Perfect Storm (Storm Warning Series Book 3)

by Geri Foster

  After applying light makeup, she walked to her car and made it to the courthouse long before anyone else. Walking up the steps, she saw Lucas coming toward her. “Morning, Candi.”

  “Hi, Lucas.” He joined her and they covered the last few steps together. “I hope they don’t call on me. I hate speaking in public.”

  “Don’t worry, there won’t be that many people there.”

  “But he has a lawyer. What if I’m cross examined?”

  “That’s not how this will play out. We won’t be in here more than thirty minutes. It’s not like Law and Order.”

  She allowed her shoulders to drop. “Good. Vern is covering mine and Buck’s shift at the diner. I hate inconveniencing everyone.”

  “Think of the outcome we want. If this keeps Aaron away from you, then we’ve achieved what we want.”

  “You’re right. If he’ll just stay away, I can live with that.”

  “And it’s up to the judge to see that he does.”

  She smiled up at him. Lucas was a good man who took being the Sheriff of Rainwater seriously. He cared about all of them and justice had always been his main objective.

  They entered the courtroom and she slid in the second pew while Lucas stepped over and talked to the bailiff. Before she had settled her nervous stomach, Aaron, Levi and their lawyer entered the courtroom like they owned it, except David had his hand on Aaron’s shoulder and he was handcuffed. After being seated, they removed the handcuffs and David sat right behind him.

  Her ex turned to her and glared so hard the heat nearly singed her clothes, but she kept her expression calm, and turned her eyes straight ahead. She refused to let him see her squirm. However, she wished Austin would hurry up. She felt lost sitting in the big room alone.

  Suddenly, a loud noise came from the back of the courtroom. She turned just as Grandma Faith walked down the aisle, her chin high, eyes shooting sharp arrows at Aaron. “Good morning, everyone.” she spoke loudly. “Great day for a trial, isn’t it?”

  No one in the courtroom had the courage to tell her to keep her voice down. Wouldn’t do any good anyway. She’d do as she darn well pleased. Always had.

  She stood as her grandma squeezed in next to her and took a seat. Leaning over, she whispered, “I’m surprised you didn’t bring your shotgun.”

  “Don’t you worry none. If I need any gun power, I have it.” She patted her purse.

  Alarm coursed through her veins. No one was allowed to have a weapon in the courthouse but the Sheriff and the bailiff. She leaned closer. “You shouldn’t have.”

  Her grandma looked at her, eyes wide. “I haven’t done a thing...yet.”

  She felt someone beside her and when she glanced the other way, Austin was standing next to the pew.

  “Good morning,” he said in a deep voice. He wore a sharp black suit, a blue tie and a crisp lighter blue shirt. His hair was neatly combed and he looked every bit the FBI agent he was.

  She automatically scooted over, bumping against Grandma Faith who, when she saw Austin, smiled and said, “Glad to see you here. Maybe you’ll shoot him so I don’t have to.”

  Austin shook his head and put his arm on the back of the bench and scooted closer to her. His side brushed against her and she realized how safe his nearness made her feel.

  The judge came in and they all stood. He slipped to his bench and stared at the occupants of his courtroom. Judge Royce Armstrong was a big man, well into his seventies, and had a reputation for being honest, fair and severe. Most didn’t like coming before him if they’d broken the law because no one ever accused the judge of being merciful.

  He banged his gavel down and the bailiff told everyone to take their seat. Judge Armstrong pointed it at Lucas. “Okay, Sheriff, tell me why we’re here.”

  “Aaron Travis has been harassing Candi Matthews for years. My deputy and I have issued several verbal warnings that he’s thus far chosen to ignore. An incident happened last week in the parking lot of Buck Winston’s diner, where she works, that led up to us being here.”

  “Well, don’t keep us in suspense. What happened?”

  “I went out to the Travis Ranch Thursday night after Aaron and his friends had gone to Gert’s Diner and given Candi a particularly hard time. I told him if he didn’t stay away from her, I’d arrest him. Burt had expressed to me Aaron and his gang were running off his good customers and he didn’t want them back in his place of business.”

