Swan Point

by Sherryl Woods

  Gabe walked the few blocks to Helen’s office, using the time to try to cool down. He was not going to let a slime bag like Ernesto make Adelia miserable or ruin what they’d just agreed to try to build together.

  Unfortunately, when he walked into Helen’s waiting room, it was packed. Her secretary, a woman he thought he recognized from working in the high school office years ago, scowled when she saw him.

  “I know you don’t have an appointment, Gabe Franklin,” Barb told him. She gestured to the crowded waiting room. “Helen doesn’t have time for you. You might just as well turn around and leave.”

  Since he didn’t want everyone in the waiting room in on his business with Helen, he leaned down and tried to practice some of that charm he was supposed to possess. “Darlin’, I know I don’t have an appointment, but this is a little bit of an emergency.”

  “Are the police on your heels?” she asked. “It wouldn’t surprise me a bit.”

  Gabe bit back his annoyance. “No, but they could be my next stop. Ernesto Hernandez is making threats about trying to take Adelia’s son from her. I thought Helen ought to know about it.”

  Barb’s expression went from annoyance to dismay in a heartbeat. “He wouldn’t dare.”

  “Not if he has half a brain,” Gabe agreed. “Do you think he does?”

  “Hardly,” she said, clearly concluding that whatever her beef might be with Gabe, he was the lesser of two evils. “Give me a minute and I’ll squeeze you in.”

  “Thank you, darlin’.”

  “Stop calling me that. It won’t work on me.”

  Gabe gave her an innocent look. “No idea what you mean.”

  She shook her head, but for an instant, he thought he saw her expression mellow just a little.

  He stood off to the side and waited. The second Helen’s current client exited her office, Barb stood up and headed in. In less than a minute, she was beckoning for him.

  “Fifteen minutes,” she warned both Gabe and Helen. “Not one second more or I’ll have a rebellion on my hands out there.”

  Helen’s serious expression reflected Gabe’s mood. “Tell me,” she said.

  Gabe described the incident and the threat. “It’s the second time he’s warned me to stay away from his kids and suggested he’d take Adelia to court to make sure I couldn’t be a bad influence on them.”

  “He doesn’t have a leg to stand on,” Helen said. “I know all about the trouble you got in back then. It was kid stuff. I’ll check, but you never spent a single night in jail or even had a charge against you that stood up, right?”

  “Not a one,” Gabe said. “It doesn’t mean I didn’t cause my share of trouble. I don’t want that to be used against Adelia.”

  To his surprise, Helen grinned. “Spoken like the honorable man I’ve been hearing a lot about recently. Stop worrying, Gabe. I’m on this.”

  He didn’t believe it could be as easy to keep Ernesto in check as she was making it sound. “But—”

  “Gabe, I am very, very good at what I do,” Helen assured him quietly. “And what I do, among many other things, is neutralize threats against my clients, especially when it comes to their kids.”

  Gabe saw the fire in her eyes and realized this was not a woman he’d want to go up against in court, not when she thought she was on the side of right and justice.

  He nodded, satisfied. “I’ll leave it in your hands then.”

  “By the way,” she said, a smile on her lips. “Good job in not punching the guy’s lights out. It might have been satisfying, but it wouldn’t have helped.”

  “I figured as much. If he hurts Adelia, though, I can’t promise I’ll show the same restraint.”

  “Try,” she said. “But if you do lose control, and frankly I could hardly blame you, call me. I’ll bail you out and represent you pro bono for doing what a whole lot of us would like to do to that man.”

  Gabe chuckled. “Now you’re just tempting me.”

  She held up a hand. “Last resort, okay? Promise.”

  “Last resort,” Gabe confirmed. Somehow knowing the kind of friend Adelia had on her side made it a whole lot easier to swear to that and mean it.

  * * *

  At the sound of the bell, Adelia glanced up from the catalogs she’d been marking while waiting for any customers to turn up at the boutique. To her surprise Selena stood hesitantly in the doorway, her expression dark. It had been weeks since Adelia had seen that particular look on Selena’s face.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked at once.

  “Is it okay that I’m here? Are you busy?”

  “It’s fine. I’ve told you before that you can come by here whenever you want to. Where are your sisters and brother?”

  “Next door at the bakery,” her oldest reported. “It’ll take them forever to pick out cupcakes. I needed to talk to you when they’re not around.”

  Adelia beckoned her in. “What’s going on? Did something happen at school today?”

  Selena nodded. “Daddy was waiting outside of school when I got out,” she said. “He was with that woman again.”

  Adelia wanted to utter a curse, but she refrained. “What did he want?”

  “He said we needed to get to know each other because she’d be our stepmother and we’d all be living with them soon.”

  Adelia’s control vanished. “He said what?” she asked, stunned by what she was hearing.

  “Mom, he was lying, wasn’t he?” Selena asked, real panic in her voice. “He can’t make us come and live with them. I’ll run away if he does that. I swear I will.”

  “You’re not going to live with your father,” Adelia said flatly, already reaching for her phone.

  Selena’s eyes widened. If anything, she looked even more frightened. “You’re not going to call him, are you? I don’t want you fighting again.”

