Read Close To Home (Westen Series) Online

Authors: Suzanne Ferrell

Tags: #Contemporary Romance Novel

Close To Home (Westen Series) (23 page)

BOOK: Close To Home (Westen Series)
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“Oh, you did?” Emma lifted one brow in question at him. “And how old were you at the time?”

“I was about seven, but it was a
very
serious crush.”

She continued to eye him with a skeptical gleam. “And who was your den mother, may I ask?”

“Oh, it was Tommy Marsdale’s mother. Mm, mm, she was beautiful.” He smacked his lips several times. “And boy could she bake chocolate chip cookies.”

Emma laughed. “Ah, the true way to a seven-year-old’s heart.”

“Speaking of mothers,” he said, moving to give her room to unload her groceries, “How did your meeting with Libby go this afternoon?”

She paused for a moment, all teasing gone from her face. “It went well. Libby gave me some advice about making sure Mama got the care and attention she’ll need, while finding time for myself. Libby’s a very practical woman. She said I’d find it easier to deal with Mama’s bad days if I wasn’t exhausted trying to care for her all by myself.”

Clint laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. “She’s right. You have to give up some control on things, especially as Isabelle’s condition worsens.”

“I know, and Libby is going to go with Mama and I next week to check on this adult day care center she recommends I enroll Mama in.” Mustering up her most positive attitude, Emma gave him a shaky smile. “If the place is half as good as the pamphlet suggests in regards to the high quality of care and patient-to-staff ratio, this could go a long way to easing some of the problems we’ve been having around here.”

“If anyone deserves a break and some good news, it’s you, Em.” Clint pulled her around to face him, his other hand wiping away a tear that had escaped down her cheek. He started to lean toward her, when the sound of a motorcycle sounded in the driveway. He glanced out the window to see Gage climbing off his Harley. With a sound of disgust, he released Emma. “Your cousin’s here.”

Emma slipped out of his arms. “Gage? I wonder what he wants. And why in the world would he ride out here on his bike in such a downpour?”

Clint wanted to say that he wondered about the guy’s sanity most days. In his brief encounters with the ex-cop, the man’s belligerent attitude and gnarly temper prevented them from having any real conversation, except for their discussion of Emma. The man seemed very over-protective of her in Clint’s eyes, but he refrained from commenting. The words sounded like ridiculous and unfounded jealousy even in his own head. No use letting Emma know how much he resented her cousin’s importance in her life.

As they walked out on the porch Gage’s face appeared more sullen and closed than usual. Tension gripped the muscles right between Clint’s shoulder blades. The other man shook the water off his leather jacket, and pulled off his baseball cap, shaking it out, too.

“What’s wrong, Gage?” Clint moved to stand near Emma. Instincts made him want to protect her from whatever news her cousin had.

Gage’s guarded expression met Clint’s for a moment. Whatever news he had, it wasn’t good. Then Emma’s cousin reached in his jacket and withdrew a white envelope. Two green cardboard pieces were taped to the front where the Certified card had been taped. “Wilferd at the Post Office asked me if I’d deliver this to you, Emma.”

Emma didn’t reach for it, her color going a bit pale. “Why did Wilferd ask you to deliver this to me, Gage? Why didn’t he bring it himself?”

“Your father asked Wilferd a long time ago to deliver any important papers that came from a lawyer in Columbus to him, not to you. You know small towns, sometimes they do things they think are better for their friends.” Gage leaned one hip against the porch rail, the envelope still in his hand. “Since your Dad isn’t here anymore, I guess Wilferd thought I was the next best thing.”

“Why would Daddy keep my mail from me?” Emma wrapped her arms around herself.

Clint let his hands settle on her shoulders and she leaned against him just the slightest bit. He could feel the fine tremors shaking her body through their clothes.

Again Gage held the letter out to her. “Your father only meant to protect you, Emma. Not hide anything from you. You know, he just wanted to be sure he was around if or when bad news came.”

With a shaking hand, Emma took the envelope from him. For a full minute she stared at the letter. The color drained from her face. Her whole body trembled.

Clint pulled a porch chair over and pushed her into it as gently as possible. “Do you want me to open it?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m a big girl. Despite what my father, and the postmaster, and apparently half the town believes, I can handle a letter from—” She paused to read the return address. “—Williams, Tate and Baily, Attorneys At Law, all by myself.”

