“We have a father that wants to keep his children, and a pair of concerned in-laws who believe he’s unfit. I need to know for what reasons these kids should be removed from their father and placed in a different home,” he asked.
The Carsons lawyer smiled and nodded his head. “Mr. Thurgood is a great man, and Mr. and Mrs. Carson can plainly see that. The problem is that alone, Mr. Thurgood is rather strained in his ability to care for his children. His ranch brings in a decent annual revenue, but the emotional trauma associated with having to not only run a newer ranch but also raise three children by himself is by all measure unrealistic. It is an undue hardship for one man to be responsible for so much. If he were to lose focus, he might lose his ranch and, therefore, the means to properly care for his children. He has no childcare in place; therefore, the children usually are responsible for looking after themselves,” he explained.
“I’d like to object on that point,” Wayne’s lawyer spoke up. “You might be able to consider it undue hardship for a man to have to bear the burden of raising his children alone and tending his ranch, but would it not be even worse to not only lose his wife but also lose his children? I’m sure that Wayne is very much aware of what it takes to care for his own kids, and he seems to have done a fine job so far. What I would be more concerned about is having these children traveling across Wyoming in known dangerous territory to go to a new home. They would undergo much more stress. And, of course, there is the potential for attacks from wild animals, Indians and weather to be concerned about. It is just a terrible idea to put the children through something like this,” he said.
The judge considered both points thoughtfully, and Wayne could feel his chest tightening. “You said the kids don’t have a nanny.” The judge finally spoke. “Well, then who is that woman back there with the kids?” he asked pointing.
The Carsons’ lawyer turned to look and then smirked. “Oh, that woman? Just a fill in for his late wife. That alone should trouble anyone looking in on this case. How does a man move to find another wife so quickly after the passing of the supposed love of his life?” he asked smugly.
Wayne could feel the blood boiling up inside him at that comment. “I loved that woman with all my heart,” he said.
The lawyer turned and looked to him. “Oh, really? Is that why you’re pushing another woman into your children’s lives so selfishly and quickly? If I had lost my wife, I would still be mourning. I would be fighting for my kids and my business every step of the way and would not accept any distractions,” he said.
“Objection your honor!” Wayne’s lawyer spoke up.
“Granted,” the judge said.
“It’s ridiculous to assume that a man would not find other women with whom he would become interested in nearly four months after her passing. Besides, if you look at those kids and the woman with them, they are clean, healthy and seem very fond of one another. They intend to marry soon, so the children will have a stepmother and therefore a new caretaker that is a woman,” he said.
“That is something to think about. A remarriage would rebalance the home again for the children, though I do question why there hasn’t been a caretaker before then.”
“As you know, a very close death can hit someone very hard. It isn’t unreasonable to think that he was trying to shoulder all of the burden in his grief. He might have been ashamed to need the help,” his lawyer explained. “That is admirable to me, and anyone else would think so as well.”
“Might being the key word, or he could have just been being irresponsible with his children,” the other lawyer said. “If I were him, I would have jumped at the chance to hire a nanny to care for my children while I grieved and tried to work. Who was feeding them this entire time? Who was making sure they didn’t, I don’t know, get swept up in a rapid again?”
The courtroom was in an uproar over the vicious battle the lawyers were fighting, and it seemed that equal cause was being found on both sides. The judge called for a recess eventually, and the kids and Chelsea met back up with Wayne. “I think we’re going to win this, Daddy!” Melinda said happily.
Wayne smiled but put his finger to his lips. “We might, but you have to keep that quiet. If things get bad, you two know what to do. Big crocodile tears,” he said pinching all of their cheeks. He looked up at Chelsea, who had a sad look on her face. “What’s the matter?”
“They think I’m just some kind of plaything. They aren’t taking me seriously, Wayne,” she said dejectedly.
Wayne placed his hand over hers. “They don’t mean any harm by it. They’re playing off people’s emotions, trying to make their case to the judge. I know it’s wrong, but we have to do what’s right. We need to have faith in ourselves and in God’s love. He won’t let us down,” Wayne said placing a hand over hers.
Chelsea nodded. “You’re right, Wayne. I won’t be weak about this anymore then.”
“That’s right. We can’t let them win,” he said with a smile as he hugged her.
Before long, the session started back up, and the judge cleared his throat. “Looking over everything, Wayne Thurgood’s assets and annual wealth are more than enough to care for three children. He has plenty to care for them. More than that is always nice but not a necessity. Although I do question his judgement when it comes to caring for the children before he met Ms. Chelsea Sharpton, I don’t see a reason to go through the unnecessary hassle of transporting small children across Wyoming when they will inevitably undergo both mental and physical stress. It is always best that the children remain with their parents, so it is by my order that the kids stay with their father,” he said.
The court erupted, and Wayne grinned ear to ear. He jumped straight up in his victory and smiled. Melinda, Charlie, and Elisabeth ran up to hug their daddy, and Chelsea came forward too and wrapped her arms around him.
The excitement was short lived, however, when Sheryl suddenly pulled out a gun. She cocked it and aimed it straight at Wayne, much to the courtroom’s surprise.
