Heart of Clay (The Tanner Series Book 6)

by Jo Willow

  “Don’t say that around Ian, he’s a little protective of Jem. Alex makes him nervous.”

  “Alex is just a little boy Amber. Why would he make Ian nervous?”

  Amber shrugged and continued feeding Faith.

  “I think he sees the writing on the wall with those two and it terrifies him.”

  Beth giggled and Mitch’s head came up and he searched until his eyes found her. He smiled at the sight of her rocking a baby, surrounded by some of the women in his family.

  He continued looking around until he found the children. Scott between Ian and Phil on the sofa while Phil explained the finer points of the baseball game they were watching. Ian rolled his eyes when Phil patiently extolled the virtues of the Mets over the Yankees and why the Atlanta Braves outplayed them both. He could see the concentration on Scott’s face as he tried to absorb and remember.

  Patty was watching Rose and Claire play guitar and violin in the corner, working on a complicated piece of music. The little girl was fascinated and ignored the other children in favor of the private concert that was being played in front of her. So his daughter loved music. She really was a Tanner. As soon as he thought it, he swallowed hard as the wave of emotion hit him.

  Tim and Pam saw his eyes caress his family and then they saw them change. Something profound had happened and they’d been privy to it. Tim could stay silent, Pam could not.

  “Mitch, is something wrong?”

  Mitch refocused on Tim and Pam and they both saw the intensity in his eyes.

  “I need to ask a question and I realize that it might be taken offensively. Please forgive me and understand that I mean no disrespect, it’s just that I haven’t been closely involved with the family before now.”

  Tim nodded in approval and leaned in, encouraging him.

  “Does anyone in this room happen to have a Judge in their pocket? I need to adopt those kids and I need to do it quickly.”

  Ignoring the first question for now, Tim focused on the second issue.

  “Why do you have to do it quickly?”

  Mitch lowered his voice and thought nothing of taking Tim and Pam into his confidence.

  “Tim, you know Marla Simms. I’m led to believe you know her quite well as a matter of fact.”

  Tim blushed and cast a sideways glance at his wife who was paying close attention.

  “I know her, yes. What does she have to do with you wanting to adopt Beth’s kids quickly?”

  “She’s gone to some incredible lengths to try and split Beth and I up. I have every reason to believe that she’s the one that had my barn burned down, she engineered my gallery being taken from me and she got me to Europe on the pretense of selling my work to foreign buyers. Recently, she made an elicit video of the two of us together and hand delivered a copy to Beth. Beth saw through it and gave it to me. Through all of that, Beth has still agreed to marry me tomorrow. When Marla gets wind of that, all hell is gonna break loose.”

  Tim was nodding and Pam had grown tense. She’d only met the woman once, and now she knew why her immediate reaction was intense dislike. Tim wanted details.

  “What does that have to do with Beth’s kids?”

  “She’s running out of ways to get to me Tim. The only thing left is Beth. If she were to hurt Beth, I’d come unglued. The fastest way to hurt Beth is through her kids. Beth’s ex came by recently after a six year absence. He wasn’t too happy about the kids being attached to me. Patty called me dad in front of him and we told him we were married. If he found us, then he’s around. Marla will find him eventually. I need to protect Beth and the kids.”

  Tim and Pam absorbed this and saw a problem that Mitch had obviously overlooked. Pam touched his arm.

  “Mitch, you can’t adopt the kids unless he’s dead or he agrees. He’s their father. He has parental rights.”

  “He’s got squat. He’s never visited once and Patty didn’t even know who he was. He didn’t even know her name until I told him.”

  Tim tensed and Pam felt it.

  “He’s never paid alimony or child support?”

  “Not a dime. Beth never went after it. I think she just resigned herself to raising them on her own.”

  Tim ran a hand through his hair and then stood.

  “You stay here. I need to talk to Ian and Kevin.”

