by Mary May
Alec listened to her recount the most tragic of events that anyone could go through. He wasn’t sure if she was asking for any advice or not, but he felt compelled to tell her how he felt. “Klara, I’m not a very religious man by any stretch of the imagination. However, I was raised in church and I do have some pretty firm convictions of who I believe God is. First off, I believe that God is a God of compassion and mercy. He never leaves us to walk our paths alone. We can choose to ignore that mercy and compassion. We can choose to walk away from the healing touch of the Almighty. He is a gentleman and doesn’t push himself on anyone. I don’t have the answer for why He took your husband and little boy, but I do know that they are in a beautiful place free of pain or hardships. Sometimes I think we just have to trust enough to let that question go unanswered until we reach the other side. The Bible says we will have all of our questions answered. Maybe we just have to be up there in order to be able to see the full picture. Then it will make sense. I don’t know. I’m not a preacher or a Bible scholar, but that’s the way I understand it to be.”
Klara listened to his words and she thought she felt the first crack begin in the ice that had formed around her heart…
Chapter 18
Klara sat nervously waiting to go in and speak with the judge. She felt a lot more optimistic after talking with Alec; his words had soothed her more than she ever would have expected. The whole conversation actually had her feeling better than she had in a long while. The unexpected confession that he had a pretty firm belief in God had surprised her. He had never mentioned it before, and honestly he just didn’t seem the type. He was so confident and self-assured and a little bit arrogant. To hear that speech about God being a God of mercy and compassion had really moved her, coming from him. She had finally broken down and called her parents and told them what was going on. She spared them the more horrifying parts and let them know where she was staying. Her parents were, of course, very concerned, but relieved that she wasn’t staying alone.
“Mrs. Martin? The judge will see you now; go right in.” She smiled at the receptionist and walked into the judge’s chambers. Judge Harold Miles was a man that could inspire cold fear or warm fuzzies, depending on what you were in front of him for.
Alec had warned her that he would seem very cold and abrupt at first, but that he would warm up to her as soon as Klara started talking. “Just be yourself,” he had said. The only problem with that was she wasn’t sure who she was anymore. She used to be very friendly and outgoing, sparkly personality and all smiles, but now?
Taking a deep breath, she stepped into his office and closed the door.
Thirty minutes later she emerged, waved at the receptionist and walked to the elevators. Once she was inside and the doors had closed, she let out a victory yelp! “Yes!” The judge had been very kind and had asked a few probing questions but had seemed overall satisfied that Klara was indeed stable enough to be around Matthew. She had a sneaky suspicion that Alec and perhaps even Abraham had spoken with him before hand and that had probably swayed his decision more than anything she had said. She really didn’t care; she was too happy to be able to go get Matthew!
“I get to live with you? Really? Forever?” Klara smiled at Matthew’s excited expression. “Well, I’m not sure for how long. So we will have to enjoy every day that we have, ok?” He nodded and then bounced into the back seat of Alec’s car. The Walcott’s didn’t seem too upset about Matthew’s leaving. She thought that maybe they had decided that children were not for them after all. Matthew asked a million and one questions on the way back to Abraham’s. Where was he going to sleep? Would he be able to go to school? Where would he go to school? Did she think he would have any friends if he did go to school? Klara laughed and answered each question the best that she could. Alec had been strangely subdued, and she wondered what was on his mind. She made a mental note to ask him when they had a moment alone.
***
Later that night after Matthew had finally fallen into an exhausted but happy sleep she found Alec staring out of the kitchen window seemingly lost in thought. “Alec? You have been really quiet all day. What’s wrong?”
He gave her a crooked grin. “Do you mean other than having someone after you, a small boy with a shaky at best future that has been placed in my care, and my divorce hearing coming up in two days? Why nothing at all.”
She grinned back at him. “Well, when you put it like that, I guess I would be staring out of dark windows, too. Would you like a drink? I was just going to make me one.”
He frowned at her. “Klara, I thought you had stopped drinking.”
She gave him a droll look. “Alcohol… yes, but in general, no. I was going to make a glass of chocolate milk. Matthew had some earlier and it looked really good. So are you in or out?”
He gave her an apologetic smile. “Definitely in, heavy on the chocolate, please.” They chatted about their day with Matthew while Klara mixed the drinks, giving Alec’s an extra squirt of chocolate syrup. She rummaged through the drawers and found two straws then sat down at the bar with him on a tall stool.
“Do you think we will be able to get all the needed documents to enroll Matthew in school? He is already so far behind that I hate for him to miss even a day if we can help it.”
Turning his glass up to finish off his chocolate milk he raised an eyebrow at her. “There was a lot of ‘we’s’ in that sentence.”
Klara felt her face heat up. She had assumed that Alec would be involved, or that she would be involved. She had to remember that Matthew was placed in Alec’s care, not hers. He reached out and tapped her nose.
“Hey, I was just teasing. You know that you’re a part of this. Matthew would still be in that dirty apartment hungry and sporting bruises if it wasn’t for you. To answer your question, I don’t think we will have any problem getting him enrolled in school. What we do need to do is find out exactly what he knows. School starts in about three weeks; if we know what areas he needs help in, we can began working with him.”
