Ransom of the Heart

by Susan Page Davis

“Are you kidding? It’s a little stressful, but it’s a fun kind of stressful.”

  Tony picked up his glass. “I’ll remind you that you said that when the next fist fight breaks out.”

  Chapter 22

  Tears gushed from Leah’s eyes and down her face.

  “Oh, honey.” Jennifer reached toward her, and Leah sank back into Jennifer’s arms with a deep sob.

  “I was hoping.”

  “Of course you were.” Jennifer met Harvey’s gaze. What kid wouldn’t want to be his child?

  “There’s no mistake, Leah,” he said gently.

  “I hoped you were wrong. That maybe you’d forgotten something.”

  Harvey cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t forget something like that.”

  No, Jennifer thought, he wouldn’t. He’d wanted a child badly while he was married to Carrie, but she made sure that didn’t happen.

  “So, who is my dad?” Leah crumpled the letter she’d received from the lab. It matched Harvey’s letter exactly, except for their addresses. If only their data had matched more closely, too, she would be overjoyed, not heartbroken. Jennifer patted her shoulder.

  “It took some digging,” Harvey said, “but I was able to locate him through some law enforcement data bases.”

  “Law enforcement?” Leah’s chin jerked up. “He’s a cop, too?”

  “No. I’m sorry.”

  She crumpled in the chair. “He has a police record, then.”

  “Yes.”

  “Is he in jail now?”

  Harvey nodded reluctantly.

  Leah blinked a couple of times. “Can I meet him?”

  Harvey glanced toward the doorway to the living room, where Mr. and Mrs. Viniard waited while giving them the few minutes Harvey had requested alone with Leah. Jennifer had expected to stay and chat with them, but Harvey had asked her to come with him and Leah, so she’d left them apologetically with coffee and ginger snaps.

  “That would be up to your parents until you turn eighteen. But I’m not sure it would be a good idea.”

  “Why not?” Leah’s eyes challenged him. “Don’t I have a right?”

  “No. Not now. Not until you’re of age, and only if he wants to then.”

  Leah looked away, her face drooping. She didn’t ask why her biological father wouldn’t want to meet her. He’d had almost sixteen years to do that, and he hadn’t wanted to.

  “What did he do, anyway?”

  “A lot of things, it turns out, all of them bad.”

  “I want to know.”

  Harvey looked bleakly at Jennifer.

  “Leah, it’s pretty grim stuff,” she said softly. “He’s in prison for life.”

  Leah sucked in a breath. “And my mother knew this? She got close to him anyway.”

  “A lot of it happened after you were born,” Harvey said. “She may have thought he was a decent guy. Or maybe she didn’t know him at all.”

  Leah was silent for several seconds. “I still want to meet him.”

  Harvey sighed. “I’ll explain the situation to your parents, but I doubt they’ll want you anywhere near this man. Besides, he’s in another state.”

  “Where?”

  He hesitated. “West of the Mississippi.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Why won’t you tell me?”

  “Because I don’t want you to try to find him. Not yet.”

  “Did he kill someone?”

  “Probably.”

  “What does that mean?” She sat up, her posture rigid. “People don’t go to jail for probably doing something. They have to be proven guilty.”

  “Yes,” Harvey said. “And he was. Of other things. But he’s suspected of committing more crimes than he was convicted for.”

  After a long moment, she rose stiffly. “Okay. Thanks. Sorry I bothered you with this mess.”

  “Leah. . .” Harvey stood.

  She waved a hand in dismissal and walked out into the living room.

  Jennifer reached for his arm. “Pray, Harvey.”

  “I feel like I made things worse.”

  “Maybe for a while. But Leah’s smart. She’ll see the wisdom of what you said after she calms down.”

  He exhaled heavily. “Yeah, maybe. Okay, send her father in.”

  “Don’t you want her mom, too?”

  “Only if you think you can keep Leah in this house while I talk to them. I don’t want her taking off or doing some other stupid thing.”

