She walked up to him. “Hello. Conner, is it?” Her tone was accusatory. He’d told her his name was Jim last spring when she’d volunteered to babysit his sweet daughter. When she’d discovered his secret, he’d moved away without so much as a good-bye. It had broken her heart.
The woman in a navy suit next to him shook Beth’s hand. “I’m Melodie Bennett, Conner’s attorney.”
“I’m Bethany Morris.”
“The babysitter. Thanks so much for coming.”
The babysitter. She’d grown quickly attached to Skye, teaching her how to eat healthy and do yo-yo tricks and introducing her to Star Trek Voyager. Beth had been way more than just the babysitter. People kept telling her she gave her heart away too easily, but she couldn’t help herself. Now she’d given it to Willow and her foster daughter was moving out of the state.
Conner raised his chin at her. “Thanks a million. As you can see, my worst nightmare’s come true.”
“I can’t believe you left without letting me say good-bye to Skye. Where is she?” Beth searched the room.
“She’s in foster care until the judge decides who gets custody,” he said.
“I’m sure she’s in good hands. I’m a foster mother now. Did you know that?”
He shook his head.
“To her half-sister, Willow.”
His jaw dropped. “Really?”
Seeing dark circles beneath his eyes, she resisted the urge to feel bad for him. She knew how hard it was to lose a child. “Gola plans on petitioning the courts to get her parental rights back for her, too.”
“So you’ve met Gola.” Worry lined his forehead.
“Yes. But I’m not here to talk about her. I’ll be completely honest about what kind of a father I think you are.” She loved that her words caused his blue-gray eyes to widen.
His lawyer unloaded a leather satchel onto the table. She placed a legal pad covered in notes, a pen and a file folder in front of her before looking up. “Like Conner told you on the phone, I will ask you to describe how he interacted with his daughter. Just be truthful. Then Gola’s attorney will cross-examine you. Have a seat behind us until you’re called.”
Beth sat in the first of three wooden pews that lined the back of the courtroom. The door squeaked and a man with a bushy beard, in a brown sheriff’s uniform entered the room. He nodded at Conner and sat on the bench behind Beth.
In the front of the room, a young man hurried in and faced them. “All rise.”
A man with gray hair and an I’ve-seen-it-all expression walked in and took a seat at the judge’s bench. Beth zoned out as the script of the court was recited, much like on TV. She was surprised there wasn’t a jury or much of an audience. What really disappointed her was that Skye wasn’t there. She hadn’t seen her since spring. Now it was nearly Christmas. Would the child open her presents in Conner’s house or Gola’s? Which would be a better home? Thank goodness the court would decide. It was tearing her apart with the weight of Willow’s fate resting on her shoulders.
When she looked up, she saw all eyes on her. “Oh. Is it time for me?” Conner and his attorney nodded, so she made her way to the front. “Raise your right hand,” the county clerk ordered. He swore her to the truth and nothing but the truth. No problem.
She sat down and watched Conner’s attorney approach. Melodie was pretty with brown hair and eyes, high cheekbones and a nice figure for someone probably close to forty.
Melodie gave her the smile of a stranger. “Miss Morris, please tell us how you know Conner Walker.”
It was strange to refer to him as Conner instead of Jim. “I lived next to him and his daughter earlier this year. I would watch Skye every day after school when he had to work.”
“How would you describe the relationship between Mr. Walker and Skye?”
She took a deep breath. She had given this question a lot of thought and even though she disagreed with his abrupt departure, she couldn’t deny how he felt about his child. “They’re very close. He obviously loves her very much.”
“Did you ever have a chance to see them interact for prolonged periods of time?”
“Sometimes they’d invite me over for dinner. Conner would cook these amazing homemade meals. Pizza was one of his specialties. And when I told him I thought Skye was eating too many processed foods for snacks, he started baking her these healthy granola bars.”
Melodie’s posture relaxed as she walked slowly back and forth in front of the witness stand. “So you would say that Mr. Walker not only loves his daughter, but he provides a healthy home for her?”
“Yes.”
“Did he make sure that Skye went to school every day?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever see any evidence of Mr. Walker having a temper?”
She remembered the time she’d confronted him with his secret. He’d slammed his fist against the wall, which was nothing compared to what Gola had done. “Not really.”
“Did he ever act violently toward you or Skye?”
“No.”
“How did he discipline his daughter?”
“I suppose he yelled at her sometimes.”
“Tell me about the day she broke her arm. You took her to the hospital because Mr. Walker was at work?”
“Right. She was riding her bike in the apartment parking lot and she was doing tricks. Suddenly a car came speeding through the lot, Skye swerved to avoid it, and she crashed into a parked car. I ran out to her and when I realized she was hurt, I drove her to the ER.”
“Did you try to contact Mr. Walker?”
“Yes. He didn’t make it to the hospital, but he came right over when we got home.”
“Anything else you’d like to add?”
Beth narrowed her eyes at him. “I disagree with the way Conner moves around all of the time, but hopefully this hearing will put a stop to that.”
“Thank you, Miss Morris.” His attorney took her seat and the man next to Gola rose.
“How long did you live next to Mr. Walker and his daughter?”
