“No. She says she’s still scared to death that I’ll get hurt, but she doesn’t want me to stop just for her either. But I made a promise to myself. I would retire when we started a family. Seth set a plan in motion when the kids started coming along. I thought it was good idea.”
“Well, I did it because I wanted a good quality of life so I could enjoy being a physically active and mentally alert dad,” Seth said. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be your best self for your kids. And that’s what’s important. Doing what’s best for our kids.”
“I’ll drink to that.” J.J. nodded.
Later that night when Channing got in, the house was quiet. He went room to room putting out lights and straightening things. He put on the alarm and climbed the stairs. He’d lost money tonight, but he’d gained some insight into himself with help from his brothers. He’d said the words out loud. He wanted to raise Isaiah if the necessity arose. When he reached the top landing, he saw Isaiah standing by the console table with a teddy bear in his hand.
“Hey, bud. Something wrong?”
“I can’t sleep.” Isaiah rubbed his eyes with his free hand.
“Let’s see what we can do about that.” He tapped his finger on his chin. “How about another story? I think I have few more books of the Grizzly Bear Gang. I think there’s one where their bear-mobile breaks down on the way to a hootenanny.”
“OK.” Isaiah grabbed his hand and pulled him toward his room.
Channing looked up in time to see Cassidy peeking out of the doorway of their bedroom. She smiled.
“What’s a hoot nanny?” Isaiah asked.
“It’s like a jam session where people play music and dance. Maybe we can get you a music lesson with Mr. Tate. We could start you out on the triangle.”
“Cool.”
A half hour later when he came out of Isaiah’s room after the boy had fallen asleep, Cassidy was waiting for him in the hall.
“He’s down. For sure this time,” Channing said in a low tone.
“I offered to read him a story, but he said he wanted to wait for you.”
“Cassie, if for some reason they took Isaiah from Joy, I think we’d make great foster parents for him. He knows us and he’s comfortable here.”
She bit her lip. Then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
“I just wanted to say I’d be willing to do it if something ever came up.”
“Let’s go downstairs and have some tea.” She smiled.
Channing followed his wife downstairs, happy that she felt the same way.
* * *
Everyone had developed a rhythm of living in the house. They were trying to be helpful to Joy, so the nights Joy worked at the tattoo parlor, they happily looked after Isaiah and got him fed and ready for bed. Cassidy took advantage of the window of alone time that opened up while waiting for Joy to return home and jumped Channing’s bones. They confirmed Isaiah was still asleep then went into the bedroom. An hour later, she plopped back against the pillows and tried to get a hold of her breathing.
“We should totally enter the sex Olympics,” Channing panted. “I think we’d win.”
She giggled. “Your mount is legendary.”
“We’re getting pretty good at the quiet thing.”
“Not really. You keep Isaiah so busy he sleeps soundly at night.”
“Daddy always said little boys should keep active. It’s great preparation for being a successful man.”
“Aww. He would say something simple and succinct like that. Are you going to give little jewels of wisdom like that to our kids?”
“I have a bunch of daddy’s witty sayings jotted down in a journal. I hope it gets published some day. It will be titled The Guide to Raising a Cowboy.”
“I’d buy it.” She turned on her side to face him. “Want to go for round three? Joy won’t be home for another hour.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
The phone rang.
“Are you kidding me?” Channing ran a hand over his face.
“Our cell phones are downstairs. It must be important. Why else would anyone call the house phone? Get it before it wakes Isaiah.”
Channing pushed back the cover and walked naked across the room to get the phone off Cassidy’s dressing table.
“Hey, Kendrick. We missed you at poker. What happened? Is she OK? Do you need us to go anywhere? I’ll see you in a few minutes.” He ended the call and threw the phone on the bed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid our round three is going to have to wait. Joy left work early tonight and went to that bar again. She almost got arrested. Kendrick’s bringing her home.”
They waited downstairs for Joy and Kendrick to return, not talking much and waiting for a call from the gatehouse. When the call finally came, Channing got up and paced while Cassidy sat quietly, hoping this was a misunderstanding and angry it had happened at all.
Joy ran into the house ahead of Kendrick trying to explain. She looked a mess. Her heavy mascara had run all down her face, but Cassidy was too pissed to listen.
“I don’t want to hear it. Kendrick, what happened?”
“We narrowly escaped a raid. There was some heavy drug-dealing going on in that bar. Luckily a friend of mine on the force spotted my car in the parking lot and gave me a thirty second heads-up to get Joy out of there.”
Cassidy turned on Joy. “What were you doing there? Because you told us you were working late.”
“I had something to take care of,” Joy huffed.
Cassidy went into the hall bathroom to retrieve the drug test kit she’d ordered online. A moment later she was back and handed Joy a specimen cup. “Go in there and fill it up.”
“You can’t be serious? Right now?”
“Oh, I’m dead serious.” She pushed the cup into Joy’s hand and pointed down the hall.
“You are going to be so sorry when you get the results!” Joy marched toward the bathroom.
Cassidy put her hand on her stomach. She was suddenly feeling nauseous.