  “Right.” Jennifer squeezed his arm and went to the living room doorway.

  Leah sat on the couch wrapped in her mother’s arms, weeping while her father stood nearby with his hands hanging at his sides as though he was ready to help but didn’t know how. To Jennifer’s surprise, Randy was sitting in one of the armchairs, eyeing the family with concern.

  Jennifer walked over to him and touched his shoulder.

  Randy looked up at her. “Hi.”

  “I didn’t hear you come in,” Jennifer said.

  “I parked at Jeff’s when I saw the extra car in the driveway. Didn’t want to block them.”

  “So, you met Mr. and Mrs. Viniard?”

  Randy nodded.

  Leah’s sobs subsided, and her mother handed her a tissue.

  “It’s going to be okay, sweetie.”

  Leah sniffed and wiped her nose. In the quiet moment, Jennifer heard Connor babbling and squealing, not unhappily, upstairs.

  “Harvey would like to talk to you folks,” Jennifer said. “Leah, I’m going to go get the baby. It sounds like he’s done with his nap. Then maybe you’d like to join my brother and me for some milk and cookies.”

  Leah pulled another tissue from the box on the coffee table and dabbed at her eyes. She blinked at Randy. “That’s your brother?”

  “Yes.” Jennifer smiled. “Families are funny, aren’t they? This is my brother, Randy Wainthrop. Randy, I don’t think you’ve met Leah.”

  “Hi,” Randy said, standing awkwardly.

  “How old are you?” Leah asked, her eyebrows lowered.

  “Leah,” her mother said gently.

  “It’s okay,” Randy said. “I’m sixteen.”

  She glanced at Jennifer. “You’re a lot younger than her.”

  Jennifer said, “There are three more kids between us, and one older than me.”

  “Oh. Big family.”

  Connor’s happy shriek reached them.

  “I’ll get Connor,” Randy said and hurried toward the stairs.

  “Well, Leah,” Mr. Viniard said, “are you going to be okay if we go talk to Captain Larson for a few minutes?”

  “Whatever.”

  “Leah,” her mother said reproachfully, but her husband touched her sleeve.

  “We’ll be fine,” Jennifer said, though she had no idea what she would do if Leah bolted for the door. She hoped Randy and Connor would help distract her for as long as it took Harvey to explain the situation and impress on the couple how important it was that their daughter not try to establish a relationship with a serial rapist now incarcerated in Arizona.

  The Viniards went into the study with Harvey, and Jennifer said, “Come on in the kitchen, Leah. I think it’s the busiest room in our house.”

  Leah followed her and looked around. “Does that boy live here?”

  “Randy? Just for the summer. He’s got a job here. He’ll go back to Skowhegan before school starts.”

  “Oh. Can I use your bathroom?”

  “Of course.” Jennifer led her to the bath off the entry, a little uneasy because it was so close to the breezeway door. “You should find everything you need.” She went back to the kitchen and set out a plate of cookies, glasses, and napkins, but listened closely for the bathroom door to open.

  Randy came in with Connor squirming and laughing in his arms.

  Jennifer smiled. “Did you change him?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thanks. Just put him in the highchair.”

  “Can I hold him?” Randy asked.

&nbs
p; “Yeah, if you want to.”

  Randy looked toward the entry. “Hey, Leah, have you seen Connor yet? He’s a really neat kid.”

  Leah came hesitantly back to the kitchen. “Is he, like, your little brother?”

  “No, he’s my nephew. He’s Jennifer and Harvey’s kid.”

  “Oh, yeah. I forgot.” Leah slid into the chair Jennifer indicated and studied Connor critically. “He’s cute. I never had a baby around.”

  “Me either, much,” Randy said. “I was the youngest. But I spend as much time as I can with him and my brother Jeff’s baby.”

  Jennifer was going to ask if Leah wanted milk, but she didn’t want to interrupt the conversation. She set a full glass in front of Randy. When Leah didn’t say anything, she poured another and put it down near Leah, who promptly picked it up and took a sip.

