The Awakening (8 page)

Diana touched his cheek when he leaned down and kissed her. “Where are you going?” She didn’t miss the spark in his eyes.

“To pay the sheriff a visit,” he said.

Chapter Thirteen

Jed parked in front of the sheriff’s office. He strode up the concrete steps of the small city hall two at a time and then went down the old tiled hallway to the double glass doors that read “Sheriff.” He pushed them open and stopped at the front office. A deputy with dark-rimmed glasses was behind the sterile brown counter. He glanced up at Jed.

“Is the sheriff in?”

The guy looked over his shoulder. “Can I tell him your name?”

Jed leaned his elbow on the counter. “Yeah. Jed Friessen.”

The deputy picked up the phone and said, “There’s a Jed Friessen here to see you, sir.” He nodded and hung up the phone. “Go on back.” He buzzed the gate. Jed pushed through, and the deputy pointed to an office at the back.

Jed knocked on the open door. “Sheriff.”

The sheriff stood up and gestured to an empty chair at his desk. Jed shut the door. The blond-haired young sheriff leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk.

Jed sat and tilted back his hat. “You take a kid from a young lady named Laura?”

The sheriff didn’t flinch but leaned back in the old swivel chair. The hinges squeaked. “Yes. Are you related?”

“Why did you take her kid, Larry?” Jed asked.

The sheriff glanced at the door, and when he faced Jed, his baby blue eyes were hard and unforgiving. “We had a duty, Jed. My deputy found them living in her old car. She looks barely old enough to have a kid. It’s damn cold out, and who knows how long they’ve been living like that and when the kid last ate.”

“She’s at our place now. Diana hired her—she has a job. She’ll have a place to live, too. So call this social worker and tell him. Get her kid back to her.” Jed hated this and watched as the sheriff shook his head.

“Don’t work that way, Jed. This was an emergency situation. She’ll have to contact social services, and there’ll be a hearing to determine whether she has suitable living arrangements and whether she’s fit as a parent. They’ll investigate first, and then it’ll go before a judge.” He held up his hand when Jed cursed. “Hey… I am not about to allow some tiny kid to go back to that. If she’s cleaned up and has a place, she’ll get him back. But he’s in the system now.”

“In the system, are you kidding? What does that mean? And be honest, Larry. She’s pretty torn up.”

“Look. Your wife’s a lawyer?” The sheriff wiped his hand across his face.

“Yeah, she’s only done a few corporate things, wills, small stuff, nothing like this. She’s helping me on the ranch and is a full-time mom.” Jed never liked the fact Diana that worked, and he told her he’d provide—he’d look after them. He never wanted her to become a full-time lawyer in town and have Danny stuck with some nanny. It had been a bone of contention between them whenever clients phoned.

The sheriff nodded. “So are you really taking this girl in and helping her?”

“Yeah, we are.” Jed didn’t know this girl from a hill of beans, but he trusted Diana and her instincts, even though he worried deep down that she’d be taken advantage of. But he had seen the girl with his own eyes—seen how torn up she was. Before he got any deeper in with this girl, he was determined to find out more for his wife’s sake.

The sheriff opened his top drawer. “Here’s the social worker’s card. Call him, tell him she wants to see him. She’s entitled. Ask them to set up a hearing. And for God’s sake, make sure she’s got a roof over her head. Do you even know why she was on the streets?”

Jed didn’t give too much away, so he took the card, said, “Thanks, Sheriff,” and started to leave.

“What do you really know about this girl, Jed?”

Jed stopped with his hand on the door. “Why are you asking?”

“Maybe you should ask yourself if the kid isn’t better in a foster home, where he can get three square meals and a warm bed to sleep in,” the sheriff said none too lightly.

Jed opened the door. “What about love, Sheriff? You forgot to mention that part. Diana will be calling. I expect you’ll treat my wife with respect.” He paused. The sheriff inclined his head. Jed left and was almost to his truck when someone shouted his name.

Andy pulled in, parked beside Jed’s truck, and jumped out. Jed shook hands with his cousin.