  “Did he listen?”

  “No, sir. The very next morning, when Candi showed up for work, Aaron waylaid her. They got into an argument and if FBI agent Austin Crawley hadn’t intervened, Aaron would have harmed her.”

  “You’re sure of that?”

  “Agent Crawley is here to testify, if necessary, to that fact.”

  Candi had grown up with the three grandmas, yet none could scowl as powerfully as Judge Armstrong. He glared down at Aaron with hard, wise eyes. “What do you have to say for yourself, young man?”

  The lawyer stood, stroked his tie, and cleared his throat. “I’m representing the defendant, Your Honor.”

  “Okay, get on with it.”

  “Mr. Travis has never touched or harmed Miss Matthews.”

  Judge Armstrong’s mouth tightened. “That’s not what he’s being accused of. He’s being accused of harassing her. You going to stand there and tell me he’s never done that?” His voice vibrated off the walls. “Are you claiming he never walked into Buck’s restaurant, where Candi works to support her young son, and made a complete and utter ass of himself?”

  The lawyer straightened his tie again and shuffled his feet. “No, sir. I just want to point out that Mr. Travis has the right to go to the diner. No one can take away his right to enter a place of business.”

  Her heart refused to settle down and she wrung her hands so tightly they hurt. She’d never meant it to go so far. Now she worried the judge might turn on her for something she’d done.

  Austin’s big palm squeezed her hands. She looked up and he smiled, then, winked. “It’s going to be fine,” he whispered. “It’s just a formality.”

  “The hell they can’t,” Judge Armstrong bellowed. “I’ve been having lunch myself at the diner when that little smart aleck came in running his mouth. Calling Candi Matthews all kinds of names, accusing her of being a loose woman. That was, until he saw me, then he shut his mouth.”

  “He and Miss Matthews share a long history—”

  “That’s not all they share and the whole town knows it.”

  “That’s inadmissible in today’s trial.”

  “Don’t you tell me the law. I’ll yank your license.”

  Levi stood. “Look, Royce, you and I know this isn’t anything but two kids who can’t get along. It’s not serious enough for us all to be here.”

  The judge pointed his gavel at Levi. “That’s Judge Armstrong, to you.” He sat a little straighter. “FBI agent Crawley thinks it does.” He picked up a sheet of paper and waved it in the air. “According to his affidavit, if he hadn’t stopped him, Aaron would have hurt her.”

  “My son wouldn’t do that!” Levi shouted. “He knows better.” The look he threw Aaron was so nasty, even Candi recoiled in her seat a little. Aaron’s shoulders slumped and he dropped his head down, a slight wince crossing his face as he took in his father’s anger. His reaction stated, loud and clear, that he was used to that type of behavior from his daddy and he was just going to take it. Was that what it was like at home for him? She began to wonder if there was more to Aaron’s story than anyone ever realized.

  Judge Armstrong banged his gavel again, drawing her attention back to him. “Mr. Travis, there isn’t a person in town who doesn’t know what your son is capable of, and not a single person admires him for it.”

  “That’s not fair, Royce.”

  “Take your seat before I charge you with contempt.”

  Reluctantly, Levi eased down, but not before sending her a scalding glare, a threat that he’d get even. She�
�d pay for this to the end. Austin gripped her shoulder and pulled her against him and as Levi’s eyes shot to him he grit his teeth tightly. Austin squeezed, letting the older man know she didn’t stand alone.

  “Stand up, Aaron.”

  Her ex, clearly having recovered from his daddy’s censure, made a big show of shoving back his chair loudly. Even with his back to her, his posture shouted for them all to go to hell.

  “You’re a boy a daddy should’ve taken behind the woodshed years ago, but he didn’t because he wanted you as mean and ornery as him. So, that leaves it up to this court to see those you bring harm to get justice.”

  “I didn’t touch her,” Aaron stated plainly. “And nobody can say I did.”

  “There is always intent.”

  “I didn’t intend to, either. I don’t care what some FBI guy says.”

