Doretha shook her head, her braids swinging back and forth. “Don’t judge. Could be circumstances we’re not aware of.”
I sipped my tea to keep from spewing my thoughts like projectile vomit.
Doretha reached across the table and patted my hand. “Calm down. They can’t help it if they’re assholes.”
I started to laugh but my cell rang. Ridge’s number came up. “Hey. What’s up?”
“I wanted to check and see if it would be okay if I brought Trish’s parents by your house around seven to see Ivy.”
I picked up the spoon and absently stirred my tea, under-joyed at the possibility Ivy would be headed to Raleigh tonight with her asshole grandparents. But what was I going to tell him? I had no real claim on her. “Seven will be fine.”
In the dining room, she was awake now, sleepy-eyed, baby fine hair mussed all over her head. I brushed a tear away.
CHAPTER 7
I picked up a pizza on the way home so we could eat and get cleaned up before Trish’s parents arrived. Would they take her with them when they left? Would they come back in the morning to get her? What if they wanted to wait until the weekend or next week? That would be fine with me. She kept Emma’s mind occupied and a smile on my daughter’s face. Emma was happy to play with the tot while I packed the baby’s stuff.
At six thirty, Brady dropped Cole off but didn’t come in. Part of me was relieved as I had enough to deal with at the moment.
It didn’t stop me from worrying about him though. “How was Brady today at school?”
Cole shrugged as he wolfed down a slice of pizza. “Fine, I guess.”
Boys. Or men in general. What was it about a conversation that required more than three sentences they just didn’t get? Sometimes Cole responded with nothing but a grunt rather than actual words. Maybe that had more to do with being a teenager than his gender.
I tidied up the kitchen while we waited for Ridge and the Givens.
After downing double the amount of pizza Emma and I ate, Cole cleaned his spot at the table. “Can I get a shower while they’re here or do I have to stay downstairs?”
Still in his football uniform, he smelled like sweaty socks. “You can get a shower.”
He grabbed another piece of pizza then raced upstairs, either aware of his own stench or that he was about to have an actual conversation with his mother.
I went into the living room to check on Emma and Ivy. Surprise slapped me in the face, flushing my cheeks with embarrassment. Rick looked about as surprised to see Ivy as I was to see him. A replay of this morning’s argument with him and the invitation to come over sparked in my brain.
He stopped glaring at her long enough to glare at me. “Shouldn’t she be with social services?”
“We were trying to avoid that. Ridge is bringing Trish’s parents by in a few minutes. I’m assuming they’ll take her back with them.”
“Can I fix her hair?” Emma asked.
I agreed but wondered why we were trying to impress the asshole grandparents. Emma ran upstairs then came back down with a brush and hair bow. Emma put the hair bow in, Ivy took it out. They did this a few times until Emma finally gave up.
A minute later, Finn’s ears perked up, then came the bark. Ivy clambered up my leg, afraid of the suddenness of noise and activity. I picked her up and hugged her, watching Ridge’s Expedition come up the driveway.
Rick lightly squeezed my arm. “Look, I don’t want you saying anything to Ridge. I’m your lawyer so—”
“Rick, please.” I flicked my hand, brushing him off.
I greeted them at the door, the perfect hostess. And immediately disliked them. Rupert Givens was a massively intimidating man with a bulbous nose dominating his face. His wife, Ann, was scary thin with sharp angles and taut lips that had never smiled. They were dressed like their dinner at the country club had been interrupted. Ridge looked as uncomfortable as I felt.
After Ridge introduced everyone, I invited them to the sofa. Ivy laid her head on my shoulder. Her sudden shyness probably had more to do with the late hour than the Givens.
Neither Rupert nor his wife said anything, but they did offer a curt nod. They sat side by side, both as stiff as the plank wood flooring. Ridge sat beside Rupert, his ball cap in his hand.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” It was a go-to statement when I failed to have something more meaningful to say. Of course, they weren’t sitting on my sofa in my home to hear the condolences I offered. They were there for Ivy. I tried to turn her so they could at least see their granddaughter’s face, but she’d have none of it. She buried her cuteness in the crook of my shoulder. “She’s tired,” I said, making excuses for Ivy’s lack of interest in the two strangers seated on the sofa.