Klara swirled the remains of her chocolate around in the bottom of her glass as she thought about what he said. “I’ll play some games with him tomorrow when I get home to see what he needs help with. Are you sure Abraham and Agatha will be ok with him alone tomorrow?”
Alec laughed as he rinsed his glass then reached for Klara’s and rinsed hers as well.
“They will be fine. Matthew will probably be spoiled beyond repair by the time you get home. Are you liking your new job?”
She narrowed her eyes at him in warning. “Yes, and don’t even think about coming down there and performing your caveman act again! I’ll punch your other cheek.”
Raising his hands to fend off her fake jab he smiled. “No, it sounds like a respectable job. I was just asking if you enjoyed it.”
She slowly nodded. “It’s alright. The hours are good and I enjoy my co-workers, but I don’t think this will be a lifelong career move for me.”
Alec propped his head on his fist, then asked her what her lifelong career choice would be. A smile spread across her face. “You know I have a degree in computer sciences, but I think I would like to work with children. Ever since Ben started letting me spend time with the children that were abused and then with Matthew coming along, I really feel a connection with these lost little souls.”
He reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair from her eyes, letting his hand linger along her jaw. Klara didn’t move as he leaned in closer. He stopped short of actually touching her lips and waited. Klara turned her head out of reach then whispered she needed to go get ready for bed. She then slid off the stool and walked out of the kitchen. Alec watched her walk out, telling himself he knew better, but he couldn’t help it. When she smiled at him and told him her dreams, her eyes took on a glow that drew him in. Shaking his head to get his thinking straight, he locked up the house then went home to his empty apartment.
Klara tossed and turned trying to go to sleep. Her mind kept replaying
the “almost” kiss with Alec like it was on a loop. It was a just over two years ago that David and Josh died, and while it was slightly easier to think about them now, she was nowhere near ready for a new man in her life, at least one old enough to drive. Then she considered if Alec would be the type of man she would be interested in romantically. He was handsome and well off. She also thought he was a decent guy in general. He was very good with Matthew, so she thought he would make a good father. But he was bossy and controlling and liked to stick his nose in where it didn’t belong.
She then had to study the flip side of that coin and consider if she were the type of woman Alec would be interested romantically. She was nothing like his soon to be ex-wife, or she seriously hoped she wasn’t. But then again maybe that’s what he found appealing about her. She sighed into her pillow then flipped it over to the cool side, bunching it up under her neck. Maybe he just had a hero complex and she fed that because she always needed rescuing. The last thought that drifted through her mind before sleep claimed her was if she wasn’t so broken inside, a life with Matthew and Alec might not be such a bad one…
Three days later Alec stood in divorce court listening to Clarissa cry on the stand as she went on and on about how devastated she was. How all she ever wanted was a husband and a family with children. He had a hard time keeping his face straight and not rolling his eyes at that baldfaced lie. Finally it was all over and he was a free man. He would have to pay her a hefty alimony until she remarried, but that was a small price to pay in his opinion. Outside the courtroom she smiled a smug smile at him. He saw that her brother Roy was with her and wondered when he had gotten out of jail.
Roy was a classic story of spoiled rich boy gone rogue. He had everything given to him and he wasted every opportunity that he had to make something out of himself. He was too smart for his own good but wouldn’t apply that intelligence toward something worthwhile. He did a stint in the military and actually excelled for a while, but then he got caught off base with a gang of known criminals that were running guns across the border. He had been supplying them with military grade weapons for kickback off the sales. Alec was surprised to see him out of prison. He must have gotten an early release for good behavior. Roy saluted him and Alec nodded his head in return; then he turned and left the courtroom.
Klara and Matthew sat at the kitchen table playing games. She was finding out just what the little boy knew and what areas he was weak in. She was pleasantly surprised to find that Matthew knew his alphabet, colors and shapes. He could count to well over one hundred and he could write his first and last name. He wouldn’t have any problem at all in kindergarten. “I’m so proud of you, Matthew! Who taught you all of this?” As surprised as she was that he knew it she was even more surprised to hear that Haylie had taught him. It seemed that there was more to the woman than she had thought.
“Do you think I could see daddy soon?” Klara didn’t know how to respond to that question and frankly it surprised her. This was the first time he had even mentioned Marcus.
“I’m not sure, baby. We will ask Alec when he gets here, ok?” Matthew nodded as he traced over his letters.
He then surprised her again by telling her about the other place he lived with his mommy and daddy. Apparently things were not always so bad for the Kelley family. Marcus had a job where he would haul rocks. Matthew said and he and Mommy would stay at home. “Mommy would sing to me all the time, a song about grace. She had a real pretty voice. Sometimes she would go out somewhere to sing and daddy would get mad. Then Mommy would cry and stay in her room.” Matthew stopped and laid his pencil down. “You know what? I think Mommy ran away so she could sing whenever she wanted.”
