A police officer with a hard serious expression, who Anna recognized as Mike’s brother, John, stopped her in her tracks. “Do you live here, Ms. Batista?” he asked.
“Yes.” Tears burned at the backs of her eyes. “It’s my home.”
He gestured toward the children. “Are they yours?”
She looked at the kids who wore terrified expressions. “They are my cousins.”
“I’m Agent Davies,” a Border Patrol agent said as he cut in. “Are the children U.S. citizens?”
“Yes.” Anna nodded. “They were born and raised in Arizona.” She looked from the agent to John and back. “Please let me go to them.”
John gave a nod. “You can see the kids, but you’ll be taken in for questioning.”
Anna bit her lower lip and hurried past John McBride and Agent Davies, straight for Josie and Pablo. The kids got up and hurried down the stairs to meet her on the sidewalk, and both threw their arms around her as she swept them into her embrace.
Josie pointed toward the Border Patrol SUVs. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “Where are they taking Mamá and Papá?”
Anna whirled to look at the vehicles and saw Aunt Maria and Uncle Tito in the back of one of the SUVs. Maria had tears on her cheeks but Tito looked stony-faced.
If it wasn’t for the kids, Anna would have broken down. She wanted to sink to her knees on the sidewalk and cry. But her young cousins needed her now, needed her more than ever.
“We’ll figure this out.” Anna squeezed the kids with her arms around their shoulders as she looked from five-year-old Josie to eight-year-old Pablo, knowing the kids would be growing up far faster than they should have to. “Ser fuerte para tus padres.” She paused. “Promise?”
“Yes, I promise we will be strong for Mamá and Papá,” Pablo said, but his voice trembled.
Anna had to fight to keep her own voice steady. “I know you will.” She turned her attention to the SUV that her aunt and uncle were sitting in. Through the window, Aunt Maria’s gaze met Anna’s. A look of relief crossed Maria’s face. She was clearly relieved to see the kids with Anna.
With a knot in her throat, Anna sank to the bottom porch step, the kids to either side of her. She kept them close as her mind whirled. Within moments the SUV with her aunt and uncle was leaving. She blinked back tears as she watched the vehicle disappear around the corner.
She felt Josie shaking and she looked down to see the little girl’s body trembling as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I want Mamá.”
“I know.” Anna lifted Josie into her lap and rocked the little girl. “I will do everything I can, sweetheart.”
Deep inside, Anna knew there was nothing she could do to reunite the children with their parents while they were under eighteen years of age. That didn’t mean she would give up, but she would be fighting a losing battle unless laws changed. Her aunt and uncle would be deported and Pablo and Josie would never be allowed to go with their parents because the children had been born in the U.S.
The courts had determined that men and women crossing the borders illegally knew that they were taking a chance by allowing their children to be born in the U.S. The courts believed that the illegal aliens had made their choice so they must face the consequences.
What family would choose to be torn apart like this?
Anger rose up in Anna’s chest at Tito and Maria. When her aunt and uncle had entered the U.S., they had gambled the fate of their unborn children. A tear rolled down Anna’s cheek. Her aunt and uncle had taken a chance and it had just torn their family in two.
Anna held Pablo and Josie close to her, never wanting to let them go. Their family as they’d known it would be no more. Now Anna would have to fight to keep her cousins out of the foster system. She would do whatever was necessary to fight for custody so that she could raise the children herself.
Depending on what happened next, this could be her last chance to let the kids know how much she loved them.
Fighting to hold back tears, she swallowed as she kissed Josie’s head and then Pablo’s. “I love you,” she said to each of them. “Your mother and father love you, too. Never, ever forget that.”
Pablo continued to stare in the direction the SUV had gone with their parents. Josie buried her face against Anna’s blazer and sobbed.
An image of Mike came to Anna’s mind and the stunned expression he’d worn when his gaze had met hers in the town hall. She had never dreamed it would turn out the way it had, that Chad would set her up to use her against Mike in this way. If it had occurred to her in the slightest, she would have told Mike from the start.
The moment Chad had approached and threatened her, she should have moved her family. They could have been gone overnight, just taking what they needed. Mike wouldn’t have been hurt emotionally or professionally by her situation. She wouldn’t have betrayed him in the way she had.
Now there was nothing to be done for it but pick up the pieces and hope that Mike would one day find it in his heart to forgive her.
Chapter 20
Mike dragged his hand down his face as he leaned back in his office chair. The shitstorm that had come about after Chad’s big reveal during the debate hadn’t ended. It was a week after the debate and reporters and constituents still wanted to know how Mike hadn’t been aware of the situation.
He ground his teeth. It would be unfair to even toy with the notion of checking the background of anyone who looked to be of Hispanic descent. It was racial profiling and it would be wrong.
Once he’d gotten over the initial shock, he’d remembered the times that Anna had tried to tell him something and how each time he’d distracted her and put it off. Had that been what she had been trying to tell him?
At the same time he wondered if she would have told him. She’d have known that no matter how he felt about her, he’d have had to report her aunt and uncle, no two ways around it.
