by C. C. Coburn
“Luke?” Matt nudged him. “Judge Benson was speaking to you.”
Luke turned back to the judge. “I’m sorry, Your Honor. I have to confess, this situation… Well, it’s taking me a while to come to grips with it.”
“Redneck!” Cody sneered.
“Cody, please?” his mother pleaded. “Don’t speak to your fa—Mr. O’Malley like that.”
That about sums it up, Luke thought. She’s scared of the kid. Begging with him, for Pete’s sake. So the kid figured his father was a bumpkin because he lived on a ranch, did he?
“I was saying, Mr. O’Malley, that it’s taken a great deal of courage on Ms. Montgomery’s part to reveal the name of Cody’s father and allow me to get in touch with you.
“When I saw Cody here in court again the other day on yet another misdemeanor, I was deeply saddened. His mom is doing the best she can, but raising a child in a city like New York can be hard enough with two parents in the home. It’s often almost impossible with one. And when that parent is finding it difficult to make ends meet, their children sometimes shoplift to get the things their parent can’t afford to buy them. They’re also easy prey for the street gangs. That will be Cody’s future if I don’t act now. My only alternative is to put him into juvenile detention—”
Cody swore, leaping to his feet, his chair clattering backward onto the floor.
“Cody! Don’t use that sort of language. Apologize to the judge.”
“No way!” he mumbled, picked up his chair and sat back down with a thud.
Luke was transfixed by the exchange. This kid didn’t give a damn who he offended—or hurt—especially his mom. No wonder the kid assumed he could do what he wanted. She was incapable of disciplining him.
Cody leaned back in his chair, and Luke had a clear view of Megan. Tears were welling in her eyes as she looked at him, then glanced away.
She needed him. Needed someone to take charge—if only for a while.
Suspecting most of Cody’s behavior was bravado—showing his father and uncle how tough he was—Luke knew one thing for sure: it was long past time to put a stop to it by starting to act like the kid’s father.
He leaned toward Cody and said in a low growl, “A word. Outside.” He stood and walked toward the door. The kid didn’t move. “Now!” he said more harshly.
After several long beats, the kid got up and sauntered over to the door. He pushed past Luke and walked out into the foyer.
Thankful the area was deserted, Luke watched as Cody slumped against a column, crossed his arms and fixed a smirk on his face.
It took all of Luke’s willpower not to grab his son by the shoulders and shake him. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, “I understand how angry you might be about the situation, but you won’t speak to women in that way—especially your mother. Treat me how you want, but I will not allow you to ever treat your mother like that again.”
“Yeah? How’re gonna stop me?”
Apparently, the kid was expecting a physical threat, but that had never been Luke’s way of disciplining his children. “Because I’m going to be your father from now on. You have a problem, you take it out on me, not your mom. Understand?”
He caught the flare of surprise in Cody’s expression, then it became guarded again as he shrugged and said, “Whatever,” and strode back into the judge’s chambers.
He stood in front of the desk, arms still folded. “Can we go now?” he asked his mother.
“No, Cody, we’re not leaving here until we’ve come to an agreement about your future.”
Luke wanted to cheer. At last Megan had said no. Up until now, all she’d done was try to placate her—their, he corrected himself—son.
“I think we’re all agreed we don’t want you in juvenile detention,” the judge continued. “So now we need to decide on a solution. Sit down, Cody,” she said firmly.
Cody hesitated for a moment and then complied, throwing himself into the chair and slouching in it, a sour look on his face.
Luke wasn’t so sure juvenile detention wasn’t the place for Cody. At juvie, they’d soon sort him out. His mom wouldn’t have to constantly worry about where he was. Or maybe Luke could provide them with financial support. Then Megan wouldn’t have to work; she could go to school full-time if she wanted. And he’d buy her a place in a better neighborhood.
“…my suggestion, therefore,” the judge was saying.
Luke gave himself a mental shake.