“You better put that gun down now woman,” the judge ordered standing up abruptly.
Sheryl shook her head, her face twisted up angrily, “No, no, I’m not letting that man walk out of here with those kids after he stole my daughter away and let my baby die. He let her die. He was always working so dang much he just didn’t pay attention to her. I can’t let him leave here knowing she sacrificed her life for him,” she yelled.
Wayne put his hands up. “Sheryl, I didn’t steal her. Betsy wanted to be with me. You two just didn’t want her to be happy. You need to let this go. I know she’s gone, but this isn’t what she would have wanted, and you know that. It’s why she left to begin with.”
Sheryl wasn’t having any of it. “I’ll blow your head off,” she said. She didn’t notice the men coming up from behind her until they grabbed her arm, but the gun discharged and fired.
Wayne didn’t know what hit him. He was in shock at all the commotion as Sheryl screamed and cursed at him while she was being led away, and people suddenly rushed toward him. It took him a minute to realize that all the voices in the room were foggy and muggy. He could hear Chelsea screaming his name, but suddenly he couldn’t hear anything anymore, and the room was blurry before everything went black.
Chapter 4:
Some months had passed, and the family ranch was in full swing. Men were working on the ranch, the smell of food wafted through the air and kids played in the yard as if nothing in the world was wrong. It was crystal clear, as were many days now when it wasn’t raining cats and dogs. The smell of roasting meat had everyone’s stomach’s rumbling.
Wayne was no exception.
He walked from the fields to the house for the first break of the day to be met with the smell. He burst in the door eagerly as he saw Chelsea preparing a few extra fixings to go with the meat that would soon be done. “I think the guys are all going to be begging to come to dinner tonight. I can barely focus out there myself for thinking about what’s going on in here
with that food,” he said with a laugh.
Chelsea laughed, too. “Well, you’d better. If I’m working hard in here, then you’re working hard out there. Give and take,” she said winking at him.
He walked over and wrapped his arms around her, eliciting an excited shriek from her as he pulled her in close, “Those are dangerous words you know? When I’m hungry, I don’t tend to think straight,” he said, kissing her lips deeply and gripping her sides.
She moaned lightly and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Wayne, you’re not right,” she said with a giggle after the kiss broke.
“That’s just it. I’m more right than I’ve ever been, at least I think. You’ll have to prove that when the foods on the table though,” he said.
“Ew,” a little voice could be heard from the doorway.
Wayne turned around to see Elisabeth’s face all twisted up. “Mommies and daddies shouldn’t be kissing in the kitchen,” she said wagging her finger at them.
Chelsea and Wayne laughed hard at the cute expression on her face. “Sometimes it happens, but it’s a good thing when it does,” Wayne said.
“You never explain anything, Daddy. Mommy, why do you guys kiss?” she asked curiously.
Chelsea’s eyes widened and then she ushered Elisabeth out. “Now that’s enough questions for now,” she said laughing. “I promise one day I’ll tell you all about it.”
Wayne shook his head. “I hope not,” he said.
“A girl’s got to know. Don’t you forget how quick time flies. She’ll be a woman before you know it,” she said.
“Don’t remind me,” Wayne said with a deep and exasperated sigh.
“You’re not stressing that spot, are you?” Chelsea suddenly asked as she looked him over.
Wayne twisted a bit and pointed to his side before lifting up his shirt. There was a very obvious scar there from where he’d been shot. “This old thing? It isn’t going to tear me down,” he said.
“She did a number on you, though. She’s as mean as a rattlesnake, that one,” Chelsea said shaking her head in pity. “It’s good she’s locked away.”
“I hate that it happened, but Sheryl was never a nice woman. She was selfish and greedy. She wanted Betsy to marry a richer man so she could take advantage of it. James is just a pushover and doesn’t stand up to her. I’m betting he’s a lot happier by himself than with her,” he said.
“I agree on that one. You did him a favor,” Chelsea said as she poured him a drink and handed it to him.
He took a long swig and then put the cup down. “I know that this will give her a lot of time to think about all the things that have been said and done. She might start seeing what me and Betsy had differently—or maybe she won’t. Regardless, I’ve done my part.” Wayne finished shaking his head and running his hand through his hair habitually.
Chelsea smiled and waltzed over as she rested her hand on his shoulder. “I thought I was going to lose you that day, though,” she said softly.
“I’m too tough to go down like that.”
“You’re too tough for everything, even to realize your mistakes sometimes, but that’s what I like about you. I’m just glad you gave me a chance,” She said and hugged him.
It was his favorite feeling in the world to have those arms wrap around him and squeeze him tightly. He loved every moment of it and savored each caress. To think that before he would have given her up and been content with her just being a housekeeper was borderline absurd. “I’m glad, too. I keep thinking back to the wedding and remembering my thoughts when I saw you walk down that aisle,” he said.
“Is it safe to tell me now?” she asked, not letting go of him.