  “I’m not calling him. I’m calling Helen.”

  Selena immediately looked relieved. “She’ll fix it, won’t she? She’ll stop him before he says anything to Tomas and the girls, right? I know they’re supposed to spend the day with him Saturday, but he’s never shown up before.” Her panic suddenly returned. “What if he does this time and gets them all worked up? Or even worse, what if he won’t bring them home?”

  “Not going to happen,” Adelia said fiercely. She held up a hand to silence Selena when Barb answered the phone in Helen’s office. Adelia quickly explained the situation and was put right through.

  “Blast it all!” Helen said when Adelia had filled her in. “I was afraid of something like this. I thought I had time to deal with it before Ernesto did something stupid. I guess I underestimated how angry he was.”

  “Angry? What are you talking about?” Adelia asked.

  “Gabe was here earlier. Apparently Ernesto confronted him at work earlier.”

  “Why?”

  “He was furious about your outing last night to Wharton’s,” Helen explained. “It must have triggered some sort of macho pride thing because he told Gabe he was going to take Tomas away from you. He didn’t say anything about the girls as far as I know. Obviously after giving it more thought, he concluded that Selena would be a great target to stir things up even more. He knows she’s never forgiven him. By going to her, he’s escalated the situation and gotten her to panic.”

  “You have no idea,” Adelia said, as Selena leaned into her side, tears on her cheeks. She kept a firm arm around her daughter’s waist. “What can we do?”

  “You said his mistress was with him when he spoke to Selena?”

  “That’s what she said.”

  “I know this is personal, but have you and Gabe slept together? I know it’s what we’ve all been hoping for you, but it could complicate this situation.”

  “Not yet,” Adelia said, cheeks flu
shed.

  “Keep it that way for now. I want to be able to use the way Ernesto flaunts his mistress in front of his children. I’m calling the judge’s office now to set an emergency hearing. Try not to worry, okay? He’s not going to take your kids. He hasn’t even exercised the right he was granted for visitation, has he?”

  “Not more than a couple of times way back at the beginning. He doesn’t even call, as far as I know.”

  Selena nodded. “He’s never called me. Not even once.”

  Adelia started to repeat it, but Helen said, “I heard. I’ll let you know the minute I have that hearing scheduled.”

  Adelia uttered a sigh of relief. She knew she was in good hands. Helen’s reputation as a barracuda in the courtroom wasn’t an idle designation. She’d tear Ernesto apart if he tried to hurt Adelia’s kids. In fact, she’d probably do a better job than Adelia could ever do on her own.

  When she hung up, she looked into Selena’s worried gaze. “Helen’s going to fix this?” her daughter asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Mom, is this because of Gabe? Did I hear Helen say something about Dad going after him?”

  “It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Adelia insisted. “Helen’s got it.”

  “But it’s not fair that Dad would try to hurt Gabe,” Selena protested. “All he’s done is be nice to us and to you.”

  “I know, sweetie. You don’t need to worry about Gabe. He can take care of himself.”

  “But he shouldn’t have to,” Selena protested.

  No, Adelia thought. He really shouldn’t have to. Perhaps last night’s decision had been premature. Perhaps this was just one more sign that their attempt to form some sort of relationship was a really bad idea.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Gabe was stunned when he received a call from Helen just as he was about to leave the work site on Main Street.

  “I need you in court tomorrow morning at nine. Can you be there?” she asked.

  “This must be about Ernesto.”

  “Of course. After he paid a visit to you this morning, he waited at school for Selena,” she explained, her voice filled with disdain. “He wanted her to get to know her potential new stepmommy. He told her they’d all soon be living together. Naturally that sent her into a tailspin.”

  Gabe felt his free hand close into a fist. “I can’t believe even he would be so insensitive.”

  “Of course he is. The man’s either delusional or an idiot. Either way, it played right into my hands. I intend to prove to the judge that this demonstrates that he’s completely unsuited to be a parent. He’s using those children as a weapon. If I have my way, he’ll be stripped of visitation rights, at least until the kids are old enough to decide for themselves if they want to spend time with him. If I can’t convince the judge of that, then I at least want the visits supervised.”

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, Gabe was reassured by the determination in Helen’s voice. Whatever she needed from him, she had it. “What can I do?”

  “Just tell the judge about the threats Ernesto made to you,” she said.

  “Done,” Gabe said at once. “And I have witnesses. Would they help? You may not want my whole crew traipsing into court, but how about Henry Davis? He heard every word for sure. I know he’d be willing, maybe even eager, to testify about what he saw and heard.”

  “Good idea,” Helen said. “Henry’s a good guy and he’ll be viewed as impartial, at least when it comes to the custody matter. I may not need him, but it won’t hurt to have backup just in case.”

  “We’ll be there,” Gabe promised. “I’ll give him a call right now.”

  As soon as he’d hung up, he tracked down Henry and got his commitment to be at the courthouse before nine.

  Gabe had intended to head to Adelia’s, but under the circumstances he had to wonder if that was such a good idea, at least tonight. Maybe they should be more circumspect, at least for the next twenty-four hours. He was still debating with himself about that when Adelia appeared on the sidewalk outside the space he was renovating. Gabe stepped out and locked the door behind him.