He blew out his breath and looked up as a sound came from the doorway to his office. He looked up to see his stepmom, Angel, rapping on the doorframe.
“Can I see the sheriff?” she asked with a light smile on her lips.
“Anytime.” He beckoned her in with a gesture as he stood. “What’s going on with you today, Mom?”
“Getting ready for your Aunt Gert’s Halloween party tomorrow night.” Angel took the seat in front of his desk and crossed her legs at her knees as her warm hazel eyes met his gaze. Mike took his own seat again. “How are you holding up?”
The mention of the Halloween party brought his thoughts right back to Anna. She’d been the one to set up the event. He compartmentalized the thought for the time being. He was a logical man and he needed to be logical about the whole situation.
But what was the logical thing to do?
“Holding up just fine.” He offered Angel a tired smile. “Once everything settles down we’ll see how far I’ve dropped in the polls.”
“Hopefully the storm will pass.” She linked her fingers around her knee. “How is Anna?”
“I haven’t spoken with her.” He pushed his fingers through his hair. “Not for a lack of trying. She won’t answer my calls and I haven’t been able to get her alone.”
Angel gave a slow nod. “How is it going with her fight to get the kids?”
“I’ve done everything I can to pull strings behind the scene.” Mike picked up a pen and tapped it on his desk. “It hasn’t been easy considering the part I played in the whole damn mess.”
“I don’t think Anna would have done anything to intentionally hurt you.” Angel looked thoughtfully at him. “Although I don’t understand why she would allow herself to become involved with an officer of the law in her situation.”
Mike shook his head. “I pushed her.”
“It takes two,” Angel said quietly. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“Maybe I can.” He glanced out the window. “She tried to tell me something but I brushed it aside. Who knows what it could have been.”
Angel shifted in he
r seat. “How soon before Anna will know if the kids’ guardianship will be awarded to her?”
“These things take time,” Mike said, “But I’ll do everything I can to help speed it along.”
“Good.” Angel tilted her head to the side. “What time will you arrive at the party tomorrow night?”
The thought of the ordeal the Halloween party might turn out to be not only for himself but his family members sat heavily on his mind. “I’ll be there by six.”
“Good,” Angel said. “The media is supposed to be there at seven.”
Mike wanted to groan but he managed to hold it back.
“Looks like Chad Johnson set up his own little Halloween party.” Angel gave a small smile. “I say little, but he’s planned quite the event and is inviting the most prominent people in the county and from around the state. That includes an Arizona state senator and a congressman, and, of course, the media.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised,” Mike said. “The Johnsons enjoy throwing parties and inviting whomever they consider to be the current elite.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” Angel shook her head. “Chad has always worked to one-up you since you were young. I imagine once he got word of the media showing up at Gert’s, he had to create what he considers to be an even bigger event.”
“Sounds like Chad.” Mike’s thoughts went to the smug look on Chad’s face before he had dropped the bomb about Anna. Mike had thought of that smug look many times since the debate and every time he’d had the urge to knock that expression right off of the sonofabitch’s face.
Chad hurting Anna in an effort to attack Mike was inexcusable. According to the law, Anna’s aunt and uncle had to be reported. But it was the way Chad had done it that was so damned wrong.
Angel put her hands on the arms of the chair and a scowl crossed her pretty face, an expression that was rare for her. “That SOB is something else.”
Mike raised an eyebrow. Angel rarely said anything negative about any individual, but it was clear she was upset with Chad.
“Yes, he’s something else,” Mike agreed.
“I’d better go.” Angel got to her feet. “I’ve got more to do before the party.”
Mike stood at the same time and moved around the desk to see her out. He kissed her cheek. “See you tomorrow night.”
“Hang in there.” She smiled and gave him a quick hug. “Everything is going to be fine. The people will see Chad for what he is.”
Mike wasn’t so sure about that, but he nodded and watched her leave. After she was gone, he went back around his desk and took his seat.
Anna, as always, came to mind—his thoughts never seemed to stray far from her. She might think he was angry with her, but he wasn’t. He cared too damned much about her and saw her for the woman she was. She had been protecting her family, people she loved.
He picked up his phone and dialed her number once again.
* * * * *
It was the day before Halloween and Anna rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger as she sat at the kitchen table with a mug of hot coffee. She moved both her hands around the mug, warming them as she stared into space.
The days had gone by like a nightmare. Maybe a part of her had known this whole situation was inevitable, but she had always hoped and prayed it would never come to pass.
Her aunt and uncle had come across the border illegally when Anna was in college and she hadn’t had anything to do with them coming to live with her mother and father. Years had passed after Anna returned to Bisbee to live with them when her parents died, and her cousins had been born. Anna had grown accustomed to them being there.
It wasn’t until they’d had to move from Bisbee to Prescott that Anna truly considered the danger. They’d come so close to her aunt and uncle being found out. What could have been done about it but move overnight? They had no options at that point. And now…
She shook her head. Now she had to see about getting health insurance for the kids and taking them to a counselor. She would have a lot more to work into her budget as the sole supporter of their little family. It put an end to her shopping sprees, but those weren’t important. The only things that were important were her two young cousins, their wellbeing, and happiness.
