Page 5 of Contentious

“You gotta be freaking kidding me,” Spence said.

“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes,” Julian said.

“What were you even doing in Santa Barbara on a weekday?” Kaidan asked him.

“I drove Isla to her husband’s wake.”

The statement landed like a fart in church. He’d done what now?

Carson, who’d known about the Santa Barbara trip as well as the reason for it, looked at the floor while the others struggled to process that news. Julian, who worked twelve hours and called it a “half day,” who never had time for anything other than work and his band, had driven Isla to her husband’s wake in Santa freaking Barbara.

“Let’s stay focused on Mom and Dad,” Julian said in a testy tone.

If he was displeased with their shocked reactions, he had only himself to blame.

“I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Jordan asked, matching his tone.

“That’s why we’re here,” Julian reminded her. “To figure out what we’re going to do about this.”

“Why do we have to do anything?” Griffin asked. “What if we act like we don’t care, which won’t be hard for me, because I do not care.”

The others exchanged glances as they contemplated Griffin’s suggestion.

“Guys, listen,” Spencer said. “I agree with Griff. I refuse to let anything they do cause a setback for any of you. You’ve all worked too hard to move on from the chaos of the past, and the last thing on earth I want for you is to be sucked into their madness again. You got me?”

“Yeah, Gramps,” Ethan said. “We hear you.”

“Remember why you guys went to law school? So you’d never again feel like you couldn’t control your own destinies. You’re in charge of how you deal with this. Not TMZ or anyone else.”

Carson wasn’t at all surprised that his grandfather had gotten the scoop online while he was on the phone. He could picture him with his iPad in one hand and the phone in the other.

“Thanks for the words of wisdom, Gramps,” Julian said. “They’re appreciated as always.”

“What they do has no bearing whatsoever on any of you,” Spence added forcefully.

“Um, they just texted to ask if they can talk to us,” Jordan said. “They’d like the opportunity to explain.”

“Say no, thank you,” Spence said. “Just no.”

There’d be hell to pay for Corbin when his father got ahold of him, Carson thought. Good. Corbin walked through life like he was untouchable by the shit everyone else dealt with. As senior partner at one of the most successful law firms in LA and a renowned expert on family law who was frequently on TV, he had life by the balls.

Carson hoped his father’s balls would be in a twist by the time Spencer finished with him.

He couldn’t wait to go to work tomorrow and have to deal with the mess up close and personal since he and his brothers all worked for Corbin, while their sisters worked with Kate. Maybe the lovebirds would do their children a favor and keep their distance for the time being, although, based on the text they’d already received, that was wishful thinking.

“Should I answer for all of us?” Julian asked.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Ethan said. “Tell them we’re good and to keep it far away from us.”

With everyone in agreement, Julian responded to the text their mother had sent on behalf of them both.

Please, Kate replied. Give us a chance to explain. We owe you that much.

Carson read his mother’s text to Spencer.

“I’ll respond to that one,” Spence said. “The rest of you should ignore it.”

He’d love to know what his grandfather would have to say, but he wouldn’t mince words when it came to protecting his adored grandchildren.