Channing caressed her arms. “Cassie, I know it’s hard, but don’t get upset.”
“I don’t know what we’re going to do with her. For every step forward, it’s three backward.”
Kendrick got a call on his phone and excused himself to take it in the hall. A few minutes later Joy came back with the sealed specimen cup in the plastic bag. She put it on the desk.
“Satisfied?”
“Not by a long shot,” Cassidy fired back.
“You want to explain what you were doing at that bar?” Channing said.
Kendrick came back into the room. “That was my buddy on the force. They found a bunch of narcotics in the back room. Trace Goodwin, the ringleader, was booked for dealing. Looks like he’s going away for a while.”
Joy froze. “Trace is going back to jail?”
“The guy who was turned away at the gate that day?” Channing asked. “He looked like bad news. I knew he was more than a casual acquaintance. Please don’t tell me you feel sorry for that drug dealing low life?”
“Well, yeah, kind of. He’s Isaiah’s father.” Joy turned and hurried upstairs.
“When we did Joy’s background check, Trace came up as a known drug associate, not the father of Isaiah.” Kendrick shook his head.
“Maybe she hid it,” Channing mumbled. “She’d have good reason to. A former drug addict mom and a drug-dealing dad would be perfect ammunition to take Isaiah away for good.”
“I’ll go talk to her.” Cassidy headed upstairs.
* * *
Cassidy knocked, then opened the door to Joy’s bedroom to find the young lady packing her things.
She crammed one of her tops in the suitcase. “I know. I know. Scooter and I will be out of here by the morning.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Are you dense? My sad situation just got more complicated. It would be best to p
art ways before we sully the reputation of this snooty family.”
“Stop right there.” Cassidy stood in her way. “You can’t go running every time a problem arises. Isn’t this a track record for you?”
“What do you know? You live here in the land of make believe and your biggest problem is trying to get pregnant.”
That rocked Cassidy as hard as a slap. “You know about that?”
“I’ve seen the literature in your study and that altar on the shelf in the living room. And you and Red sneak off to have sex. I’m not dumb. But I do thank you for keeping it down so I wouldn’t have to explain it to Scooter.” Joy moved around her and yanked open another drawer. “I know you think Scooter would be better off if you and Red adopted him.”
“What?”
“I heard you talking about it the other night in the kitchen.” She gripped a bottle of perfume on the dresser that Cassidy had given her. “I’m sure you’d spoil him and make him forget about his trashy mother.”
She hadn’t meant for Joy to hear that conversation.
“Stop.” Cassidy gripped her arm. “Just stop. What happened tonight is a fantastic reason to stay put.”
Joy sank down on the floor and started sobbing. “I don’t why this keeps happening to me.”
Cassidy sat on the floor too. “Why did you go to the bar tonight? To score from Trace?”
“No, I’ve been frequenting that shithole because I was trying to convince him to give me some money. I can’t save for another apartment in a decent neighborhood on my own.”
“But you had to know if he gave you anything it would be drug money?”
“Yeah. I’m aware but desperate times.” She swiped at her tears. “I need money, and he might be horrible, but he’s Scooter’s dad. I thought for once that would mean something to him so we could have a better life.”
“What did he say?”
“He thought I was running some sort of scam. I laid my cards on the table and told him about child protective services and where I was staying. Then his interest perked up. I thought he was proud of me trying to do better, but all he wanted to know was details about the ranch.”
“Oh, really?” Cassidy’s stomach flip-flopped. “What exactly did he want to know?”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him anything. Then all of a sudden he wanted to act like a father and say he had the right to know where his son was living.”
“You saw through it. That’s a good thing.”
“I regret that he’s Scooter’s dad. Since living here, it’s become obvious that Scooter’s starved for a father figure.” She wiped at the tears on her cheeks. “Thankfully, Red has been nice about it.”
“Channing likes Isaiah and he’s enjoyed spending time with him. I think it was good for the both of them to spend time together.” Cassidy patted her hand. “So what did you see in this guy anyway?”
“I knew Trace was bad news the day I met him. He used to visit his cousin who lived a few miles away from me where I grew up. He was so worldly and handsome. He promised adventure and it was fun and crazy for a while until I got pregnant. Then he dropped me like a hot rock. Every once in a while he’d show some interest, and I thought I owed it to my son to keep his father in our lives, even if it was in a limited capacity. He needs a dad. But he doesn’t need a drug dealer who ignores him and doesn’t support him emotionally or financially. I told Trace tonight that he was a prick and it was his loss for neglecting a great kid. He’s sweet and has a good soul. But I’ve screwed up so much I don’t know what else to do with my life. Scooter deserves a better mom,” Joy sobbed.
“Scooter has a great mom. She’s just a little lost and needs to find her footing, quick. I’m not going to lie to you, you don’t have the time like most people your age have to wander around and explore. Isaiah needs a mature mom who can make good decisions.”
“Then it’s all shot to hell. I’ve never been accused of being mature.”
Cassidy smiled. “You know that you wanted and deserved better for your son. Sounds like there’s some maturity occurring.”