“Um, I’d say a couple of months.”
“So, you’re testifying that after a couple of months, Mr. Walker seemed to be a good father.”
“I guess so.”
The judge shuffled some papers. “The court needs either a yes or a no.”
“Yes.” Beth crossed her legs. “I mean, he worked a lot, but you could tell he wanted what was best for Skye. Whenever he would pick her up at my house, he would tousle her hair and she would hug him.”
“You testified that Mr. Walker yelled at his daughter. How often would he raise his voice?”
“I don’t know. He yelled that time she was playing in the parking lot because he’d told her not to.”
“So his daughter had just been to the emergency room and he yelled at her?”
“No. I think he yelled at her the next day. Not really yelling.” Was she screwing things up for him? She didn’t mean to. “He was just saying that she wouldn’t have hurt herself if she’d listened to him.”
“But how was she supposed to listen to him? He was at work at the time, correct?”
“Right.” This guy was making her tongue-tied. “But he’d told her not to play outside when he wasn’t home.”
“Besides yelling, have you ever seen Mr. Walker discipline his daughter or hit her?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Have you ever seen Mr. Walker drink or act intoxicated?”
She thought back to their dinners. He’d never served alcohol. “No.”
“Did you know that he’d abandoned Skye when she was a toddler?”
The female attorney spoke up. “Objection.”
The young man waved her concern away. “Withdrawn. We’ve already established that Mr. Walker abandoned his wife and child for several years. He only returned when he felt like it.”
Beth’s mouth opened, but she didn’t speak. According to Conner, he’d returned when Skye was injured in Gola’s drunk driving ac
cident. That struck her as the act of a concerned father, not one acting on a whim.
“What did Mr. Walker tell you his name was?”
It still burned her up when she thought of how he’d lied to her. “He said his name was Jim Stein.”
“And what did he tell you his daughter’s name was?”
“Kaylee Stein.”
“So this man regularly lied about his name and told his daughter to lie. That speaks to his moral character. And by moving around every couple of months, Mr. Walker has not provided a stable home environment, either. I’m done with this witness.”
Feeling beat up, Beth stood and returned to the wooden bench in the back. The sheriff took the stand next. Melodie interviewed him and established that Conner had ties to the community, had been a loyal childhood friend to this man and had never been in serious trouble with the law.
Then opposing counsel stepped forward. “What did Mr. Walker tell you his daughter’s name was?”
“Bella.”
“Ah, another name and another lie.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
When the judge called it a day, Melodie rose and gathered her papers. Fortunately her hands didn’t shake, revealing to everyone just how nervous she was to be back in the courtroom. She couldn’t help but worry that since this wasn’t her specialty, she could fail. And failure would ruin a little girl’s life.
Conner leaned toward her. “How’d we do?”
“Don’t talk here. I’ll meet you in the hall.” She turned toward the babysitter and thanked her for her testimony.
The woman with dark blonde hair smiled as she approached them. She watched as Gola and her attorney left the room. “I hope it was helpful.”
“It was.”
“Is it all right if I come back tomorrow? I’d like to hear Gola’s testimony.”
“Sure.”
Conner stuck his hands in his pockets. He looked uncomfortable dressed up and wearing a tie. “Beth, I’m sorry.”
The hairs on Melodie’s neck prickled. Had Conner and Bethany been involved? Was she actually jealous? She pushed away the thought. He was her client and nothing more. In fact, it was hard to hear all of the negative things about a person like you did in court and not start to question their character. She couldn’t believe she’d kissed him. He was so completely the opposite of Paul. Paul had never had a wild streak. He’d grown up in the suburbs, become a civil engineer and built bridges until he’d read a book about the simple life in the country. He was probably the only college-educated farmer in the county and yet he’d needed the elder Mr. Walker to teach him everything. She smiled at the memory.
Conner and the babysitter continued to talk. The woman’s posture had softened and they were sharing stories about their girls. Melodie took a step toward the door. “I’ll meet you in the hallway.” She made her way to the restroom where she saw a very pregnant strawberry blonde dressed in an oversized blazer and maternity slacks.
The woman dropped a stack of files onto the restroom’s marble floor. With a sigh, she started to bend down, but Melodie beat her to it. “Let me.” She picked everything up and handed them to the woman. “When are you due?”
“Any day now.” Perspiration beaded on her face even though it was forty degrees outside.
Melodie nodded. “I worked right up until my water broke, too. It’s not easy.”
“No, it isn’t. But I haven’t had time to find anyone to help.”
“How long of maternity leave are you planning on taking?” Melodie had barely taken two weeks because she’d had so much to do at the law firm. The partners had all been male and not especially supportive of female attorneys taking time off for family.
The woman pushed a strawberry blonde curl behind her ear. “I’ll probably be reading case files while I’m in labor. I can’t imagine taking leave.” She sighed. “I really should have put some effort into hiring another lawyer, but now it’s too late.”
Melodie’s heart began to pound. “What kind of law do you practice?”
“Family law. Mostly divorces and child custody cases.”
