With me dealing with Isaac’s situation and Nolan and Dallas trying to care for a broken-hearted Newt, I’d been worried about the work piling up at the sanctuary, but I’d been surprised to learn that Ford had volunteered to help out until things got back to normal and that Dallas had actually accepted. I figured Dallas saw what I did–that Ford wasn’t anything like his brother. The fact that Ford had tried to help Isaac and Newt, first by warning me about Gary being in town and again by helping in the search for Newt, was evidence enough that he had a good heart. Between him and Sawyer, they were able to keep the sanctuary going without too much trouble.
Isaac had spent the last few days just lying on our bed in front of the fireplace and when I hadn’t been visiting Newt, I’d just held Isaac and let him alternate between sleeping, crying, and utter silence. His lawyer had stopped by several times to ask Isaac questions and to give us updates on things, but it’d been hard to hear that the prosecutor in Massachusetts was extraditing Isaac to face charges there, since that was where the kidnapping had actually occurred. Isaac’s lawyer was fighting it, but the whole thing was inevitable, since the investigator who worked for Isaac’s lawyer was still gathering evidence. The lawyer’s goal was to delay the extradition as long as possible.
We were back in court for another hearing. The judge had been going through the evidence presented and was considering whether or not he wanted to meet with Newt. Dallas and Nolan were with Newt in another room within the courthouse, which was especially hard on Isaac because he was desperate to see his brother. To know he was so close but still couldn’t see him was akin to torture for him.
As the judge took a brief recess, we were milling around the courtroom waiting for him to return and let us know if he’d made his decision about meeting with Newt or whether he wanted to hear more evidence. There was a slim chance he could even rule on the extradition then and there. Sawyer was there for moral support and to communicate what was happening to Dallas and Nolan.
Unfortunately, Gary was also in the courtroom and that was stressing Isaac out even more. While Isaac hadn’t testified during the hearing, his affidavits claiming abuse were in the judge’s hands. As were Gary’s claims of innocence. Each side was hoping their argument would sway the judge one way or the other.
“All rise.”
“Love you,” I whispered to Isaac before giving him a quick kiss and returning with Sawyer to the seats just behind the defendant’s table. We waited until the judge was seated and the bailiff gave the all clear to sit down. Isaac cast me a glance over his shoulder and offered me a wobbly smile, but I could see the fear in his eyes.
“Okay, folks,” the judge began, but then paused when his clerk suddenly got up and handed him a note. He read it, then called the bailiff over and spoke to him. The bailiff went to a side door and opened it. I stiffened when I saw the old man who’d been at the sanctuary the day Gary had attacked Isaac. No one had seen or heard from him since then. Gary had been mum about who he was when Cam had questioned him, and since there’d been no evidence the man’s identity was pertinent to the case, the sheriff had been forced to let it go.
The older man entered along with a middle-aged woman dressed in an expensive-looking suit. The man looked at Isaac and I once again saw the same expression I’d seen that day at the sanctuary.
It almost looked like longing.
But that didn’t make sense.
He and Isaac didn’t know each other.
“Would you introduce yourself to the court?” the judge asked the woman.
“My name is Karina Sumner. I’m a managing partner at Sumner, Horst and Winehouse. My firm is based in Houston. My client is Mr. A.R. Sheridan and he has a personal interest in this case that the court should be aware of, Your Honor.”
“How so?” the judge asked.
“Mr. Sheridan was contacted by Mr. Willis” –the lawyer motioned to Gary– “a few months ago. Mr. Willis claimed to know the whereabouts of Mr. Sheridan’s daughter, Jillian.”
I heard Isaac stifle a gasp.
“As well as Jillian’s two sons,” the lawyer continued.
I stiffened at that. The older man once again looked at Isaac and it hit me all at once who he was.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” the judge said. “How is that connected to this case?”
“Because Mr. Foster,” –the lawyer pointed at Isaac– “is one of those sons.”