“What are you doing here?” Andy asked. “I’ve been meaning to call you to come out and see you, Diana and that godson of mine.”

Jed tilted his hat up. “Stopped in to talk to the sheriff.”

Andy had appeared distracted until Jed mentioned the sheriff. “Everything okay? Did something happen?”

“No, just some young girl who had her kid taken away. Diana found her yesterday…”

Andy cut him off before he could finish. “Laura, by any chance?”

Jed narrowed his eyes. “That’s her. Guess you know her. Heard she worked for your mother.”

Andy nodded. “I’ve been looking for her. She was fired by Mother in one of her fits. I was finding her another job, but I went to her place only to find out she’d been thrown out by her slime-bag landlord. So what happened, and where is she?” Andy sounded worried.

“Right now, Diana’s taken her home. All I know is she’s been sleeping in her car. The sheriff had social services take her kid. Diana found them yesterday, hungry, begging for a job at the grocery store. She took them to Merle’s and fed them, offered the girl a job. She was supposed to meet her at nine outside the grocery store.” Jed watched Andy, wondering if he was sincere. After all, his history with women wasn’t great. “Were you sleeping with her?”

Andy narrowed his eyes and snapped, “No, I wasn’t.”

“You know darn well why I asked. You and your daddy have a way with women, turning their lives upside down.”

“I’m not my dad, Jed. You know that. And that girl didn’t deserve to be treated that way.”

Jed nodded, seeing a side of Andy he hadn’t before. “Well, if you want to follow, I got to go tell my wife what the sheriff said. But I got to warn you, Laura was pretty messed up when Diana took her home.”

“I’ll be right behind you.” Andy strode to his vehicle and followed Jed back to his ranch.

Andy parked beside Jed’s truck. Diana must have seen Jed coming, as she was pulling on her coat as she closed the front door behind her, attaching the baby monitor to her jeans. She hopped down the stairs and then paused mid-step when she saw Andy.

Jed leaned in and kissed his wife. He touched her cheek, taking in her softness and the tiny lines that seemed to have popped up overnight around her eyes. “Where’s Danny, and Laura?”

“Danny’s sleeping, just put him down. Laura just fell asleep on the sofa. I made her eat some eggs and toast. I know she was starving,” Diana said, holding her husband’s hand.

Andy strode up. “Diana, I heard you found Laura.”

Diana glanced briefly at Jed. Jed knew her concern. “He’s been looking for her.”

“Why were you looking for her, Andy? What do you want with her?” Diana asked in a way that was as fierce as a protective mama bear.

“She didn’t deserve what happened. I was trying to find her another job. I promised the cook that I would. My intentions are honorable, nothing more. She’s young, and I feel sorry for her to be treated so horribly. It was unfair what Mother did, and the cook told me a few things. Laura hasn’t had an easy life,” Andy started, but he said no more, wondering if maybe he shouldn’t repeat it. “I’d like to help if I can.”

“She looks pretty young to have a kid, so I can only imagine. It sounds as if you know more.” Diana leaned into Jed when he put his arm around her shoulder.

Danny started whimpering, and Jed slipped the monitor from Diana’s waistband. “I’ll get him.” He handed Diana a business card from his pocket. “This is from the sheriff. He said to call this guy. He took the kid.”

Jed hurried inside, stopping just inside the door and motioning to Diana.

“Would you like a coffee, Andy? I think Laura’s awake.” She tucked her hands in her pocket.

“Sure,” Andy replied, and he followed, determined to do what he could to help.

Chapter Fourteen

Diana was an incredible woman, and as Andy watched his cousin, his godson, and the unspoken bond that linked them together, he realized it was envy that burned his heart, not jealousy. Jed made her happier than he’d ever seen, and he’d never seen Jed so head-over-heels in love with a woman as he was with Diana.