  “Thanks,” Leah said.

  “You’re welcome. Help yourself to cookies.” Jennifer puttered around, putting a few dishes into the dishwasher and wiping down the counter, half listening to the two teens talk.

  “Are you on Facebook?” Randy asked. “Or Instagram, or—”

  Leah whipped a phone out of her pocket. “What’s your number? I’ll text you.”

  After a few minutes, Leah was holding Connor, feeding him tiny bites of cookie. Randy had told a funny story about a woman who came into the store that morning, and they were now discussing school and their college plans.

  “You know, judging from what I learned about my birth parents, I probably wouldn’t be able to go to college if I hadn’t been adopted,” Leah said quietly.

  “That’s rough,” Randy said. “I guess you were blessed to be adopted.”

  Leah was silent for a moment. “Maybe. I don’t know. I need to think about it some more.”

  “Well, your parents seem like good people,” Randy said.

  “Yeah. Lucky me.”

  The study door opened.

  “Da-da-da!” Connor held out his arms as soon as he spotted Harvey, lunging forward.

  Leah caught him and pulled him back. “Oh, easy. You almost jumped right off my lap!”

  Harvey came over and scooped him up. “Hey, buddy.”

  Connor hugged him ferociously and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

  “Well, I see you made a couple of new friends,” Denise Viniard said.

  “Isn’t he adorable?” Leah said, smiling widely. “He’s fourteen months old.”

  “He’s precious,” her mother said.

  Harvey winked at Jennifer. “So, more coffee, folks?”

  “No, I think we’d better head home,” Steve said. “But thank you both so much. I know this hasn’t been the most pleasant thing for you.”

  “Hey, we’re fine,” Harvey said. “I’m glad we could help Leah get some answers.”

  “I’ll just get my purse.” Denise headed for the living room.

  “Dad, I want a little brother for my birthday,” Leah said.

  Steve laughed. “I thought you wanted a horse.”

  “Well, it’s getting kind of late for that. I’ve got to start thinking about college, you know.”

  “Oh, college.” He gave Harvey a sage nod. “We’re at that stage now.”

  “Yeah, Randy here’s going through it—filing applications, looking for financial aid. It’s an exciting time.”

  Jennifer held out a plastic bag of cookies to Leah. “Why don’t you take these home, Leah? I think I made too many.”

  “Thanks,” Leah said. “I wish I lived close enough to babysit Connor for you.”

  “That’s a nice thought.” Jennifer gave her hand a squeeze. “Thank you. You call us anytime, okay?”

  “Thanks.”

  Harvey put his arm around Jennifer. “She means it, and so do I. I gave you our home number here. If you need to talk about something, give one of us a call.”

  “Just don’t call him if you get arrested,” Randy said drily.

  Leah made her face into an exaggerated frown. “I don’t do stupid things that will get me arrested.”

  “Glad to hear it,” her father said.

  “Yeah, somebody taught me how to behave,” she said.

  Steve laughed as Denise returned. “Come on, girls. Let’s go home.”

  When they’d waved them off, Randy went up to his room.

  “It’s three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, and nobody’s demanding you go to work,” Jennifer said. They walked slowly into the living room with Harvey carrying Connor.

  “Imagine that,” he said.

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I want to sit down here with you and Connor and not move until suppertime.”

  “Your wish is granted.” Jennifer kissed him and pushed him down into his favorite armchair. “I hope you meant it when you said you’re okay with Leah keeping in touch.”

  “I did.”

  “Good. Because she and Randy are now online buddies.”

  “Oh, boy.”

  “Yeah. We’re at that stage with him, too.”

  Harvey looked up at the ceiling. “Randy and girls. Are we ready?”

  “I know I’m not,” Jennifer said.

  Harvey absently patted Connor’s back. “She’s kind of funny looking, with all that bushy hair, but she’s kind of cute, don’t you think?”

  “I think Randy found her interesting.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah. Well, I think she’s interesting, too. She took it hard about her father, though.”

  “Wouldn’t you?”

