Adopted Son (20 page)

T
UCK AND A DEPUTY
made the long, tiring drive to Laredo. They met with the sheriff in that county who was talking to the Mexican authorities. After everything was in order, they drove to the bridge. At the signal Tuck walked across the bridge to meet Luis Rodriquez. He snapped handcuffs on him and escorted him to their waiting vehicle.

Within minutes, they were on the road back to Austin. Tuck drove and there was very little conversation. He preferred it that way. He wasn’t in a mood to talk.

It was late when they checked Rodriquez into the jail. Tuck told the deputy to go home to his family and he’d fill out the necessary paperwork. There was no one waiting for Tuck. And that’s the way it had to be.

He was dead tired when he crawled into his car to go home. When he reached his house, he fell across his bed. The scent of lilac filled his senses. It was everywhere—on the pillow, the sheets, his skin and in his heart. Grace’s face swam before him and a ragged moan escaped him as he was claimed by sleep.

T
HE DAYS MOVED SLOWLY
. Tuck was never far from Grace’s thoughts but she restrained herself from calling him. She was giving him the time he wanted and it wasn’t easy. She stayed busy, though, waiting for his call, or some response from him.

April turned into May and Grace was working on a plan to have meals provided to all the parents who stayed by their children in the pediatric ward. She had another meeting with the CEO and he told her Brady was still a patient, so afterward she took a moment to check on Brady, Lisa and Keith.

She walked into the room and stopped dead. Barbara was gone and Molly’s crib was empty. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach.
Oh, no.
Tears gathered in her eyes and she pushed them away. They’d probably gone home, that’s all.

As she tried to convince herself of that, the door opened and a bed was pushed inside with Molly in it—sitting up and looking around.
Molly was awake!
Barbara followed with a smile on her face.

Unable to stop herself, Grace grabbed Barbara and hugged her. “Molly’s awake. I’m so happy.”

Barbara’s arms tightened around Grace. “Thank you, Grace. It’s so good to see you. My baby’s going to be okay.”

Grace drew back and brushed away a tear. “I was so worried when I saw the empty bed.”

“We went for some tests.”

The nurse lifted Molly from the bed and the baby held out her arms for Barbara. “Mama,” she cried.

Barbara quickly took her child, holding her close. Molly’s head was still bandaged, but she looked fine and healthy.

“So everything is going to be okay?”

“The doctors think so. They’re running a battery of tests, but she’s talking and she knows her family. All good signs, the doctor said.”

“I’m so happy for you and Molly and your family.”

“Thank you.” Barbara sat in the recliner. “I’ve been getting a lot more rest since we got these wonderful chairs.” She gently rocked Molly, sparing Grace a glance. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Another nurse entered the room preventing Grace from answering. She was grateful for that.

She turned to the nurse. “I came to see Brady and he’s not in his bed. Have the Templetons taken him home?”

The nurse looked up from the paper in her hand. “No. He’s in the playroom with Cathy, a nurse’s aide.” Her eyes narrowed. “And you are?”

Grace held out her hand. “Grace Whitten. My law firm represented the Templetons.”

“Natalie Dunbar, head nurse.”

“I’m surprised that Brady is still here.”

“He had a staph infection and the doctor ordered another round of antibiotics. He thought it was best to keep him in the hospital until he was completely well. Actually, the Templetons preferred it that way.” Something in Natalie’s eyes changed and Grace got the impression she did not like Lisa and Keith.

Nurse Dunbar turned to Barbara. “How did the test go?”

“Molly did great,” Barbara replied, kissing her baby’s cheek.

“Good. Marcie will take her vitals and if everything stays the same, it looks like you’ll be able to go home in a couple of days.”

Barbara smiled. “I know. It’s wonderful.”

Natalie looked at the paper in her hand. “I just got a call from the hospital administrator. Your meals will now be sent up from the cafeteria. Every mother on the ward will get their meals free. Not sure what’s going on, but it seems we have a benevolent benefactor.”

“It seems that way.” Barbara glanced at Grace. “It’s very generous and compassionate.”