  Tim went to Ian and leaned over the back of the sofa, speaking into the ear that was farthest from Scott. Scott was still paying close attention to Phil and the baseball game. Ian rose and followed Tim out of the room.

  When thirty minutes had passed and they still hadn’t returned, Mitch excused himself and went looking for them.

  Ian, Tim, Kevin and Bill were gathered at the kitchen table, four cups of coffee sat in front of them. No one else was present. When Mitch entered the room, the conversation continued and Kevin motioned to an empty chair.

  “We were discussing your problem. Bill has a friend that’s a judge in Virginia and we called him for advice.”

  Mitch sat down and waited. Bill explained the law as it was explained to him.

  “In this state and a few others, Brian can block the adoption if he’s acted responsibly toward the children up to the time of the petition to adopt. Since he’d never even laid eyes on Patty until recently, George doesn’t think it’ll be an issue. There are risks though. Since you don’t know where he lives, you have to publish an ad stating your intentions and give him reasonable time to respond. If he doesn’t come forward with a legal protest, the Judge can sign the adoption papers at his own discretion. George suggests you hire a good family law attorney.”

  Mitch ran a hand through his hair. Kevin picked up the ball from there.

  “This is where we come in. Between the two of us, Ian and I happen to know several attorneys that could take on anything Brian might throw at us. It could take a few months, but we can get those kids in the family legally. There is one thing we’d suggest Mitch and you’re not going to like it.”

  Mitch leaned forward in his chair and concentrated on Kevin.

  “We all agree that all of you should move in here until it’s over with.”

  “No fucking way. Pardon me Bill.”

  Bill waved a hand in dismissal, expecting the reaction. Ian addressed Mitch as the only other non-Tanner at the table.

  “Hear us out. The two of you live in older houses in Savannah. You obviously don’t have much money. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, but you recently quit your job to pursue your art. Again, nothing to be ashamed of. Beth is a massage therapist, not much money there. Nobody knows what Brian does or where he lives. If it looks like he’s now in a better position to provide for the kids, that could come into play. You saw how fast we threw up your barn. We’ve got thirty acres here and we could do the same thing in less than a week. The Tanners are well known for a lot of things and one of them is money. That’s going to matter when this goes to court. You’re a Tanner Mitch. It won’t look the least bit unusual that you’re living here with every other Tanner. There’s more than adequate child care, and we’ll put them in private school or hire a teacher to home school. We were going to do that for Jem anyway. Kidnapping is a real threat with her and we weren’t going to take the risk until she was old enough to make them think twice about it.”

  “What about my business? The gallery?”

  “We own it. We were going to give it to you as a wedding gift. It’s not going anywhere. You can hire people to work there and still display your work if you like, but you’ll be working from here. Tim can display your things in his shops as well.”

  “What about our houses?”

  The men looked uncomfortable for the first time and Mitch sensed something coming he would be strongly against.

  “Look, we know the house has sentimental value and we understand. We bought the land between your house and Rae’s. We were going to build a house on it and demolish Beth’s place. It’s too old to do anything with anyway so why throw good money after bad? You can all move in
to the new place once all the dust has settled.”

  Mitch’s first reaction was anger. This was the exact reason he had nothing to do with his family. They took over and controlled everything they came in contact with. Then he thought about it. His life was no longer his own. Very soon he’d have a wife and children to consider and their safety was more important than anything else.

  “I’ll have to discuss this with Beth. Her folks are in Savannah. She may not be willing to move away from them for any length of time.”

  A strong voice from the doorway broke their concentration. Beth had been standing there listening to most of it, Charlie held against her chest, sound asleep.

  “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get Brian out of lives and erase the threat of Marla. If Mitch says okay, then we’re with him. Tell me what you need me to do.”

  Mitch liked how she looked holding the little boy. He could see her doing the same thing in their own kitchen and he smiled. She kissed Charlie’s head and smiled back. Ian was beaming. Charlie had a new aunt and she looked more than capable.

