Her Sister (Search For Love series) (17 page)

Shara
had to be in that apartment, didn't she?  Max wouldn't still be listening if
she wasn't, would he?  Since her line to Gillian was open, she whispered to
her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm
fine," she heard back clearly.  Gillian could speak as loud as she wanted
in the SUV.

 "Isn't
anyone coming or going out front?" Amanda asked her.

"Across
the street.  No one in this building.  I think Max assessed the situation
pretty well, but it is getting later and the longer he's up there, the more
chance he has of being discovered."

"He
has a mind of his own," Amanda muttered.  No, she probably couldn't pull
him away from that door if she wanted to.  All the inhabitants inside had to do
was open their blind and they'd see him out there.  Then what?  Would Courtney
call the police?  Or would she call Justin Davis and he'd come running.

Suddenly
she saw movement on the balcony.  "Gillian, Max just stood up.  I don't
know if he's just stretching or—"

He
didn't signal to her.  After a few moments, he threw his leg over the balcony,
climbed onto the trellis, and made his way down to the ground again.  That's
when he beckoned to her.  That's when he said, "Go get in the car,
Amanda."

But the
way his brows were drawn together, the way the lines around his mouth cut deep,
the way his jaw was set, she suspected they weren't going to drive back to the
hotel.

"Tell
me what's going on."

"Get
in the car."

"Don't
order me!  Tell me what you found out."

His
frustrated grunt said that he saw her determination, the spirit that had helped
her survive through Lynnie's abduction and everything that came after, the
perseverance that urged her to go on.  "My God, Amanda.  She's pregnant!  They
made an appointment for her at a clinic where she can have an abortion. 
They're leaving soon and I'm going to grab her.  So go get in the car and be
ready to tie her down if you have to."

Amanda
wanted to move, she really did.  There was immediacy in Max's tone and she knew
there'd be no room for error.  But the idea of Shara being pregnant and having an
abortion and taking her against her will froze Amanda to the spot.

"I
can do this, Amanda.  She's a minor.  If I have Clare's permission to keep her
safe, that's all I need."

He took
her by the shoulders and shook her slightly.  "Amanda."

This
time it was gentleness in his voice and the concern in his eyes that snapped
her out of her panic.  "All right," she murmured, giving him a nod, turning
and hurrying to the SUV.

Max was
right behind her.  He didn't get into the car with her, but tossed the
equipment inside.

Amanda
quickly explained to Gillian what was happening and that Max was going to try
to snag Shara.  Gillian moved into the driver's seat without saying a word.

Holding
the open back door, Max said, "This shouldn't be that hard.  She's with
one other girl.  They'll have to walk by us to get to her car.  Amanda, you
stay down so she doesn't see you.  I'll alert you when they come out.  I'll
keep my back turned until Shara's within grabbing distance.  She was putting up
a good front, but I think she's unsure about everything they're doing for her, including
her appointment at this clinic."

"But
if she wants this—" Amanda began.

"If
she wants it, we'll take care of her when we get home, one way or another.  But
for now, she can't think straight here.  She probably assumes we'll turn
against her, that we'll reject her because of what's happened to her."

"But
we didn't reject Clare—"

"We
weren't a united front either, though.  We shouldn't have let her reject our
help.  My fault, again.  I
have
learned a few things, Amanda."

They
had all learned too many things to count.  How would Clare feel when she learned
her daughter was pregnant?  Amanda knew how
she'd
felt.  She'd felt as
if she'd done something terribly wrong, as if she'd failed to teach her
daughter everything she should know.  Had Shara turned to a boy for the love
she hadn't felt her family was giving her?  Wasn't that why Clare had gotten
pregnant the way she had?  History certainly did repeat itself.  Somehow they
had to break this cycle.  Somehow they had to show Shara that she was loved. 
Amanda knew an abortion was not the way to go.  If Shara didn't want the baby,
if Clare didn't want the baby, maybe she could raise it.

Oh,
Lord, what was she thinking?

She was
thinking these were the longest minutes of her life.

Everything
that happened next happened so fast, Amanda felt as if she were dreaming it. 
Only dreams weren't this terrifying.  Max stood at the passenger door of the
SUV, facing the vehicle, glancing over his shoulder every now and then at the door
where Shara and Courtney would emerge.

Amanda
was hot, her palms sweaty, yet a cold creep of fear crawled up her back.

Suddenly,
Gillian, who was holding Shara's earrings in her hand, said, "They're
coming."

Although
they hadn't appeared yet, this was the notice Max needed to get ready...the
notice they all needed.  Amanda didn't question Gillian's statement and neither
did Max.  She saw him tense, half-turn—

The
heavy metal door rattled as it opened.  Amanda did not stay down.  She
couldn't.  She caught a glimpse of the girl with blond, curly hair.  Courtney. 
She swung her purse jauntily over her shoulder.  Amanda heard her say to Shara,
"This will be over before you know it.  You'll never have to look
back."

But
Amanda knew if Shara did this, she'd look back all of her life.  Anything
involving a child was never black and white.  Anything involving a child
affected a person for the rest of their lives.

When
Amanda saw Shara, she wanted to run to her, but she knew that would be foolish,
at least at first.  She had to let Max take the lead this time.  She couldn't
second-guess him.  She also couldn't blame him if this didn't turn out right. 
They had blamed each other for too much, for too long.

But
still she was scared for all of them.

The two
girls came down the steps and started strolling down the walk.  Amanda waited
for Max to time this just right.  She supposed he was as impatient as always,
impatient to get the job done.

The
girls were still ten feet from the SUV when Max moved.  He called Shara's name,
in two strides got to her and said, "Shara, it's me, Granddad.  Come on,
you're coming home."

