Jailbird

by Heather Huffman

  “When were you going to tell us?” Conrad slapped him on the back.

  “Tell you what?” He looked from Conrad to me and then to Anjelita, who sank guiltily in her chair. His face grew dark. “What don’t I know?”

  “Just remember you’ve kept things from me this week, too…,” I fidgeted in my spot. “Maybe we should step outside to talk.”

  “Maybe,” he grabbed his coat from a hook on the wall and held the door for me while I slid mine on. We stepped out into a gray drizzle. I scowled at the sky. Charlie scowled at me.

  “Are we going to have a baby?”

  I pressed my lips together and studied him for a second. What was I so afraid of? This was Charlie. “Yes.”

  “How long have you known?” He looked like he’d been punched in the gut.

  “Since yesterday.”

  “How long have you suspected?” He realized he hadn’t asked the right question.

  “My birthday.”

  “Did you plan on telling me any time soon?”

  “No,” my voice was as small as I felt.

  “Why?”

  “Lots of reasons. It’s hard to explain.”

  “Could you try please?”

  “Do you want to try to explain to me why you won’t answer my questions about Mary’s trial?”

  “Don’t change the subject.”

  “I’m not. You can’t be mad at me for keeping something from you when you’re keeping something from me!” I couldn’t seem to help the fact that my voice was getting louder.

  “But it’s a baby, Neena, our baby. We should be celebrating right now, not shouting at each other!”

  “It’s too much all at once Charlie. My brain is on overload. Cut me some freaking slack.”

  “But the baby, this is a good thing—right?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t stopped to think of it that way yet.”

  “No, sweetie. This is a good thing,” his voice and expression had softened. He reached for me now, pulling me into an almost reverent hug. “I’m crazy in love with you and you’re having my baby. That’s a very good thing.”

  “Yeah, I guess it is,” I paused to consider his words. There were so many reasons this was not a good thing. But none of that really mattered in the shadow of the fact that I loved Charlie and now we were irrevocably tied to one another. “Hey Charlie…”

  “Yes love?”

  “Are we okay now?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then can we go inside? It’s freezing out here.”

  We reentered the house to find the kitchen full of people trying to look like they hadn’t been listening to our conversation. Charlie and I exchanged mirthful looks and were instantly surrounded by well-wishers. It took a while to extract ourselves after that. By the time we did, I desperately wanted a nap. I knew I wouldn’t be able to have a decent conversation with Charlie and Conrad until the girls went to bed anyway; and at this rate, I’d never outlast them.

  As I crawled into my rumpled bed, I realized the newspapers were still in a pile on the floor. Curiosity beat tired any day. I pulled the papers onto the bed and began to flip through them.

  I’d assumed that the drawn look on Charlie’s face meant the trial wasn’t going well. I was wrong. It was going very well. The papers were full of stories about the brilliant young lawyer that appeared out of nowhere to bring justice to a forgotten inmate in the Dixon Correctional Facility.

  In fact, Charlie was getting more attention than the trial itself. Charlie, and the speculation as to what would motivate him to free Mary O’Donnell.

  Suddenly I understood with sickening clarity why he looked so concerned all of the time. I knew why a reporter was on the reservation. Why Conrad and Gabrielle were in my living room right now.

  I’d been found. If this reporter had connected Charlie to Conrad, then it was just a matter of time before she made her way here. In fact, I was a little surprised she hadn’t yet. Or maybe she had, and I just didn’t realize it.

  Some part of me cried out, “Run. Run far, run fast… run.” I took a deep, steadying, breath. Charlie. His scent clung to my pillow, wrapping itself around my senses.

  If I ran, where would I run to? What would I run to? I had something worth living for again, and it was all right here in Hampton.

  The pendulum in my mind swung again and I began to worry that my presence would cause Charlie more pain. What if he was found to be an accessory? Who would raise Cara then? Julie?

  The thought of that viper twisting sweet little Cara’s mind made my stomach roil. I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated on calming down. I did not want to spend the remainder of my afternoon with my head in a toilet.

  I could hear footsteps in the hallway and recognized them as Charlie’s. My eyes started to leak again at his concern. I’d never understand why he loved me so, but I knew he did.

  “It’s going to be a long seven months if you worry about me this much the entire time, you know,” I didn’t roll over to greet him. Maybe he wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes that way.

  “Give a guy a day or two to adjust, would you?” He slid under the covers with me and pulled me back against him. “I left the papers in here, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah. I can feel your heart. It’s going crazy.”

  “I’m scared you’re going to run away on me.”

  “I thought about it.”

  “Is that past tense?”

  “I couldn’t leave you, Charlie. Don’t you know that?”

  “Don’t you know I’d do anything to protect you?”

  “I’ve been protecting myself okay for a while now. You worry about Cara.”

  “Or we could both just admit that we’re in this together,” his breath was warm on my ear as he spoke. It felt like a caress.

  “I thought you were worried about the trial this week,” I laced my fingers through his.

  “No, that’s going really well. Mary was innocent all along. It’s a total travesty of justice that she was ever put in jail.”