And that’s what they were. Strangers. I remembered Trish telling me they didn’t even come to Ivy’s first birthday party.
Since neither made any effort to hold her, I sat in the wingback chair across from the sofa and put Ivy in my lap. Emma sat on the floor beside the chair, quietly worrying with a cloth doll. Ivy squirmed to get down and join Emma so I let her.
Ridge cleared his throat. “Mr. and Mrs. Givens are going to take Trish’s body back to Raleigh for burial.”
“We have plots at Capital Lawn.” The timbre of Rupert’s voice was bullying in itself. “We’ll make arrangements to have her trailer cleaned out once the sheriff releases it.” He said the word “trailer” as if it were moldy and rancid. His wife turned her face down and stared at the floor.
I clenched my hands into fists, feeling the sharpness of my nails against my palms. “Of course,” I said, just to say something.
Ivy made her baby doll clap. She cackled and showed Emma. Mrs. Givens watched her a moment then turned her gaze back to the floor.
I seized the moment. “Ann, would you like to hold her?”
“No thank you,” Rupert answered for his wife. “We’ll meet with the lawyers next week and set up a trust. It can be drawn from for her monthly expenses.”
The air in my lungs evaporated. After an awkward silence, I finally managed to say, “Pardon?”
Ridge took a deep breath. He rarely showed emotion while on official duty. This wasn’t going to be good. “Mr. and Mrs. Givens don’t want to take custody of the baby. They want to relinquish their rights.”
Emma jerked her head up, looking to me for an answer. “What does that mean?”
“It means she’ll become a ward of the state.” With a mother serving a life sentence, I had my share of experience with social services. Doretha was the only bright spot in those memories.
Ridge opened his hands in an apologetic manner. “We’ll work with whatever agency we need to try and locate her father.”
I turned to Rick, the lawyer in the group. “What if he’s never found?”
“After a certain amount of time, she’ll be cleared for adoption. Until then, she’ll be fostered.” He said it so matter-of-factly.
My blood simmered with rising anger. A child. Discarded. Dust your hands of the burden. First comes fostering, then adoption. Like we’d adopted Finn. Saved him from a life of not belonging to anyone. “Like a rescue dog at a shelter.”
“Ava,” Ridge said, his voice low.
My insides boiled. “How can you not want her? She’s your granddaughter, for God’s sake.” I sprung up from the chair, the nervous energy biting at my insides like a nest of fire ants.
Ann continued her robot-like stare at the floor while Rupert glared at Ivy, condemning the child with contempt-filled eyes. “Mrs. Logan—we did not approve of Trish’s lifestyle. She was reckless.”
Furious, I pointed my finger at Ivy. “And that’s the result of her recklessness? A baby? A living, breathing baby that, unfortunately, has your genes. Your only child is dead. You’ll never have another
grandchild.” If I’d been within striking distance, I would have lashed out at the monster.
Rick moved in between me and Rupert Givens. Although firm, he knew better than to speak around me in a condescending tone. Moments like this, telling me to calm down was useless. “Take a step back, Ava. Regroup.”
I turned away from the bastard on my couch. Unspilled tears stung my eyes, but I’d be damned if I’d let Rupert Givens see me cry. “Emma, will you take Ivy in the sunroom, please?”
I knew Ivy didn’t understand the words, but I still wanted to protect her. I didn’t want Emma to hear all this either. How unwanted children became foster kids, how the system worked. How her own mother fought to have a name other than nobody’s baby.
Emma gathered a few toys then scooped Ivy up in her arms. My daughter looked scared, like she wasn’t sure what was going to happen to Ivy, this child she’d grown to love and want. I disliked Rupert Givens even more for scaring my baby.
