You're Gone (Finding Solid Ground) (23 page)

A bouquet of lilies and orchids were delivered to Charleigh’s house from everyone at the clinic early in the morning. Charleigh was just barely awake when Mister Arnold knocked on the front door. The sweet old man greeted her with a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek when she opened the door.

“Well, I—” she didn’t know what to say.

“You need anything, darlin’, you don’t be afraid to call me,” Mister Arnold told her, like so many others, when he turned to go. “I don’t care what it is. You give Ole Frank a call, hear?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you,” Charleigh said, closing the front door behind him.

Carrying the large, colorful vase in both arms, she went into the kitchen to fix a small pot of coffee. Doctor Emerson had said that she could have only two cups a day, which wasn’t a big deal at all since Charleigh usually drank only one.

She sat the vase in the middle of the kitchen table and pulled the small white envelope from the center of the bouquet. The card inside read:
‘Just to let you know we care.’
Sticking both in the pocket of her robe, Charleigh went over to take the coffeepot and fill it with water.

As she stood next to the drizzling coffee maker, biting on her unmanicured fingernails, she realized coffee wasn’t at all what she craved. Charleigh went over to the refrigerator to get a gallon of milk and the Hershey’s syrup. She put them on the island and turned back to find something to eat. A big, hot-fudge sundae sounded
really
good, but she decided to go the healthier route, since it was only nine o’clock in the morning.

With her arms filled with the makings of a ham and cheese omelet, Charleigh turned just in time to see Corey and Amos scamper in, one after the other, through the doggy door flag. They were covered in m
ud and horse manure, by the smell of them. It made her gag, and Charleigh clapped a hand over her mouth as best as she could manage.

“Oh, guys!” She said, going over to open the back door, “No, no, no, you don’t. Back outside.”

The dogs obeyed, running back out toward the pasture where multiple mud puddles and even more piles of horse dung were calling their names.

“Ugh.” Charleigh shook her head, turning back to her breakfast. The disgusting smell made her lose her appetite, but she went on to fix herself something to eat because she needed to.

A short time later, the kitchen was filled with the marvelous aromas of an omelet and homemade hash browns. Charleigh was working her way down to the bottom of a second glass of chocolate milk—
Yum! —
when the phone started to ring. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she went to answer it.

“Hello?” She went over to take the skillets off the burners.

“Hello, Charleigh,” the voice on the other end said.

Instantly, Charleigh stopped in her tracks. She knew who it was. The small joy that the concoction had brought her evaporated. Her heart sank. It was Claudia, her nemesis.

Gavin and Andrea had been little puppy dogs compared to this woman. She was an awful, ruthless woman, who was only out for herself. This was the type of woman who would pop a child’s balloon, if she saw fit, and find pleasure from the child’s cry. It told Charleigh only one thing: Claudia had heard about the babies.

“Yes, ma’am,” Charleigh said. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying something
a lot less pleasant.

“I’m calling to tell you that Jamie and Greg have been officially declared dead.” Claudia’s voice was even and held no sense of feeling at all.

Charleigh felt a catch in her throat as she lowered herself down onto a stool. “Did they… have they been found?”

“No.”

“Well, then… I don’t understand. How?”

“It’s none of your concern. I’m just calling to tell you flat out, in as plain terms as a hillbilly can possibly understand, not to expect any part of Greg’s estate that would have gone to Jamie. Just because you’re carrying my son’s bastards doesn’t mean a thing…”

Oh, Lord! Did she just say that?
The sadness Charleigh felt inside immediately changed to anger.

Nobody had the right to speak to her like that, especially not Claudia. The woman had no reason to call
the babies Charleigh was carrying… Oh, she couldn’t bring herself to even think the malicious word.

“How dare you call me and say such a thing?” Charleigh demanded. “If it was possible, I
would jump through this phone and wrap my hands around your throat.”

“Y
ou’re an impertinent little tramp, aren’t you?” Claudia snapped.

“It comes from years of having to deal with people like you,” Charleigh retorted. She beat her fist on the marble countertop.

“I’m only speaking the truth. If you—”

“
Your
version of the truth,” Charleigh shot back before Claudia could say anymore. If she thought that she could railroad Charleigh, she had another thing coming to her. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. If you did, you’d know that I don’t want— or need—
anything
that Greg may have left to Jamie. What did he own? A couple of over-decorated houses? Some cars? Six percent interest in Davison?”

“How do you know
about—”

“The six percent?” She finished Claudia’s sentence for her. “Well, you see, I found out all about that back when I came to New York with Jamie. Not that it matters, but I’m going to tell you anyway. Just to knock you down a couple notches.” Charleigh went on to explain, “Some time back y
our father got himself into a real mess. Whatever it was, Greg didn’t go into the details with me. But he— your husband—came to my parents and asked for help to keep daddy-oh out of the pen
and
the company from sinking.

“They agreed to help and came to an arrangement that my parents acquired a controlling interest—
ninety-four percent— in Davison, and Gerald would run it until he retired. Greg would take over after that, until I turned twenty-five or both of my parents passed away, which I would then either become CEO or appoint one. Is that plain enough for
you
to understand?”

“It still doesn’t explain how you know about the other.” It sounded as if the wind had been taken out of Claudia’s sails.

“Oh, I forgot about that.” Charleigh had to think for a moment. The adrenaline rush was a little intense. “The ninety-four percent has raked up quite a bit of pocket change over the past twenty years. It’s in the billions, Claudie-dear. The hundreds billions, which was put into a trust for me. Your husband was supposed to oversee it but never touch it. Greg got greedy, but what he didn’t realize was that my dad had an eye on it, as well. When Dad confronted him about it, he agreed to hand over his six percent of the company in return for Dad’s confidence.

