The Lullaby Sky

by Carolyn Brown

  “Lord, she’s making me want a rainbow on my wall,” Hannah whispered.

  Travis slung a friendly arm around her shoulders. “All you have to do is say the word.”

  She didn’t flinch or tense at his touch. This was Travis, her friend, who would move mountains for her and Sophie and never, ever hurt either of them. His arm felt comfortable, like a warm blanket on a cold winter night at a football game. She inhaled and caught a whiff of his shaving lotion. Was that Stetson? She loved that scent. But when did he start wearing it?

  Maybe he always did and you’re just now noticing, the voice in her head said.

  “So which one? The white slatted headboard and matching dresser or the oak four-poster bed? Those seem to be the two you keep going back and forth between,” Liz noted.

  Liz’s questions took Hannah’s thoughts away from Travis, and she studied the two choices, finally pointing toward the white bedroom set. “I like this one. It’s airy, and the white would match the woodwork.”

  “I agree.” Liz pointed at the oak. “The oak one would overpower the size of your bedroom. I like the simple lines of the white and no footboard. I hate those things. The only thing they are good for is keeping your knees bruised up. Are you going to replace all the furniture upstairs?”

  Hannah noticed the bruise on Liz’s arm. The five-finger shape couldn’t be very old, because it was still purple. In a couple of days, it would be yellow and green, but it had probably happened sometime yesterday. It was just further proof that all that nervousness Liz displayed had little to do with the stress of her school job and everything to do with an abusive husband.

  “No, just the one bedroom so it will be a living area. And I like that sofa bed right there.” Hannah nodded at a microfiber love seat in a dark brown. “It won’t show dirt, and it turns into a bed. Aunt Birdie said she’s got an old coffee table and a card table with four folding chairs I can use, so I only need that thing.”

  “So your mind is made up?” Travis moved to the area where the bedroom had been set up. “This goes in your room and rainbows go on your walls?”

  “No, just this goes in my room and rainbows go on Sophie’s walls and that sofa goes in my new little room upstairs. What do you think, Sophie?”

  “I love it, Mama. Can we go home now and paint my walls?”

  “We will paint your walls on Tuesday. Now we’re going to the fabric store to buy material for new valances.”

  “What’s a bay-lance? Is that kind of like a ballerina?” Sophie asked.

  “It’s a little short curtain like Aunt Birdie has in her kitchen window, only yours won’t be yellow with hummingbirds on them,” Travis explained. “How about a trip to McDonald’s for burgers and fries on the way to the fabric store? It’s almost dinnertime.”

  “I do love their fish sandwiches,” Darcy said and pointed at the white furniture Hannah had picked out. “I’d buy that same furniture for my bedroom if I was replacing things, Hannah. You made a good choice. Totally different from what you had, and it can be the start of a new life.”

  “And now McDonald’s.” Sophie sighed. “It really is the most wonderful day of my life.”

  “That kid has stolen my heart,” Travis whispered in Hannah’s ear.

  “No kiddin’.” She feigned surprise. “You and Aunt Birdie both.”

  “Oh, yeah,” he said as the corners of his mouth turned up in a brilliant smile. “And we love it. McDonald’s, and then while y’all are deciding on fabric, I’m going to find a can of bug spray.” He winked. “And then come back here, get this furniture loaded onto the trailer. It will save a little money if we take it rather than have it delivered.”

  “Thank you, Travis. Y’all have truly all been lifesavers through all this. But I’m really glad that y’all didn’t feel comfortable with all those bugs in the house,” she said.

  “Bugs! Spiders, too? Where? Is it Charlotte?” Sophie picked up the bed skirt on the canopy bed and looked under it.

  “Little corn has big ears,” Liz said. “Honey, they weren’t talking about real spiders.”

  Sophie crossed her arms and dropped her chin to her chest. She looked up at them through a furrowed brow and shook her head in disapproval. “You are doing that big-people talk, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, they are, darlin’ girl,” Darcy said.

  Travis gave Hannah a gentle side hug and then stepped away. “We should maybe make a stop between McDonald’s and the fabric store and then make a stop for a new phone?”