Not Melodie’s area of expertise, but she’d be willing to learn. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Melodie Bennett and I used to work for Keller and Burns Law Firm in Lansing. I took a few years off to raise my baby, but now I’m looking to get back into it. I’m currently handling a child custody case and I feel like family law would be a good fit for me.”
Holding the files against her chest with one arm, the woman shook her hand firmly. “Really? I figured I’d be lucky to get three days with my newborn before I had to get back to the office, but if you could take over for me. . . .”
Melodie smiled. “I’d be glad to. And I’d be willing to job share with you when you’re ready to come back to the office. I’m not interested in working 80 hour weeks anymore now that I have a child. You know what I mean?”
The woman leaned against the sink as if she were too exhausted to support her own weight. “I know exactly what you mean. I’ve been struggling to figure out what to do. I want to be a mother but I also need to work.” She dug in her blazer pocket and handed Melodie a business card. “I’m Noelle Scheffer. Send me your résumé.” As she exited the restroom, she rubbed her swollen abdomen.
Once she heard the door close, Melodie did a little happy dance in front of the mirror.
# # #
Tomorrow Gola would present as to why she was the better parent and Bethany desperately needed to hear it. That’s why she called her boss, Lina, on the drive home to ask for the rest of the week off. Never one to take a vacation day, Lina, wasn’t happy. Beth didn’t want to get into the details, so she just reminded her that she had the time coming. To smooth things over, she promised to check e-mails daily--just in case Healthy Habits Vitamins & Herbs would crumble in her absence. She smiled at the absurdity of it, but deep down, she felt guilty for missing that much work. Part of her felt that she always needed to outshine her co-workers to prove that she deserved to be there.
Even though things were better between them, she still hesitated a few seconds before she dialed her father. “Could you pick up Willow from school the rest of this week? I should be back in time for dinners.”
“Maybe you should just get a hotel and stay up there,” he suggested.
“No way. I know it’s putting a lot of miles on my car, but I don’t want to miss a single night with Willow now that they may be numbered.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. Part of her hoped she’d find out Gola was a terrible person, so it would be easier to take her daughter away from her. The problem was Willow wanted to be with her mom. And Beth hated to be the one to tell her that couldn’t happen.
“I understand.”
“If Gola does regain custody, I think I’m gonna move to Tennessee.” There. That was quite the bomb.
“What? Why?”
“So I can keep an eye on Willow. That way I can still be a part of her life.”
“Bethany, you’re talking crazy. What about your job? What about Parker?”
That was odd. Her father never talked to her about her boyfriend. Probably everything she said to her mother, though, was relayed to her dad. “Parker will be just fine without me. He’s the one always gallivanting off to Africa.”
Her father paused. “I know your mother hoped you two would tie the knot someday.”
“Me, too. But Parker doesn’t want that.”
“Well, it certainly won’t happen if you leave the state.”
Beth rolled her eyes. “Not gonna happen either way. I’ll move to Tennessee if I have to in order to make sure Willow is taken care of. I asked her who she wants to live with and she chose Gola.”
He didn’t answer at first. “I’m sorry, honey.”
She focused on the yellow dashes on the road. She’d been hearing a lot of “sorries” lately but they didn’t take away the pain.
# # #
Bethany sat in the same spot on the wooden pew as she had the day before,
but the other visitors all sat on the opposite side. As Gola was sworn in, the sleeve of her peasant blouse fell, revealing the Cherokee alphabet tattoo.
The young attorney fiddled with his cufflinks as he stood. “When was the last time you saw your daughter, Skye?”
“Two and a half years ago. We were in a car accident and Conner stole her out of her hospital bed.” Her thin, weathered face scowled at him.
“While you were incarcerated, did you have any contact with her?”
“No. I wanted to, but I didn’t know where she was.”
Wanted to? Beth mulled that over. Gola had never attempted to reach Willow until she’d been up for parole. Even without an address, it seemed that a caring mother would write her children letters. Maybe Beth really would be the better mother.
“So you never wrote Skye any letters?”
“Well, I wrote her letters, but I didn’t mail them.” She pointed to the table she’d been sitting at before. “There’s a whole stack of letters that I wrote while I was in prison. I wrote Skye all of the time, but I didn’t know where to mail them.”
Her attorney lifted a bunch of loose-leaf notebook papers and confirmed that these were the notes from a loving mother.
Beth chewed on her lower lip. Gola had been thinking about someone besides herself all of those years. Willow had bounced around between several foster placements, so maybe that’s why she’d never received any letters from Gola, either. Beth would love to read those letters to see what they said.
Her attorney gave the judge the stack of letters before addressing Gola. “Tell the court about your battle with alcoholism.”
“I started drinking real young. My mom drank and I never knew my dad. I snuck a sip from Mom’s bottle one night after she’d passed out. That’s all it took. One sip. The next night I took another sip. Whenever I was feeling lonely or sad or hungry, I’d drink. They say it’s genetic. It’s a disease that some people can’t stop themselves from drinking. I guess that’s what I have.” She took a breath and her black hair shone beneath the fluorescent lights. “In prison, I joined AA and I saw a counselor. I’ve been clean and sober for twenty-eight months and three days.”
A Mother's Conviction (Secrets Series Book 3) Page 20