Christmas on Reindeer Road

by Debbie Mason

  “Your objection is noted, but the information was given freely by Mrs. Maitland, so I’m not sure what you’re objecting to. Unless it’s to the fact that it proves Ms. Carlisle has no legal claim to the boys.”

  Eden put a hand on Mallory’s arm when she opened her mouth to protest. “Besides Marsha Maitland signing over custody to my client, you mean?” Eden withdrew a printed copy of the agreement Mallory had emailed to her before she’d committed to taking the job in Highland Falls. Eden had wanted to make sure Mallory was within her legal right to leave the state with the boys.

  “As you can see for yourself, the document is notarized, legal, and binding. Mrs. Maitland felt it was in the best interest of Oliver and Brooks to grant my client full custody. But what she didn’t grant my client was oversight of the boys’ trust funds. And when Mallory asked that the funds be managed by an outside party to ensure the money would be there when Oliver and Brooks were legally able to access the funds at twenty-one, Marsha refused.”

  “Is there a point to all of this, Mrs. Mackenzie?”

  “Yes. I’m surprised you haven’t picked up on it already, Ms. McPherson.” She gave the other woman a pointed look. Clearly, Kayla McPherson wasn’t Eden’s favorite person. “The point is my client had nothing to gain by assuming custody of Oliver and Brooks. However, some people might say she had plenty to lose. And if you’ve dug deep enough, you’ll discover that it was because of her stepsons’ behavior that Mallory lost several clients and her apartment.”

  Mallory cringed. At the speed the caseworker was inputting the information on her iPad, it would seem Eden hadn’t proved her point; she’d proved Kayla’s. Mallory glanced at Gabe, who was leaning back in his chair, rubbing his hand over his chin. He caught her eye and nudged his head in Kayla’s direction.

  Mallory pointed at her chest and he smiled, giving her an encouraging nod. He was right. She had to speak for herself. “Ms. McPherson, I’m not going to deny that Brooks and Oliver have had, are having, trouble adjusting. But my hope is that, once we get settled here, things will turn around. I want the boys. I want us to be a family, and I believe that’s what their father would’ve wanted.”

  “Yet, he sent the boys to boarding school a month before you were married.”

  Marsha must have given the caseworker an earful. And just like with the journalists, it was clear whose side the woman was on.

  “He did,” Mallory admitted. “And I’m sure the boys blame me for that, but I had nothing to do with my husband’s decision. I wanted Oliver and Brooks to live with us.”

  “If that’s true, why would your husband send them away? Is it possible he didn’t think you were up to mothering two boys? After all, you were only twenty-three at the time.”

  Mallory briefly closed her eyes. She heard the judgment in Kayla’s voice. You’d think she’d be used to it by now.

  Gabe’s chair squeaked as he straightened. “I don’t know what purpose this line of questioning serves, Kayla. Mallory didn’t starve the boys or lock them in their rooms. She has legal guardianship. She wants the boys, and I, for one, think they’re damn lucky she does.”

  “Thank you, but I don’t mind answering Ms. McPherson’s question, Ga—Chief Buchanan.” Mallory smiled. She appreciated him standing up for her. She’d been mad at him for sharing her confidence with the boys but as she’d sat there, she’d had to face the truth.

  It wasn’t his fault she was in this situation. Like Brooks said, she should’ve been honest with them from the start. If they’d known Marsha had given up custody, they wouldn’t have tried to run away. She had a feeling that was why Gabe felt he had no choice but to tell the boys.

  And now she had to make Kayla understand something Mallory herself hadn’t been able to understand at the time. “Harry never told me why he wanted to send the boys away, and there was no convincing him otherwise. When my husband made a decision, he wasn’t easily swayed. And he was adamant that Oliver and Brooks attend boarding school in England. He went to the same school at their age, and he attributed his success to the education he’d received there as well as the contacts he’d made. But over this past year, I’ve begun to wonder if, even back then, he knew he wouldn’t survive his latest battle with cancer, and he didn’t want his sons to watch their father waste away.”