  Hannah’s head bobbed once as she headed toward the checkout counter. “Yes, definitely, and then let’s go by the landline folks to change my number there, also.”

  Darcy followed right behind her. “And you’re going to need to run into a department store for sheets and a bedspread or comforter for your new bed, too. You have nothing for a queen-size bed.”

  Hannah had a complete panic attack. This little foray into town was going to cut a chunk out of her savings account. Marty had always given her what he called “her allowance.” It was to be used for Sophie’s clothing, utility bills, and groceries, and he expected a full accounting for all of it in the form of receipts. If there was anything left at the end of the month, he gave her less the next month, so she’d learned to account for it all down to the penny.

  He tried to control the money she made at her teaching aide job, but she’d stood her ground on that, even if it did cost a few bruises and a lot of hateful remarks. That money she’d put away in case she did find a way to escape. It was still sitting in the bank. The day might yet come when he lost his mind completely and she would need to move far away and start over, so she needed to be very careful. Plus, there was no more money from Marty for living expenses.

  “I can’t do this,” she said. “I should go to a secondhand store and get something that I can refinish.”

  Darcy laid a hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “Yes, you can. Suck it up and write the check. This costs a hell of a lot less than therapy. Besides”—she lowered her voice to barely a whisper—“did you see those bruises on Liz? She needs to see that you are surviving.”

  “How long have you known?” Hannah sucked in a lungful of air and let it out very slowly as she pulled her checkbook from her purse.

  “Awhile, but she’s in denial, just like you were at first.”

  “You knew even before I was willing to talk to you about it?”

  “Of course! I’m like God. I know everything.” Darcy’s dark-brown eyes twinkled. “Thank the Lord above that you opened up to me the first time out in Aunt Birdie’s backyard. Now that we know he was watching and listening to everything that went on in that house, it’s a good thing. Maybe that’s why we all felt so uncomfortable in there. God was telling us to get out so you wouldn’t get into trouble.”

  “I wish I’d never met that man or married him even if I was pregnant,” Hannah said through clenched teeth.

  “But you did, and without him, you wouldn’t have that precious child.” Darcy toyed with a big gold hoop earring. “Someday I’m going to get me one of those daughter things, and I hope she’s as sassy as Sophie.”

  Hannah took a deep breath, wrote out the check to cover her purchases, and slipped the checkbook back into her purse. “When is all this going to happen?”

  “When I get over Calvin,” she whispered.

  “You still have a crush on Calvin?” Hannah gasped.

  “Can’t seem to get past it. All muscled up and tanned and famous. Then look at me. Average height, overweight, and no one he’d want to hang on his arm at one of those fancy showings for his new line.”

  Liz put an arm around both of them. “Darcy, you are beautiful. Don’t talk about yourself like that. And Hannah, Darcy will always be in love with Calvin. You know what they say about first loves.”

  “Liz, what is that bruise on your arm?” Hannah said, abruptly changing the subject and wishing the instant that the words were out of her mouth that she could take them back.

&nbs
p; “You know how clumsy I am. I tripped and almost fell, but Wyatt caught me.” The excuse came out slicker than a country road covered in ice. “If he hadn’t, I would have broken my arm or split my head open on a doorjamb. Now, let’s go have some lunch and do some more shopping. Lord, I wish I could remodel my bedroom. I’m so tired of that heavy furniture.”

  Darcy shot a sly wink Hannah’s way. “Let’s get Hannah all settled into her new life and maybe then we can redo your place.”

  “Wyatt would go into spasms if I changed a single thing. He doesn’t even like it when I rearrange the pantry.” Liz laughed, but it was too brittle to be real.

  Hannah stood in the doorway of her bedroom that evening and could hardly believe the transformation that had taken place in only twenty-four hours. If only she could erase all the anxiety from the past six years as easily as she’d gotten rid of everything in the bedroom in one fell swoop, then she would fall asleep on that strange bed and wake up with no memories of what she’d lived through.

  “Looks nice,” Darcy said at her elbow.

  “I love it.”

