Authors: Mary Beth Lee
“You feeling better, Mrs. Norene?”
Mrs. Norene held out her leg. “Almost completely better. Lester takes me to water therapy in Shawnee every morning before breakfast.”
“Water therapy, huh? That’s cool.”
“She’s healing faster than people who’ve lived through tornadoes usually do according to the doctor,” Lester said with obvious pride.
The bell above the door jingled and she turned to see Paul and Jed walk in, both dressed for work. Paul’s limp almost gone.
What she wanted to do was run across the diner to give Jed a hug and kiss. What she did was say “Hey y’all,” and walk toward them with a pot of coffee.
She was the only waitress on duty for the moment. In another hour one of the new girls Pete hired would come in for the lunch rush.
“We’re here on a mission,” Jed said as she poured their coffee.
“That sounds important,” she said, finishing up and pulling out her order pad. “You two eating breakfast?”
“Susie made french toast and sausage this morning,” Paul said. “No breakfast needed.”
Clarissa put away the order pad. “So this really is a mission?”
Jed sipped his coffee. “Momma wants you to come out for dinner tonight. My sister’s coming into town, and she wants to meet you. Momma’s afraid she’ll accost you here at the diner if you don’t come out to the ranch.”
“Your sister wants to meet me?”
Jed laughed. “The whole family wants to meet you, but my sister will be here tonight. So what do you think? You up for dinner?”
Again the light and warmth and wonderfulness of her life wrapped around her. She laughed and teased, “I don’t know, Jed. That seems…”
Mid-sentence the bell jingled and a chill ran over Clarissa’s spine at the hard looks on Jed’s and Paul’s faces.
She turned, knowing without seeing who was there.
Only it wasn’t Abby and Donald Van Neys. It was the sheriff. And he held an official looking envelope in his hands as he headed toward their table.
“I’m real sorry about this, Jed, but these papers have to be served, and it’s my job to do the serving.”
Jed stood to take the envelope. “Don’t worry, sheriff. I know this isn’t your doing.”
When he sat, Clarissa wanted to take the papers from him, to keep them from hurting him, from hurting them.
But she couldn’t.
He opened the envelope and looked from her to his father and back.
“They filed for custody.”
“No judge is going to fall for that hogwash,” Paul said, an angry edge to his voice.
“They have a temporary order giving them visitation rights for now.”
“They could’ve had visitation rights any time in the last five years.” Paul’s voice grew angrier.
“It gets worse,” Jed said staring out the diner’s windows as if he couldn’t believe what he was reading.
“What’s worse?” The words were hers, but she almost didn’t recognize her voice.
He looked at her then, and she saw the hopelessness in his eyes. It scared her more than anything she’d ever seen from him. Even the tornado hadn’t been this terrifying.
“Bethany’s name is on this petition.”
Chapter Thirteen
When Jed picked her up for dinner, Clarissa knew she had to talk about the Van Neys. About how her life could impact the outcome of the suit.
“You talked to a lawyer?”
Jed nodded. “I did, and it’ll be fine. If they wanted to be part of Mack’s life they would’ve been there before today.”
She bit her lip and then said the words that had troubled her all day. “They’re going to use me against you.”
He shook his head. “No worries there. Just like I told Joan, your past has no bearing here. They’re welcome to try, but I think if they tried the whole city’d come out in support of you. We’re not going to worry about it.”
Clarissa wished she could put the worry away so easily.
A small sports car was parked in front of the family house at the Triple Eight.
“Your sister’s?” Clarissa asked in surprise and Jed laughed.
“Sure is. She’s a little different.”
They parked the truck and the “little different” sister flew out of the house and to the truck then wrapped her brother’s waist in a giant hug before turning to her and giving her the same treatment.
“I’m so glad to meet you,” she said.
Clarissa looked above the girl’s head to stare at Jed who just laughed.
Callie Dillon was shorter than Clarissa with long blonde hair that fell in waves around her shoulders. She wore a yellow sundress and sandals with turquoise and silver. Her nails were manicured perfectly, and she looked like she spent her days soaking in sunshine.
She looked like what she was: the youngest daughter of a wealthy Oklahoma family.