  “Come here honey and sit by me. You’re part of this.”

  Beth sat down next to Mitch and the men once again explained everything they’d explained to Mitch while she listened carefully. She asked several intelligent questions and when she was satisfied, she directed the questions to Mitch at the exclusion of everyone else.

  “Could you live here?”

  “For awhile I could, as long as I could work. Could you live here?”

  “Scott would miss his friends, that could be a problem. He and Patty are older than the other kids.”

  Kevin interjected a thought.

  “That might not be a problem. We can enroll him in weeklong camps and scouting all summer. We can keep him busy with kids his own age. He can have sleepovers just like he’d have in Savannah, he’d just have them here.”

  Beth started laughing.

  “You’ve obviously not had a houseful of eight year old boys before Kevin. They can be a little much.”

  “Too much for the dojo? They’ve got the pool and they can sleep out in the dojo. Scott’s dad can supervise and do that dad thing. I’m telling you, we can make this work. Are you okay with us tearing your house down?”

  “It’s a pain in the ass anyway. Will I have time to move things out?”

  “We’ll pay people to do that. We’ll have everything boxed and brought here or put in storage, that’s your choice. If you give the okay, we’ll start the ball rolling next week. Including Mitch’s new work space.”

  “What will you do with a barn once we’ve gone back to Savannah?”

  “Turn it back into a barn I imagine. The kids will want horses or dirt bikes eventually. It’ll come in handy.”

  Beth marveled at their seemingly endless supply of answers, all of which involved copious amounts of money.

  “I hate to bring this up, but we can’t even afford the lawyer, much less the lifestyle you’re casually throwing around. As you pointed out, neither one of us is exactly rolling in it and we don’t know Brian’s financial situation. What if he can afford a good lawyer?”

  Ian got up and walked behind Beth. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and then kissed his son.

  “Beth, you’re a Tanner now. Money will never be a problem for you again. It’s wonderful that you don’t understand that, but you’re going to have to work on accepting it.”

  Beth patted Ian’s hand but shook her head.

  “I may be a Tanner Ian, but I won’t accept what I haven’t earned. We could have a problem.”

  Mitch’s smile could’ve lit up the room. He leaned over and kissed Beth soundly. Kevin looked at Ian and they knew that they had trouble. Bill took in everyone and solved the problem.

  “Beth, while you’re here, you’ll earn every penny. Child care here is at a premium. We’re getting older and we can’t chase them like we used to. Carie is up to her hips in babies and can barely keep her head above water. Everyone else works. While you’re here, you’ll be expected to help in any way that you can.”

  “Anyone can cuddle a little one Bill. That’s hardly a job.”

  “It’s a job if you don’t have time or you’re not here. You have to remember something as well. This family can’t trust their children to just anyone. Their money has privileges but it also has pitfalls. Outsiders want in but not always for altruistic reasons. Someone with your experience and a vested interest in what’s best for these kids is at a premium. You’ll earn the legal fees, the court costs and everything else. Don’t kid yourself. With your two, we now have nine children in residence. The laundry alone is staggering.”

  Bill put his face in his hands and Beth started laughing. Kevin and Tim looked at her in question and Ian smiled because she seemed to be taking it all in stride.

  “We’ll have our own daycare set up in no time. Carie can take one group and I’ll take the other. You’ll see. Once we’re organized, this will be a breeze. Babies need feeding, changing and cuddling. The toddlers and older kids just need something to do.”

  “She doesn’t know Jem and Alex.”

  Tim muttered it but Ian heard it and howled with laughter.

  Beth cocked her eyebrow and leaned toward Tim.

  “Jem doesn’t know me. Miss Patty gave me a run for my money but I lined her out just fine.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I started teaching her how to read and do math. Her teachers adore her because she started so young. I’ll go online and order the books we’ll need. I’ll need a few small work tables for that building outside as well. I’ll get some art supplies while I’m at it. It’s time these kids stopped wasting their time and started using their little brains.”

