Authors: Kristen James
“You don’t think I’m rushing things?”
“Do you?” Margaret asked.
They were moving fast, but Savanna wanted to, needed to. “I
love him, and he loves me. And he loves Aubrey. He wants to be her daddy.”
“If you don’t have doubts, I’m happy for you.”
“I thought you would be the one with doubts. I picked Eric
and looked how that turned out, and I haven’t known Jason that long.” She was listing
doubts, but she didn’t feel doubtful. She felt very sure about it, which was a
rare feeling for her these days.
“Well . . . I was worried when he got in the accident, but
he’s been there for you. It sounds like he’s thought about his life and worked
through his grief for his friend.”
“We’re both working through things. I know nothing’s
guaranteed.”
Especially now that Georgia had shown up
, Savanna added in
her mind.
“Marriage is about hard work, I want you to know that. If
you both want it to work, it will.” Holding Savanna by the shoulders, Margaret
looked her over. “You look tired.”
“I’ve been busy lately. And I haven’t called you, I’m sorry.
How’s school this year? You’re over that cold?”
Margaret’s face lifted in a warm expression. “Listen, you’ve
got a lot on your mind, so I want you to go home to Jason and Aubrey.”
“Mom?”
“School’s good. I’m good. You go rest, okay?”
“If you’ll lock your door and not let that woman back in.”
Savanna squeezed her mom one more time before leaving. In her car, she shook
with anger when she thought about Georgia. What else could pile on top of her?
Had Jason felt this angry, unable to do anything, when he ran off the road?
Well, she didn’t plan to let Georgia get the better of her.
Turning down her street, Savanna spotted a small black car that
she didn’t recognize parked in front of Jason’s townhouse. Not another
surprise. It couldn’t be Georgia over here that quickly. Eric? No, there’s no
way in hell he’d come here with his mom.
She walked through her front door and saw Rachael standing
in the front room while Jason sat next to Aubrey on the floor. She probably
looked like a mess after crying on her mom, but she didn’t care.
“Hello,” she said, setting her purse in the closet. Jason
didn’t introduce Rachael, and something about his eyes made her put up her
defenses.
“Well.” Rachael shifted her weight from one foot to the
other and finally took a step toward the door. Her gaze landed on Savanna’s
left hand, spotting the ring. “I’m glad you’re getting better, Jason. I’ll
leave you two alone.”
When the door shut, Savanna sat on the couch and Jason
joined her. Aubrey climbed into her lap with a picture book.
“What now?” Savanna asked over Aubrey’s head. She couldn’t
read Jason’s expression.
He didn’t look at her when he answered. “What happened with
Georgia?”
“Rachael first.” Her words sounded stiff to herself.
When he looked at her, she saw frustration in his eyes. “She
wasn’t happy when I told her we’re engaged.”
“You told her?”
“You’d better believe it.” The proud and possessive gleam in
his eyes gave her confidence, but she wasn’t ready to relax. He added, “I think
she needs someone to talk to, but I told her she needs to look for someone
else.”
“I’ll admit her story is sad.” That didn’t mean she wanted Rachael
leaning on Jason. She waited to hear what he had to say about it.
“She’s hurting, all right, but she cheated on me and lied
about so many things,” he said, his voice hard.
“Does she have someone she can turn to?” Feeling compassion
for Rachael surprised her.
“She’s got friends around, and her family lives in town.”
“That’s good.”
“I’m done thinking about her,” he said, “So what did Mrs.
Stauffer want?”
She rested her head on Aubrey’s and breathed in the smell of
baby shampoo. It’d been easier to talk about Rachael than Georgia. This was too
big and scary to talk about. “I’m not completely sure.”
She felt him tense up. “And?”
“And I just don’t know yet.”
He let it drop but she knew that had to be hard for him.
Fifteen
Jason never lied to people, never betrayed them, and never
hurt them if he could help it. Maybe he shouldn’t expect everyone to rise to
his expectations, but he could expect it from Savanna, especially on something
so important.