“May I speak, Your Honor?” the man, Sheridan, asked.
“You may,” the judge said.
“When Mr. Willis called me, he told me my daughter had died in a car accident two years ago, but that she had left behind two sons, Isaac and Newton.” The man glanced at Isaac again before continuing. Isaac seemed completely lost in shock.
“Mr. Willis told me that Isaac had kidnapped Newton because he wanted some money my daughter had left Newton in a trust and was hoping to blackmail Mr. Willis by offering to return Newton to him in exchange for the money in the trust.”
I glanced at Gary in disbelief.
“I’m sorry to say that I believed him at first. He said a lot of things about Isaac that I’ve come to realize aren’t true. I was desperate to meet my youngest grandson and wanted to, what I thought was rescue him at the time, so I agreed to come with Mr. Willis to confirm it really was Isaac and Newton.” Sheridan pulled in a breath and said, “When I saw Mr. Willis punch my grandson–Isaac–without any kind of provocation, I knew he’d lied to me.” The man suddenly turned toward Isaac. “I’m so sorry, Isaac. I should have tried to stop him but it all just happened so fast and I—”
“Mr. Sheridan, you need to address your comments to the court,” the judge interjected.
“Yes, I’m sorry,” he murmured. “After I realized Mr. Willis had lied, I had Karina see what she could find out about him. I just… I wish I’d done it sooner, but I was so desperate for word on my daughter, and then on my grandchildren.” The man shook his head sadly. He looked completely broken.
His lawyer handed the bailiff three identical envelopes. The man took one to the judge and handed the other two to both Isaac’s lawyer and the prosecutor. “This is the evidence our firm has amassed against Mr. Willis so far, Your Honor. One of our investigators was able to match fingerprints lifted from a beer can Mr. Willis had been drinking from to a man named Gary Halloran. Mr. Halloran,” –she motioned to Gary– “has an extensive criminal record including domestic violence and battery charges. He spent time in prison for putting his girlfriend’s twelve-year-old-daughter into a coma after pushing her into a wall.”
“That’s a lie!” Gary yelled as he jumped to his feet. One of the court officers immediately went to him and ordered him to sit down.
The judge skimmed through the file, as did the other two lawyers. Isaac looked at me, completely shocked. I mouthed the words, it’ll be okay to him, and he nodded. I could see that he was tapping his foot incessantly beneath the table.
“There’s also proof in there that Mr. Foster has been acting as Newton’s primary caregiver since his birth. There are affidavits from former neighbors and friends as well as medical records that prove Isaac took him to all his wellness exams from the time he was born. There’s also proof from a pharmacy that Isaac was the one who got Newton’s anti-seizure medication filled. Additionally, the ER doctor who treated Newton has agreed that it is very possible the seizures Newton is still experiencing could be from a head injury caused by having his head slammed into a wall. I would urge this court to ask the child himself about what happened that day—”
“That won’t be necessary,” the judge said as he skimmed the documents. To the prosecutor he said, “Mr. Lewis, I take it you want some time to do your own investigation?”
The prosecutor nodded as he glanced from the paperwork in his hand to Gary. The lawyer looked pissed and Gary actually squirmed a bit in his seat.
“You have twenty-four hours,” the judge said. “But unless you find something concrete, I’m going to be ru
ling in Mr. Foster’s favor and denying extradition. I suggest you look a little closer to home if you want someone to put behind bars,” he added as his eyes settled on Gary.
“Your Honor,” Isaac’s lawyer called. “In light of this evidence, we ask that you remove the protective order against my client. I believe it’s clear to everyone in this room that Isaac isn’t a threat to his brother and that he’s only acted in Newton’s best interest.”
“Granted,” the judge said, then he was banging his gavel. I automatically jumped, but fortunately he just slammed it down once, then he was up and leaving the bench. Sawyer slapped me on the back and pulled out his phone.