Grace winked at her, not hiding it, but not admitting it, either. That would happen soon enough. She’d set up the Stephen Whitten Meal Fund to supply meals to parents who sat with their children around the clock. The news would be revealed to the media next week, but first she had to inform her father. She had a feeling he wasn’t going to have a problem with it.

The door opened and a nurse walked in, holding Brady. He was rubbing his eyes and Grace could see that he wasn’t feeling well. Her heart contracted. Where were Lisa and Keith?

The nurse placed him in his crib and Grace walked over to her. “Is he okay?” Grace asked.

“He’s just tired and ready for a nap,” the nurse replied. “I’ll go get him some juice.”

Nurse Dunbar followed the girl out and Grace turned her attention to Brady. “Hi, Brady.” He stared at her with dark, gorgeous eyes, clutching his stuffed dog. His hair was growing out and curling against his scalp. “Are you tired? Would you like for me to rock you?” Grace held out her hands, but Brady made no move toward her. He just kept watching her. She patted the mattress. “Lie down, Brady, and I’ll sing to you.”

Brady touched his eye.

Grace felt a catch in her throat. “Yes. You remember. I love those long eyelashes.”

Suddenly Brady ran toward her, his arms outstretched. Grace lifted him out and held him against her, her heart melting from the contact. She sank into the recliner, cuddling him close. “I’ll rub your back and sing you a lullaby. Okay?”

Brady touched her face and her throat muscles locked for a second.

“Hush, little Brady, don’t you cry. Grace is gonna sing you a lullaby.” As she started to sing, Brady rested his head against her chest. She sang on, rubbing his back until Brady’s eyes closed. She stood, gently placed him in his bed and covered him.

She turned to Barbara, her heart heavy and troubled. “What’s going on?”

“Like Natalie said, he’s had a staph infection, he’s been running a low-grade fever and he’s been sluggish, not his usual fighting self.”

“When was the last time Lisa and Keith were here?”

“Yesterday morning, but Lisa became ill again and they went home.”

“But what about Brady?”

“The nurses are taking very good care of him. When he’s awake, they keep him at the nurses’ station so they can watch him closely.”

This was unacceptable. She had to do something. The aide came back with the juice. “Oh, he’s asleep.”

“Yes,” Grace replied.

“I’ll save it for later. He’s always thirsty when he wakes up.”

As she walked out, Barbara said, “I think the stress is getting to Lisa. I don’t mean to be critical, but she’s having a hard time.”

“Something has to be done. This isn’t right.” She glanced toward the empty crib in the corner where the other baby had been.

“They removed his tube at the beginning of the week,” Barbara said.

“Oh.” A deep pain pierced her for all the abused children in the world. As she stood there she realized something about herself—she cared deeply for the unwanted children. She cared about kids and people. And she was going to make sure Brady had the very best care.

Lisa and Keith had a lot of explaining to do.

T
UCK ROLLED OUT OF BED
with a start. He’d overslept and he never did that. He hurriedly took a shower, shaved and dressed. He had to get to his office, then he’d promised to drive Dillon and Sheila to the bus station. They were leaving today. Damn. This late start was going to put him behind.

Dillon was quiet on the way to the station and he held on tight to Tuck for an extra second before he joined his mother boarding the bus. Tuck waved until the bus was out of sight. Saying goodbye was never easy, but he knew this goodbye had a happy ending. There weren’t enough of those.

As he crawled back into his car, his cell rang. It was Gladys Upchurch.

“Ranger Tucker, I’m so worried.”

“What is it?”

“Micah left for school, but the principal just called and he’s not there. I don’t know where he could be.”

“Did anything happen?”

“Some kids in school are picking on him, calling him a killer’s son, and he has a hard time dealing with that. I’m worried, Ranger Tucker. He’s never run off before.”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Upchurch. I’ll find him and bring him home.”

“Thank you. I knew I could depend on you.”

He clicked off. That’s who he was—someone who was there for these kids who had no one else. Someone they could depend on. Sitting there staring at the sunbeams reflecting off the hood of his car he knew there was nothing in his genes that would ever change that trait in him. Eli had told him that, and Grace had, too. But he couldn’t allow himself to believe them. He was still struggling.

He was still feeling the pain.

I
N HER CAR
G
RACE CALLED
her office for messages before going to Lisa and Keith’s home.