“…is that for Cody’s sake, he go and live with you on your ranch in Colorado—”
“No!” Megan cried.
Cody’s predictable response was another four-letter word.
“You’ve got to be joking!” Luke exploded, incredulous the judge could suggest this young tough belonged on the ranch with his three innocent daughters.
She calmly folded her hands on her desk. “No, Mr. O’Malley, I’m deadly serious.”
Luke shifted forward to emphasize his point. “I can support Cody and his mother. I’m more than willing to compensate her for the child support I should’ve contributed over the past fourteen years. Money isn’t a problem.”
“Oh, yeah! How much you gonna give me, Dad?” The last word was loaded with derision.
“Cody!” Megan made eye contact with Luke for only the second time since meeting again after so many years. “I don’t want your money,” she snapped. “I can manage.” She turned desperate eyes to the judge and asked, her voice trembling, “Are you saying you’re giving Luke custody of my son?”
The judge held up her hands and smiled compassionately at Megan. “No, I’m not giving custody to Mr. O’Malley.”
Megan released a sigh of relief.
“I’m awarding you both custody. Joint custody.”
There was another outburst from his son.
“Cody!”
Unflappable, the judge said, “Cody, if nothing else, moving you to another environment might broaden your vocabulary.” She nodded at Luke. “Is this solution acceptable to you, Mr. O’Malley?”
Luke was horrified. It certainly was not. “Judge, I’ve got three little girls. I don’t want them exposed to this sort of behavior—”
“Luke!” Matt muttered beside him.
His brother’s caution made Luke realize how selfish he was sounding. “I can pay to send him to boarding school—get him out of this environment. That’s what you really want, isn’t it? To get him away from the street gangs? There are good boarding schools in Connecticut. His mom could visit him on the weekends.” He looked at Megan, pleading for her agreement.
MEGAN WAS APPALLED by Luke’s suggestion that they send her son away to boarding school. But then she’d relaxed when he mentioned she’d be close enough to visit Cody every weekend. Certainly a lot closer than Colorado. Maybe when Cody had settled down he could visit with Luke in Colorado. Get to know his father. It would tear her apart not seeing Cody every day, but this might be the only thing that would save him.
“I don’t have any objection to an arrangement like that,” she said, and glanced at Luke, then wished she hadn’t. Feeling the familiar tug of attraction—but stronger now—she silently cursed her desire for this man. Fifteen years had only added to his dark good looks, but it was his willingness to bear some of the burden of raising Cody that had her reacting to him on such an elemental level.
She’d fallen for Luke within days of meeting him. She was so captivated by him, she’d gladly given up her virginity. He’d been charming and funny, with old-fashioned manners and beguiling brown eyes that made her heart melt and her common sense fly out the window. And what had her lapse in rationality gotten her in return?
The conversation she’d overheard at the recreation center the evening she was to meet Luke at the Victorian Inn for dinner had proven what a fool she’d been. He’d toyed with her emotions, stringing her along to believe they were in an exclusive relationship, when, in fact, the woman she’d overheard talking to a friend was pregnant with Luke’s child.<
br />
She forced the anger—at herself and at Luke—aside and said, “I will agree to any solution that will get Cody away from the environment he’s in at present. Somewhere safer, like a boarding school in Connecticut, would be acceptable to me—”
“I’m afraid that’s not going to work,” the judge cut in, then addressed Cody. “Would you excuse us for a moment, Cody? Your parents and I have things to discuss. You’ll find refreshments and a television in the next room.” She indicated a small door leading off her office.
Cody leaped to his feet. “Fine! Talk about me behind my back, why don’t you? But I’m tellin’ you now, I’m not goin’ to any boarding school!” He stalked out, slamming the door behind him, causing Megan to jump with fright.
“I think as you can gather from that little tirade, Cody would only abscond from boarding school,” the judge said. “And then we wouldn’t know where he was.”
