Noah is about to suggest will be mediocre at best. The odds of this trial going in a positive direction for me are not in my favor.
Noah’s shoulders sag as he looks my way, and I can see a twinge of regret in his eyes over whatever it is he’s about to spill.
“Sleepwalking,” he says it short and sweet, and the three of us give a lengthy pause as we look over at him. He glances to Fiona. “Everett used to sleepwalk as a kid—right through high school, in fact. His mother wasn’t all that thrilled. She took him to see a shrink. There’s medical evidence that Judge Baxter is unstable, unbalanced, and out of his right mind from the moment he closes his eyes at night until he fully wakes up in the morning. They can’t charge him for willfully stealing Florenza Canelli’s body if he didn’t know what the heck he was doing.”
Fiona gives a sharp look my way. “It’s perfect. Not guilty by reason of somnambulism. It’s a bulletproof defense.”
My heart begins to thump irrationally, and my mind races with the possibility as I try to spin through the Rolodex of cases that I’ve seen in my courtroom. I’ve seen some outlandish defenses, but this one takes the cake.
“No,” I say, quickly cutting it down. “I don’t want to lie.”
“Then don’t take the stand,” Fiona shoots back.
“It’s a lie by omission,” I tell her.
“If it’s happened before, then it’s something we can sink our teeth into.” Lemon expires a quick breath. “Everett, is this true? Is this real?”
“Yes.” I shake my head. “It’s true as gospel.” A spiral of hope infiltrates me, and I cautiously let it. “I saw a doctor out in Fallbrook a handful of times. He prescribed some sleeping pills to knock me out in hopes my body wouldn’t wake up without me, and it worked. I took the pills for a couple of years, but midway through college, I decided to chuck them.”
Lemon’s eyes bulge. “Everett, this is perfect. Do you have any idea if it’s happened since you stopped the pills?”
“He doesn’t know. And that’s where we’ll leave it.” Fiona tips her dark bun toward Noah. “Well done, Detective.” She lands those serious eyes over mine once again. “We’ll work around the notion that your subconscious mind is trying to remove Noah from your life. We’ll play the love triangle angle.” She glances to Lemon’s midsection. “The baby will work perfectly in this scenario, as will that hot mess hashtag brouhaha the three of you have running.” She gives a single nod. “I think we have something real we can work with here, Essex. All we needed was a shadow of a doubt that you were willfully stealing that body. I’ll move on this. I received the court date this morning. We go to trial in six weeks.”
“Six weeks?” Lemon leans in as if she misheard.
“Yes.” Fiona gives her an incredulous look. “As far as court cases go, that’s moving at lightning speed. It could have taken up to a year.” She looks my way. “Enjoy your impromptu vacation. Noah, Lottie, enjoy the rest of your night.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I say as I keep up with her quickened clip all the way out of the B&B and we pause on the porch.
“What do you want?” Her lips flicker with a smile. “You didn’t need to walk me out, and we both know it.”
My gaze hardens as I look out at the parking lot. “If the case doesn’t go in the direction we’d like, I want you to help me file for divorce.”
“Divorce?” Fiona belts out a laugh that sounds all too genuine.
“Yes, a divorce. The last thing I want is for Lemon to put off one minute of her life because of me.”
“Oh, Essex.” She rolls her eyes. “I take it your wife will be blindsided by this.”
I nod. “I don’t see another way to do it. Should I be found innocent, there’s no need to plow this painful field for nothing. Should I be found guilty, I’ll break it to her upon her first visit.”
“And you see this as merciful?” She offers that sarcastic nod I’ve seen her give a thousand times when dealing with a witness she’s raking over the coals. “You do realize it’s Valentine’s Day, and a divorce is the opposite of what this day stands for—love.”
“It’s the way to love her best. I’m not stealing fifteen years, or one minute, from her life. If I’m found guilty, I expect the divorce to be filed that same day.”
“I’ll have the papers ready. Happy Valentine’s Day, Essex.”
She takes off, and I duck back into the B&B where I find Lemon standing there alone with her arms folded tightly.
“What are you up to, Judge Baxter?” A sly grin glides up one side of her cheek. “Should I be afraid?”
“Fear is exactly what I want to protect you from.”
And that’s why this divorce is necessary if they send me away.
I land a heated kiss to her lips and place my hand over her belly. That baby inside her moves in one large motion, poking and prodding at my hand as if it were anxious to find me, to meet me, and I’d like to believe it is.
Lemon gasps. “I think someone just said Happy Valentine’s Day, Daddy.” She bites down on a smile. “Essex Everett Baxter, will you be my Valentine?”
“Every single day, Lemon. I love you deeply. Always know that. Your happiness is my top priority. I wouldn’t dare cause you a moment of pain.”
She gives a knowing nod. “And you won’t.” Her words come out just this side of