Only instead of the ranching business, Callie worked in advertising in Dallas. Currently she was interning because “finding a full-time job in this economy isn’t exactly easy.” She had one more semester to turn the internship into the real deal, find a different job or Susie and Paul were cutting her off.
She told the story with such good nature Clarissa couldn’t help but smile. Paul and Susie looked none too thrilled.
“Auntie Callie, look what I can do!” Mackenzie ran into the room and started spinning around and around so her dress would billow out.
Jed’s sister clapped her hands in glee until Mackenzie fell at her feet.
“I’m dizzy, Auntie.”
Then she got up to go again, only this time Jed walked in and scowled. “Mackenzie Renee, you know better than to cut up in the house.”
“Come on, Jed, she’s just playing,” Callie said, which earned her an even bigger scowl.
Clarissa agreed with his sister on this one, but she wasn’t about to voice that opinion. At least not in public, and not when it was obvious he was stressed over the Van Neys petition.
Mackenzie said “Yes, sir” and ran to Jed to give him a hug before pulling her aunt to the bedroom to see Kitty.
“Clarissa had to give her back ‘cause she moved into the apartment again,” the little girl was explaining as the two disappeared.
“I think Mackenzie and your sister have a lot in common,” she said, and Jed agreed.
“She’ll get you alone as soon as she gets the chance,” Jed warned. “You want me to run interference?”
“You’re just worried she’ll tell me your secrets,” she teased.
Callie walked back in then and shot her a thumbs up. “Smart girl. Wait until I tell you about the time he nearly burned the house down.”
“You mean you nearly burned the house down,” Jed corrected, but his sister stood firm on her opinion.
“You were supposed to be the firefighter. My Barbies were innocent victims.”
Jed laughed, and Clarissa breathed a huge sigh of relief at his joy. He needed this tonight.
Clarissa left the two to reminisce and walked into the kitchen to ask Susie if she needed any help. Susie pointed to a pan of potatoes on the stove and walked her through the ingredients necessary for the best mashed potatoes ever. Following instructions Clarissa added the cream, parmesan cheese, cream cheese, butter and chicken stock then whipped them up.
She had to admit Susie was right. The potatoes looked amazing. Susie used a spoon to test and agreed they were ready.
And then she rested a hand on Clarissa’s shoulder and looked solemnly into her eyes.
“This will work out how it’s supposed to. Don’t fret.”
She’d thought she’d covered her worry.
“How can you be so sure?”
Susie waved a hand at herself. “Child, you don’t live to be my age and not learn life’s a whole lot easier if we let God stay in the driver’s seat.”
Susie spooned the potatoes into a bowl and set them on the table followed by a warm batch of biscuits and then she said, “Call them to dinner. It’s time.”
They ate and laughed and told story after story and Clarissa basked in the warmth of the family. After dinner Mackenzie brought kitty out “because she misses you bunches, Clarissa.”
Kitty didn’t seem to be missing anyone. She jumped on the back of the couch, gave them all a regal glare and then went to sleep.
After Mackenzie was sent to bed, three times, Jed started a fire in the fire pit and they sat outside watching the stars and lightning bugs. It was a perfect night. Or it would be if not for worries about Mackenzie’s maternal grandparents.
“You know she’s not seriously coming back, don’t you?” Jed’s sister’s heated voice started the conversation. “She never wanted to be a mother. She swore she hated Stearns. This is all some elaborate ruse. I’m not sure what it’s for, but it’s not real.”
Jed leaned back against the porch swing and kept his arm behind Clarissa. His sigh spoke volumes.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I need to do whatever necessary to keep Mack safe.”
His words sent a chill over her.
He might not see it, but she did. She was the issue. She was the excuse the Van Neys were using.
“Let’s talk about anything else,” Jed said and Callie turned to her.
“I want to know all about you, Clarissa.”
Clarissa answered her questions easily, but she couldn’t reclaim the feeling that all was well.
When she returned to the apartment, her premonition proved to be true. An envelope was clipped to her mail box.
“Don’t open it,” Jed said. Part of Clarissa wanted to do as he said. Ignore whatever the envelope held. But avoiding wouldn’t fix anything.
