Page 88 of One Kind Goal

“No. Carina wouldn’t like that and don’t show Nia’s picture again or use her name. Say something like the girl pictured is Sawyer Lundin’s daughter and leave it at that.”

“Got it,” Cody said. “Okay, I think we have enough here to work with, don’t you, Lawrence?”

“Seems like it,” Lawrence said.

“Thanks, Lawrence. I appreciate you guys doing this.”

“No worries,” Cody said. “It’s what we get paid for.”

Sawyer sat in the chair some more after hanging up, staring at that Pegasus. He had full confidence Cody and Lawrence would do their jobs well, but would it be enough to settle Carina? He didn’t like sitting and waiting around to see how this unfolded. Not when Nia was getting farther and farther away from him back to Rhode Island.

Rhode Island.

That was where he needed to be too. Whatever statement Cody and Lawrence issued wasn’t guaranteed to get Carina to quit pursuing full custody of Nia. In her mind, Sawyer had fucked up big time and no patch job was going to get her to forget that. He needed to contact his lawyer, get his ass back to Rhode Island, and fight with all he had to be Nia’s father. Like he should have done back when she was first born. He’d been empathetic to Carina’s childhood experiences as the daughter of a famous person, but he’d sacrificed too much to heed her wishes. Time to think about himself. That meant leaving Vermont now.

And leaving Morgan.

Sawyer got up from the chair and went into the bedroom. He packed his stuff, doing his best to ignore Morgan’s clothes, her scent, and the memories of making love to her that were all over that room. He’d said he loved her, and he did, but he loved Nia too. Right now, he had to put his daughter first. If he didn’t, he might lose her forever. He didn’t want to lose Morgan either, but cutting her out of his life might get Carina to be more reasonable. If he could go to her and say he wasn’t with Morgan anymore—that no one would ever be mistaken for Nia’s mother again—she might be more likely to listen to him.

He grabbed his full duffel bag, paused at the other bedroom to see it cleared of Nia’s things, and made his way back out to the living room. Looking at his phone, he considered calling or texting Morgan to say he was leaving. She’d no doubt try to convince him to stay or to wait for her because if what she’d said this morning in bed was true, she loved him. He couldn’t afford to wait though. He also didn’t want to interrupt her purchase meeting with Trixie. She deserved that antique shop and everything it could bring to her life. A call to her now would get in the way of her pursuing her purpose.

Sawyer wouldn’t do that to her.

Instead, he found a piece of Nia’s drawing paper that had been left on the coffee table. With a stinging throat, he scribbled a note to Morgan and taped it to the Pegasus. After shrugging into his jacket, he gave the cottage where he’d had so much fun with two fabulous females a last look before opening the front door and stepping outside.

Where Isabel and her dog, Blaze, headed his way.

“Hey, Sawyer,” Isabel called as the dog trotted over to smell his boots.

“Hey.” He opened the back of his SUV and tossed his bag inside.

“Are you leaving?” She looked around and peeked into the SUV. No doubt she was searching for Nia and Morgan.

“Ah, yeah.” He scratched Blaze between his ears. “I need to get back to Rhode Island.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Isabel said. “Jackson and I wanted to invite you three to dinner tonight.” She did that looking around thing again. “Where are Morgan and Nia?”

“You haven’t been online at all recently, have you?”

Isabel shook her head. “No. I don’t go online that often anymore since I hired someone to handle the cottages’ online presence. I don’t have time for it myself. Too many other things to see to here.” She opened her arms wide to encompass the cottages and the snowy grounds around them.

He quickly summarized the events that had unfolded since last night. Isabel listened while Blaze nosed around in the snow near the cottage. When Sawyer finished, Isabel frowned.

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” she said, “but in my experience, whenever you can have additional people fighting in your corner—people like Morgan—you should let them. Running off to handle things on your own never works.” She squeezed his forearm. “I’m not telling you what to do. It’s just my advice.” She released him and called to Blaze. “Good luck, Sawyer.”

Isabel and Blaze walked away, leaving Sawyer standing by his SUV. He considered what Isabel had said, but he couldn’t give Carina a chance to mobilize her forces against him. If he showed up at her house—alone—he had a chance. Bringing Morgan along would only complicate things.

Besides, Morgan was starting a life here in Maplehaven. His chances of getting Carina to agree to let him see Nia were increased if he remained in Rhode Island. Finding out he wanted to move to Vermont could be a strike against him. He and Morgan hadn’t even discussed living in Vermont together. Staying in Rhode Island for Nia was his best option.

Sawyer slipped into his SUV and started the engine. He backed out quickly before he could change his mind and headed for the cottages’ exit. Blaze sat by the gates, his furry face and bright, yellow-green eyes somehow reflecting disappointment at Sawyer’s retreat.

“You don’t understand, pooch,” Sawyer mumbled as he drove past the gates and away from the precious memories the cottages had given him.

When he rolled through the main part of town and passed Trixie’s Attic, he sent a wish out that Morgan would be happy running the shop and living in Vermont. He prayed she’d be successful beyond her wildest dreams.

He hoped she’d find someone who would love her the way she deserved to be loved.

By leaving Morgan, Sawyer was choosing Nia. That had better make a goddamn difference to Carina.