“I don’t know what I would have done if Kendrick hadn’t pulled me out of there. I can never thank him, your family, or Anna Beth enough for everything you’ve done for us.”
“How about you take that gratitude and transform it into determination to make a life for you and Isaiah?”
“You’re still willing to help me?”
“We’re in this together.”
“I’m clean. I haven’t used in a very long time. I promise that drug test will come out clean.”
“I believe you.” She nodded and got up off the floor. She outstretched her hand to Joy and she took it and stood. “It’s been a long night. Let’s get some sleep. We can talk some more in the morning.”
CHAPTER NINE
Cassidy looked out the plane window at the clouds. Parker had located Joy’s family, who lived in Farmington, Utah, and now she and Channing were on their way to talk to them.
Joy needed all the support she could get now more than ever since Trace, who was pissed that Joy didn’t get arrested too during the police raid, had told anyone who would listen that he was Isaiah’s father. That meant it would be easy for Joy to go after him for back child support, but right now Trace was screaming about his parental rights and how Joy was no better a mother than he was a father. Child protective services eventually got wind of the news and Cassidy’s secretaries had been keeping Ms. Garth at bay. But she knew whether she talked to the woman or not, it would be brought up in her hearing.
So Cassidy needed something strong to counterbalance the mud Trace was slinging. When Parker gave her the information about Joy’s family, she’d known what needed to be done. She needed a face-to-face meeting with Joy’s family that hopefully would yield something she could use to keep Isaiah with Joy.
The downside of the impromptu travel was that she had to miss Jared and Autumn’s engagement party. Luckily the couple agreed it was more important to get to the bottom of Joy’s problems and completely understood their absence. But she still hated missing her best friend’s celebration. She’d barely made her next round of in vitro injections before the trip, but she’d made it. She and Channing had gone to the doctor earlier in the morning. She had to remind herself that their baby-making efforts still took priority, no matter what was going on in her life.
Once they touched down at a small private airport, Channing wanted to check into the hotel first, but she was too hyped-up and wanted to talk to the Whitakers right away. So they drove directly to the Whitakers’ home.
When they opened the door, she was shocked by what she saw. Hal and Tamara Whitaker were as American Pie as you could get and happily welcomed them into their home. Parker had done the hard part when she’d first flown out to investigate them and had already made the initial introductions. So they knew why Cassidy wanted to discuss their daughter, but they didn’t know how they could help since Joy had cut off all contact with them when she ran away.
Cassidy told them everything that had happened over the past few months. They were floored when they found out that Joy had kept Isaiah. Apparently they were under the impression that she’d given him up for adoption. But they were touched that she’d named him after her grandfather. The family was also elated to hear that Trace was locked up and that the current charges against him coupled with two previous strikes had pretty much sealed his fate.
Mrs. Whitaker cried as she showed Cassidy and Channing photo albums and baby pictures of Joy, while Mr. Whitaker recalled how her teen years had been rough for all of them. By seventeen, Joy was using drugs and out of control and had opted to run off with Trace. She’d gotten in touch again when she’d learned she was pregnant, but she hadn’t wanted to return home if it meant living by their rules. Mr. Whitaker explained that he’d raised all his kids with a stringent upbringing and Joy rebelled against him at every turn. He made a living, went to church, and tried to live a good Christian life. He’d even tri
ed to meet her on mutual ground, but he had his other kids to consider with her wild behavior.
Cassidy told them she understood all they’d been through in the past, but their daughter and grandson needed them now. By the time she and Channing finally left, she hoped she’d gotten through to them. There was a lot of hurt and pain, and everyone involved would have to dig deep if they were to work things out. She wondered if that healing was possible. Her spirits started to sink, but Channing reminded her that the tears Joy’s mom had cried were real and meant something. She missed her daughter and now the grandson they didn’t know she’d kept.
* * *
Cassidy sat in the small conference room with Joy, waiting for the judge to hear her case. She opened her briefcase and scanned her notes. It had been a week since her trip to Utah, but she felt like this whole ordeal has been going on for several months. Today was the big day, and Joy was a nervous wreck. Cassidy knew Joy wasn’t accustomed to formal clothes, but she looked downright cute in the conservative outfit the ladies had helped her put together last night. The Blakes had come together for an unscheduled family dinner and prayed for a good outcome today. She’d purposely selected the elegant, yet understated, blue dress because it had a flattering neckline that could showcase the detailed artwork on her body. It was time to let Joy be who she truly was, and that meant getting a glimpse of the tattoos.
“Don’t fiddle.” Cassidy smiled.
“I can’t help it.” Joy went from fiddling with her neckline to wringing her hands.
“You look nice.”
“I look like Corporate Barbie. They’re going to see right through this façade. I think I should’ve borrowed your dress with the high collar.”
“Why? People should be able to see the living art on your body,” Cassidy said.
“This isn’t a good time to throw my words back in my face.” Joy wagged a finger at Cassidy as she paced. “Where’s Scooter?”
Leap of Faith (The Blake Boys Book 17) Page 13