“Hi, Anna.” Josie’s small voice captured Anna’s attention as the girl walked into the kitchen.
“Hi, sweetie.” Anna did her best to give her young cousin a smile. “Would you like a mug of hot chocolate?”
Expression solemn, Josie nodded and slid into the seat across from Anna. “Yes, thank you.”
Anna scooted back her chair, went to the fridge, and grabbed the gallon jug of milk she had bought last night when she got the kids back.
Someone had to have intervened on her behalf for her to gain custody, even temporarily, this quickly. She had to work to get permanent custody of the children, but at least she had them now.
Anna poured milk into a saucepan and turned on the gas flame. While the milk started to heat, she went to the pantry and brought out a box of hot cocoa. She felt as if a great weight had been dropped on her shoulders and it overwhelmed her for a moment. How was she going to do this?
She looked over her shoulder. “Where is your brother?”
“He just went into the living room.” Josie swung her legs as she sat in her chair, her legs too short for her feet to touch the floor. “He got out the X-Box.”
It was too early in the morning for the kids to play games, but Anna just nodded. She had arranged to get Josie’s and Pablo’s homework assignments and she would have them do their work a little later.
Anna had decided not to make the children go back to school just yet—not after all of the turmoil and what the kids might face when they did go back. Prescott schools had a strict policy against bullying, but Anna was concerned that some of the kids might give Josie and Pablo a hard time when teachers were not around.
Not to mention she needed to give the children some time to grieve the loss of their parents. It would be almost like a death to them to not be able to be with their mother and father. Anna would do anything and everything to make the best of a beyond difficult situation.
Anna heated up enough milk for both kids and made two cups of hot cocoa. She set one mug in front of Josie. “Blow on it, sweetheart. It’s a little hot.”
After Josie had her mug, Anna went to the living room and saw Pablo sitting in front of the TV. Like Josie had said, Pablo was playing a game on the X-Box.
“I made a mug of hot chocolate for you,” Anna said to him. “It’s in the kitchen.”
Pablo didn’t look at her and continued playing the game. Her heart hurt for the boy. She didn’t expect him to act like nothing had happened because his life had just been torn apart.
What was the best way to help the two children deal with this? She would make an appointment with a counselor as soon as possible, one who could help the three of them work through this.
She moved to the TV where Pablo was playing the game and sat on the carpet next to him. For a long moment she watched him play the game. He didn’t look at her, his expression blank.
When he reached a stopping point, she picked up a controller. “Can I play, Pablo?”
He shrugged but set the game so that it allowed two players. Anna had played a couple of games with Pablo several times. She wasn’t great at it, but she had always enjoyed the one-on-one time with him.
While they played, she didn’t try to engage him in conversation because she sensed that he didn’t want to talk. Just being there for him was what he needed right now.
Josie came into the room, chocolate on her upper lip, and Anna gave her a smile. Josie sat on the carpet so that Anna was between the children. After a while, Pablo seemed to loosen up a bit and Josie rested her head on Anna’s shoulder, clearly needing the contact.
The overwhelming feeling that had weighted Anna down earlier lightened a bit. It wasn’t going to be easy being an instant mother. She would do the best
she could and do everything possible for the children that would allow them to deal with their grief. Children were resilient, but it would be some time before they were able to move on.
“Sing for me, Anna.” Josie’s small voice took Anna from her thoughts. “You always make me feel better when you sing.”
Anna thought about it a moment then began singing Josie’s favorite song from the movie Frozen. Pablo stopped playing and Anna stroked his hair. She was afraid he would leave the room, but he stayed as she sang three more songs before it was time for the children to go to bed.
Once the two were sleeping, Anna wandered back to her living room. Her thoughts turned for a moment to Mike and tears bit the backs of her eyes. He had called her a few times but she hadn’t answered.
Her throat ached as a lump formed there. After what happened, and how she had deceived him, he must hate her. She couldn’t imagine him wanting to see her.
Why had he called? To tell her how he felt? To ask why she had deceived him?
He deserved answers, but she wasn’t ready to talk to him. How could she put it all into words? She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to talk with him again.
Chapter 21
Mike strode up the walkway to Aunt Gert’s two-story home, in between painted Styrofoam gravestones, and skulls to either side. On the stairs, a skeleton shrouded in reaper’s cloak and hood held a sickle and eerie noises came from beneath the hood. A severed head lay on a velvet cushion within a treasure chest near the front door and it opened its eyes and moaned as Mike walked by. Above the door was a massive web as well as a mechanical spider the size of a small child moving across the width of the web. Spooky music played from hidden speakers from the gate to the front porch.
Every year a team of adult family members, including Mike, helped Gert prepare for the Halloween party, and this year had been no different.
It was still early, before hordes of little and not so little witches, superheroes, cowboys, doctors, and princesses arrived. A lot of the adults who dropped by would also be dressed in costume.
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