Ann, the grandmother, still hadn’t said anything. She continued staring at the floor, allowing her husband to speak for her. Her face was stoic, yet somber. Maybe she was afraid of him. Maybe she feared his brute force, the raised hand of a bully. Maybe she wasn’t as bad as her husband.
No, I wouldn’t feel empathy for her. I wouldn’t allow myself to relate.
Rupert Givens leaned forward, massive hands clasped like he was negotiating a deal. “Sheriff Ridge said there’s an excellent foster home in town. Run, I believe, by a colored woman?”
My stomach knotted with anger, churning nasty bile into my throat. “A colored woman? What century did you walk out of?”
Rick slipped his arm around my waist. “Ava, Mr. And Mrs. Givens have suffered a tragic loss. Let’s not—”
I jerked away from him. My heart was beating so fast I could feel the thumping in my ears. “A colored woman? Is that the term you used, Grayson? Why was the color of Doretha’s skin even mentioned?”
Ridge shot up from the sofa, pointing a stern finger in my direction. “Don’t go there, Ava. You know me better than that.”
I held my hands in front of myself to steady my nerves and quiet the words threatening to spill from my mouth. After a moment, I took a deep breath. “Have a safe trip back to Raleigh.”
It was all I could manage.
I brushed by Rick as I headed for the sun room. There, Emma was on the floor with Ivy in her lap, a coloring book spread before them. Ivy was coloring a bluebird pink but what the hell. She could color it any color she wanted.
Emma looked up at me. Her eyes were wet with tears. “What’s going to happen to her, Momma?”
I reached down and stroked Emma’s hair. “Don’t you worry about it. We’ll figure something out.”
“But what if nobody wants her?”
My heart shattered into a million pieces. “Oh, honey—she’s wanted. Besides, if that’s how those people really feel about her, it’s probably for the best they don’t have a hand in raising her. Right?”
She sniffled and nodded, assured for the moment Ivy’s future wasn’t as bleak as her twelve-year-old mind had imagined. Now if I could just reassure myself of the same.
Grayson poked his head in the sunroom. “Ava, can I see you a minute in the kitchen?”
I wasn’t looking forward to this conversation. Between him and Rick, I was certain I’d be chastised like a kid on her way to the principal’s office. I gave Emma and Ivy each a kiss on the top of the head. “I’ll be right back. Maybe with some cookies and milk.”
In the kitchen, Ridge leaned against the counter, shifting his ball cap between his hands. Rick leaned against the opposite counter, arms folded against his chest. I did owe Ridge an apology, knowing he’d never refer to Doretha in such a manner. It wasn’t in him. I’d apologize to him, but Rupert Givens could be planted six feet under before I’d say another word to him. And then it would be “So long, bastard.”
“Are they gone?”
Ridge lifted his eyes to glare at me. “They’re in a safe place.”
Rick exhaled a loud breath. “They’re waiting in the sheriff’s car. You weren’t exactly hospitable.”
I glared hard at him, afraid if I said anything he’d see how inhospitable I felt at that moment.
Ridge cleared his throat. “Can Ivy stay here tonight? I’ll get the ball rolling with Doretha tomorrow.”
I pushed both hands through my hair, suddenly feeling exhaustion settling in my bones. “Of course she can. What are we going to do, Grayson, if Doretha doesn’t have room for her? She’s already got five that I know of.”
Rick didn’t wait for Ridge to respond. “I can check with our juvenile attorney. I’m sure there are other foster homes that can take her.”
His eagerness to send her away rubbed me the wrong way. “That’s not going to happen. I’ll adopt her before I let her go into the system.”
Rick chuckled. “Ava—you’re upset. You’re talking crazy. Let’s just sleep on it and we’ll take a fresh look at our options tomorrow.”
I wasn’t much of a drinker, but at the moment I could have downed a shot of something then used the bottle over his head. Truth was, I was exhausted. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. Rick wasn’t helping with his anger-inducing comments either.
Ridge put on his ball cap, adjusted the brim. “We’re going to do a search of Trish’s studio. Since you knew her as well as anyone else, would you mind being there? Maybe you could identify some names, clients, anything that could help.”