  And if that were the case, she had to wonder if Harry had simply married her because he’d needed a caregiver and she’d checked all the boxes. It was what Marsha believed. In her mind, the only reason he’d chosen Mallory over her was because he knew he was sick, and he thought Mallory might be able to save him. But the argument that seemed to play the best with the judge—a man Mallory would later learn had been burned by a much younger wife—was that Mallory had coerced Harry, using his illness to manipulate him, to have him pay for her school loans, and to give her a life that the former foster child could only have dreamed of.

  “I appreciate you sharing that with me. Despite what Chief Buchanan seems to be implying, I don’t have a vendetta against you. My job is to ensure the boys are in a safe, loving environment. As you yourself mentioned, they’re having issues settling in. So, at this point, my recommendation would be that—”

  A knock on the door cut her off, and Ruby popped her head into the office. “Sorry to interrupt, Chief. But I thought the ladies might like some refreshments.” The older woman’s breathing was labored as she made her way around the outside of the room to deposit a tray loaded down with two urns, four cups, and a plate of pumpkin-spice cookies on Gabe’s desk. Then Ruby turned, brushing the damp white curls back from her forehead. “How’s it going in here?” she asked.

  Mallory might’ve sighed at the evidence that the older woman was more interested in getting the inside scoop—probably at Dot’s directive—than she was in being hospitable if not for the gray cast to her brown skin and the beads of perspiration on her upper lip.

  “Just about to wrap it up, so if you don’t mind?” Gabe lifted his chin at the door.

  “Actually, I think Ruby should sit down. Here, please, take my seat,” Mallory said as she came to her feet.

  “I think I’ll stay right where I am, if you don’t mind. I’m feeling a little woozy. Tray was heavier than I thought.”

  Mallory moved to her side and wrapped her fingers around Ruby’s wrist, checking her pulse. “Do you have dizzy spells often? Any pain to speak of?”

  “I’m only dizzy when I get up too fast. Pain in my back is more annoying.”

  “Chief, would you please bring your chair around and help Ruby to sit down?” It had wheels, and they could easily move her to the front of the station. Gabe, like Eden and Kayla, frowned at Mallory. “Now, please,” she said.

  “You mind telling me what’s going on, Mallory?” Gabe asked as he stood to move his chair behind Ruby.

  “A lot of fuss for nothing, if you ask me,” Ruby said as Gabe helped her into the chair.

  Mallory went to retrieve her bag, keeping an eye on Ruby as she dug inside for a bottle of aspirin. She noted the older woman’s wince of discomfort and shook a pill into the palm of her hand. “Is the pain in your back getting worse?”

  Ruby winced again and then nodded. If possible, she looked paler than she had moments before. Mallory gave Ruby the tablet. “Chew this. Gabe, please call nine-one-one.”

  “And why am I calling nine-one-one?”

  “Ruby’s having a heart attack,” she said, once the older woman had done as she asked. Mallory placed a comforting hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “Everything will be all right. I just want you to relax, and we’ll wheel you to the front of the station.”

  “I’m not having a heart attack. I can’t be. I don’t have any pain in my chest,” Ruby argued while Gabe radioed for an ambulance.

  “It’s not uncommon for women to have pain in their back when they’re having a heart attack.” And just as common that they’ll deny they’re having one.

  “How do you know? Did you have one? You seem awful young.”

>   “No, I haven’t, but I am a doctor.” She didn’t think it was necessary to add that she’d only completed her first year of residency before leaving to marry Harry. Right now, she needed Ruby to trust her and to remain calm.

  “Is there anything we can do?” Eden asked.

  “If you could have the officers clear a path to the front door of the station, that would be a big help. Thanks.” Mallory moved behind Ruby.

  As both women got up from their chairs, Kayla said, “I’d still like to wrap this up today. I’m not comfortable leaving it as is.”

  “Agreed, but at the moment Mallory is a little busy. Once we’ve done as she asked, you and I can discuss next steps,” Eden said.

  Kayla glanced at Gabe, who was on the radio with his back to them, and then nodded her agreement.

  Gabe disconnected and walked over to where Mallory was unsuccessfully trying to move the chair. He nudged her out of the way and took over, pushing the chair without a problem. “How are you doing, Ruby?”