Different scenarios chased each other around in his head. Did
Eric want her back? And if so, why would he send his mother to ask her? Did the
mother want Savanna and Eric to fix things? Maybe the scumbag was dead, and
Aubrey had inherited money from him. That didn’t seem to make sense, but why
wouldn’t she tell him the truth? Did she plan to leave? Go back to Texas?
Looking up at the clock on the wall, he sat for a minute,
watching the second hand go around. He wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
The second hand started around again. The phone rang, and he
jumped to answer it.
“Jason?”
“Savanna?” Why would she call when she could walk over?
“I need to talk to you.”
No, not like this. “I’ll come over.” He hung up before she
could argue. Whatever she had to tell him, she’d do it to his face. He couldn’t
handle games, not when he loved her this much. This was the biggest commitment
he’d ever made. He’d never had so much at stake before.
She met him at the door with a robe over her nightgown. “I
couldn’t sleep,” she started, “I have to tell you what Georgia said to me.”
“I knew it was something bad,” he said, shutting the door
behind him and facing her.
“Eric lied to her.”
When he saw the tears on her face, his anger vanished.
Reaching over, he pulled her against his chest. With a shaky voice, she told
him everything.
“We’ll fight her together, do you hear me?” He pulled her
face up by her chin. “And we’ll win.”
Savanna had taken the next day off work to deal with the
mediation, and it happened to also be the day for Jason to have his cast
removed. He had offered to move his appointment, but somehow she felt it was a
good omen for that day.
As they left the medical building, side by side and Jason
without crutches, she could tell a difference. He smiled at her with an
emotional look and took her hand. As they reached her car, he hesitated, and
knowing his thoughts, she handed him the keys.
“Wow, this feels good,” he said as he drove out of the
parking lot. “We’re ready to face anything today, right?”
She nodded while taking a deep breath. Her cell phone rang
just then, and while she didn’t recognize the number, she recognized Tammy’s
voice. “Savanna? Have you seen Cassie? Or talked to her? She’s been gone, and
her office called me.”
“What? Where would she go?”
“I don’t know . . . that’s why I’m calling you. I’ve been
calling her and checking her house. She’s just gone.”
Silent, dreadful seconds ticked by. Where would Cassie go?
Was she so depressed that she’d….? Savanna couldn’t go down that line of
thought. “Okay, okay. Call the police. We’ll start looking too. I’ll call you
soon.”
As she ended the call, Jason pulled into a store parking lot
and turned to her with questioning eyes. “What’s going on?”
“Cassie’s gone. No one knows where she is.”
A serious mood fell over them. Jason yanked his cell phone
from his pocket. “I’ll call my friends. The guys at the fire department. Check
with everyone you know.”
Ten minutes later, Savanna told him, “I’ve called everyone
in my phone who knows her.”
He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “I did too. I
even have the police on to it, even though that’s not by the rules. She hasn’t
been missing long enough to be
officially
missing.” He glanced at the
clock. “But we should have left five minutes ago.”
She followed his glaze to the clock and back at him,
wondering what he meant.
“Mediation?” he reminded gently.
“Crap! I can’t do this now.”
The way he worked his jaw meant he was thinking hard. “Everyone
is looking for her, babe. We’ll keep our phones on in case anything comes up.
Most of the time, it turns out the person just didn’t tell anyone where they
were going. I think we should go to mediation and get it over with; it should
take less than an hour. Then, we’ll do whatever we can to help find her.”
“You think it’ll be over in an hour?” She’d been dreading
this day like it was an appointment to get her arm amputated. Putting it off
would mean stressing about it even longer. She’d be stressed and worried about
Cassie no matter what, so Savanna nodded, wondering if she’d regret it later.
“It can’t go on too long. We might have other meetings to
worry about later, but let’s take it one step at a time.”
They arrived at a building that housed legal offices and
went inside. Georgia Stauffer, all decked out and done up, was waiting in the
lobby with a thirty-something man who turned out to be their mediator, Sam
Haden. About five foot seven with dull blond hair, he looked ordinary to
Savanna, but also honest, if she could make that assumption. He’d been
explaining to Georgia that she couldn’t come to their mediation session.
Savanna offered her hand to him and said, “I’m Savanna
Thompson, and this is Jason Lancaster, my fiancé.”