Laura sat quietly in the corner, scared and weary. Diana ushered her into the bathroom for a shower and gave her a change of clothes. Laura was the same height as Diana but was much thinner, and Andy now realized that may not have been by choice. He’d never had to live hand to mouth and had wasted more than his fair share of food. He had never given a second thought to those who couldn’t afford to feed themselves, and even though he realized and saw the hunger in Laura, not just for food but for her child, he wanted to tell her it would be okay, but the words fell short on his lips. When she showered, Diana phoned the social worker a second time, this time getting through, and said she was Laura’s lawyer. She tried to arrange for Laura to see her son, but the social worker refused and said a hearing would have to be arranged first. She asked for an emergency hearing, but the social worker stonewalled her and replied he’d have to get back to her.

Diana hung up, frustrated, and said, “This prick is stonewalling me.” She then pulled out her day timer and looked up a number, calling a colleague she knew in Seattle, someone from law school.

Andy paced and then accepted the coffee Jed poured. “Sounds like Diana’s getting jerked around. Do you want me to call my lawyer? He can make things happen.”

“I don’t want any help from you.” Andy hadn’t heard Laura approaching, but there she stood in the cluttered hallway of this small bungalow, her eyes red and her wet hair combed and hanging straight down her back. She was wearing a pink sweat suit that looked two sizes too big for her. Her face was thinner, drawn, and she looked at Andy with anger. “I needed that paycheck to pay my rent, to buy food. I was sent away with nothing. Your mother saw fit to keep it, so I don’t want your help.”

Jed stepped up. “Laura, don’t put that on Andy. That’s not fair. He’s been looking for you to find you another job. He even went to where you lived, and you were gone.”

For the first time, Andy was ashamed of where he came from. “Laura, what my mother did was not okay. And you’re right, maybe it was my fault.”

She stared at him with hatred. “You’re damn right it was. I was so tired of the bullshit between you and your mother. She demanded the tree go in your library, and you yelled to get rid of it. And then you sat there watching me, just like your daddy. I just wanted a job with peace so I could feed my son. And now he’s gone.” She was crying again.

Diana hung up the phone and hurried over to Laura, wrapping her arms around the girl, hugging her. “Oh, Laura, it’s okay, but blaming Andy isn’t going to solve anything. He really was trying to help you. Now, come sit down. I’ve just contacted another lawyer I know in Seattle, and he’s sending me the forms to file for an emergency hearing. He’s going to walk me through the process. Andy, I did hear you offer your lawyer’s help. Family law’s not my specialty, but I could use the resources, if your lawyer would be willing.” Diana led Laura to the kitchen table.

“Consider it done. Whatever you need, I’ll call them and get the ball rolling.”

“I have to go check the horses, Andy.” Jed motioned to the door. Diana and Laura sat at the table, but it was Laura who watched him, frowning.

“Okay.” Andy opened the door, and Jed followed. As the cousins strode to the barn, Andy couldn’t help feeling responsible for this mess. The way Laura had looked at him with such hatred, it tore at his heart, and he wanted to shake her, to make it right, to go and get her kid for her.

Jed must have sensed this, as he gripped his shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”

“Well, that’s the thing. It is partly my fault. I made a promise to someone, and I dropped the ball.” Jed stopped and watched him just outside the barn, saying nothing. At times like this, Andy thought his silence was unnerving. “I got a call to make for your wife. At least I can do that much.” Andy walked away with the cell phone pressed to his ear and Jed’s all-knowing gaze burning a hole in his back.

Chapter Fifteen

It had been a long day. His lawyer had brought in an associate in their family law department, and he contacted Diana right away. Diana hung up the phone before Andy left and shouted out that his lawyers had arranged for a visitation the next day and an emergency hearing in forty-eight hours, but then, with Christmas a week away, the courts were soon to shut down for the holiday season. What could be worse than separating a mother and child at Christmas?

Andy had just parked his truck when Jules popped open the back door and rushed out. She was in a fit, the way she scurried, and must have been watching for him.

“Jules,” Andy said, annoyed.

“Sir, you don’t answer your phone anymore? Your mother is fit to be tied. You are supposed to be Miss Johnston’s escort for dinner tonight. Your mother…”

Andy cut Jules off before she could continue: “I’m not interested in my mother’s tantrums, and I have better things to do than escort some pretty rich girl. Is Aida around?”