  “The doctor here says I’m having a heart attack so I guess not so well, Chief.”

  He glanced at Mallory and murmured, “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

  “Some I would’ve preferred to keep to myself,” she murmured back.

  “I bet.” He offered her a warm and sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry it came up today. You have my word, it won’t go any further than my office.”

  “Thank you,” she said, walking ahead so Gabe could get the chair out the door.

  “I’m all right. You all just get back to work,” Ruby told the officers, who milled around, looking on in concern. They called out their well wishes, promising to stop by the hospital after their shift. “Would you mind giving Charlie a call, Chief? He’ll be wondering where I’m at if I’m late getting home.”

  “Already done. He’ll meet us at the hospital.”

  “Oh now, you don’t have to come, Chief. You have to get home on time to meet the boys.”

  “Don’t worry about me. It’s about time you start thinking about yourself instead of everyone else, Ruby.”

  A door to what Mallory knew from her overnight stay last year was the holding cells opened, and Owen and the boys walked into the station’s waiting area. Catching sight of them, Owen rushed over while Oliver and Brooks hung back. “What’s going on?” Owen asked.

  “I’m having a heart attack, and Mallory here saved me. What do you think of that? Boyd Carlisle’s daughter is a doctor.”

  “Thank you for saving her, Mallory. We wouldn’t know what to do without Ruby running things around here, would we, son?” Owen said to Gabe.

  Before Mallory could correct Owen, Oliver’s eyes narrowed at her, his hands balling into fists at his side. “You saved her?”

  Brooks shot his brother a nervous glance.

  Mallory understood why her medical intervention would make the boys angry. She hadn’t been able to save their father after all. But the last place she wanted to defend herself to Oliver was in the middle of a police station, in front of a woman who wanted to take the boys away. Mallory glanced to where Kayla and Eden leaned against Ruby’s desk, talking. Definitely within earshot if Oliver raised his voice.

  “No. I didn’t save Ruby,” Mallory said as she walked toward the boys, herding them several more feet from Ruby’s desk. “I simply identified her symptoms.”

  But not far enough away that Ruby didn’t hear her. “Now don’t you go playing down your role in saving me. If not for you, I probably would’ve gone home and died in my sleep.”

  Gabe frowned, looking from Mallory to Oliver. She wasn’t surprised he’d picked up on the tension between them. Oliver wasn’t exactly adept at hiding his feelings. His cheeks red, he looked seconds away from blurting out an accusation that had been leveled at Mallory immediately after Harry’s funeral.

  “Ollie, no,” Brooks pleaded. Then, glancing at Kayla and Eden, he added in a whisper, “They’ll take us from her. They’ll split us up. Don’t do it.”

  Worse than Oliver accusing Mallory of killing his father in a police station with a caseworker for social services looking on was realizing that the boys truly believed she was responsible for Harry’s death.

  She didn’t know if it was Brooks’s plea that stopped Oliver from talking or the swirl of lights and the siren of the approaching ambulance. Whatever it was, she was grateful. Though it was clear she couldn’t put off this conversation with the boys any longer.

  “Once we leave here, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know about the night your father died, and I’ll tell you the truth.”

  Without looking at her, Oliver nodded.

  “She’s not taking us away, is she? Ollie and I get to stay together?” Brooks asked, and Mallory fought the urge to give him a hug. Any show of affection from her had always been rebuffed.

  Instead she looked over her shoulder at Eden, who happened to glance her way at the same time. Eden smiled and gave her an almost imperceptible nod that Mallory took to mean they were good.

  “No one’s going anywhere. Well, other than to our new home. We can—”

  “Mallory.” Gabe waved her over.

  “I won’t be long,” she told the boys and hurried to Gabe’s side.

  As he helped the paramedics load Ruby onto the stretcher, Mallory relayed the symptoms that informed her diagnosis and the amount of aspirin Ruby had taken, and then Mallory followed Gabe and the paramedics out the glass doors and onto the sidewalk.

