Free Solomon's Porch by Wid Bastian Page B

help you.”
    “Lord have mercy,” Peter mumbled under his breath. He knew the devil never came to help, but only to steal, kill, or destroy.
    “Sure, Jules. Say what you need to say, please.”
    Julie had rehearsed and perfected her game plan in detail over the past two weeks. She had no doubt that she could execute it flawlessly and was quite certain it would be successful. After all, when had Peter Carson ever denied her anything? Despite his many faults, Julie was sure that the man sitting across from her now was the same one who had always been willing to walk through hell barefooted in order to please her.
    “Peter, I want you to know that I love you. Always have, always will. I’m so sorry everything came down like it did. I know you’re really not that kind of man. I don’t hate you, I do want you to be happy, and I also want you to have a life when you get out of here.”
    The best lies are always laced with some truth. No one knew this better than Julie Morgan. She was a master at the art of manipulating men.
    “I’m married to Walter now, Peter. Maybe that’s right, maybe that’s wrong, but it is reality.” She thought this little touch of humility might soften him up. “Being married to Walter means things have to change, Peter. My husband’s needs must be considered, not just mine and not just Kevin’s.”
    “Jules, if you’ve got something to say, just say it. Going the long way around the barn won’t make it any easier for either of us.”
    “That’s good, I can respect that. Plain and simple, Walter wants you gone from my life and from Kevin’s life. Regardless of how you and I feel about it, I can understand where he’s coming from, Peter.
    “The fact that you’re a convicted swindler,” she used this term because she knew how much it hurt Peter to be called it, “is making things tough on your son. The kids at school tease him. Walter has to explain away where Kevin’s father is over and over again to his family and friends. In Walter’s circles, appearances aren’t just a big deal, they can be everything.”
    “Your calls and letters and all this God talk is really putting a strain on my marriage and on Kevin. He already resents Walter enough as it is. Before, when you only called once in a while, it was fine, but now, Peter, this situation is getting seriously out of hand.”
    “Jules, Kevin is my son. God put him in my care as well as yours. I will not go away simply because Walter doesn’t like either me or my past. As for your marriage, that’s your business.”
    Peter’s tone was all wrong. Where was the “Geez Jules, can’t we work this out?” weak-kneed attitude she knew so well. Based on this unexpected resistance, Julie skipped ahead in her pre-programmed attack, figuring that trying to placate Peter at this point with further fluff might be counter-productive.
    “Would a million dollars perhaps make you change your mind?”
    The offer hit Peter like a slap on the face. His “old man” kicked up for a second, begging him to consider the offer. Temptation comes in many forms, and the devil was using two of Peter’s biggest weaknesses, Julie and money, to try and defeat him.
    But the hot flash of his former self was not nearly enough to shake Peter’s faith. He decided to play the game out with Jules, to see exactly what she was up to.
    “Who do I have to kill for the million?” Peter said, displaying a slightly snide attitude, hoping to disarm her a bit.
    That’s my boy, Julie thought. She was happy to see some evidence of her old ex-husband re-emerging.
    “No one, Peter. All you have to do is give up your parental rights and agree never to contact either me or Kevin again. It’s simple, you sign and I wire the money wherever you say. It’s legal, it’s binding, and it’s final.”
    “I can never see Kevin again? That’s what you want, Jules?”
    Time for the clincher.
    “It’s not what I want, Peter. It’s what’s best for Kevin, for me, and