  “Me, too,” Liz said from the other side. “But now I’m going home. I’ll see you both in church tomorrow morning, right?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Darcy said. “Aunt Birdie would cut a switch from the pecan tree if we missed church. We’ll be right there on the pew with her. What are you bringing to the potluck? Since Wyatt is out of pocket, you are coming to her house, aren’t you?”

  Liz tucked her hands into the hip pockets of her jeans. “Of course. I’m going to make a banana pudding in the morning. What are y’all taking?”

  “Aunt Birdie told us to bring a salad and a loaf of french bread,” Darcy said. “Sophie asked for lasagna to celebrate her new name and her new room.”

  Liz yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Aunt Birdie can’t tell that child no, but who am I to talk. I would’ve bought her that canopy bed if she’d said she wanted it.”

  “We all love that sweet girl, Hannah.” Darcy yawned. “Hey, Liz, why don’t you stay the night here? Travis assures us there are no more bugs or cameras in this place. He gave it a good going-over with his magic wand thing. I’ve got an extra nightshirt in my suitcase. We haven’t all three had a slumber party in years.”

  “Thanks, but I’d better go on home. Wyatt calls at ten thirty every night while he’s away,” Liz answered.

  “Give me your cell phone. I can reroute all your calls from your house to it and you can talk to him right here,” Darcy offered.

  Hannah could feel her friend’s pain. The quickening of her pulse. The extra thump in her heart. The way her hand went instantly to the bruises on her arm—cover them up; then no one will know. Thoughts must be running through Liz’s head in a continuous circle—what if someone saw her car at Hannah’s all night? Would Wyatt think that Travis or Calvin had been there and Liz had been flirting with him? Would he be angry because she wasn’t home? Good Lord, what if he had cameras and listening bugs in her house like Marty had put in Hannah’s?

  Liz’s eyes darted around the new room, to the ceiling, to the windows. She wanted to stay, because she wanted to be anywhere but in that house where she had to walk on eggshells every day. But if she did and it made Wyatt angry, she’d suffer the consequences. Hannah knew all too well.

  Hannah took a few steps toward her and hugged her. “Go home, darlin’. All we’re going to do is sleep anyway, as tired as we are. We’ll see you in church and spend the afternoon at Aunt Birdie’s.”

  Liz hesitated long enough to draw another breath. “I’ll come over Monday morning and we’ll work on making a houseful of pretty valances. I can’t believe you found blue material with white clouds on it for Sophie’s room. When you tuck Sophie in tonight, give her a kiss on the forehead for me.”

  “Will do,” Hannah said.

  Liz disappeared out into the night. A squeak from the front door, the sound of a car’s engine, and the flash of headlights through the slats in the blinds let them know that Liz had driven away.

  “I know she really wanted to stay, and she might have if you hadn’t given her that way out,” Darcy said.

  “Think!” Hannah flicked Darcy on the forehead. “If her car was seen here all night then Wyatt would know before breakfast in the morning. And that’s if he doesn’t have her house bugged like mine was. If he hasn’t got the money or the sense to do that, you can bet your sweet ass that he’s got someone spying for him. Abusers are control freaks.”

  Darcy’s hands went to her cheeks. “Thank God you know the ropes. I would have felt terrible if we’d gotten her in more trouble. I want to ask her outright about it, Hannah.”

  “But you won’t. You’ll give her all the support she needs and when she’s ready to talk, she will. Until then, she’ll only make excuses.”

  Darcy turned around and headed out of the room. “The voice of experience.”

  “You got it.” Hannah slipped into Sophie’s room, pulled the soft sheet up over her body, and kissed her twice on the forehead. She tiptoed next door and eased the door of her new bedroom shut.

  She picked up her phone and hit the speed-dial button for her mother. A sleepy voice answered on the fifth ring.

  “You were right, Mama,” she said.

  “About?”

  “Everything.”

  “Is it over? Can I call your phone now?”