  In a state of near panic when she’d driven up Main Street earlier, Mallory hadn’t noticed that Highland Falls was decked out for the holidays. Wreaths with big red bows hung from the street lamps, and the trees that lined the sidewalks were wrapped in white lights. A cheery Santa sign announced the holiday parade. It was tomorrow.

  The perfect opportunity to put her Christmas plan into action, Mallory thought, and felt the heavy weight lift ever so slightly from her shoulders.

  “What’s going on? Is that Ruby? Is she going to be okay?” two older women with shopping bags stopped to ask. Soon a small crowd of shoppers and shopkeepers had gathered on the sidewalk. Gabe patiently answered their questions, and a moment later, the EKG monitor they’d hooked to Ruby confirmed Mallory’s suspicions.

  “You okay?” Gabe asked as the ambulance drove away and the crowd dispersed.

  “I’ve had better days,” Mallory admitted.

  “I bet you have.” He held the door open for her. “I know this was the last place you wanted to be today, but I’ve gotta tell you, I’m glad you were here. Ruby’s right, you know. You undoubtedly saved her life. I’m grateful.”

  “You’re both giving me too much credit. But I’m glad I was here to help.”

  “I owe you one.”

  “It looks like I might need to call in that favor sooner rather than later,” she said, noting what appeared to be a tense exchange between Kayla and Eden. Mallory’s gaze shot to the boys, who were now sitting behind Ruby’s desk. “Kayla must’ve spoken to Oliver and Brooks.”

  Gabe stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Is there anything I should know? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me the truth, Mallory. I saw Oliver’s face when Owen said you saved Ruby.”

  She briefly closed her eyes and put a hand on her churning stomach. “I . . .” She trailed off as Eden walked their way.

  “Good news,” Eden said when she reached them. “Kayla and I have worked out a compromise that I think you’ll be able to live with, Mal.”

  “That doesn’t exactly sound like the news I was hoping for.” But it did sound like Oliver had at least kept his suspicions to himself. Otherwise Mallory imagined she would’ve been dragged back into Gabe’s office. Either that or into a holding cell.

  “Ms. McPherson insists that, given the boys’ precarious situation, your progress is closely monitored. For the next three months, she expects you to provide detailed progress reports on a weekly basis, and there will be periodic at-home drop-ins.”

  �
�And where exactly is the good news in that?” Mallory asked, because to her it felt like a nightmare. For the next three months, her and the boys’ every movement, every interaction, would be put under a microscope and judged. If she didn’t live up to Kayla’s expectations, she would lose Harry’s sons. It had been patently clear during the meeting that the caseworker already had a bias toward Mallory, questioning her character and judgment.

  “I’m sorry. I wish you didn’t have to do any of this, but let’s try to look at this from a different perspective. The boys are having problems adjusting—you said so yourself. This is all new for you. You’ve never had children or siblings, and you’re only thirteen years older than Oliver. Gabe is a single parent raising three boys on his own. I’m sure he’ll have plenty of great advice on how to turn this around. Better than you having to report to Kayla on a weekly basis, right?”

  “Pardon me?” Mallory said.

  “Excuse me?” Gabe said at almost the same time.

  Mallory recovered faster. “So I’m supposed to report to Gabe once a week for three months.” Which admittedly would be easier—in some ways—than reporting to Kayla, but did it also mean that he held her and the boys’ fates in his hands? “And then what? Does he get to decide if I’m a fit parent? Is it his decision whether or not the boys remain in my care?”

  “I guess his opinion would hold weight. But I’m sure it won’t come to that, Mal. You’ll see, moving back to Highland Falls will turn out to be the absolute best thing for you and the boys.”

  Chapter Six

  You said you’d tell us about the night our dad died,” Oliver reminded Mallory as she drove through the red wooden covered bridge on the way to their new home.

  So much for her reprieve. She’d hoped to put off this moment for as long as possible. She’d stopped at the grocery store right after they’d left the station in an attempt to distract them. Buying bags of their favorite foods and snacks hadn’t worked nearly as well as the ridiculously overpriced headphones they’d convinced her to buy at the electronics shop on Main Street. You’d think by now she’d have learned that bribery rarely worked for long. All it did was take another bite out of her nest egg.