“I suppose it is. I saw you coming and knew I was looking at an angel, a real blessing from God. You saved me from a real miserable way of thinking and a miserable way of life. The entire time I was fighting Sheryl and James, I was dying on the inside. I tried to pretend I wouldn’t need anybody else, especially because Betsy told me to let her go and move on. I felt guilty for just thinking I was going to give in that easily. I realize now why she said to do it. Maybe she wasn’t really jumping for joy at the fact that I would have ended up with someone else, but if I dwelled on her, I would have ruined everything. I was ruining everything and didn’t want to face facts,” he said.
Chelsea smiled wider now. “You’ve figured it out,” she said.
Wayne chuckled. “It’s an odd thing to figure out. Betsy was good to me. She made sure I would find you and finish my job here. You and I have an entire lifetime to make things right for those kids,” he said, kissing her one more time.
Chelsea seemed to get a playful glint in her eyes, and Wayne wasn’t sure what to make of that odd reaction to what just happened. “You got something going on in that head of yours. Better spill it,” he said smirking.
“I was wondering if you’ve noticed anything different,” she said.
Wayne looked thoughtful for a moment as he went through recent memories and tried to recall anything odd he’d seen. “No, what are you talking about?”
“Well, a few days ago, I found out something amazing,” she said as she glided over to a chair right next to him. She sat down daintily and placed her hands in her lap.
Wayne raised an eyebrow. “Now I’m worried. Just tell me what’s going on,” he said looking at her anxiously.
Chelsea was stretching the anticipation as far as she could. She drew in a deep breath and then placed her hand over her heart. “We’re pregnant.”
Wayne looked at her in shock, his mouth dropping and everything they were talking about was out the window for the moment as he thought about them having their first child together. “Chelsea! When?” he asked excitedly as he began to smile.
“I told you already, silly. A few days ago,” she said.
He hugged her close. “This is great news! But are you going to be able to handle four kids by yourself? Especially since this is your first child?” he asked curiously.
Chelsea smiled and nodded her head. “If it’s one thing you taught me, the Lord always finds a way to see you through. He always finds a way to make things right and put you on the correct path. If it wasn’t meant to be, it wouldn’t be happening,” she said and cuddled close to him.
Wayne pulled her close and rested his chin on top of her head as he enjoyed the smell of her hair and the soft form pressed against his. “You couldn’t be more right about that. Every single moment spent with you is a chance to be closer to him. It’s a chance to realize what he has planned for our lives. We might make mistakes and have regrets, but we come back stronger in the end and get right back on course,” he said.
They spent that moment together in silence as they listened to their lives go on around them and enjoyed the quiet solace they now had with one another. It would be short lived, but it was all they needed to be reassured they were where they wanted to be.
THE END
Return to the TOC for Bonus Content
Miracle of The Heart
Chapter One
I lived in small community in Connecticut at the time. It was a dirty place, and not just dirty in the sense that there wasn’t a hint of sanitation in the crowded, industrialized town. The men and women who populated the town I called home were what was really filthy. They wagged their tongues all about town with things that shouldn’t concern them, and I oftentimes wondered if God was in their lives at all. I was one of their favorite pastimes, and I never caught a break.
Vanessa Cromwell was the laughing stock of town, and that was me. I was pregnant, my slightly rounded belly no longer as easily hidden by my dresses, but I was not married any longer. My husband, Lawrence Cromwell, died in the untimeliest manner. What was more was the fact that I was a suspect in his murder even after it had been settled and deemed an accident. Of course, little could be trusted in those times. Pure excitement and scandal were more important than true justice. I walked into my home to find that he had been drinking too much as he usuall
y did, but something had been different. His eyes were still open when I found him, and his face was pale as a sheet. I was in distress and immediately called for help, but seeing as he was a healthy man, seen by the community as an upstanding citizen and prominent politician, it was unfathomable that he would have drinking problems or that this was an accident.
This is where the blame was placed on me. I’ve heard every rumor in the book at this point. Currently the story goes that I was so depressed that I was with child because I was in an unhappy marriage that it prompted me to poison my husband and frame it as alcoholism. Certainly I was unhappy that he drank himself to sleep most nights, but I was never so unhappy that I would murder him. I could no longer walk in the town with dignity, and everywhere I went was rife with verbal abuse from those I once considered friends. Many wondered why I stopped wearing my black gowns only a week after his passing. The attention I had hoped to shrug off only grew worse with that mistake of mine.
That evening, I sat by the light of my oil lamp examining the latest paper. It spoke of a man looking for love, and I was eager to learn more about him. Of course I was entranced…He was reaching out far across the country, hoping that he could find a woman to ease his loneliness in a recently settled town in Texas. A prominent ranchman, I was also a little excited by the prospect. I had been terribly lonely, and thinking about being in the arms of a man who would love me instead of ignore me for his bottle was enticing. I immediately pulled out my pen and parchment to respond right away. I couldn’t be sure when he would reach out for me, but I knew if God had it in his plans for me to find love, I would hear from him within the month.
A friend of mine had come by to check on me, and she startled me out of my vigorous writing. I looked up at her with a smile, though I was certain I was nervous and my expression told a thousand words. “Emily!” I exclaimed in mock happiness, “You frightened me, I’m sorry.” I hurriedly attempted to correct myself.
Regency Romance: Fallen Duchess (A Historical Victorian Murder Mystery Love Regency Romance) Page 48
