“It’s that easy for you, huh?” He looked away again.
She walked around the coffee table and sat down beside him. “I could be like you and let this eat me up, but I’d much rather enjoy the precious gift I’ve been given.”
“Well, I guess it is easy for you, being you’re not the parent that had their child stolen from them.”
“So you’ve forgotten the sacrifices I made for you.”
He shook his head. “No. But you never had me taken away from you.”
“No, because I kicked his ass out before he could hurt you. It wasn’t until he started to put his hands on you that I intervened. I knew what he was capable of doing. He’d hurt me enough. I didn’t give him another chance to put his big hands on you. He might have killed you. Then you would have been taken away from me.”
She opened the photo album and eyed the first page of photographs. “Look it that. Emma had a head of hair when she was born and so tiny. Oh, my goodness, how precious!”
Cal glanced over and then looked away.
She turned a page. She took in a breath. “Look at that smile.” Janie chuckled.
“Mom, don’t.” He refused to look at it.
Janie closed the book. “You’ve forgotten. Raven had a lot taken from her too.”
“Like what?”
“She told about it in her book, Cal. I thought you’d read it.”
“She never had her child taken from her.”
“Well, she had her mother and father taken from her and her childhood. She didn’t have a parent to protect her, she had to protect herself. The kids at school used to make fun of her because of where she lived, and how she looked, the cheap glasses, the ratty shoes and clothes, and Callie butchering up her hair. But Raven didn’t let that stop her.”
He shook his head. “You don’t understand. I missed out on my daughter’s life.”
“And what are you doing now?”
He felt a slap in the face without his mother lifting a hand.
Janie sat up straight and turned toward him. “You’ve been given a chance that other’s would give anything to have. Look at Suzanne and Ted. Only now, have they been reunited with her own daughter. For years they’d thought that she was dead. You had five taken from you. They had twenty-eight years taken from them. Why not lay the blame where it belongs, Cal,—on Callie and Angus.”
She laid the photo album on his coffee table and stood up. “I’ve got to get up early as I do every day. One day, I’ll get to retire and let someone else get up early and take care of the diner.” She walked around the coffee table and headed for the door. “Don’t bother getting up from your pouting stupor. I’ll see myself out.” She opened the door and looked back over her shoulder. “A real mother will do anything to protect her children. She will go to any length to see that her child is not harmed and will make sacrifices that others might not understand. A real father will too. This is not about you, son. This is about Emma.”
He had sat with the bottle of bourbon in his hand and stared at the blank television screen for thirty minutes after Janie had left. He hadn’t taken another drink. He already felt the effects of what he had drunk and didn’t care for it. He set the bottle down on the coffee table and then eyed the photo album. Emma Sawyer was engraved on the front cover.
Emma Sawyer? It should be Emma Rayburn.
With one hand he grabbed the photo album and brought it to his lap. His jaw muscles worked as he tried to decide whether to open it or not. His thoughts rambled over one thing and then another.
It isn’t fair. What had he ever done to deserve this? His daughter didn’t know who he was when she’d seen him. But yet … she asked if that’s him. So Raven had told her something. But what had she told her over the years? Surely Emma had asked. He had so many questions he wanted to ask Raven, but how would he know if she would tell him the truth?
“I never lied to you.”
“No, you never lied to me. You just avoided the truth.”
If the truth about Raven’s real parents hadn’t of come out, then he might never have known he had a daughter.
He flipped open the photo album to the first page.
* * *
Sometime during the night, he had fallen asleep on the sofa. He woke up to his cell phone ringing. He fumbled around on the coffee table until his fingers located it. He looked at the phone and blinked several times to focus.
He saw the caller and the time. Seven o’clock. He was always at work by six. He cursed under his breath and answered the phone.
“I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.” He disconnected. He hadn’t meant to sleep this late or fall asleep on the sofa.
He peeled himself up from the sofa and stumbled to the shower.
He came through the front doors of the sheriff’s department thirty-five minutes later.
“It’s raining outside. What’s with the sunglasses?” Justin said as he looked up at Cal. Justin sipped coffee from his mug and watched Cal walk across the lobby and then disappear around the corner. He raised his eyebrows and set his cup down. “Okay.”
Justin stood up, stretched, and then reached for his coffee mug again. He took another sip. The phone rang. He reached over with his free hand and took the call.
“Laurel County Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Ledet.”
He listened. The mug slipped from his fingers, hit the side of the desk, and then fell to the floor.
83
The car accident had occurred on Interstate Fifty-five northbound when a southbound driver lost control of his vehicle, crossed the median, and hit the car Christine Ledet had been driving. She had been on her way to Memphis for an appointment with her obstetrician. She was airlifted to the Trauma Center at the Regional Medical Center in Memphis.
Cal had driven Justin to Memphis, and they were in the waiting room. Upon arrival, they had been told that they were working on her. Justin had asked about the baby, but they couldn’t offer any more information. Justin had paced, ran his fingers through his hair, and paced some more.
There were several people in the waiting room. Some were on their feet, leaning against a wall, but most were seated, and a few of those were asleep.
