Never Say Never (29 page)

Jill commanded herself to hang on to that hope.

After about thirty minutes had passed, she felt Holly’s body go slack against her. “Uh-oh,” Jill said. “Don’t you go to sleep just yet.”

Joey had finished eating and since there had been no way for him to get a bath last night, she decided this was the best time to get everyone bathed. She was about to move from the table when an imperious knock sounded at the front door.

“Who could that be?” she murmured. Wishing that she’d had a chance to at least comb her hair before seeing anyone, Jill cradled Holly in her arms and went to open the door.

The woman on the porch was a stranger to her, but her stiff posture told Jill immediately that this wasn’t a friendly social call.

“Where’s Dustin?” she demanded.

“I’m sorry.” Jill fixed the woman with a frosty eye. “I’m afraid I didn’t get your name.” She hoped that would be enough to remind the woman of her manners.

“My name! Don’t take that tone with me. I don’t need some city twit giving me any lip. Now, where’s Dustin?”

Obviously, she wasn’t getting through to her. After last night, she wasn’t letting anybody in she didn’t know at least by name.

“If you’ll pardon me,” Jill began closing the door, “we’re not receiving callers this morning.”

The woman’s hand shot out and pushed the door open. “Just because you’re sleeping with Dustin doesn’t mean you’ve come up in the world, honey. You’re still only a maid. Now, you’d better let me see my grandson before I call my lawyer.”

Jill could feel herself blanch as she suddenly recognized the shrill voice. Not only had she just been royally insulted, but this nasty woman was Joey’s grandmother. No wonder Dustin didn’t like her.

And obviously Mrs. Copeland didn’t like
her
. Maxine had mentioned to Dustin that Joey hoped Santa would give Jill to him as a Christmas present, a wish that had incensed Maxine. Jill glanced over Maxine’s shoulder and saw a car with a driver waiting.

“I apologize,” Jill said. “We had a strange incident here last night—”

“You did?” Maxine’s black eyes pierced her. Jill realized that in trying to save herself she might be giving the woman ammunition to use against Dustin.

“Well, it was nothing really. But since I don’t know many folks in town, I’m very cautious about who I open the door to.” She hoped her tone was soothing.

“What’s that?” Maxine stared at her belligerently.

“What’s what?”

“That baby you’re holding. Is it yours?”

“Oh, no, it’s not.” Swiftly, she remembered that Marsh had wanted her to be the cover story for the baby’s appearance. And Maxine wouldn’t be thrilled to hear that they were in charge of protecting this child. She sensed the first accusation out of her mouth when Maxine got inside the courtroom was that Dustin had placed his own son in jeopardy. “I mean, actually it is.”

Maxine stared at her. “Is it, or not?”

“Yes, ma’am. I misunderstood your question,” she fabricated.

“Humph. Where’s Joey?”

“In the kitchen eating breakfast.”

“At this late hour? Don’t you have him packed and ready to go yet?”

“Packed?” Jill echoed. “Ready to go where?”

Maxine snapped her fingers. “You’re about the most useless help I’ve ever seen. You’ve been here plenty long enough to know that today is one of our visitation days.” She looked around the hall, hunting for something. “Where’s Dustin? I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

“He’s not here.” Jill shifted Holly to her shoulder. Briefly she wondered if offering Joey’s grandmother a cup of hot tea would calm her long enough for Jill to get him packed. Why hadn’t Dustin warned her of the change in the visitation schedule?

Because he’d had far too much on his mind, she knew. Discarding the idea of allowing Maxine any further than the hallway—she couldn’t remember the woman doing anything more than screeching from the porch before—Jill arranged a competent smile on her face. “If you’ll give me just a moment, I’ll get Joey’s things.”

“Well, if Dustin’s not here, where’s Eunice? I can’t imagine her leaving my grandchild alone with
you
.”

Jill straightened to look down upon the made-up and mean face. “I am more than capable of doing my job, Mrs. Copeland. Dustin and Eunice place their absolute trust in me.”