  He nodded. “Tough thing to lay on a kid that age.”

  “Do you think she’ll try to contact him?”

  “I hope not. I laid it on the line with Steve and Denise. If they can help it, she won’t. At least not until she older.”

  “Even then, he could be a horrible influence on her.”

  “Yeah,” Harvey said. “I hope she’ll have sense enough to stay away from him.”

  “She says she doesn’t do stupid things.”

  “Oh, I have no doubt she thinks that. But I also know every kid has that yearning.” He held Connor closer.

  Someone knocked on the patio door.

  “I’ll get it,” Jennifer said. She walked into the sunroom. Eddie and Jeff stood on the back steps, and Jeff was holding a basketball. She slid the door open.

  “Can Harv come out and play?” Jeff asked in a little-boy voice.

  She sighed. “I’ll ask him.”

  She walked over to the connecting doorway. “Eddie and Jeff want to shoot hoops.”

  “Tell them I’m staying in with you. I’ve hardly seen you all week.”

  She turned around and looked at them. “You heard?”

  Eddie frowned. “Yeah. What about Randy? Is he home?”

  “I’ll let him know you asked.” She went to the stairs and called up to Randy. “Hey, Randy, you want to play ball with Jeff and Eddie?”

  Randy came pounding down the stairs in cutoff shorts and a T-shirt.

  “They’re out there.” Jennifer pointed toward the sunroom.

  After she made sure he shut the patio door tightly, she went back to Harvey chair. He shifted Connor to make room for her, and she sat down on his lap.

  They sat for a minute in silence, except for Connor’s happy little burbles as he patted Harvey’s scratchy cheek. The repeated thud of the basketball on the pavement in front of the garage made her smile.

  “This is nice,” she said.

  “Mmm.”

  “Are you asleep?”

  “No,” Harvey said. “Just filing the paperwork.”

  “On what?”

  He tightened his arm around her. “This moment.”

  The End

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for choosing Ransom of the Heart. This is Book 7 in the Maine Justice Series, which features the men of the Priority Unit and their families. This story focuses on Abby Wainthrop Hobart and her husband, Peter, who are part of the extended family for Harvey Larson and Eddie Thibodeau. H
arvey and Eddie are married to Abby’s sisters, Jennifer and Leeanne. I hope you enjoyed their adventure. Group discussion questions are just a few pages away. If you haven’t read the earlier books in the series, you would enjoy starting with The Priority Unit, Book 1, and follow their story to this point.

  This story deals with the abduction of an adult and a demand for ransom. It also finds Harvey confronted by a teenager who thinks he is her father. Because of the urgency of the kidnapping case, Harvey doesn’t have much time for other concerns for a few days, but he gets some help on other matters from the family.

  If you enjoy the Maine Justice Series, I hope you will tell other readers and perhaps post a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, BookBub, or other venues of your choice.

  I hope to continue the series, God willing. In the meanwhile, I am working on other books and will continue to re-issue some more of my backlist books.

  Breaking News has been available only as an e-book for several years, but I recently released it as a paperback. Kurt Borden sends his star reporter out to do a feature on a senator who disappeared decades earlier. Then the reporter vanishes. If you haven’t read this mystery solved by newspaper editor Kurt and his wife, Janet, take a look at the excerpt at the end of this book. I hope you love it.

  Sincerely,

  Susan Page Davis

  About the author:

  Susan Page Davis is the author of more than eighty published novels. She’s a two-time winner of the Faith, Hope & Love Readers’ Choice Award and the Will Rogers Medallion, and also a winner of the Carol Award and a finalist in the WILLA Literary Awards. A Maine native, she now lives in Kentucky with her husband Jim, one of their six grown children, and two cats, sweet Sora and naughty Arthur. Visit her website at: www.susanpagedavis.com , where you can see all her books, sign up for her occasional newsletter, and read a short story on her romance page.

  Find Susan at:

  Website: www.susanpagedavis.com

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  Discussion questions for Ransom of the Heart