“I’ll tell Dallas and Nolan,” he said, then he was walking out of the courtroom.
“Is that it?” Isaac quietly asked his lawyer. I got up and went to him. He leaned into me when I put my arm around him.
“You’re officially still charged,” the woman said. “But my guess is the charges will be dropped within a matter of hours.” She held up the folder. “This is some pretty damning stuff, and the prosecutor is going to look like a fool for not having done his homework before filing the charges.”
“And I can see Newt?” he asked hopefully.
“Absolutely,” she said. “And the protective order against Gary is still in place so he can’t come anywhere near Newt. My next stop is to file one against him on your behalf.”
I glanced over and saw Gary being ushered out of the courtroom by the prosecutor.
Isaac let out a rush of air and then he was hugging me. I shook the lawyer’s hand and then wrapped both my arms around Isaac as she left. My eyes caught on Sheridan’s face. His lawyer was talking to him on one side of the courtroom, but he didn’t seem to really be listening to her. When Isaac made eye contact with him, the man said something to his lawyer, then came toward us.
Isaac tensed a bit and straightened. His hand dropped down to search out mine.
“Hi, Isaac,” the man said. “My name is Aaron Sheridan.” He hesitated, then stuck out his hand.
But I figured Isaac was caught on the same thing as me.
Aaron.
As in Isaac’s middle name.
“She named me after you,” he whispered. “I mean, Isaac Newton and you,” he corrected.
“She did?” Sheridan asked.
“My middle name is Aaron. Newt’s is too.”
Sheridan laughed and then let out what sounded like the smallest of whimpers. He discreetly dashed at his eyes. “She was the oddest girl,” he murmured.
“She was,” Isaac agreed. Both men had made the comment with the same level of affection. “She never talked about you,” Isaac said. “She never even told me your name.”
Sheridan nodded and smiled sadly. “That doesn’t surprise me. She was very stubborn. Once she made up her mind about something, it was hard to change it.”
“She said you kicked her out when she got pregnant with me,” Isaac accused.
The older man sighed. “I said some terrible things to her when she told me she was pregnant,” he admitted. “Her mother died when she was six, so it had only been her and me for the longest time. When she started showing signs of being sick, I foolishly thought if she just had structure and goals, it would help keep her on track. I didn’t really understand her disease–that was something her mother had always been good at, but not me. Jilly naturally rebelled, but when she was off her meds, she was impossible to get through to. When she said she was pregnant, I just saw her entire life, all the plans we made, get derailed and I said some things to her that I shouldn’t have and that I regretted.”
Sheridan wiped at his head as if he had a headache and I had no doubt bringing up his daughter and the way they’d parted must have been hard on him.
“She was gone the next morning. I thought she would come back. When she didn’t, I tried to find her. But it was like she’d disappeared into thin air. Then nearly twenty-two years later I get this call out of the blue from this complete stranger telling me he had information about her. He… he didn’t even tell me she was dead until I went to Boston to meet him.”
“How did he even know how to find you?” I asked.
“Jilly told him about me. He made it sound like he needed my help to get Newton back, but looking back, I realized he had a bigger goal in mind.”
“What?” I asked.
“The same thing that drove him from the moment he met my daughter. Money.” He looked at Isaac and said, “I’ve been very successful in the oil industry in Texas. That’s where I’m from… Houston. All Gary would have had to do was check my name on the internet and he would have seen how much I was worth. Your mother may have left Newton a good deal of money, but it would have seemed like nothing compared to the inheritance he would have gotten from me. He figured out pretty quickly how desperate I was to be a part of my grandson’s life because he even offered to move to Houston with Newton after he got him back.” He paused and said, “I’m sorry, Isaac. I shouldn’t have believed him but when he called, it was like Jillian herself was reaching out to me and I finally had the chance to make things right.”
The ache in the man’s voice was clear and his regret was profound and honest.
“Are you… are you going to try to take Newt from me?” Isaac asked softly, his voice racked with fear.