Megan’s earlier hope of getting Cody away from New York and the bad influences surrounding him plummeted. Judge Benson was right, of course. Short of enclosing him in ten-foot walls topped by razor wire, Cody would take off the second his supervisors’ backs were turned.
CODY FOOLED AROUND, switching channels on the TV, his mind elsewhere, wondering what the adults in the next room were deciding about his life. His father had other kids? Why hadn’t his mom told him that? Maybe she didn’t know until today, although by the look on her face, she wasn’t that shocked. Maybe that was why his mom didn’t want to talk about it whenever he’d asked. He was a married man and she’d had an affair with him. Yeah, that had to be it. His mom wouldn’t do anything like that knowingly, so the guy must’ve lied.
He wondered what happened to his dad’s wife, since apparently she wasn’t in the picture. Maybe he killed her and buried her on the ranch somewhere. He looked tough enough to kill someone. Judging by the death stare he kept giving him. Yeah, you might think you’re tough, old man, but you don’t scare me!
“CODY NEEDS A FATHER’S influence, and presence, badly,” Judge Benson said. “Megan has spent fourteen years raising your son. It’s now your turn to help with his upbringing. I appreciate your suggestion about the boarding school, but I think the best place for Cody right now is on your ranch in Colorado.”
“No!” Megan cried. How could she even suggest such a thing? She’d never get to see Cody! It was as if her baby was being wrenched from her arms. Fighting tears, she appealed to the judge. “Cody is my life. My only family. You can’t take him away from me, Judge Benson. Please don’t do this to me.”
“I’m not suggesting you stay here without Cody. I think it’s best if you both move to Colorado.”
The judge had to joking! “I can’t do that. My life is here, in New York. I have job obligations and my study—”
Gloria Benson shook her head. “There’s nothing to keep you here, Megan. No family, no worthwhile job. You can further your studies in Colorado. I’m suggesting that both of you try and make a go of being a family for Cody.”
“But Luke has a wife. I’m sure she wouldn’t want him spending his time between two families.” She beseeched him with her eyes to tell the judge her plan wouldn’t work. Why had the man been so silent throughout this discussion? Surely he was as upset as she was?
“I’m divorced,” Luke said in a tone that had her staring at him in disbelief. Judge Benson hadn’t said anything about that in the few minutes they’d had together before Luke arrived at the meeting. But she’d obviously been aware of it since she’d made such an outrageous suggestion. And then the impact of Luke’s statement hit her. Luke was divorced? Somehow, that complicated things even more, but Megan couldn’t put her finger on just why.
Matt cleared his throat and said, “I realize this is very difficult for you, Megan, but I’d like to say something on my family’s behalf. We can all offer Cody a lot of support. We’re a big, close-knit family with lots of positive male role models. I think Judge Benson’s proposal is the ideal solution. There’s plenty of room at the ranch for you and Cody, and you’d be most welcome there.”
Luke rounded on him. “Hold it right there! I haven’t agreed to anything. Can you honestly tell me that you want that…that—” he pointed toward the room Cody was in, glanced at Megan, then back at Matt, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper “—juvenile delinquent living under the same roof as your nieces?”
“He’s not a delinquent,” Megan protested, her anger rising. How could Luke say that about his son? Be so callous about his own flesh and blood? If only he knew Cody better, he’d know he was a great kid. But since he didn’t, she appealed to the judge. “Tell him Cody’s a good kid. Please?”
“She’s right, Luke. Cody is a good kid. He was getting excellent grades in school until a few months ago, but a bad element has moved into the area and it’s negatively affecting some of the kids. That display he subjected you to is simply bravado. It’s going to take some work to get him back again. Hard work.” She played her trump card. “I was hoping you’d be up to it.”
Megan felt her lip curl. Luke hadn’t been man enough to acknowledge he had a son fourteen years ago when she’d sent him a letter just after Cody’s birth, telling him she’d had his child. If he couldn’t accept then that he had a baby, he certainly wouldn’t be up to the challenge of raising a difficult teen now.