  Not one man at that table would forget the moment when the Tanners inherited a teacher by default.

  The wedding was set for Monday evening at seven sharp. Neither Mitch nor Beth saw any sense in interrupting anyone’s normal workday and that would give everyone time to get home and wind down before the festivities.

  Mitch was ready when Dr. Faust came and they settled into the den much as Faust and Claire had in the past. Carie and Beth kept the children occupied and out of the way. When they emerged a little over an hour later, both men were laughing and looked relaxed. Beth was waiting with cinnamon cake and coffee and the three of them sat down at the table.

  She reached over and squeezed Mitch’s hand and he kissed her cheek in response. Faust took all of it in and wondered if the Tanner’s ever said a cross word to one another. After everything Mitch had told him, he was having a hard time believing that he still had a solid relationship with a loving partner. Mitch sipped his coffee and turned to his bride.

  “It turns out I’m not ready for the interesting jacket yet babe.”

  Faust smiled at his characterization.

  “He’ll be fine Beth. He has some anger management issues we’ll need to work on. Mitch has a hard time expressing himself and when he’s angry or he feels backed into a corner, and he has self-destructive ways of letting off steam. We’ll have him lined out in no time. Is there anything you’d like to ask me while I’m here? Any concerns I can help you with?”

  “I just want to know that it’s not a mistake if we get married. I have self-esteem problems of my own and I’d like to think I can stop taking these hits pretty soon.”

  “I’m impressed by your candor Beth. Most women wouldn’t admit those things openly and in front of their fiance as well. Tell me what worries you most.”

  “I need to know he can stay away from her. I need to know he won’t have to sleep with her every time he sees her. I don’t think that’s too much too ask.”

  Faust focused on Beth and her pain. Mitch had a real problem, but he thought they’d work through it in fairly short order.

  “I can’t guarantee you a faithful husband Beth. Only he can do that. I can tell you that I believe his previous sexual encounters with her were anger based and aggression fu
eled. Once he finds a way to express himself and burn off the pent-up frustration, he won’t have a reason to sleep with her. If he does it after that, then you either need a marriage counselor or a lawyer. That depends on you.”

  Faust sipped his coffee and watched Mitch. He was blinking rapidly and clutching Beth’s hand. His words had hit home and he’d meant to anger Mitch to see what he’d do first hand.

  “You’re angry Mitch. Tell me what your first inclination is.”

  “I want to yell or hit something.”

  “You can’t. That’s what a child would do. You could yell, but I wouldn’t care one way or another. What does that leave you?”

  Mitch shot a sideways glance at Beth and turned back to Faust.

  “Sexual aggression isn’t the answer either. You’ll end up alone. Next.”

  Mitch felt like a caged animal. Beth felt his frustration and finally understood.

  “Mitch, go outside and swim laps. Swim until your mind is clear. When you’re done, come in and shower. I’ll have lunch ready and we’ll head to the courthouse for that license.”

  “Swim?”

  “It’s too hot to run. Burn off the anger.”

  She turned to Faust for confirmation and he just smiled at her over his coffee cup. Mitch stood and went to change clothes.

  Faust leaned toward Beth and placed his hand over hers.

  “That was exactly the right thing to do. We’ll resort to medication if we have to, but I’d rather not. I’d like to see if he can figure it out on his own first. I like that he takes your suggestions willingly.”

  “He trusts me. We trust each other. We’ve been friends for several years Doc and he knows I won’t steer him wrong.”

  “And Beth, that’s why you should get married. Don’t worry. He loves you and he’s afraid of losing you. You’ll get each other through this. Okay?”

  Beth blew out a breath and found her smile.

  “Okay.”

  Three hours later, Beth and Mitch had a marriage license tucked into Beth’s purse and were shopping for wedding rings. They looked at everything and kept gravitating back to simple gold bands. Beautiful and traditional, they left happy in their decision.