“Dustin, is it? I might have known Eunice wouldn’t have taught her help her place.”

“Mrs. Copeland, I’m sure you’re not aware that I have a college degree. Far from being trained ‘help’, I used to do the training in my position as marketing manager.”

“Of course.” Her tone was scornful. “That’s why you’re chasing dust bunnies for Dustin. You’re so highly qualified.”

Jill blinked. In all her life, she had never encountered such undisguised venom. “Just because you have a visitation that I wasn’t quite prepared for is no reason to insult me. Dustin took Eunice to the hospital this morning. She wasn’t feeling well. It never occurred to me that I should have Joey ready.”

“What do you mean, Eunice wasn’t feeling well?”

Maxine’s eyes narrowed to slits. Jill instinctively took a step back, not knowing what the woman was homing in on. Surely the fact that Eunice was ill wasn’t an ace for Maxine to play, was it?

“It may be her arthritis acting up. I’m not certain,” Jill hurried to cover her tracks. “I’m sure she’ll be home soon.”

“Nobody goes to the emergency room for arthritis, you twit. Don’t try to fob me off. I’ve heard a lot of stories in my time, so don’t insult my intelligence.”

Jill drew a deep breath. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. I’m trying to be optimistic.” She stopped herself from saying
you pathetic old woman
.

“Go get Joey and his things,” Maxine told her tersely. “I’ll be waiting in the car.”

She turned around, her heels thumping decisively on the wooden steps. Immediately, she looked back at Jill. “I didn’t get your last name. I suppose you can at least remember that?”

“My name is Jill McCall.”

Maxine nodded, then got into the car. Jill’s eyes widened. “What a witch,” she whispered against Holly’s downy head. Taking her time as she went into the kitchen, she said, “Joey, your grandmother is here.”

“I know.” He looked at her funny.

“No, I mean Grandmother Copeland.”

“Oh, no.” His expression was distressed. “Do…do I hafta go?”

“I’m afraid so, honey. Let’s get you dressed.”

“Please, Jill?” His forlorn gaze tugged at her heart. “ We…we didn’t string popcorn.”

She was still bothered by the change in visitation, but she didn’t want Joey to see how worried she was. She hugged him tight. “You’ll be back tomorrow, and we will then, okay?”

“Okay.” His sigh was heavy.

Jill shepherded him upstairs to dress, wishing she was in a position to send that ornery old crone home alone. She’d love to tell her that she couldn’t let Joey go with her, but Mrs. Copeland wouldn’t be here unless Dustin expected her. And the fact was, she didn’t want Joey upset by a confrontation. After last night, he could use some hugs and kisses.

He wasn’t likely to get them today.

“I can’t believe Eunice would allow such a slut in her home.” Maxine tapped a fingernail impatiently on the desk, then got up to stare out the window at Joey. “She must be slipping.”

Her husband made an open-handed gesture. Maxine shook her head. “I think you would have thought it was a big deal if you’d seen the housekeeper, David. There was a bruise the size of my fist on her cheek, like she’d been in a barroom brawl of some kind. She hadn’t made any attempt at dressing for the day, nor was her hair the slightest bit combed. It’s plain that farm hours don’t agree with her, but by eight o’clock in the morning, one ought to be able to get their teeth brushed, at least. And Lord only knows who the father of her poor innocent child is.”

Outside, Joey was trying to catch winter snowflakes with his tongue. There wasn’t more than an inch of snow on the ground, but the weather reports were calling for accumulation in the night. Maxine blew out a breath. “I nearly flipped when I realized that Joey wasn’t dressed or ready. You know very well the child rises by six and not a minute later. Why he hasn’t been fed by that late hour is beyond my contemplation.”

Again, her fingernail beat out a tattoo on the desk. She looked to her husband. He shook his head slightly. “I know. It breaks my heart for Joey’s sake.” Narrowing her eyes, she sent a thoughtful look David’s way. He didn’t seem as distressed as she was over the matter, but of course, a man didn’t have the fierce instinct in him necessary to protect children. Joey was all she had. Oh, there was David, but now that she knew of his infidelity, she knew he’d never really been hers.

