petition, Matt, but she has suggested a female influence in the house wouldn’t be a bad thing for Kyle. And given your marital status...”
“That’s about to be resolved.” Matt looked down at the papers on his desk. “I filed the divorce papers and am getting ready to sign them as we speak.”
“Okay. We’ll have to see how that plays with the judge.”
“Given Kyle’s last female influence was too hopped-up on prescription meds to give him a second thought, I wouldn’t think this would be any judge’s first concern.” Matt hated to speak ill of Kyle’s mother, but the truth was the truth.
“It’s a concern, Matt. And the judge only suggested it would be in your and Kyle’s best interest if there was someone in your life to help bring a bit of balance. Even if it’s just a girlfriend, which brings me to what we talked about before. She’s going to want to call Lori as a character witness.”
“Lori? How does she know about Lori?” The last time his heart had pounded this hard he’d been dodging bullets.
“Because I listed her in my report. You said you were dating her, that you thought it was getting serious. Are you telling me something’s changed?”
Changed? Other than Matt all but ignoring her the last few weeks while he got his head on straight and cleared the emotional deck? “No, nothing’s changed,” Matt blurted before his brain could catch up with the panic seizing his chest. He’d made a promise to Kyle, and Matt Knight never made a promise he couldn’t keep. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while, off and on.” Most recently off. All the more reason to remedy that. “She’s completely on board with me taking Kyle in.”
“So you’re okay with her listed as a character witness? She’ll back up your statement should the judge want to call her in during Kyle’s hearing?”
“Yeah, of course.” Matt swallowed the lie. Well, it wasn’t a lie exactly. Lori did know about Kyle but Matt’s current relationship with her might be a bit, well, up in the air. “Have they set a date yet for the hearing?”
“Um, yeah. Hang on, I’ve got that right...” The sound of shuffling papers scraped against Matt’s ear. “Three weeks from Monday. Looks like the judge has us penciled in for two in the afternoon.”
Matt scribbled the date on his calendar, noting that was the same day as the big welcome dinner that opened the Butterfly Festival. That would take some juggling given it was all hands on deck in town for the department. “I’ll be there.” Somehow. “I thought I’d come up and see him in a couple of weeks. Need to figure out my days off.”
“You’re on the visitor’s list for anytime,” Chris said. “I’m glad you told me about Lori. This will go a long way with this judge in approving Kyle’s placement.”
“I hope so.” With Kyle’s troubled past, the only other placement option for him would be a group foster home or to extend his stint in the detention center he currently resided in. “Let me know if there are any more changes.”
“You got it.”
Matt hung up. Why was it, even when he had the best of intentions, he ended up messing things up? At least now he had even more of a reason to apologize to Lori. As much as he wanted her back in his life, he needed her. Kyle needed her. Unease settled in his gut like a stone. He hated lying. To anyone. But especially to Lori Bradley.
“Everything okay?” Jasper asked. “Is Kyle still getting out?”
“He sure is.” He picked up his pen, clicked it open and scratched his name.
A few seconds later, he set the sealed envelope on the counter, where it would go out in the afternoon mail.
“LORI, THANK GOODNESS!”
Lori Bradley glanced up from behind the registration desk at the Flutterby Inn as BethAnn Bottomley swooped in like a redheaded designer bird of prey. A Butterfly Harbor native who had returned home after the death of her senator husband, BethAnn was one of those people you crossed the street to avoid. Somewhere north of fifty, she had the uncanny talent of turning any compliment into an insult. Today’s campaign-worthy suit was the color of summer cherries. The look in her eyes? Seek and destroy.
“You have got to help me!” BethAnn dropped a stack of boxes on top of the registration desk and draped herself over them in exhaustion. “Esther Kravatz’s arthritis is acting up and she totally forgot about these invitations. If I don’t find someone reliable to send them out, the entire welcome dinner could fall apart! I’m so glad you’re on the committee.”
Esther Kravatz’s arthritis had been flaring up a lot since BethAnn had returned to Butterfly Harbor after more than a decade away. In the past, the welcome dinner had always been a casual affair, certainly nothing like the big to-do BethAnn had in mind.
“Actually, I’m not on the...” Lori trailed off as she stood, pulled to her feet by the breathy desperation in BethAnn’s voice. A sinking sensation swept over Lori as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and brushed a self-conscious hand down the front of her blue-and-white-striped maxi dress. “How many are there?” Lori’s chest tightened as she did a quick mental count.
“Five, six hundred, give or take. We’re not expecting that many to show up, of course, but they might be up for donations to our charity gift baskets. You can take care of it, right? I’d do it myself, but I’m just so busy getting sponsors and making delivery arrangements. It shouldn’t take too long. Just have a glass of wine, pop some corn and get to stuffing.”
Lori’s smile stretched almost as wide as her patience. Some things never changed. People rarely said no to her, if only to get BethAnn off their backs.
“No one else on the committee can help? What about taking them to the youth center and asking the kids...”
“Oh, well, we can’t trust children with something this important, can we?” BethAnn waved that dismissive hand of hers in the air. “And as far as the committee, apparently not everyone’s taking this kickoff event as seriously as I am. It’s vital we make a good show of things if we’re going to draw a higher level of clientele.”
Lori bit the inside of her cheek. Higher level of clientele was BethAnn code for her rich “friends.”
“We’ve already got multiple television stations coming,” BethAnn went on. “Which means we’re going to be front and center. And then I remembered you and how you’ve always been tip-top when it comes to responsibility and volunteering. I have to tell you, Lori.” She pressed manicured fingers against her chest and tapped where most people possessed a heart. “While I was honored you all elected me to lead the charge on this event, I had no idea how much work would be involved! Thank goodness for all my worker bees.”
Elected? Lori pressed her lips into a hard line. More like the committee had been too intimidated to argue when BethAnn announced her intention to take over the event. Lori sighed. Most of the “work” BethAnn referred to had been completed and locked in place thanks to Lori securing the caterer. All that was left was to figure out furniture rental, decor, and, well... She looked down at the invitations.
Clearly BethAnn’s desire for the spotlight hadn’t diminished in her years away. As happy as people had been to see her go, just like a Monarch, she’d found her way back.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz.” BethAnn clapped her hands together as if wishing a fairy back to life. “Oh, and these all need to be mailed by the eighteenth.”
Lori’s hand froze as she flicked through the addressed envelopes. “You’re kidding? BethAnn, that’s—”
“I know it’s short notice, but I have every faith in you, Lori. Drop me an email when they’re done so I can mark it off the list. I have tons to do before