Hunting (15 page)

His curiosity must have
been on his face. The social worker smiled at him. “These moments
are never the same. Every family or new placement is
different.”

“
How do you do it? What are
the odds that the placements work out?”

“
It depends on the child
and the placement, really. Ruthie is one of the lucky ones I’ve
worked with. She’s been in the system for less than a year, has had
only three placements, and is now in a permanent foster-to-adopt
situation. Many kids don’t have the same opportunities as
Ruthie.”

“
And her three brothers?”
Travis and Theresa Byrum had had four living children at the time
of their arrests—Ruthie, and her three older brothers, ages five,
nine, and eleven.

“
Remain with
relatives.”

“
But not
Ruthie.”

“
No. Only the boys. And
once parental rights are terminated, Ruthie will be able for final
adoption.”

“
And that should happen
quickly.”

“
A bit quicker than average
considering the nature of their crimes, and that Ruthie’s mother
isn’t fighting the process where Ruthie is concerned.”

“
I see.” He didn’t, not
really. He understood that mothers turning on their children was
nothing new, having happened as far back as ancient times, but
still… “So permanency is likely.”

“
Very probable. Though
there are no guarantees.” She handed him a battered bag, no bigger
than his smallest gym bag. “These are her things. I checked the bag
on the plane; she has two spare outfits, three pairs of underwear,
and the clothes and shoes she’s wearing now. Plus that teddy bear
and the few toys inside.”

He winced. “That’s
it?”

“
That’s all her previous
foster mother gave me when I picked her up this
morning.”

“
I’ll take her shopping as
soon as we get back to St. Louis.” Mal followed Julia’s gaze. She
was staring at the bag in his hand with disgust. He
understood.

“
Then this is it, until the
next steps in the process are completed. There will be some follow
up visits, as well as a final court decision. We’ve discussed this,
and it’s in the file. I put a copy of everything in Ruthie’s bag.
Please, call me if you need anything. Or have any
questions.”

She said goodbye to Ruthie,
patted Julia on the back, and shook hands with Malachi. Helped
Julia with the paperwork. Then she was gone.

He turned toward the woman
and child. “We have two hours until our flight leaves. What would
you ladies like to do?”

“
Find a store. Any kind of
store.” Julia looked over Ruthie’s head and straight into his eyes.
“These clothes probably need a good washing.”

Her tone told him Ruthie
probably needed a good washing, too. He got her message loud and
clear. “So someplace that sells children’s clothing. Would you like
that, Ruthie-bug?”

Blue eyes peeked up at him
from where her head rested against Julia’s shoulder. She stared at
him, and then popped her finger into her mouth. She never answered
his question, but he acted as if she did. “Ladies, let’s
go.”

Ten minutes later he was
maneuvering the rental car toward the town fifteen minutes from the
airport. He’d gotten directions at the airport to the nearest town,
and was told there were a grocery and a Dollar Store
nearby.

It would have to
do.

“
Does the Dollar Store sell
children’s clothing?” He’d never noticed.

“
I think so. Hopefully we
can find her something to wear. At least until I can get the things
in that bag washed. I have a feeling she may be attached to
those.”

“
Because they are all she
has. I understand.” Even though she was young she had to have some
understanding of possessions. “You’d think the foster mother would
have sent her with clean clothes.”

“
I’ve never seen her this
way. I’m curious why the placement disrupted. It will be in her
file. I’m going to have my case worker forward me a copy.” She
glanced over her shoulder at the little girl currently huddled in
the carseat.

A disruption. That
explained a few things. “What did they tell you about the new
placement?”

“
Not much. Just that it was
a relatively new foster home, and Ruthie should have been fine
there.” Anger tinged her words, and how could he blame her? He’d
seen the state the girl was in for himself. Julia might not realize
it yet, but she’d let the little girl in to her heart. And that was
a wonderful first step for her.

Did she even realize how
she still kept everyone—including Georgia and Matthew—at a bit of a
distance? She was a master at pushing people away, and he
understood her reasons. But kids had a way of getting through a
person’s strongest defenses.

Especially a woman like
Julia Bellows. So achingly soft on the inside, despite the brittle
exterior. This was a woman so capable of love it had his heart
hurting. Was that what it was that drew him to her?

They found the Dollar
Store, which thankfully had some sweatshirts and cheap jeans,
socks, underwear, and shoes that fit Ruthie. And a better coat than
the too small one she was wearing.

Their next stop was a rest
stop alongside the interstate. It wasn’t Malachi’s preferred choice
of dining establishments, but Julia had pointed out that there was
most likely a shower stall around the place somewhere. And Ruthie
needed it. He’d held her, and noticed how her hair clumped around
her little head. Whatever had happened in the last twenty-four
hours, Ruthie had been overlooked. Even the basics of hygiene had
been missed. Twenty minutes later, Julia carried a much cleaner
Ruthie to the table Malachi occupied. He did his best to get Ruthie
laughing, but it was work. She looked up at him with such wariness
in her eyes. Wariness that had been there the first and only time
they’d met before. She hadn’t even been three at the
time.

Julia was different with
Ruthie, softer. She fussed, and she touched. Brushed Ruthie’s hair
off her forehead, patted the little girl’s back. She was loving and
caring, in a natural, unforced way. What would she be like once the
two had had time to build on their relationship?

Yes, Julia would be one
hell of a good mother to the little girl sitting beside her. He had
no doubts about that. But did Julia realize that?