“Fiancé!” Georgia crossed her arms. “You’re moving on
already? See what I mean, Sam. I’ve been trying to explain this situation to
you. She has no consideration for my son.”
“Listen,” Jason jumped in sternly, “We need to keep this
short today. A friend of ours is missing, but we’ve agreed to come here for an
hour. I don’t even see the other party to this matter.”
Just then, Savanna felt a breeze from the office door
opening. Her ex-husband was pushing the door open with his hip while tying his
tie.
Jason was facing her so that Eric was walking in behind him.
How funny to see them both. Two men with brown hair and brown eyes, but they
were so different. Jason looked warm and caring. Eric looked so cold. He stared
at her blankly. There wasn’t anger like she’d feared, but there wasn’t any
nervousness either. Then again, why would he be nervous about anything? That
thought went through her mind, followed by the realization that he didn’t look
like he cared whatsoever.
She braced for fear, loathing, or
something
to hit,
but nothing did.
“Well, now we can begin. Savanna, Eric, please follow me.”
Georgia, Eric, and Jason all spoke at the same time. Sam
Haden stood there with his mouth open before collecting himself. “I can’t allow
other people to attend, I’m sorry.”
“What if Eric and I both agree that his mother and my fiancé
can join us? I’d like Georgia to be present for this,” Savanna said.
The poor man remained calm, obviously a needed skill with
his job, and nodded after Eric gave his approval. Sam turned and motioned for
everyone to follow him down the hallway and into a small conference room.
Savanna sat alongside Jason. He touched her leg under the
table for support.
“Let’s talk about why we’re here,” Sam started, “There has
been a motion to revise custody arrangements for Aubrey Stauffer, who currently
is in the sole custody of Savanna Thompson. Unless there are extenuating
circumstances, usually both parents are granted time with their minor child,
and joint custody is common. I’m here to help both you discuss this issue and
see if you can reach a solution without going to court.”
“Aubrey Thompson.” Savanna corrected. “Her name is Aubrey
Thompson. When Eric filed for divorce, he stipulated that Aubrey’s last name
would be changed, along with mine, back to my maiden name.”
Mr. Haden tried to keep a blank expression, but Savanna
caught the sideward glance at Eric. Georgia gave Eric a questioning look and
waited for him to speak, but he continued to sit without saying a word, as if
he had no part in this business.
“It’s obvious she manipulated him.” Georgia’s voice sounded
desperate.
Instead of addressing Georgia’s comment, Savanna said, “Eric
spent a lot of time at work, the club, or out with friends after we got
married, which didn’t seem all that strange for a doctor. Then I got pregnant.”
Here she paused and looked at Eric. He gazed down at the table, still without
any signs of distress such as grinding his jaw or crossing his arms.
“Eric?” Sam turned to him as well. “You have every right to
share as well.”
Eric shook his head before glancing at her. His look shocked
her. Had she imagined a softness and regret in his eyes?
Savanna continued, “He said I went behind his back and got
pregnant against his wishes, so then he was gone even more. He was often very
angry when he was at home and even violent at times. When Aubrey was born, he came
to the hospital to tell me goodbye, and then he filed for divorce.” She
remembered the pain and the humiliation and tried to keep her chin up. Jason
kept his hand on her leg. Feeling stronger, Savanna continued, “Eric paid me
off. He gave me five thousand dollars after I agreed not to seek alimony or
child support. That’s all I had to start over again, on my own with a baby. But
I didn’t know what else to do. He didn’t want anything to do with her.”
“It’s not true,” Georgia clasped her hands and drew her lips
into a tight line. “Eric, you need to speak up here.”
“Mother,” he spoke in a quiet, yet authoritative, voice.
“The marriage was a mistake. Getting married seemed like the next step in my
life, but it wasn’t anything like I’d imagined. Having a wife held me back.
Then the kid. I didn’t want kids. I tried to fix it the best I could so
everyone could move on. Look, I came here for you, but I just can’t do it. I
can’t go backwards.”
A shocked silence fell over everyone. Savanna felt Jason’s
grip tighten on her leg before he caught himself.