  She studied his expression, then sighed. “You’ve already heard?”

  Gabe nodded. “I’m so sorry that I seem to have triggered this.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. Neither did I. This is just Ernesto’s way of trying to prove he’s still got control of my life. I swear I actually hate him for this,” she said, the look on her face filled with loathing.

  “Up till now I’ve managed to stand up for him with the kids.” She shook her head. “Why did I even bother? I’ve even encouraged them to spend time with him, not that he’s taken advantage of that. I’m done, though,” she declared forcefully. “He’s crossed a line. I won’t let them be his pawns and I certainly won’t let him force that woman on them, not unless it’s court-mandated that I have to.”

  “Good for you,” he said, desperately wanting to reach for her but knowing it was a bad idea.

  “Are you coming over?”

  Gabe shook his head. “I was just thinking we should probably take a time-out, especially with this court date in the morning.”

  She heaved another sigh, clearly disappointed. “You’re probably right. Ernesto probably has a private detective stationed across the street from the house, ready to snap pictures. That would be just like him.”

  Gabe regretted that he’d already locked up. He wished he could drag Adelia inside and kiss her until she lost that anxious expression. It wasn’t something he could do out here on the street, though. That private eye she was so worried about could just as easily be right here on Main Street. He settled for tucking a finger under her chin.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he promised. “Helen’s exactly the person I’d want on my side in this situation. She impressed the daylights out of me when I spoke to her earlier.”

  She smiled a little at that. “No question about it. She kept me sane during the divorce. Nothing rattles her.”

  “Then don’t let it rattle you,” he said. “I’ll see you first thing in the morning. If you need me before then, call.”

  “I’m sorry you got dragged into this,” she said again.

  “Hey, don’t you dare be sorry,” he replied. “You didn’t do the dragging. We can both thank Ernesto for that.”

  “But you like things easy and uncomplicated.”

  “Seems as if that’s been a lost cause since I met you,” he said, then winked at her. “I’m starting to think easy and uncomplicated are highly overrated, anyway.”

  She laughed, just as he’d intended.

  “Night, darlin’.” He regretted he couldn’t put some color in her cheeks with a kiss, but the endearment seemed to have almost the same effect.

  “Maybe I’ll call you later just to say good-night again,” she said, then added in a low, surprisingly sultry voice, “After I’m in bed.”

  He swallowed hard at the twinkle in her eyes, then chuckled. “Who knew you were a big ol’ tease, Adelia Hernandez?”

  “I know,” she said, smiling brightly at last. “Who knew?”

  * * *

  To Adelia’s surprise just that few minutes with Gabe right on Main Street where anyone could see was enough to settle her nerves over tomorrow’s court date. Of course, the realization that she’d been flirting outrageously with him caused its own share of jitters. What had she been thinking? She couldn’t think of a single time in her life that she’d tossed out daring innuendoes the way she had with him.

  As she remained standing on the corner after he’d gone, her kids came running out of the bakery to join her. Given the amount of frosting on their faces, she had a hunch they’d be on a sugar high for most of the evening.

  “Mommy, we had cupcakes,” Juanita announced h
appily. “I had one with chocolate frosting and sprinkles and one with pink frosting.”

  “Yes, I can see that,” Adelia said, taking a tissue from her purse and wiping away the evidence. She beckoned for Natalia, then wiped her face. “Only chocolate?”

  Natalia nodded. “But I had three.”

  Adelia put her hands on her hips and turned to Tomas. “And you, young man? I see chocolate frosting and vanilla,” she said as she scrubbed his face with the tissue. “And what’s this?”

  “Caramel,” he said happily. “Lynn said it was new. I still like chocolate the best, though.”

  She glanced over his head at Selena.

  “Sorry, Mom. I didn’t think they had enough money for more than one, but Lynn floated them a loan. I paid her when I got back over there.”

  “What about you?” she asked Selena. “Didn’t you want a cupcake?”

  Her daughter, who’d always loved sweets, shook her head. “I wasn’t hungry.”

  Adelia understood exactly why. “How about one to take home? You might feel more like it later.”

  Selena shrugged off the offer. “That’s okay.”

  “Well, I doubt these three are going to be hungry anytime soon. What about you? Anything special you’d like me to fix for dinner?”

  Again, Selena shook her head. Adelia decided to let it drop for now.

  At home she sent the three younger children into the yard to run off some of their excess energy, then gestured for Selena to join her in the kitchen.

  “Sweetie, I know you’re worried, but you don’t need to be,” she told her.

  “How can you say that?” Selena demanded with surprising anger. “Dad’s going to ruin everything again.”

  Startled by her vehemence, Adelia reached for her hands. “Nothing’s ruined.”

  “How can you say that? Gabe’s not here, is he? I don’t hear him upstairs and his truck’s not in the driveway. That’s because of Dad.”

  “In a way, yes,” Adelia said, unable to deny it. “But Gabe and I agreed it would be for the best if he stayed away just for tonight. Once we see the judge in the morning, things can go back to normal.”