Less than an hour after
loading and take-off Ruthie and Julia were both asleep. No
surprise; Ruthie had had an upheaval over the last day or so, and
Julia hadn’t slept well the night before. He’d been the cause of
that, but he couldn’t regret what had occurred between them. He
signaled the flight attendant, and she walked to his
side.

“
Yes? How may I help
you?”

“
Can I get a couple of
blankets, please?” He motioned toward the woman beside him, and the
girl next to the window. “They’ve had a rough few days.”

“
Of course. How old is your
daughter? She favors your wife.”

Her words were fishing, and
her smile flirtatious. Mal smiled politely. “She’s not quite four
yet. They are beautiful, aren’t they?”

He didn’t want to engage in
a flirtation, not right now. Not with his thoughts so consumed with
the woman asleep on his shoulder. Her hand was curled on the arm
rest beside him, and he covered her fingers with his own. Fragile.
Almost frail. He’d noticed that about her in the North St. Louis
basement. Julia had such small hands for what she did…The attendant
handed him the blankets and he spread one over Ruthie, and then
Julia. He tucked her hand beneath the cotton, noticing then what
had most likely made the attendant think they were
together.

Julia still wore her
wedding rings, and it was a beautiful set. His hand lingered on
hers, and he was confused. Why did the sight of that jewelry bother
him on the deepest level?

Because it wasn’t
his?

Because, God help him, she
wasn’t fully his?

He dropped her hand like it
burned him.

Yes. He was attracted to
Julia. Yes, he’d slept with her at the first sign she was willing.
He was male, after all, healthy and alive.

Now, he supposed, it was up
to him. Did he want to take things further? Actively pursue a
relationship with the woman who was just as likely to bite him as
an angry Doberman was?

She sighed in her asleep,
and shifted a bit, settling deeper beneath the blanket. Her hair
was coming loose from its habitual knot on the back of her head. No
pencils holding the hair in place for her today. She had dressed
more formally for the meeting with the social worker in a pantsuit
and heels. He missed the scrubs and sweatshirts she normally
wore.

He forced his thoughts in
another direction. Thoughts of Julia naked would make for a very
uncomfortable flight. Still, his mind lingered on the attendant’s
words. They’d sounded almost right. And that was what concerned
him.

Malachi tried to forget the
events of South Dakota but he knew damned well he wouldn’t be able
to. How could he? There was something about Julia Bellows that got
beneath his skin, burned him, and he’d yet to figure it out. He
half suspected he never would. Being with her had just made it
worse.

And watching her with
Ruthie had just made that burn, that yearning, even stronger. She’d
looked so right holding that little girl. It had felt right having
the two of them with him, even if just for one day. He didn’t know
what that meant, and he knew she was resistant, but Malachi
believed in taking chances and following his instincts. And every
instinct he had was shouting at him not to give up on
her.

So he wouldn’t.

He spent his lunch hour two
days after they flew back to St. Louis closed up in his office,
thinking and strategizing about Julia. He came up with no real
solutions, but he had a few possibilities. The main was to just be
there until she realized he always would. That he would never leave
her alone again.

As for Ruthie, he’d admit
it to anyone who asked, he fell in love with that kid within an
hour of them picking her up. She was a sweet, beautiful, lovable
little girl, and he wanted to be a part of her life just as much as
he did her mother’s.

Somehow.

Someone knocked on his door
fifteen minutes before he was ready to leave for the day, and he
looked up to see his little sister in the doorway. “Hey. You look a
little broody, what’s up?”

“
Just thinking about South
Dakota.” And the woman he’d gone with.

“
Crazy, huh? Getting the
kid early really threw Jules for a loop.” Al flopped into a chair.
“So what do you think of the kid?”

“
She’s a beautiful,
wonderful child, who has been hurt far too much for her young age.
But she’s resilient. And she has a beautiful little laugh. She’s
going to be ok with Julia. They belong together.”

“
That’s good to know. We’re
having a party in the cafeteria. Your presence has been
requested.”

“
What for?” Al and her
friends took any excuse to party in the small cafeteria—always late
in the day or after shift. Ed Dennis and the team leaders were
tolerant of it. Understood how valuable down-time was for those in
their stressful jobs really was. The teams needed to be together
sometimes in ways non-work related.

“
Jules. And Ruthie. A baby
shower, and since Jules is home with Ruthie, you’ve been drafted to
stand in her place.”

“
Me? Why me?”

“
Because you’ve met the
kid, and the rest of us have plans for after work. We need somebody
to deliver the gifts. I volunteered you.”

“
Gee, thanks.” Still,
Malachi wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak.
Now he had an excuse…

He’d been thinking about
those two females for the last two days.

She’d volunteered her
brother for the very fact that the idea of it pleased him. Somehow
she’d known it would. Al hid a smile, but she was elated to know
her theory had been proven correct.

She’d talked to Jules
yesterday, the day after they’d returned from South Dakota. While
it had been subtle, she’d heard Jules’ voice change when the
discussion had turned to Malachi. And when she’d seen Malachi
yesterday at their parents’ place, he’d perked up when Jules’ name
was mentioned.

Had something happened
between them in South Dakota? Al was almost certain it had. And she
thought that was beautiful.

Her brother and Jules could
get together and then Al would get Ruthie as a niece as well as a
goddaughter. And her brother and friend would be happy. Happier
together than they were apart. Did they even realize how lonely
they were? They deserved someone to love them. How could she not
want that for them? She cared about them both, and could easily see
that they needed someone in their lives.

When someone had mentioned
carrying all the gifts from the party to Jules’ house, Al had
volunteered Malachi before anyone else could take the
responsibility.