She blinked back tears as she remembered that sad time. The letter going unanswered. The phone call she’d made to the ranch a month later—just in case he hadn’t gotten her letter. It had been answered by a woman. Megan had given her name and asked to speak to Luke, but the woman had said, “Luke’s away at a convention. I’m his wife. Shall I tell him you called?”
Shocked to the point of gasping for air, Megan had hung up. Luke was married. So the conversation she’d overheard hadn’t been a mistake or a figment of her imagination. Megan had never felt lonelier than at that moment. Nor had she ever felt more foolish. She wasn’t contacting Luke to get money out of him, and she didn’t expect him to play a part in their son’s life—not if he didn’t want to. She’d written the letter as a courtesy. Whether he’d received it or not, there was no point in leaving a message with Luke’s wife.
“Megan, are you all right?”
Judge Benson’s voice broke into her thoughts and Megan made an effort to control her emotions. She didn’t want anyone in this room to know how vulnerable she felt, to know the truth of how stupid and gullible she’d been. Or how angry she was with Luke for denying their son back then.
LUKE TRIED TO CONVINCE himself it was worth risking the stable family life he’d worked so hard to restore since Tory deserted them, only to turn it upside down by letting Cody into it. He wished he’d known about his son all those years ago. Megan was seriously delusional if she thought Cody wasn’t a delinquent. Otherwise, why were they all here?
“I know my brother is more than able to rise to the challenge, Judge.” Matt’s foot connected with Luke’s ankle. “I think he’s just a little stunned to find out he’s a father again. Aren’t you, Luke?”
Luke sent his interfering brother a glare. He was perfectly capable of making up his own mind; he didn’t need Matt making it up for him. “I’m prepared to give it a try…if Megan is.” He looked across at her, his eyes begging her to disagree. She lifted her head defiantly. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was pure loathing in her eyes.
As if to thwart him, she gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“I don’t want you going into this halfheartedly, Mr. O’Malley.” The judge’s voice held steel. “What we have here is a boy in desperate need of a father’s influence and a strong family relationship—and a mother who’s willing to agree to that.”
Luke shot another glance at Megan. She didn’t look too willing.
“What I need from you is a commitment to your son. A commitment that you will not fail him. He needs you, more than he’s ever needed anything in his life. And believe me, we are talking about his life.”
The judge’s
sobering words brought Luke up short. If Cody continued as he was, his life could be in danger. Sending him away to boarding school wasn’t the answer.
He squared his shoulders. “You have my promise, Judge. I’ll do everything within my power to help Cody. I’m committed to being his father in every way possible.”
The judge nodded and sat back, visibly more relaxed. “Good. So you’ll move to Colorado, Megan?”
“If that’s what you think is best,” Megan said stiffly. Hands clasped, she avoided Luke’s gaze.
“Yes,” Judge Benson said. “But now we have to face the hard part.” She picked up the phone and addressed her assistant. “Would you ask Cody to step back in, please?”
CODY SAUNTERED BACK into the room after a good two minutes of making them all sit and wait on the edges of their seats. It was this sort of insolence that Luke would never tolerate from his daughters. The kid really needed straightening out. Luke only hoped he was as ready for the challenge as Matt claimed he was. He had enough stress in his life, and adding a troubled child to the mix wasn’t going to help.
When Judge Benson explained to Cody what the adults had decided, he scrambled to his feet and let loose with a string of colorful adjectives that had Megan blushing and begging him to stop, Luke ready to leap from his chair, drag him to the bathroom to wash out his mouth and both Matt and the judge sitting sagely, waiting for the tirade to end.
Eventually it did, and Cody threw himself back into his chair. The room fell silent. “I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he snarled.
The judge sighed. “Then I’m afraid you give me no other choice, Cody.” She picked up her phone and said, “I’ll have to send you to juve—”