“Oh, Ms. Whitten,” Nina said. “I’m glad you checked in. Mr. Templeton has called three times. He wants to see you. He said it’s urgent.”

She wanted to see him, too. “Call him back and tell him I’ll be at his house in about twenty minutes.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With the heavy traffic, it took Grace exactly twenty minutes to reach Lisa and Keith’s home, an English Tudor in an exclusive neighborhood. Grace hurried up the walk and rang the doorbell.

Keith opened it immediately. “Grace. I’m so glad you came. Lisa’s in the bedroom.”

Grace glanced around the tastefully decorated house and didn’t see any toys or anything to indicate a child was going to live here. She followed Keith through the foyer, formal living room, a hall and into a spacious bedroom. Lisa lay in bed propped up against pillows in a silk peignoir similar to the one Grace had bought.

“Oh, my, are you ill?”

“No, Grace,” Lisa replied. “I’m really fine. Have a seat.”

Keith brought a Queen Anne chair and Grace eased into it, not having a clue what was going on especially since they both were smiling.

“You look wonderful, as always,” Lisa said, perusing Grace’s suit and shoes.

“Thank you,” she replied. “What’s going on, Lisa? I just left the hospital and Brady really needs you.”

Lisa chewed on her lip. “I haven’t been feeling well and…and I wanted to explain to you first.”

“What?”

Lisa let out a bubbly laugh. “We’re pregnant.”

“Oh, how wonderful! Brady will have a little brother or sister.”

The joy on Lisa’s face vanished. “That’s what we wanted to talk about. To carry this baby to full term the doctor has ordered complete bed rest. I can only go to the bathroom. I’m stuck here for the duration.” She hesitated. “We won’t be able to take Brady now.”

“What!” Grace was immediately on her feet. “Why not?”

“We have to think of our own child,” Keith said.

“Brady is supposed to
be
your child,” Grace pointed out. “You’ve been visiting him, forming a bond, a connection. Now you’re just going to walk out on him?”

“We have no choice, Grace.” Keith’s voice rose. “Brady’s very aggressive and he could hit Lisa in the stomach and cause her to lose the baby. We have to be very careful. I’m sorry.”

“Ranger Tucker can have him now,” Lisa said.

Grace was shocked at Lisa’s sheer audacity and she wanted to slap her. She found she had to restrain herself to keep from doing so. “So just hand Brady off to the next available parent? I’m sure that will be very good for his self-esteem.”

“I’m sorry we let you down.” Lisa tied the tiny pink bow on her bed jacket.

“I am, too, Lisa. And I’m really sorry you let Brady down.” She started for the door and Keith followed.

“Should we call Ann Demott or what?”

“I’ll take care of it,” she flung over her shoulder.

“Grace.”

But Grace wasn’t listening. She walked stoically to the front door and let herself out.

Back in her car she called Tuck. He had to be the first one to know this. No answer. She left a message for him to call her as soon as possible. She drove directly to the Whitten Firm, spoke to Ann, and then called Judge Farnsworth. No way in hell was she letting anyone take Brady from Tuck now.

After that she called Beau, making sure she had all her bases covered. Everything was in place, except Tuck. Why wasn’t he calling her back?

Where was he?

O
N A HUNCH
T
UCK DROVE
over to Patterson Park. It wasn’t far from Micah’s house and the boy went there a lot to fool around. As Tuck drove up, he saw him sitting under a large oak tree, his backpack beside him.

He parked his car and walked over to him.

“My grandmother call you?” Micah asked without looking up.

“Yep.” Tuck eased down beside him. “She’s worried. I am, too. Why didn’t you go to school?”

“I’m never going back there. The kids call me names, bad names, and I can’t handle it anymore. I’m running away, but I haven’t made up my mind where to go yet.”

“I see.” Tuck drew up his knees and rested his forearms on them. “My Pa used to say that running never solved anything. Now, he was a big John Wayne fan and Mr. Wayne’s motto was to stand and fight.”

“I don’t want to fight. I hate fighting.” He buried his head on his knees.

“Fighting doesn’t have to be physical. It’s an inner strength of facing these bullies every day and letting them see that their taunts are not affecting you. Never react to them and soon they’ll tire of their little games.”