Clint backed up against the porch rail next to Gage, watching as she tried to open the envelope with shaking fingers. She paused, took a deep breath then managed to get the letter open. Quickly she scanned the missive, her pale countenance growing ashen by the time she reached the bottom.

“What is it, Emma?” Clint knelt in front of her.

She shook her head. Holding the letter closer, she read it from the top again. “It’s Dwayne.”

“The slimeball?” A need to touch her, to protect her washed over Clint. He gently squeezed both her knees. “What does he want, Em?”

“No. Oh, no.” She raised panic-filled eyes.

The despair and fear he saw there tore at his heart. He pulled her against his chest, his arms wrapped around her as if the simple act could ward off what new treachery her ex-husband could wield against her. Clint rocked her in his arms. “It’s okay, Emma. Whatever it is, I’m here to help.”

“You can’t help me,” she whispered, her own hands clutching the back of his shirt.

“What does he want, Em?” he repeated, sitting back on his heels. He held her face in his hands so he could look deep into her eyes.

“He wants the boys.”

Chapter Fourteen

C
lint’s heart tore a bit more at Emma’s pain. With one hand he drew her to him, pulling her face onto his shoulder. He pried the paper with its devastating news from her fingers. In a concentrated effort he read each word and sentence.

“Damn that bastard!” He drew her into his arms tighter. “It’s gonna be okay, Emma, I promise it will be all right.”

A cough behind him gained his attention. He handed Gage the letter. Clint continued to hold Emma as her cousin read the paper. Rage etched Gage’s features a moment before he hid it behind a mask of calm.

“I’m no lawyer, Emma, but this looks like a paternity suit to me.” Gage handed the letter to Clint.

Before Clint could question Emma further, both boys barreled out onto the porch, dressed in their brand new Cub Scout uniforms.

“How do we look?” Ben asked, pushing out his chest with pride.

Brian looked just as proud, but as always was a little shyer in asking for praise.

Their enthusiasm broke the spell that held Emma in shock. She opened her arms to both boys, who rushed into them. Clint stood out of their way.

“You guys look so handsome.” Tears rolled down her face as she squeezed her sons tight.

The urge to hit something flooded Clint.
If that son-of-a-bitch were here right now, I’d kill him.

A firm hand settled on his shoulder, drawing Clint’s attention to Gage. The other man shook his head. “Now isn’t the time.”

Clint nodded. They would dole out punisment to the man causing Emma such anguish when the time was right. And they would do it legally, by the book, no matter how much Clint wanted to punch his face in.

“Mommy, you’re squeezing too tight,” Ben whined.

“You’re gonna mess up our uni-forms,” Brian complained.

Both boys pulled away, and Emma released her hold on them, wiping at the tears streaming on her face.

“Why’re you crying, Mommy?” Brian cocked his head to one side.

“You just look so grown up.”

Gage pushed himself off the porch rail. “Hey guys, how about I take you to your meeting tonight?”

“Can we ride on your motorcycle?” Ben asked, his mother’s tears quickly forgotten.

Brian nodded along with him, his face filled with just as much anticipation.

“Not today, guys. It’s pouring out, and you don’t want to show up in wet uniforms.” Before they could voice their protests, he herded them toward the steps. “We’ll take your mom’s truck today. Then when I can get a helmet to fit you guys we’ll go riding. But I can only take one at a time. It’s not safe otherwise.”

He stopped on the top steps. The boys ran to the truck and climbed inside. “Let me know what you decide to do when I get back.”

Clint tossed him the keys to the truck then watched until the trio were well on their way to their scout meeting. Then he took Emma by the hand and led her into the house.

“Why did this have to happen now? I’ve just gotten some good news about Mama, and now this. What am I going to do about Dwayne’s demands?” she asked him, sitting at her kitchen table.

Clint poured her a glass of cool water, insisting she drink it all to help her fight the shock. Then he pulled out a seat next to her. Holding her hand, he reread the letter.

“He’s suing you for paternity rights. I thought that was a dead issue.” When she didn’t answer, he grasped her by the forearms and searched her face. Only despair registered in the azure depths of her eyes. “Emma, you have to talk to me. Tell me again about the divorce and paternity suit. Tell me what happened.”