  “I know… if she’d had someone like you to fight for her back then, she’d never have gone through this hell.”

  “Well, she has me now. You have me now,” he took a breath, considering his next words carefully. “I’d like to appeal your case, too.”

  “Isn’t it a little late for that?”

  “Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to look over your shoulder? Besides, I think it’s just a matter of time until this Rachel Cooper finds you.”

  “Are you sure she hasn’t yet?”

  “I don’t think so. She’s been at the courthouse everyday, but holes up in her hotel at night. I asked Sheriff Taylor to keep an eye out for her just in case she wanders this way.”

  “I don’t trust his daughter.”

  “I don’t like her either, but he’s a good guy.”

  “It’s more than not liking. She had the entire town convinced Julie was a meth-head waitress in Nashville when she’s really a paralegal in Springfield. The woman is a master at manipulating and has no problem with lying to ruin anyone who gets in between her and you.”

  “Really?” the confusion was evident in Charlie’s voice.

  “Oh sweetie… you give people too much credit. Elena will stop just short of physically harming me when she finds out about this baby…if she stops at all. She’ll go for the jugular.”

  “You think so?”

  “I promise you she will.”

  “Are you afraid of her?”

  “Only that she’ll land me back in jail,” I couldn’t help but shudder a little at the thought.

  “One more reason for me to get an appeal ready for you. I’ve heard of posthumous pardons… I don’t have it all figured out yet. But I’m gathering evidence anyway.”

  “You’re gathering evidence?” I frowned. “On my case?”

  “I have been for weeks now,” he admitted softly.

  “Oh,” I wa
sn’t sure how I felt about that. I shouldn’t care. I’d told him the story. But there was something different about him walking down those dark roads that bothered me. “When are you finding time for all of this?”

  “I’ve been able to do most of the research online. Conrad’s been helping a lot. I haven’t had much time for my practice,” he admitted then hurried to amend, “but I don’t mind. There’ll still be people waiting to get divorced when this all dies down.”

  “Where have I been for all of this?”

  “Taking care of Cara. Running this house. Running a small business.”

  “But you have the weight of the world on you. You should have let me help.”

  “Maybe you’re right. I just didn’t want to worry you.”

  “I’m your wife. It hurts me when you don’t include me in your world.”

  “Then maybe I should mention that Julie filed for custody of Cara.”

  “What?” I shrieked, coming off the bed. I lowered my voice to a harsh whisper. “She can’t have her. You raised that baby. They won’t give that creature your little girl.”

  “I don’t intend to let her have Cara. But it’s one more thing to fight in court.”

  “Would you like me to make her disappear?” I offered probably a little too eagerly.

  “What? No!” Charlie sat up and scowled at me.

  “What can I do, then?” I threw my hands up in exasperation.

  “You mean that wouldn’t cause me another court case?” Charlie arched an eyebrow and thought about it for a minute. “Arrange a plan B.”

  “Plan B?” I sat on the edge of the bed again, a little calmer.

  “Just in case you’re found before I can clear your name. I need somewhere for you and Gabrielle to go if this whole mess blows up. Somewhere no one will find you.”

  “I can do that,” I knew instantly where I’d take her. I could picture it in my mind. I hadn’t been there in years, but knew I could find it. And knew I was one of two people in this world who could.

  “God help me, I know I shouldn’t be encouraging you to keep running but I can’t stand the thought of you going back there,” Charlie closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Every time I visit Mary, I just can’t get the image of you in that place out of my head. Some of those women are so… so… brutal.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I gave a mirthless laugh.

  “I won’t let you go back there,” his jaw had a firm set to it I hadn’t seen before. Maybe it was the jaw, maybe it was the circles under his eyes, but he seemed somehow harder now. He had always carried about him a refreshing air of innocence, and I’d managed to kill that.

  We should have been planning. We should have been spending time with our girls or even trying to figure out how we would pay the bills with so much of his attention turned to the tyranny of the urgent. We should have been doing a lot of things. All I could bring myself to do was wrap him in my arms, lay his head upon my chest, and stroke his hair until we both dozed off.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I wasn’t sure what time we woke up. The sun was gone, but given the time of year that didn’t mean much. It was the smell of gumbo that got me out of bed. Charlie barely groaned as I shimmied out from underneath him. I left him where he was; he needed his sleep.

  I remembered why I didn’t like napping; it always left me a little disoriented. I padded through the house, wondering what to do first. Gabrielle and Cara were playing with the puppy in the living room. I stopped to say hi to them and rub his roly-poly belly before moving on to the kitchen.

  “Did you have a nice afternoon?” Conrad had a mischievous glint in his eye when he greeted me.

  “Oh stop it,” I made a face at him. “We talked, we slept… I’m worried about him.”

  “Yeah, I think Atlas had a lighter load sometimes.”

  “I feel bad for doing this to him,” I poured myself a glass of sweet tea and curled up in a chair facing Conrad.

  “You don’t get it, do you?”

  “Get what?”

  “He was sleepwalking before you came along. And he’s been hooked on you since he first saw you swinging your legs from the back of Manny’s truck.”

  “He told you that?” There was hesitancy in my voice.