Or he might not be that concerned because of Eunice. No matter what she’d been able to say or do about the woman over the years, David still believed Eunice Reed walked on water. There was no human being who possessed his respect the way she did.

It irritated Maxine beyond belief. Right now, David’s lack of worry over this morning’s incident was like a slap to her face. He should support her. This once, he should see that Eunice wasn’t the goddess he imagined she was. She had put a bleached slut in charge of caring for their only grandchild. But he seemed more upset that Eunice was in the hospital. No doubt if that wheelchair had wings, David would be with her right now.

He was looking out the window now, watching Joey with a wistful expression on his face and completely oblivious to Maxine’s angst. After a moment, he maneuvered the wheelchair from the room. She heard him trying to wrench the door open, but she didn’t move to help him. It was obvious he was trying to get outside where he could watch Joey from the porch, but he didn’t need to be pampered. He hadn’t been there for her; why should she be there for him in his hour of need?

Maxine crossed to the phone, dialing a number from memory. It was answered on the first ring.

“Sal Moriari here.”

“It’s Maxine, Sal. I have something new I want you to check out.”

“I’m taking notes. Shoot.”

“Dustin has a new housekeeper. All I know is that her name is Jill McCall. I want to know where she came from and what she’s doing at his ranch.”

“Cleaning house?”

By Sal’s tone, Maxine knew he wasn’t trying to blow her off. He wanted to know what had alerted her suspicion. “I got the distinct impression her talents didn’t lie in polishing brass, Sal. One thing she mentioned is that her last position was as a marketing manager.”

“Ah. You think her move from corporate executive to chief cook and bottle washer may be something we can use against them?”

Maxine carried the cordless phone as she went to sit in a damask-covered chair. “I know something isn’t right in that house. The fact that they hired this woman without any thought to Joey’s wellbeing incenses me. She appears to lack qualifications and yet she has managed to put the notion into Joey’s head that she could become his mother.”

“Hm. Ambitious little thing, isn’t she?”

“To say the least.” Her voice was deliberately curt. To her mind, there was nothing to recommend the woman; certainly, in comparison to her own beautiful and cultured daughter, Nina, the housekeeper failed miserably in comparison. But she had heard that a man got used to the convenience of sex once he was married. If something happened to the wife, often the man remarried in about a year’s time—presumably to recover all the comforts a wife could provide him.

Fate would be so cruel to replace Nina with a bleached-blonde, unrefined social climber who used her body to blind Dustin into marriage. Where would that leave Joey? Out in the cold, of course. “I want to file a motion for custody until the trial date, Sal.”

“The trial is in four days. I’m not sure the paperwork can be processed that fast no matter who I lean on.”

She thought about the swollen state of Jill’s face. The purple-and-black bruise had been a terrible thing to see, she had hardly been able to look the woman in the eye.

In her heart, she knew Dustin wasn’t capable of such extraordinary violence. Nor did the woman appear to have lacked such spine that she would stand for abusive treatment. She snapped her fingers. Of course. Maybe in Dustin’s absence, while he was taking his mother to the hospital, the housekeeper had taken advantage of the opportunity to consort with unsavory types. It was an unfortunate situation. Maxine wondered where Joey had been during this time.
Could he have witnessed any of this violence?
The thought was painful. She could ask him about it, but to do so would be hearsay. The word of a child. And the truth was, if Joey had been exposed to any rough meeting between the housekeeper and some riffraff, she didn’t want to remind him of it.
Poor little thing,
she thought, closing her eyes.
He’s already been through so much.

“Never mind the motion, Sal,” she said, suddenly aware of the awesome responsibility she faced. “With Eunice being ill and that odd woman alone in the house with Joey, I wouldn’t dream of taking him home tomorrow. Talk to the judge and see what we can swing, certainly. But now that I’ve got more evidence that Joey is not living in a safe environment, he stays with me until everything is said and done. And in light of these new events, I don’t think Joey will ever have to leave me again.”