Justin stopped pacing and looked at Cal who had his back against the wall. He couldn’t sit either.
“I should have gone with her this morning. I could have taken off work and drove her up here. It was raining. I should have.”
Cal shook his head. “Don’t do this to yourself. You didn’t know this would happen. No one knew.”
He had a dazed look on his face. Tears filled his eyes. “I can’t lose her,” he said at a near whisper. “She’s my whole world.”
“Justin Ledet?” A surgeon stood in the doorway to the trauma unit, holding one of the double doors open as he looked around the room.
Justin darted toward the door. “That’s me.”
Cal pushed away from the wall and hurried after him.
Justin stood in front of the surgeon and waited.
The surgeon’s face was somber. “You need to go on back.”
“Is she okay?” Justin’s face had grown even paler.
The surgeon glanced at Cal and then looked at Justin. “We’ve done all we can. She’s awake enough to hear you. I suggest you go on back now.”
Wide-eyed and dismayed, Justin glanced at Cal and then followed the surgeon back. The door closed, and Cal watched through the windows as they walked at a fast pace down the corridor.
Cal stepped over to the wall beside the door and leaned against it. He propped up one foot behind him on the wall and put his weight on one leg. He bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
He didn’t know how to pray—but he did anyway. In his mind he talked—pleaded with God to save her and the baby. He had met Christine on several occasions when she’d dropped by the sheriff’s department to see Justin or at the department’s annual Christmas party. She was a petite blond with lots of energy. She always had a smile on he
r face and a kind word on her lips, even to strangers. Justin had said that she never met a stranger. Cal had always admired the couple and thought if he had ever married, he hoped the love they seemed to have would be what he’d have.
For that reason, his thoughts drifted to Raven. He remembered when they were dating, how he’d thought she was the one and had hoped that one day they’d be married, and how he had hurt when she’d left. He’d gotten to where he could live again, but he’d never gotten over her. As much as he loved her, he couldn’t imagine losing someone to death. And losing a child? Even an unborn child would be devastating.
How far along was Christine? He’d forgotten. December—their baby was due in December.
It’d been so crazy at the department that after Justin had shared the news about Christine being pregnant, they hadn’t had time to discuss anything but business. But he remembered the look on Justin’s face when he’d told him. He had been beaming with pride and joy and something else.
Love. The love he had for his wife and the love he had for a child he had yet to meet.
What’s this going to do to him?
About an hour and fifteen minutes later, Justin pushed the door open and walked through. He didn’t see Cal, nor did he look for Cal—he just walked.
“Justin?” Cal said as he walked up behind him.
Justin didn’t stop.
“Justin?” Cal stepped up beside him. Cal saw the look on his face and recognized it. He’d seen that look on his comrades, when he’d been stationed in Afghanistan, after losing one of their own.
He reached out and grabbed Justin’s shoulder. He stopped. Cal stepped in front of him. Justin looked right through him.
“Justin?”
He blinked several times and then looked at Cal. His knees buckled. Cal held him up until Justin could lean against him.
* * *
The rain had ended and the sun had come out. Steam drifted upward off of the pavement as they headed south on the interstate. They passed the area where the accident had happened. Crews had already towed the vehicles off and cleaned up the debris. He glanced over at Justin. He hadn’t seemed to have noticed where they were as he had on the drive up. The forty-five minute drive back to Cypress seemed to last for hours. Justin sat the whole journey in a daze in the passenger seat of Cal’s squad car. He’d spoken only once during the drive back.
“She came to long enough to make me promise that if it came down to her life or the baby’s, to save the baby. I couldn’t tell her that our baby was already gone. I could only tell her that I love her.”
Justin’s and Christine’s home was located in a small neighborhood inside the city limits. The three bedroom two bath house was a starter home for the Ledet family. He had mentioned to Cal that they were looking into some acreage in the country. He and Christine had spent many hours on the back roads, looking for the right spot to build a house and raise a family.
Cal pulled into their driveway. They exited the car and walked to the small front porch. A flowerbed was on either side of the three steps. The house had a fresh coat of light blue paint and white trim. Something Justin had been tending to during his free time.
Cal followed him up the steps. Justin opened the storm door and fumbled with the house keys. He opened the door and went inside. Cal went in behind him.
“You probably need to get back to headquarters.” Justin stood in the middle of the living room and looked lost.
“I’m going to stick around here with you until your family comes.”
“Yeah, I guess I should call her …” He couldn’t finish. He took a deep breath. “I need a few minutes.”
“I’ve got some calls to make. I’ll be on the front porch,” Cal said and then stepped outside and left the door open, so he could keep an eye on him through the storm door.
He called dispatch and told him what was going on and to relay the message to the other deputies. He stood outside in view of the living room but tried not to look conspicuous.
His and her parents lived in Louisiana. It would take them about six and half hours, not counting packing time and stops along the way. He figured at least eight hours or so. He eyed his watch.
Cal leaned against the porch rail and waited.