  “You can call the house phone or my cell phone. The house phone was bugged, but we took my cell phone to the store and they checked it out. It was fine. It was my car that he had the tracker on. Get a pen and paper and I’ll give you my new phone numbers.” Hannah kicked off her shoes and stretched out on the bed. “Thank goodness we got in the habit of talking at Aunt Birdie’s. He had this whole house bugged for sound and video.”

  “I’m not a bit surprised. I’ve read everything I could on men like Marty. What now?”

  “I’ve offered to run a safe house for abused women when the one in Gainesville gets overloaded,” Hannah spit out quickly.

  “Do you think that’s wise? You just came out of a situation like they all are running from,” Patsy said with worry in her tone.

  “I want to help other women get away from their abusers, Mama.”

  “But will it be safe for Sophie? What if one of those men tracks them to your house and—”

  Hannah didn’t let her finish the sentence. “Travis will stay here and be our bodyguard when I have visitors.”

  “Did you do all right in the courtroom? Were you awfully nervous?”

  “I did fine, though my nerves were shot. Marty glared at me most of the time. But, Mama, I felt so sorry for the woman Marty’ll probably marry next.” She went on to tell her mother every single detail. “So you are welcome to come here to visit anytime you want.”

  “I’d like that very much,” her mother said. “Maybe one of my friends could help out with your grandmother and I could fly to Texas for a long weekend real soon.”

  “We’ll hope so,” Hannah said. “This is nice, being able to talk to you any time I want.”

  “Yes, it is.” Her mother yawned. “I’m sorry, honey, but it is midnight in my world.”

  “Good night, Mama,” Hannah said.

  “Good night, and Hannah, I wish I hadn’t been right. I wish he’d been a wonderful husband. You didn’t deserve a man like that.”

  “Thanks, Mama. You sleep well now.”

  Hannah stood up and dropped her cotton housecoat on the floor with a smile and sighed as she slipped between the soft cotton sheets. In seconds she was asleep. No dreams of whether she’d left bread crumbs on the kitchen cabinet. No nightmares about Marty ripping Sophie from her arms. For the first time in six years, Hannah slept the sleep usually reserved for overactive children at the end of a long day.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Aunt Birdie had claimed the second pew on the left side of Crossing Community Church practically the day the church was built. Travis stood up and allowed the ladies to settle in before
he took his seat that Sunday morning. As luck would have it, Darcy went first and sat beside Liz, leaving Hannah to slide in last, which meant that she sat so close to Travis that she could smell his aftershave. And is that a new shirt he’s wearing this morning? The baby-blue-and-white pinstripe was the same color as his eyes.

  “Well, dammit!” Aunt Birdie’s voice echoed off the walls of the church. “Forgive me, Lord, I dropped my songbook.”

  Sophie hopped down off the pew and handed Aunt Birdie the hymnal. Then she wiggled her way in between Liz and Aunt Birdie, set her tote bag down, and brought out a coloring book and crayons. “After we sing, you can pick out the colors for me,” she whispered.

  Aunt Birdie hugged her closely and whispered, “Maybe I’ll even color with you.”

  Travis leaned close enough to Hannah that she could feel his warm breath on her neck. “I bet she dropped the book on purpose so Sophie would pick it up and sit beside her.”

  Something happened right there as the preacher took his place in church that first Sunday in June. Hannah felt a stirring inside her heart that she’d thought was dead and buried. It wasn’t like she wanted to throw Travis down on the pew and make out with him. But there was hope that there were men out there that could be trusted. Maybe one rotten apple in the barrel hadn’t tainted all the men.

  “Aunt Birdie will cuss in church for a chance at a box of crayons,” Hannah said softly. “Who knew?”

  “I wish I’d have thought of that,” Darcy said. “I’d rather color as listen to a sermon any old day of the week.”

  The preacher tapped on the microphone, and the whole sanctuary went quiet. A couple of whining toddlers could be heard in the nursery located at the back of the room, but other than that, the congregation had settled in.

  “Good morning. I’m glad to see the pews are filled today. This morning I’m going to talk to you about the spirit of a child. When the disciples wanted to send the children away, Jesus delivered a pretty potent message,” the preacher said.

  “Think he knows about what happened this week?” Travis asked out of the side of his mouth.