“This past June— as a favor to your children; because I love Jamie— I signed that back
over to Greg. So, you can shove that itsy-bitsy piece of Davison straight up your rear end, because I own the rest of the cake. I’d love to be of assistance if you need any help.”

Being able to unload all of that on Claudia made Charleigh feel somewhat better. Having
to keep it such a guarded secret was burdensome. It also helped for her to show Jamie’s mother that she wouldn’t take any more from the evil, spiteful woman.

“You think I care. So my father doesn’t own that dead-weight company anymore. That doesn’t matter,” Claudia seethed. “I’m warning you. I’ll make you regret the day you were born if you try to mess with me. I’ll take everything you own.”

“I don’t really care, you old battle-axe.”

“I’ll take those little bastards and make sure you
never
see them again.” Claudia came back and disconnected the call.

Slowly, Charleigh pulled the cordless phone away from her ear. She stared at it speechlessly. The fear of what Claudia might do was like a powerful punch in the stomach.

If Claudia wanted to take everything Charleigh owned, then she would gladly hand it over. But to threaten to take away her babies. Her children. The last reasons she had for living. That was even worse than anything else.

They were a part of her. More importantly, a part of Jamie. The babies were Charleigh’s flesh and blood. Her heart. And just the idea of having them ripped away was utterly the most terrifying thing that could happen.

“No, no, no, no, no, no!” She screamed over and over.

Charleigh let the phone fall to the floor. The sound of every small, intricate piece breaking apart didn’t register in her mind. Oh, what was she going to do? She couldn’t let Claudia or
anyone
else take her babies away.
I just couldn’t bear it,
Charleigh thought, putting a hand to her belly.

“No, no, no, no, no, no!” She continued to scream.

Cordell came rushing in the back door. He’d been out in the pasture, taking care of her horses as a favor to Madie, when he heard Charleigh’s blood-curdling yell. Instantly, the thought that something had happened to the babies came to his mind, and he had to come to see what he could do to help.

When he saw her sitting on the stool, eyes closed, screaming at the top of her lungs, he didn’t know what to think. She didn’t look physically injured. There was no blood or anything, but she was screaming and holding on to her stomach.

“Charleigh, talk to me,” Cordell said, cupping her face in his hands. “Are you hurt?”

Charleigh opened her eyes. Frantically, she began to speak, “She’s going to try to take the babies away, Cord. She swore she would do it.”

“Wait, who? What are you taking about?” He didn’t think she was making a lot of sense.

“I can’t let it happen. Jamie. It’d be like losing him all over again. I’d die.”

“Charleigh, you’ve got to calm down, now.”

She brought her hands up to Cordell’s forearms, squeezing tightly. Her nails were like teeth, digging into his skin. Charleigh started shaking her head, chanting again like she had been when he burst through the door.

If that didn’t beat all! He couldn’t talk to her in the emotional state she was in. Somebody needed to calm her down. Madie. Cordell peeled Charleigh’s hands away. He picked her up, still in her silky pajamas and robe, and headed for the backdoor.

***

Later, back at the ranch, Cord and Lenore sat in the living room while Madie tried to get Charleigh calmed down upstairs. They didn’t talk to one another, most likely because they didn’t know what to say. Lenore sat in her usual place in one of the velvet wingback chairs next to the fireplace, knitting a baby blanket for Charleigh. Cordell was across the room on the couch, picking at a splinter in his hand.

It hadn’t been easy for him to try and get Charleigh in his truck, mainly because she was flailing like a fish in his arms. She’d cried hysterically the short distance back to the ranch. It was difficult to understand anything she said through the tears. Cordell just tried to convey to her that it would all be okay after they got back to Madie’s and got everything sorted out. He didn’t think she was convinced. Judging by the sound of his voice, he had barely convinced himself.

A single pair of footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. The two people raised their heads at the sound and turned toward the doorway. Shortly, Madie appeared, looking exhausted. Lenore and Cordell stood in unison, waiting for an explanation.

“How is she?” Cord asked.

“For now, she’s okay. She’s sleeping up in Jamie’s old room,” Madie sighed, coming to sit in the chair beside her sister’s. She hunched over, putting her head in her hands.

“Did Charleigh say what made her so upset?” Lenore asked, looking over to Cord.

“Claudia called to tell Charleigh that she had Jamie and Greg officially declared dead. Which we already know,” Madie added, shaking her head. “She started in on Charleigh about Greg’s assets and what Jamie would’ve got. Told Charleigh not to expect anything. She called the twins…” She shook her head a second time. “I won’t say what she called those babies.”

“I can imagine.” Lenore clenched her jaw.

“Anyway, Charleigh shot back. Said she didn’t want or need anything from her. Apparently, though I didn’t get many details, Gerald Davison did some illegal dealings a couple decades ago, and Mike and Mandy helped bail the company out. It comes down to Charleigh holding a controlling interest in Davison.”

“And?” Lenore asked when her sister didn’t go on.

“When Claudia found out, she threatened to take the twins away from Charleigh.”

“That’s what she meant,” Cordell said. The two old women looked over at him curiously. Nervously, he stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “All the way here, she kept telling me that she ‘
couldn’t let that woman take her babies away
.’”

“That’s impossible.” Lenore knelt down to pick her knitting up off the floor that had fallen when she stood earlier.

“It’s never going to happen.” Madie held her hands out in front of her. “Claudia would have to prove that Charleigh was unfit. This coming from, I hate to say it, because I love my grandchildren, but a woman who should’ve never been able to procreate in the first place.”