Blame it on Texas (24 page)

Sue Ann sniffed delicately. "I'm not here for something so simple."

Megan tried to adopt a friendly, innocent demeanor. "Really? Something interesting, I hope?"

Looking slightly put out, Sue Ann traced her pouty lips with liner, then snapped the lid back on the pencil and dropped it into her purse. "Custody case."

Megan widened her eyes and forced herself to look fascinated.  "Really? Are you trying to get custody of your kids?"

"Just one kid. I wouldn't even bother, but her daddy's loaded and he pays generous child support every month." She filled her lips in with a dark red lipstick. "Do you have kids?" she asked as she smudged the lipstick with a tissue?

Megan shook her head. "No, I hope to someday, but I haven't found the right man yet."

Sue Ann turned toward her and looked her over. "Let me give you a little advice. Don't bother. Kids are more trouble than they're worth. They screw up your figure, puke on your clothes, then just when they start getting interesting, they're old enough to mess up your love life."

With a last glance in the mirror, Sue Ann waved her fingertips and sailed out the door.

As the door closed behind her, Megan decided she'd do whatever it took to make sure Logan got custody of Katie, including marrying him. They might not make the perfect couple, but at least they could give Katie a stable home. And if she had to give up the idea of unconditional love, she'd survive. She'd survived this long, hadn't she?

But she didn't want to make it too easy for Logan. She'd keep that bit of information to herself until it seemed absolutely necessary.

***

Logan watched the judge's reaction to Sue Ann's forced tears and plea for custody of her daughter. She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, smudging her perfectly applied eyeliner in the process.

Katie squirmed beside him and he placed his hand on top of hers. She turned her palm up and linked their fingers together and he smiled at her. When he looked back up, the judge was watching them.

When Sue Ann had finished her histrionics and was dismissed, Logan's attorney stood and called his first character witness. "Miss Megan Flynn." Logan willed himself to remain calm and not let his shock show on his face.

Katie twisted around in her seat to watch Megan walk down the aisle, a huge grin lighting her pixie face. She waved at Megan as she stepped through the gate and Megan smiled back, avoiding Logan's gaze as she moved to the witness stand.

Logan drank in the sight of her as she sat facing him, graceful and poised as she answered the questions in a straightforward manner. She wore a feminine suit in a soft shade of green that brought out the deep emerald of her eyes. Her hair fell softly around her face.

The judge seemed more relaxed than he had while Sue Ann was on the stand. He smiled a time or two as Megan related stories about her time with them and gave her impression of Katie's relationship with her father. Logan was impressed with the way she handled herself, her honesty, and the way she turned the tables on the opposing attorney when he tried to trap her into admitting their physical relationship.

His attorney stood and asked Megan one last question. "Ms. Flynn, have you ever met Sue Ann Tanner outside of this courtroom."

Megan smiled at Sue Ann and said, "Just once, yes."

Logan glanced at Sue Ann. He didn't know they'd ever met, but judging by the hatred in Sue Ann's eyes, Megan had something to say about that meeting.

"And what was your impression as a result of that meeting?"

The opposing attorney jumped to his feet with an objection and the judge overruled him. "I'd like to hear Ms. Flynn's impression myself."

Megan looked up at the judge and requested that Katie be removed from the courtroom before she answered the question. The judge agreed and Katie was escorted outside.

Then Megan related the talk they'd had in the rest room, readily admitting the fact that she'd started the conversation under false pretenses.

When she'd finished, the judge looked at Sue Ann, then back at Logan. He thanked Megan and dismissed her. Then he called for a short break.

***

Megan left the courtroom as quickly as she could without being obvious. As soon as she stepped through the door, Katie ran into her arms. She gave the child a crushing hug, kissed the top of her head, and said, "I have to go, Katie. Don't worry. I'll see you soon, okay?" She gave Katie another quick squeeze, then she let her go and walked down the hall, through an exit door, and down the stairs.

Two minutes later she was in her car, headed for Nancy and Jean's apartment. When her cell phone rang, she answered, expecting the call. 

"You were great. Thank you," Mark Delaney replied.

Megan grinned. "So you think he's going to get custody?"

"At this point, I don't see how we can lose. That conversation with Sue Ann was a stroke of brilliance on your part. When I read your note, I wasn't sure what I was getting us into, but you came through like a champ."

Megan pulled into the driveway of the apartment and turned the engine off. "So you don't need me anymore, right? I can go home?"

There was a short pause, then Mark said, "Try not to leave town for another couple of hours and leave your cell phone on in case I need to get in touch with you. After that, it should be fine for you to leave."

Megan agreed and hung up, then nearly skipped up the stairs. The only shadow on an otherwise beautiful day was the fact that she'd had to force herself to leave without talking to Logan. But he still had issues to work through and she wanted to be sure that when they finally came together, it would be without the ghosts of the past between them.

She knew she hadn't imagined his genuine pleasure at seeing her again, nor had she mistaken the longing in his eyes as he watched her in the courtroom. She hoped that memory would be enough to sustain her for the next few days or weeks until she saw him again.