“I’ve got to Jed,” she said, and she slid the top open and looked inside.
Pictures and printed papers. She unlocked the front door, pushed it open and Jed followed. She poured the contents of the envelope on the table and closed her eyes.
The pictures were of them and Mackenzie. Taken the last two days, they showed a happy family. The grocery store, the church, the diner, Shawnee.
“They really went all out,” she said shaking her head. She picked up one of him carrying the groceries they’d bought and laughed. “I especially like this one. It’s your good side.”
Jed groaned. “Clarissa, I’m sorry. I didn’t think…”
She brushed his words away. “It’s not your fault,” she said pushing the pictures back into the envelope. The other papers were copies of stories about her past. They’d known Joan Anderson had those.
“I don’t understand her being so hateful,” Clarissa said. “I never did anything to her.”
Jed pulled her close. Tried to explain. “She planned on me and Bethany being together forever, and when it didn’t happen that way, she changed. Bethany lived with Joan three months a year without fail. But when she decided she wanted out, that was that. Joan blames me. And because she blames me, she hates you. It’s sad.”
Sad was one way to describe it. Pathetic another. Still, “maybe we should step back, stop whatever it is we have until after this blows over.”
“No way,” Jed said. “This ‘whatever we have’ is I love you, Clarissa Dye. And Mackenzie does, too. We’re not stopping, we’ve got nothing to hide.”
Happiness burst through her at his words. She wanted to tell him she loved him, too, but the words stuck in her throat and then the moment passed, and she couldn’t do it.
So she said, “I love spending time with you and your family. Your sister’s nice.”
She wanted to kick herself. Could she be any more lame?
Jed snorted a laugh. “Callie can be nice. She can also be a spoiled spitfire. I’m glad you got to meet her. I hope to introduce you to the rest of the family soon. My brother Tom will be here for Christmas. He won’t get leave before then.”
As he spoke wonder filled her. She was making plans for Christmas. Plans with his family. Plans that would keep her in Stearns. And she wanted to be here. Had no desire to leave.
She reached up to kiss him then, and he kissed her back, and it felt like all was right in the world.
The jarring ring of her cell phone woke her first. The area code showed Oklahoma, but she didn’t recognize the number. She thought about letting voicemail get it, changed her mind.
“Hello.”
“Miss Dye,” a voice she didn’t recognize started, “My name’s is Kelly Canton. I’m a reporter with…”
Shock and confusion warred in Clarissa’s mind. For some reason she didn’t hang up the phone immediately. She let the woman finish her introduction and ask for an interview.
“I won’t be interested,” Clarissa said, and this time, she didn’t wait to see what the reporter had to say next. She hung up, looked at the time and dialed Jed’s number.
His phone went to voice mail, and she listened to his deep steady tones telling her to leave a message at the beep.
Panic hit then and she hung up before saying anything. What could she say? Reporters are calling. It starts with one, but there will be others. This will turn into a circus because you’re handsome and rich and your daughter is precious and my past is so salacious. They won’t be able to stay away.
Joan Anderson had won.
It was really that simple. She couldn’t stay. Not now anyway. Not until this business with the Van Neys was finished.
But if she left, Jed would be furious. He’d be hurt. And Mackenzie…
God, she didn’t know what to do.
She closed her eyes, tried to pray, but her cell phone rang again. She checked to see if maybe it was Jed, but it was the reporter.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
. She repeated the words to herself, and she knew God would make this all work out. He’d keep Mackenzie and Jed safe, and He’d keep her safe too. But keeping her safe didn’t necessarily mean keeping her safe here.
She called Bev who told her to hold on a second. A door closed and then Bev was back on the line. After she explained everything, Bev said “Ahhhhh, that explains it.”
“Explains what?” Clarissa needed direction. She needed someone to tell her the right answers.
“Well the reporter called Pete’s last night after you were off, but you know Pete, he didn’t say anything. And Jed’s lawyer is sitting at my kitchen table with donuts for the kids. He might’ve said something about your past being troublesome but nothing they couldn’t handle in court if it comes to that.”