I slowly nodded. “Let me know when.”
Rick wagged his fingers at either me or Ridge. Or maybe both. “As Miss Logan’s attorney, I don’t recommend that.”
Ridge threw a death-ray look at me. “You hired an attorney?”
I held my hands up in my own defense. “No. I don’t need an attorney. Do I?”
He continued staring at me, slowly shaking his head, never breaking eye contact. “I don’t know. Do you?”
“Sheriff, she did find the body. I think it would be best if she had legal representation present before speaking again to you or any of your deputies.”
Ridge’s eyes could have seared glass. “Is that how you feel, Ava?”
I had done nothing wrong. I simply stumbled into a horrible situation. A situation Ivy would carry with her the rest of her life. I owed it to her and her dead mother to do everything I could to help find the person responsible. “I want to do whatever I can to help.”
Rick blew air out his nose. “I don’t recommend it.”
“Duly noted.” I turned back to Ridge. “What time?”
“We’ll get it lined up in the morning and I’ll call you.”
The dread of going through Trish’s shop and picking apart her privacy weighed heavy on my heart. But it was something that had to be done. For Ivy’s sake.
CHAPTER 8
After everyone had left, Emma and I took Ivy upstairs for a bath. Emma dug Ivy’s bath supplies from her diaper bag then sat on the floor beside the tub and ran the water. I gathered Cole’s dirty clothes from the bathroom floor and yelled at him to come get them. “I’m your mother, not your maid.” I handed off the dirty laundry.
He started to stuff the smelly wad into the hamper but I jammed my hand on the lid. “Downstairs. I don’t want them up here all week smelling up the bathroom.”
Emma laughed as he grumbled something then tromped downstairs with his handful of laundry. “Do all boys smell that bad when they sweat?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, he’s mild compared to some.”
She scrunched up her nose which made Ivy cackle. Emma laughed too and of course repeated the scrunchy nose thing until they both lost interest. Ivy found the bubbles surrounding her in the tub more entertaining. Emma splashed her hand in the water a moment but that, too, fizzled ou
t.
I propped against the counter, reached out and stroked my daughter’s hair. “You want to talk about it?”
She shrugged and continued to gently wiggle her fingers in the water. After a long moment, the words finally flowed like the water swirling around her fingers. “Why don’t they want her?”
I pushed out a deep breath. “I don’t know, baby. It’s their loss.”
She nodded. She took her hand out of the water and blotted it with the towel. “What would happen to me and Cole if something ever happened to you?” She asked it so plainly, it threw me. Emma was a smart child, sometimes too smart for her own good. “I mean, we don’t have a dad. Kinda like Ivy.”
“Ivy has a father. We just don’t know who he is.” I wasn’t ready to have this conversation with my daughter. She’d already started her period and that was hard enough on me. Truthfully, I knew she probably knew way more than I did at her age, but as her mother I found it hard to talk about it with her.
“Me and Cole don’t have a father.” She watched Ivy play in the water, avoiding looking directly at me.
“But you have a grandmother that loves you very much.”
Tommy’s mother, Catherine, was an active part of my kids’ lives. I went out of my way to keep her involved. I had Doretha, but I never knew my grandparents. I had barely known my own parents.
“Why don’t you go ahead and get her bathed. It’s getting late.”
She answered with a curt nod and I hated the sudden silence. I didn’t know how to talk to my own daughter, how to reassure her she would always be loved and cared for.
I carried Ivy’s diaper bag into my room, a room I once shared with Emma’s father. I stood staring at the bed until the memories became so real, the pain burned my chest. Forcing myself to look away, I opened the pack-n-play and tried to set it up at the foot of the bed. One of the sides wouldn’t lock into place, trying my patience. Angry, I tried shoving the side down then caught myself before kicking the damn thing. I pushed back the tears welling in my eyes and took a deep breath.
Tell Me No Lies (An Ava Logan Mystery Book 1) Page 6