Something in his voice reached her. Emma focused on his face. “I don’t
know
what happened. I was exhausted from working full-time at one job and part-time at another to make ends meet through my pregnancy. He served me with the divorce papers at the beginning of my second trimester. Frankly, by the time the proceeding started I just wanted the whole marriage finished.

“The last few years, it had become such a farce. Me working wearily every day, overtime, whatever it took. While he spent as much time as possible doing whatever he wanted.” Her voice sounded bleak. “I let myself be used, believing I was needed. I was so naїve. For so long, I thought if I worked hard enough, someday he’d love me.”

Clint’s heart ached to see her tear herself up like this. She didn’t deserve this, not the way she’d been treated in the past, and not this new pain.

“When the papers came, I didn’t contest the divorce.” She stared out the window a moment her mind clearly reliving the past. “That was until Dwayne listed adultery as the cause. That’s when I knew I needed a lawyer. The next thing I knew, Dwayne served me with an injunction after the boys’ birth stopping me from putting his name on the birth certificates as their father. When his lawyer demanded the boys undergo a paternity blood test only one week after their birth, I was puzzled. I wasn’t worried. I knew it would show Duane was their father. My lawyer insisted on the new DNA test to be sure there was no question.”

Emma dug her fingernails into Clint’s flesh. Desperation seeped into her voice. “When the judge read the report, it said the blood tests were
conclusive
. Dwayne was not the boys’ father, and he didn’t owe any child support. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It took me a minute to realize the judge had found in favor of Dwayne in the divorce proceedings, too. He said the blood tests proved I’d been unfaithful. Me!” Her face filled with rage. “Dwayne sat on the other side of the room with his mistress practically draped on him and the judge ruled that I was unfaithful.”

“Didn’t you have any evidence of his adultery?” Clint tried to keep her focused on the facts. Her anger gave him some hope. It showed just how tough she was, that she wasn’t ready to give up yet.

“I tried to get my lawyer to bring in witnesses, but he said he couldn’t find any. No one. Unlike Dwayne, who had his new fiancée’s money behind him, I couldn’t afford a smart lawyer.” Emma laughed harshly. “It was the first lesson I learned. When it came to the boys and my future, I was all on my own.”

Her body tensed then she surged out of the chair. She paced the room like a caged tiger. Tension radiated from her. Clint waited for the explosion. It didn’t take long.

She slammed her fists on the counter over and over. “
Now he wants my sons!”

Clint moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her, trapping her arms tightly to her side to keep her from harming herself. He held her there, her back pressed to his chest.

“We won’t let him have them. I promise,” he whispered against her hair. Then he turned her so she could wrap her arms around him. He continued to murmur reassurances to her, trying to calm her. When her body relaxed against his, Clint framed her face between his hands. For a moment he simply gazed into her eyes, willing some of his strength to her. “We’ll do whatever it takes to protect your sons, Emma.”

She nodded, some of the bleakness gone from her face.

He released her, and they sat once more. This time, he sat across from her, holding her hand while he read the letter once more. “It says here, he’s claiming an error in the lab work occurred. He’s now seeking custody of Brian Andrew Lewis.” He studied her a moment. She wasn’t going to like what he had to say. How much more could she handle? “He wants just one of the boys. Just Brian.”

“What?” She snatched the paper away from him. This time she carefully read each word. Her hand squeezed Clint’s tighter. “He wants to separate them, Clint. He wants only one.” Her gaze met Clint’s. At that very moment, he almost felt sorry for Dwayne Hazard. “Well, he isn’t getting either of them. He isn’t going to even get one strand of their hair.”

Clint waited.

“He’s up to something.”

He nodded, squeezing her hand, reassuring her he’d come to the same conclusion. “Yes, but what? What would he hope to gain by taking just one of the boys?”

“To break my heart?”

“Sweetheart, you and I know that would happen, but somehow, I don’t think he cares. I think your ex-husband has other plans.”

When her gaze met his, the pain and questions he read there rent his heart a little more. But he couldn’t let it paralyze him. He had things to do to protect his woman and his boys. And they were
his
. He knew that deep in his soul. They all belonged with him.

BOOK: Close To Home (Westen Series)
5.3Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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