Klara ruffled his hair with her fingers. “You may be right, honey. Did your mommy ever say where she wanted to sing?” She thought she might be able to figure out where Haylie went if Matthew could supply just a few clues. He scrunched up his face as he thought then he smiled and nodded his head. “Mommy said she wanted to go to ‘tensee’ one day. That was her dream.”
Klara chuckled at his attempt to pronounce Tennessee. “Did she say Nashville, Tennessee, maybe?”
His smile got bigger. “Yeah! That’s what she said all right! Do you know where that is? Can we go there and find Mommy?” The hopeful look in his eyes broke her heart. Matthew didn’t say a lot about his parents, but it was clear that he missed them.
Later she told Alec what she had found out about Matthew’s mother. “Do you think if we went down there that we could find her?” Alec watched as Klara avoided standing in front of windows. He hated that she felt afraid and exposed here. This was supposed to be a safe haven for her. “Alec?”
He looked up suddenly. “I’m sorry I was lost in thought. I don’t know if we could find her, but I think we owe it to Matthew to try, don’t you? We could drive down this weekend and see what we could find out if you want to. Agatha and granddad could watch Matthew.”
Chapter 19
They had decided not to tell Matthew where they were going or why. If they couldn’t find Haylie or worse if they did and she didn’t want to come back, they wanted to spare the child. He was fine with Abraham and Agatha. He adored them and was playing gold fish with Abraham when they left early Saturday morning. “I’m not sure what to hope for here honestly. Part of me wants to find Haylie and bring her back for Matthew, but another part hopes we don’t find her. I mean, she doesn’t even know where he is. She doesn’t know about Marcus being in jail or Matthew staying with us or anything. It’s hard for me to even think of turning him over to someone like that.”
Alec turned a raised eyebrow at her. “You are putting your plow before your donkey here, Klara. We might not find her.”
She smiled “I thought it was your cart before your horse.”
“Carts, plows, horses, donkeys the point is you’re getting ahead of yourself. I’m right there with you on having mixed feelings. I know what the ideal situation would be, but I just don’t hold out a lot of hope that we will find it.” They rode in silence for a few minutes before she asked him what he thought the ideal situation would be for Matthew.
“That Haylie would be off the drugs and able and willing to take Matthew. That he would have a stable home life with at least one biological parent.” He turned to look at Klara. She was staring at her hands, twisting her rings again. He knew what she wanted, to be able to adopt Matthew. Unfortunately he didn’t see that happening either.
They made it to Nashville and Klara stared in wonder at the sheer volume of bars and honkytonks where Haylie could be singing. “I don’t even know where to start! She could be in any one of them. Maybe we should make a grid or something so we can check the most places in the least amount of time. We have less than twenty four hours.” Alec handed the bellboy a twenty after he had delivered their bags to their adjoining rooms.
“I think that sounds like a good plan; however, in the time it takes to gather a list then make the grid we could have checked several places.”
Klara looked at him and gave a quick nod. “Right, and that’s why you get paid the big bucks. Ok, let’s get to cracking then!”
Several hours later Klara sighed as she slipped off her shoes. They had covered she didn’t know how many bars, dives, honkytonks, and karaoke bars. They had shown Haylie’s picture to everyone they passed on the street. No one knew her or had seen her. She felt very discouraged.
“We will hit some more tomorrow. We aren’t done yet, Klara.”
Rubbing her feet, she shook her head. “I know, but being out there today really made it hit home that we are indeed looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack.”
She got up and walked into her room. “Alec!”
Hearing Klara cry out his name had him on his feet rushing to where she was standing in the doorway. He pushed past her and stopped. All of her belongings were scattered and thrown about the room. He picked up a shirt and found that it had been shredded. Picking up other articles of clothing, the
y found everything was ruined. Alec ushered her back into his room and called hotel security. While they waited for them to get there, he knelt down beside the bed where she was sitting with a shocked look on her face. “Hey, talk to me.” She just shook her head so he reached and took her hand, rubbing it. “Klara, it’s ok. I know this is frightening. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She finally looked at him. “You can’t promise that, Alec. Whoever this is knows every move I make. He followed us without being spotted and he found his way into this room. He just as easily could have waited until tonight when I was asleep and taken that knife to me instead of my clothing. He is just showing us how close he can get.”
Alec didn’t have time to respond as he heard hotel security arrive at the door. He squeezed her hand then went to answer the door.
The hotel’s chief of security looked at the doors and said they were not picked or tampered with, but had been opened with a master key. He said he would view the security cameras and see if they could see who entered the room after they left. Of course, they would move them to another suite. “No, I think we should stay somewhere else. Here is my card; call me when you have viewed the film.”
They gave her destroyed belongings to the local police to see if they could find any evidence. Klara didn’t hold out much hope. Whoever this was covered his tracks really well.
While driving across town to another hotel, Alec watched every car that they passed or that was behind them. He scanned the streets for anyone that might be watching them too closely. When his cell phone went off, Klara nearly jumped out of the car. Flashing her an apologetic smile, he answered it. After a few minutes he hung up. His jaw line had grown tight and his grip on the steering wheel had increased. Klara watched his reaction with an all too familiar sinking feeling in her gut.