Fifteen minutes later, his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller I.D. and then answered, “Mom?”
“I heard what happened. Good Lord! Is Justin okay? I mean, how can he be? Of course he’s not okay. Where are you?”
“I’m at his house. We just got back from Memphis about twenty minutes ago.”
“I’m calling the ladies auxiliary, and my Bunco group, and Jenny at the Crop Shop. She’ll let the other stylists know, and they’ll all call their regulars. We’ll get some food together. I’ll get a donation jar started here at the diner. Funerals aren’t cheap. I know he’s not going to be hungry, but I’m going to bring something by there in about an hour. Y’all both need to eat if you can. Are you going to be there awhile?”
“I’ll be here until his and her family arrives or longer if he needs me.”
“I figured as much. I’ll let you go.”
“Okay, don’t worry.”
He started to disconnect.
“Cal?”
He brought the phone back to his ear. “Yes.”
“I saw Emma today. A couple of times. Well, three to be exact. I can’t seem to stay away. I want to get all the time in with her that I can before she and Raven go back to New York. Anyway, Emma asked about you. She wanted to know when her daddy was coming back to see her. She thinks that you might not like her. Raven tried to reassure her that that wasn’t the case, but you know how little kids can be. They get something in their head and soon there’s a monster under their bed. I’ll let you go. I know you need to be helping him in whatever way you can. I’ll see y’all in a little bit.”
She disconnected.
Why hadn’t it occurred to him that Emma and Raven would go back to New York? He shook his head.
No!
84
The smell of supper on the stove had Raven’s attention. Her stomach growled.
“Are you hungry, Emma?”
Raven saved her document on her laptop that she’d brought with her on this last trip to Cypress. She looked across the room where Emma had been stretched out on the floor, coloring. Her coloring book and crayons were there but she wasn’t.
“Emma?”
When she didn’t answer, Raven got up from the chair behind the desk. She headed out of the room, on down the hallway, and into the den. Ted sat in an easy chair with a newspaper. He’d rescheduled all of his appointments to spend time with them for the rest of the week before they had to head back to New York.
“Emma?”
Ted looked up at her. “She’s in the kitchen, helping Mavis.”
“Oh no. I think Emma will be a chef when she grows up. She loves trying to help in the kitchen.” Raven headed into the kitchen. “Emma? Miss Mavis can’t get a thing done in here with you and Gabe in the way. Go into the den and call Gabe. Y’all play in there.”
Mavis stood at the kitchen cabinet while she placed biscuits in a pan. Emma stood in a chair beside her with a small ball of dough in her hands. Gabriel sat beside Emma’s chair with his eyes locked on the ball of dough.
“I’m helping Miss Mavis, Mommy. We’re making biscuits.”
“Emma? Gabe? Come on in here with your grandpa. Help me read this storybook. Goldie Locks and the Three Stooges,” Ted said.
Emma giggled. “Three Bears, Grandpa.” She handed Mavis the ball of dough and climbed down.
“Hold up!” Mavis said.
Emma turned to her. Mavis took her apron and wiped the flour off her little hands.
“There ya go.”
Emma hurried out of the kitchen with Gabriel on her heels.
Mavis shook her head and smiled.
“I’m sorry about that, Mavis. She was right beside me one minute and the next, she was gone.”
“She’s no problem. I’ve got grandbabies of my own. I know how fast they can be. Besides, you were busy working on that new novel of yours.” She placed the pan of biscuits in the oven.
Raven loved being in this house. The atmosphere was totally different than it had been when she stayed with Callie and Ted and very different than when she lived in the trailer while growing up. The house always looked and smelled clean and Mavis always had something cooking in the kitchen if you were hungry or not. Raven thought if she didn’t get back to her apartment in New York soon, she’d have to buy herself a whole new wardrobe, because Mavis’s cinnamon rolls were Raven’s downfall.
“Supper will be ready as soon as the biscuits are done,” Mavis said.
“What else do you have over there?” Raven walked across the way and eyed the pie on the counter top.
“Ah, that’s sweet potato pie, a family recipe.”
“Mavis, you’re gonna make me fat.”
“I ain’t shoved nothin’ in your mouth, chile.” She laughed.
Raven laughed and turned back toward the door. Cal stood in the doorway with his eyes on her. Emma was in his arms. Her heart leaped. She placed a hand over her chest as if to keep it from leaping out of her body.
“I didn’t hear the doorbell,” she said.
“I knocked.”
“He likes me, Mommy. He said so.” Emma had a broad grin on her face.
Raven smiled. “I told you not to worry.”
“Yup!”
Raven looked back at Cal. She wondered what was on his mind but was afraid to know. She put her weight on one foot. After a moment that felt to her like five minutes, he finally spoke, “I’d like to talk with you later, if that’s okay?”
She nodded.
He looked beyond her and said, “Mavis, supper sure smells good.”
“There’s plenty here, Sheriff, if you’re hungry.”
He looked at Raven.
“Will you have supper with us?” she asked.
Diana Anderson - Entering Southern Country 01 - Famous in a Small Town Page 27