***

Carol and Katie had gone to see a movie, a "chick-flick" as they called it, and Logan wasn't invited to tag along. He'd come home early, as he'd done for the past week, expecting to spend the evening with them, and now they were gone and he was bored.

He punched a button on the remote, fast losing hope that he could find something to watch on television to fill the silence. Now that he had full custody of Katie and the added bonus of an end to the child support payments, he was at loose ends. For the past two years the thought of getting Katie back had consumed his thoughts whenever he wasn't buried in work.

Now he thought of Megan constantly, but he was afraid winning her back would be harder than the custody battle had been. He remembered Carol's statement the day she'd handed him the diary. "Read it for Katie, and for Megan."

It still lay on the coffee table, untouched. He'd thought about hiding it, but then he'd have had to face Carol's censure. It was hard enough to deal with her knowing looks and less-than-subtle prodding. Sometimes she sounded just like Mom.

With a sigh of defeat and less-than-steady hands, he turned the television off and picked up the diary. Though he was tempted to turn to the last page and read his mother's thoughts in the final entry, he forced himself to start at the beginning.

As he read, his mental picture of his mother began to shift. With the wisdom and experience of adulthood, he could feel her joy as she wrote about his birth, and later, Carol's. He felt her sorrow when her own parents passed away. He'd been too young to remember, to understand, but now he understood her feelings of guilt over not visiting often enough when her own life was full to overflowing with kids and animals and a house to care for.

One entry caught his attention, and he read it twice to make sure he hadn't misread it the first time.

February 14, 1980--Today is the day to plant potatoes, but it's rained for two weeks straight. The garden sits empty of vegetables, with only water to fill the rows. It makes my heart ache to have to wait. The greatest joy of Valentine's Day is the precious time Charles gives me to work in the garden while he watches the children.

Of course, he's unhappy too, because now he has no gift to give me. But he's promised to watch the children another day, as soon as the ground dries enough for me to sink my fingers into the ground I prepared so carefully in the fall. I thank God every day for giving me a husband who understands and indulges my love of the land, who continues to scratch a living from the soil even though it would be easier to work at the grocery in town.

He talked again last night of selling the farm and moving to the city where he could make more money so I could have better medical care. I hate to admit, dear diary, that we had a ferocious argument about that. I'm ashamed to admit that I actually raised my voice to him in a most unladylike fashion.

But what fulfillment would there be if I extended my life, only to live it in misery? I want to live here, and die here. Whatever time God gives me is precious, and I mean to make the most of it.

Until tomorrow, dear diary. I think I will take advantage of Charles' presence in the house, and the children's early bedtime, to make up with my husband.

Logan lowered the book to his lap, his mind too confused to continue.  His mother was the one who had wanted to stay on the farm? He'd always thought it was his father's decision. He vaguely remembered bits and pieces of the argument. He'd been eight years old at the time and he still remembered how excited he was when he first heard one of them mention moving to town. Somehow, over the years, his memory had laid the blame for that lost dream on his dad. And why did his mother need better medical care?

He put the diary back on the coffee table and went to the kitchen for a beer and a bowl of popcorn. He'd just closed the door to the microwave when the phone rang. He pushed the start button on the oven and picked up the phone.

Before he could say hello, Megan said, "Carol, call me back when the coast is clear. I need to ask you something."

"Megan? Wait. Carol isn't home."

But there was silence on the other end of the line. She'd hung up. He'd wanted to tell her how much he missed her. Wanted to find out where she was. How she was. He tried the call back feature on the phone, but got a recording that the caller was out of the service area.

As he munched on a handful of popcorn, he thought about the call. Then he remembered other calls where Carol had rushed to the phone, then hung up, saying it was a wrong number. She'd always excused herself a few minutes later and disappeared into her room.

Evidently she'd been talking to Megan all along. And she must know where Megan was staying, despite her claims to the contrary. He wandered back into the living room, still thinking.

Megan didn't want to talk to him. Well, he could understand why if his guess was right about why she'd left in such a hurry. Carol didn't want him to know she was in contact with Megan. That meant she was either up to something or hiding something. She'd been humming a lot while she cooked lately, too. Definitely up to something.

He settled back onto the couch with his snack and picked up the diary again. He read the highlights of his childhood, smiling occasionally at things he'd forgotten, small pleasures that were the result of being part of a loving family. His mother had a lively writing style that entertained him, even as it revealed her innermost thoughts and dreams.

Before he realized it, he'd reached the last entry. He didn't want to read it, but he knew he must. He'd already come this far. He'd learned about his mother's heart condition, that she hadn't been expected to survive childbirth, yet she'd chosen to take the risk. That the specialists had told her she wouldn't live past the age of twenty-five, yet she'd made it to her thirty-second birthday.

He'd learned she'd fallen in love with Charlie at first sight. That she'd never regretted marrying him and having his children. That because she knew she wouldn't live to see those children grow up, she'd tried to teach them independence at a young age, making sure they would be able to care for themselves after she was gone.