  Judge Armstrong slammed down the gavel again. “Aaron Travis, I don’t want you within a hundred feet of Candi Matthews at any time.” He pointed to Aaron. “Understand?”

  Aaron gave one hard nod.

  “And stay out of where she works. Buck don’t want you there and, as a customer I can tell you, I don’t either.”

  Aaron stood still for a moment, his back stiff and unyielding. Then, turning his head to look his daddy straight in the eyes, expression full of challenge, he said the one thing she never would have expected. “I want custody of my son.”

  Everyone in the courtroom gasped, including her. Gripping Austin’s hand, she covered her mouth to smother a whimper. “Oh, my God.”

  Chapter 14

  If Austin had been standing, he would’ve dropped to his knees. After all these years Aaron had finally admitted, in court no less, that Tyler belonged to him and from the aghast look on Levi’s face, he just might have a heart attack.

  It took a while for the courtroom, even with so few people, to settle down, but it did and the judge stared hard at Aaron. “The court doesn’t recognize that you have a son.”

  “I do. Candi’s son, Tyler, belongs to me and I want him.”

  Judge Armstrong’s bushy brows lowered, nearly covering his eyes. “That’s a hard nut to crack, and the odds of you getting custody of that child practically don’t exist. Not with the way you treated his mother. We can only assume you’d treat the child the same.”

  “I wouldn’t.”

  “The custody of the child isn’t what we’re here for. You’re going to have to file a suit with the district court. You’ll need to subpoena the mother to have a court determine parental proof. That can take over a year. Then you’ll come back to court to determine if you get to see the child. That involves a home study done by Child Protection Services. They have to deem your home is an environment the child will be safe in.” Judge Armstrong leaned back and smiled. “Then there’s, what?” He scratched his whiskered chin. “Seven or eight years of back child support?” He studied the ceiling, looking confident that all these complications would lead Aaron to back down. “That would be, oh, say, fifteen hundred dollars a month.”

  Levi jumped to his feet. “He doesn’t have a child and we’re not going to court. She can keep the brat.”

  Judge Armstrong sat forward and stared down at Levi. “Bailiff, make sure Mr. Travis’ statement is taken down as a part of this proceeding. That way, if this goes further, we have the grandfather’s opinion on record.” Standing, he banged his gavel one final time. “Court adjourned.”

  Austin immediately turned to Candi. “Now, don’t panic. We have years before he can do anything. There’s no need to worry now.”

  She was breathing heavily, staring straight at the floor. “But I don’t have the money to fight him in court.”

  “I do,” he stated with a firmness that surprised her enough to look up at him. “I’ll cover the court expenses.”

  Grandma Faith scooted closer to her. “Candi, darling, don’t worry. The court isn’t going to let him near Tyler, even if that means I have to wring someone’s neck.” She glared at Aaron, who was standing, ignoring his daddy’s wild gesticulations as he yelled right in his ear. “And you and I both know that little pipsqueak isn’t going to go against his daddy and take the chance of losing all that money.”

  “But what if by some freak accident he gets Tyler? I’m a single mom with no money, no security, I don’t even legally have a place to live.”

  Grandma Faith clutched her hand. “Now you listen here. The whole town is behind you. We won’t let those scallywags near that boy.”

  With a small shake of her head, Candi gazed up into his eyes. “I can’t take your money. I’m not going to do that. You don’t owe me and Tyler anything.”

  “I don’t, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t my duty to protect you. I’m your man, Candi, and you’re my woman. Which makes Tyler a son to me. The only thing we don’t have is a marriage certificate and adoption paperwork stating that.”

  * * *

  Aaron was free to go. He snarled at Sheriff Quinn. “I won’t be spending another night in your jail.”

  “Good,” Lucas replied. “We’re not a hotel, we don’t want to encourage repeat customers.”

  “That place stinks and so do you.”

  “You just make sure you steer clear of Candi and Tyler. I catch you near them and I’ll lock you up again.” The Sheriff looked back as the judge exited the room. “Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to get Judge Armstrong one more time. He loves getting his hands on anyone who goes against his verdict.”