Sheridan quickly shook his head. “No, no, absolutely not. You’ve been an amazing big brother, Isaac. I can see that just by all the things you did for him when he was born. You were and are the father he should have had from the beginning. I’m just sorry it had to fall on your young shoulders. I’m thinking life with Jillian meant you didn’t have much of a childhood yourself.”
Before Isaac could respond, the courtroom doors swung open.
“Isaac!” Newt yelled and then he was running. Isaac met him at the spot where there was a small swing door leading to the front part of the courtroom. He caught him up and held him.
“Oh God, I’ve missed you,” Isaac said softly.
“Are you coming home now?” Newt asked. He looked like he was on the verge of tears.
“I’m absolutely coming home, Newt,” Isaac said, then he kissed his temple. I glanced up to see Nolan, Dallas, and Sawyer standing by the main doors. Dallas’s gaze caught mine and he smiled warmly. I had a million things I wanted to say to him in that moment, but they’d keep until we were home.
Because there was no doubt I was going home too.
But not to the big ugly house on the water that hadn’t ever really been home. I was going wherever Isaac was going, and I knew in my gut that place included my brother and the man he now called family.
“Spit on it,” Newt demanded, then he was horking into his palm. Isaac automatically looked at me with a you gotta be kidding me look. I shrugged my shoulders. His look promised retribution and then he was spitting into his hand and shaking Newt’s.
“I promise I’m coming home,” he said.
“And we get to stay with Nolan and Dallas and Loki and Sawyer and Gentry and Snotrod and Mad?”
“I’m last?” I called out to Newt. “I’m last on your list? Behind Snot?”
Newt giggled and shrugged.
“Yes, we get to stay with Nolan and Dallas and Loki and Sawyer and Gentry and Snot and, most definitely, Mad,” Isaac said as he flashed me a smile. I felt my insides go impossibly warm.
Isaac’s eyes fell on Sheridan, who was looking at both him and Newt with blatant want. But the man continued to hang back. It was Isaac who returned to us. When he was once again pressed up against my side, Newt still in his arms, he said, “Newt, I want you to meet someone. This is Aaron.”
“Like our name?” Newt asked, and Isaac nodded.
“Hello,” Newt said, then he stuck out his hand.
The spit-covered one.
Sheridan didn’t even hesitate to take it. “Hi, Newt,” he said, his voice cracking just a little.
Isaac put out his hand next… also his spit-covered one. “I’m Isaac,
Aaron. It’s very nice to meet you.”
The man nearly crumpled in relief. His eyes looked watery as he said, “It’s so very nice to finally meet you both.”
I put my arm around Isaac’s shoulders and then leaned down to kiss his temple. He put his free arm around my back. “Aaron, this is my boyfriend, Maddox.”
Aaron and I shook hands.
The older man couldn’t seem to stop looking at his grandsons, but he seemed to catch himself because he fished around in his pocket and pulled out a business card and handed it to Isaac. “Um, I know it’s too soon after all that’s happened, but if you ever want to talk or need anything, anything at all, would you…would you call me, please?”
Isaac took the card. Aaron stared at him for a long beat, then Newt. He quickly patted Newt on the knee before saying, “Well, I should leave you to it.” He turned to go.
Isaac glanced at me, and I quickly pulled his hand up to my lips and kissed the back of his knuckles. “Go get him, baby,” I said softly. He nodded, then he was handing me Newt and hurrying after Aaron. He stopped him about halfway between the front of the courtroom and the exit. I only overheard a little bit of their conversation, but it was the most important part.
The part where he invited Aaron to come have dinner with his family.
I looked at Newt. “You ready to go, buddy?” I asked as I gave him a squeeze.
He nodded and then grinned at me.
It was a bit of an evil grin.
“What?” I asked.
“You still gotta get punished,” he said slyly.
Sanctuary Found_Pelican Bay [Book 2] Page 26