Read Online Leave it to Max (Lori's Classic Love Stories Volume 1) by Lori Handeland - Free Book Online

eyebrows. “But that was in high school.”
    “He’s only eight. The world is full of—”
    “Psycho nutcases. I know. Still, Livy, you’ve
gotta cut him some slack or he’ll never grow up—”
    “Normal?”
    “At all. Maybe you should check into one of
those Big Brother programs. For boys who don’t have dads.”
    “I know what a Big Brother program is,” Livy
snapped.
    Kim, always astute, looked at Livy closely.
“What’s the matter with you today?”
    “Nothing.” There went those multiplying lies
again. “Don’t you have someone to call and harass?”
    “Always.” But Kim didn’t leave; she just kept
staring at Livy with those too-intelligent eyes.
    Livy stared back. How long was she going to
be able to keep this mess to herself?
    However long it took. All she had to do was
hold J.J. off until he grew bored and left. That shouldn’t be too
hard. Leaving was what he did best.
    Kim cleared her throat.
    “Was there something else?” Livy asked.
    “I had a call from a potential client.”
    “Other than our pig farmer? It’s been a busy
day.”
    “The guy just wanted some initial advice—it
may not come to court. Another client recommended us. Remember
Claudio from the Irish pub on the river?” When Livy’s expression
went blank, Kim explained further. “He never knew about his kid,
then when he found out he had to prove he was the father before he
could sue for visitation.”
    A chill touched Livy’s neck. “Goose on my
grave,” she muttered.
    Kim was too caught up in her story to listen
to Livy’s mutters. Besides, Livy muttered a lot.
    “This guy’s case is a lot like Claudio’s. I
told him he should get a copy of the birth certificate, see if he’s
listed as the father. If not, he’d need to get a blood test,
consider a DNA test. But to get those, he’d probably need a court
order if the mother was being difficult. Sounded like she was. Once
he has proof of parentage, the mother would really have no
choice.”
    “No choice,” Livy echoed.
    “Funny thing, though. When I told him your
name, he hung up. I figured he’d want to get started on the court
order right away.”
    Livy froze. That goose was dancing all over
the entire family plot.
    “What was his name?” she asked, though
she already knew.
    “Garrett Stark. I know that name, but I can’t
remember why. Who is he?”
    Livy didn’t bother to answer before she ran
out the door.

Chapter 5
    Garrett figured the un-book could wait until
tomorrow to be unwritten. It wasn’t every day a man discovered he
had a son.
    Talk about the fickle finger of fate. He
still couldn’t believe he’d called Livy’s office for advice. What
kind of name for a firm was Savannah Family Law? Other law firms
were called Smith, Smith and Jones, or some variation. Didn’t
high-powered attorneys live to see their names on the stationery?
Apparently not Livy Frasier.
    Instead of writing, Garrett spent the morning
thinking, something he’d been doing a lot of lately. The fact that
Livy would rather say Garrett was dead than have him be a father to
his son made him feel worthless, useless, a failure. Just like old
times.
    And just like old times, the urge to run
prodded at him. He could go somewhere new and start the book over.
A different town could make him forget the shape of Max’s face. A
few hundred miles and he might forget the scent of Livy’s hair.
    She wouldn’t care. She’d made it perfectly
clear that he was an intrusion and she wanted him gone. But this
time he wasn’t running. He didn’t care what Livy wanted. Garrett
needed to know Max. From what he’d seen and heard that morning, Max
needed to know him, too.
    Livy loved her son. That was obvious. But she
had no idea how to cultivate the boy’s magic. In trying to keep him
safe, she’d end up crushing his spark, making him like every other
boy—and Max was different. Garrett knew, because he was different,
too.
    What was he going to do? Garrett couldn’t
very well