No
asking, just telling.  That was Max.

Shara's
eyes went wide, her mouth rounded, and Amanda didn't know if she was going to
run, pull away, or scream.

Courtney
moved in to yank on Shara's arm, to pull her back toward the apartment. 
"You don't want to go back with him.  You don't want to go back to the
life you had.  Justin has plans for you."

Max's
voice was as stern as Amanda had ever heard it.  "I know what those plans
are, Shara, and they're not good.  You've got to know it, too.  We know you're
pregnant and it's okay."

"It's
okay?" she repeated.

"Come
on, I'll drive you to our hotel.  We can talk and call your mom.  She's worried
sick."

Courtney
was still pulling on Shara, twisting her away from Max.  But Max wasn't going
to let her go.  He wrapped his arm around Shara's waist, and she wrapped hers
around him.  She yanked away from Courtney and pulled free.  Amanda's heart
beat so fast she couldn't breathe.

Max was
leading Shara to the car when the unthinkable happened.  Courtney pulled a gun
from her purse and yelled, "Stop right there.  You can't have her.  You
can't.  Justin will blame me."

But Max
wasn't listening.  All he wanted to do was protect his granddaughter, and
Amanda could see that as plainly as she could see them both.  He pushed Shara
ahead of him and said, "Run to the car."

As she
did, Courtney's gun went off.

There
was that moment of stark silence, that moment again when Amanda knew nothing
would ever be the same.  Max's shirt bloomed red at his shoulder.  He grabbed at
it but ran after Shara saying, "Get into the car, now.  Gillian, take
off."

Gillian
started the engine as Shara climbed into the front seat.  Max climbed in beside
Amanda, leaned over on her, and his blood dripped into her hands.

Was she
going to lose him, too?

****

Chapter
Eleven

Amanda
was still shaking.   At the hospital, Max had been whisked away, cleaned up,
sutured, and bandaged.  Now, however, the police were talking to him.  Since
Shara was underage, another police officer had questioned her while Amanda sat
in.  At first her granddaughter had been hesitant to divulge all the details of
what had happened.  But with Amanda's urging, she had.

In
another area, Gillian was questioned, because she'd been considered a witness
to the shooting.

Beside
Shara now in a waiting room, Amanda closed her eyes to try to calm every
quivering nerve.  Was Max all right?  Really?  Her mind skipped to the police and
the investigation that would probably ensue.  If Justin was arrested for his
part in all of it—preying on underage girls—if Courtney went to trial, they all
might have to return to Albuquerque.

Studying
Shara, Amanda didn't like the pallor on her granddaughter's face or her
silence.  But then she'd been through an ordeal.  They all had.

She
covered Shara's hand with hers.  "Everything's going to be all
right."

So many
silent moments ticked by, she didn't know if Shara was going to respond.  But
eventually, though still staring straight ahead, she asked, "Is it? 
Granddad got
shot
because of me. 
You
almost got shot because of
me.  What's Mom going to say?  She probably hates me."

As soon
as they'd reached the hospital, Amanda had called Clare, and Max had called the
police.  Clare had been flabbergasted by everything that had happened and
speechless at the idea that her daughter was pregnant.

"Your
mother does
not
hate you," Amanda assured Shara.

"Gram,
what am I going to do about the baby?"  Shara's voice broke.  But she went
on shakily.  "I let Courtney make me that appointment but I don't think I
could have gone through with an abortion.  I don't want to be a mom, but this
is my…baby."

Although
Amanda had been through this situation with Clare and could give Shara advice, right
now she didn't feel that was the right thing to do.  "You have to talk to
your mother."

"She's
not going to want to talk to me.  I know she's not.  I fought with her.  I stole
money from her.  I ran.  Now with me being pregnant and all, she's going to
think I'm an awful person."

Without
hesitating, Amanda wrapped her arm around Shara.  "She's your mother.  She
loves you, even when you make wrong decisions, even when she yells and screams,
even when she wants to walk out and so do you.  We'll all figure this out
together.  Maybe you can work at
Yesteryear
to pay her back for what you
took.  But first you
have
to talk to her.  She deserves that, Shara, you
know she does."

In a
little voice, Shara said, "The police took the phone Justin gave me."

"I
have mine."  She handed it to her granddaughter.  "Call.  If you want
privacy, I'll stand out in the hall."  She wasn't going any farther than
that.  She wasn't leaving Shara alone for a moment, not until she was back in York
with her mother.

****

Shara
could hardly hold her grandmother's phone steady as she punched in her home
number.  She had to prepare herself for her mom screaming and yelling.  She had
to prepare herself for being grounded for a year.  No, not a year, because
she'd have her baby before that.

Her
baby.

Her
mother picked up on the first ring.

"Mom,
is everything okay?"  Clare asked, obviously seeing her mother's ID on her
phone.

"It's
not Gram, Mom.  It's me."

Shara
heard a male voice in the background ask, "Is everything okay?  Do you
want me to stay close?"

She
recognized that voice.  It belonged to Joe Lansing.  What was he doing with her
mom?  Maybe they
both
had secrets that weren't going to stay secrets.

"It's
Shara," Clare told him.  "I think I'd like a little privacy."

"No
problem," the deep voice said, and Shara could hear the truth in that.  He
really didn't mind giving her mom privacy.

When her
mom gave her attention to the call once more, she started with,
"Shara—"  But she couldn't seem to find any more words.  Finally, she
said, "Why don't you tell me what happened...from the very
beginning."

That
wasn't at all the direction Shara had expected the conversation to take.  "You
mean, from when I left for Albuquerque?"