  “Go to hell. All of you.”

  His daddy walked up behind him and roughly shoved him toward the door. “Let’s get out of here before you bring down the whole damn roof.” As they started to walk away, he sneered in his ear quiet enough that only he could hear, “Why’d you go and say a fool think about that boy for, huh? You’re even dumber than I thought, and that is saying something.”

  Clenching his jaw, he gritted out, “He’s mine.”

  “He ain’t nobody’s and you’re not claiming him.” His daddy spun him around so they could see eye to eye. “If you think you’re using my money to take custody of a brat I don’t want and won’t claim, you’re wrong. Now get that damn idea out of your head. It ain’t happening.”

  “You think you’re so amazing and powerful, you saw how it went down in there. No one in this town has an ounce of respect for you. They just think we’re no-good troublemakers. And as for your money? Well, you won’t be around forever, you know,” he threatened. Seeing how the court had treated his daddy, he began to realize he wasn’t the end all, be all, he’d always thought he was. Sure, he still held all the money, so he could only push him so far, but he was done being a puppet in his daddy’s games.

  To be honest, he hadn’t considered what he was saying before he had said it. All he knew was he wanted Candi, and if that meant the kid came too, so be it. He wouldn’t lie and say it didn’t give him some satisfaction knowing his claim was punishing the FBI guy, who thought he’d worked his way into Candi’s life, as well. It was payback time. Time this whole town realized he meant what he said and nobody, not even the Sheriff or an FBI guy…not even his daddy…could push Aaron Travis around.

  “We’ll just see about that,” his daddy spit out.

  Done with this whole scene, he turned and headed out the door, his daddy and the useless lawyer following in pursuit. Stepping outside, he took a deep breath. It felt good to be free and to be able to do as he pleased again, at least for a few minutes. He wasn’t the fool his daddy thought he was. He knew there would be serious repercussions from his daddy for his actions today. But, damn, it felt good to get one up on the old man for once.

  Placing his hands in his pockets, he headed down the stairs. No more crappy meals, uncomfortable cot, or steel bars. For the first time in days he felt like he could take a full breath and, no matter what, he didn’t plan on going back to jail.

  That didn’t mean he’d heed the judge’s words—he just wouldn’t get caught. Not a chance in hell of that happening. He
had to be more careful and plan his moves with precision. His whole life he’d been told what to do and he was done taking orders. He’d do as he pleased and a few words from a stupid old judge couldn’t change that.

  On the far side of the steps, Candi walked by with that tall FBI guy holding her arm. Grandma Faith was right beside her, too. He sent them a dark look and opened his mouth to call out, but the old lady beat him to it.

  “You stay right over there and keep your mouth shut or I’ll have Lucas out here faster than you can spit.”

  He went to object, but his daddy put his hand on his shoulder. “Easy.”

  Looking at his daddy, the old woman laughed. Maybe she’d gone crazy or something, but she couldn’t stop laughing. “Levi, you old reprobate, why don’t you tell the boy the truth. Your own son deserves that.”

  “You keep your mouth shut, old woman, or I’ll shut it permanently.”

  The FBI man gently pulled the old woman aside. “Let’s keep the threats to a minimum, shall we. No need to end up back here so soon.”

  “You mind your own business. I’ve already called your home office about you coming here making trouble,” his daddy taunted.

  “Any time you threaten an elderly lady, I’m going to be right up your ass, and don’t you forget it. By the way, my boss is an upstanding guy.” Austin grinned. “Bet you didn’t get far with that phone call.”

  The scowl on his daddy’s face told Aaron he hadn’t, but his old man could be like a bulldog on a bone. He didn’t give up easily.

  Sick of the bickering, he walked down the stairs alone. Surprisingly, Candi called from the top of the steps. “I hope you’ll leave me and Tyler alone. We don’t want anything from you or your daddy.”

  He stopped and turned back to face her. He’d never seen a prettier woman. She had a loveliness that few females were able to pull off. There had been a time when she loved him, and he knew she could love him again. He just had to get his daddy out of the way and they’d finally be together.