  “Yes. He never misses a chance to tell me how crazy he is about you,” Conrad snorted and stirred the gumbo. “Could be he’s just plain crazy.”

  “Could be,” I smiled a little. “How much do you think that reporter knows?”

  “More than we want her to,” Conrad scowled. “She’s a real pain in the backside.”

  “Charlie wants me to take Gabrielle and disappear if this gets out of hand.”

  “He’s right.”

  “I think I’ll take her to the cabin.”

  “You don’t think anyone would look for you there?”

  “It’s been years since anyone’s been down that road. I don’t think anyone besides you and me could find it.”

  “Do you think you’ll be okay there?” he dished up a bowl of gumbo and set it before me.

  “I told you…”

  “No, I mean, okay with the memories and all.…”

  “I don’t know, but I know that area like the back of my hand. I can keep us safe there.”

  “Because our parents did such a good job of it,” Conrad frowned and handed me a spoon.

  “They were caught unaware. Totally different situation. Wow this is good,” I stuck my tongue to a steaming spoonful of my brother’s specialty. “It’s hot.”

  “It generally is when it’s fresh off the stove,” Conrad poured me a glass of water.

  “Since when do you wait on me?” I teased.

  “Since you’re having my nephew.”

  “Oh, so it’s a boy?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Interesting,” I thought about that for a moment before changing the subject. “When do you think Mary’s trial will be over?”

  “They should wrap up arguments by mid-week. I bet we get a verdict by Friday.”

  “Is it really going as well as the papers say? Oh, thank you for those, by the way.”

  “You know, it really is. For a small-town lawyer, Charlie’s really good.”

  “His paying work is piling up while he’s off doing this. He won’t come out and say it, but I know it is.”

  “I thought about that,” Conrad sat down next to me with his own heaping bowl of gumbo. “Not much I can do to help, though. I’m just about out of leave at work myself.”

  “If you need to go back, Gabrielle can stay with me as long as you need.”

  “She told me she wants to live with you.”

  “And I told her it’s not that simple.”

  “Do you want her?” he lowered his voice. “I mean, when this all settles down, you and Charlie could give her a good home.”

  “Of course I want her. But you’re the only parent she’s ever known. It’s not right to just whisk her away from you after all these years… I don’t suppose you’d be interested in moving to Arkansas?”

  “What exactly would I do for a living, my dear sister? I don’t see many casinos in these parts.”

  “Good point,” I frowned, wondering if it would be fair to ask Charlie and Cara to leave their hometown.

  “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do,” Conrad stopped eating long enough to take my hands in his. “And I would miss her like crazy. But the fact is—I’m not cutting it anymore. I’m not sure I ever did. She needs you.”

  “She needs both of us,” I corrected. “I’ll figure out a way to make it work. In the meantime, she can stay with me so you can go back to work.”

  “I don’t like leaving you guys.”

  “I don’t want to have to support you because I got you fired.”

  “Uncle Lou wouldn’t fire me; he’d just kick my ass.”

  “Don’t let Charlie hear you talking like that,” I stifled a giggle.

  “That boy missed a good chanc
e at being a preacher,” Conrad shook his head.

  “You’re not far off,” I informed him around a mouthful of okra. “His parents are missionaries.”

  “Really? That explains so much.”

  “I know. That’s what I thought when I found out.”

  “When did you find out?”

  “This morning.”

  “What?” he choked on his drink. “You’ve been married for almost two months and you just now found out what his parents do?”

  “You know, I think there were a few details about each other we didn’t bother to get first…,” I mused.

  “Do you regret getting married?”

  “Never. I think maybe after not living for so long, I just want to grab life by both hands now… does that make sense?”

  “It does,” he considered as he turned his attention back to his gumbo. We fell silent now that the food was cool enough to really shovel it in. I’d been given a lot to think about. I’d have to put together travel packs that could be grabbed in an instant. It was one thing to live on roots when it was just me. I had the baby and Gabrielle to think about now. If we had to run, I didn’t want to do it hungry. I also planned to start exercising the horses more regularly. They were fat pasture ponies and the long journey would be hard on them. Hopefully we had time to prepare. Better yet, maybe we’d never need them.

  A knock at the door made me tense up. The girls jumped up to answer it, but Conrad was faster.

  “I got it,” he called in case they beat him to the door. I slipped into the back stairwell to keep from being seen. Before he even said the name, his tone of voice told me he was not happy to see the visitor.

  “Oh…Conrad. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

  “I can’t say I’m happy to see you, Rachel.”

  “I just want to ask Charlie a few questions.”

  “He’s resting.”

  “Are those his girls?” her voice strained. It sounded like she was trying to see around Conrad’s massive frame.

  “Let’s finish the conversation outside,” his tone left little room for argument.

  “I’d rather come in out of the cold if you don’t mind,” Rachel was nonplussed. I had to give her credit for courage.

  “I actually do mind.”

  I guess he used brute force to back her away from the door because I heard it shut behind them and their voices grew muffled. I wanted to hear what they were saying, so I darted up the stairs to my room and slid the window open just a bit so I could lean out.