by Kay Correll
But it wasn’t a home, she had to remind herself. They’d have to move on. Sadness swept through her at the knowledge that all this would soon be a distant memory.
“Bobby, I’m going to go change for work. How about you dump the sand out of those shoes? Get that book Miss Belinda is reading to you and pack up your backpack. I’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.”
“Okay, Momma. I can’t wait. All three guys are gonna be there this afternoon.”
She smiled as he sat on the edge of the deck and tugged off his shoes, dumping a beach-full of sand back onto the ground. She hurried inside, grabbed clean clothes, and went into the bathroom to change.
She walked out of the bathroom, about five minutes later, brushing her hair as she walked. “Bobby are you—” She froze.
“Hello there, Courtney.” Kurt’s voice held more threat than welcome. He stood just inside the doorway with a firm grip on Bobby’s shoulder. “You didn’t think you could hide forever, did you?”
“Let him go.” Courtney lowered the brush, her knuckles white on the handle.
“Ah, Bobby and I were just catching up. Father to son.”
“Momma?” Bobby’s voice wavered.
Courtney took a step forward. “Kurt, what do you want?”
“What do you think I want? The money you stole from me.”
“That was my money.”
“Nah, it was our money.”
Kurt had always thought that anything she earned was his, and anything he earned—which had never been much—was his as well.
“Of course, I also want the kid.”
“Momma, I don’t want to go with him.” Bobby’s eyes were wide.
“You’re not going anywhere, honey.” She took another step closer to Kurt. She had to get Bobby away from him.
Kurt tightened his grip.
“Ow. You’re hurting me, Kurt.”
“How many times have I told you to call me Dad?” Kurt’s voice held a menacing tone.
“I’m sorry…” Tears rolled down Bobby’s cheek.
Courtney glanced around the room, seeing nothing to defend herself with. She’d have to divert Kurt’s attention. She’d gotten good at that. She could do it again.
“You’re not a father to him.”
“Of course I am. The courts said so. They also said I have to pay child support.”
“I didn’t want your money.”
“Well, it seems the courts said differently. So, if I have the boy with me, I won’t have to pay.”
“You’re twisting everything around. Besides, you don’t want to be saddled with a kid, now do you?” Courtney inched closer.
“Well, I’m not letting you have him. What kinda mother are you, anyway? You were raised by that crazy grandmother of yours.”
She refused to take the bait. She had to remain calm. “Okay, Kurt. We’ll both go back with you.”
Kurt eyed her. “You will?”
“Sure. I think Bobby missed you, anyway.” One more small step. She could almost reach out and touch her son.
Bobby started to speak, but she sent him a mom-look. He closed his mouth and stayed silent.
“Oh, look Bobby, your shoe’s untied.” She crossed the distance quickly and bent down at the same time she hurled the brush across the room toward a mirror. Kurt spun around toward the sound of crashing glass and let go of Bobby’s shoulder. Courtney grabbed him and jumped up, pushing her son behind her.
“You lying—”
Kurt reached out for her, and she started to stumble backwards. He grabbed her by both shoulders and shook her. Her brain rattled in her skull. He released her, and she took a few quick steps toward the door, pushing Bobby to her side. She had to get him out the door. Kurt reached out and slapped her across the face. She took another quick step backwards, falling into the doorway, and shoved Bobby out the door.
“Momma.” Bobby wailed.
“Run, Bobby. Don’t come back. Run.”
Bobby spun around and ran out the door. Kurt turned to catch him, but he was already out the door.
Kurt turned back to her. “You’re going to pay for that.” He reached down and dragged her back into the building and slammed the door behind him.
* * *
Tally stood facing Eddie, trying to convince him to leave Magic Cafe. “Go home, Eddie. We have nothing more to talk about.” She flung her hands wide, palms up. “Nothing.”
“Yes, we do.” Eddie stood his ground, his eyes flashing with determination. “Say you’ll go out with me one more time. Go out with me tonight. Just this one more time.”
“Eddie…” She wavered, but not much. She didn’t know which she was more afraid of—Eddie staying, or Eddie leaving. But she’d already told him it wouldn’t work out between them. Why would she put both of them through one more night of torture?
She turned when she heard someone call her name.
“Miss Tally, Mr. Eddie.” Bobby came racing up to them and threw himself against Eddie. “Hurry. He’s going to hurt her. Come save Momma.”
Without another word, the boy whirled around and bolted back down the beach. Eddie sprang into the action and sprinted after the boy. Tally stood in shock, her mind ping-ponging between her thoughts about Eddie and Bobby’s abrupt interruption. She felt rooted to the spot, unable to shift gears. She told her feet to move, but they wouldn’t. She needed to go help. She scrubbed her hand over her face, breaking the lock on her inertia, and hurried after Bobby and Eddie.
* * *
“Bobby. I said to run.”
Eddie heard Courtney’s voice as he bounded up onto the deck of the storage building. He stepped up behind Bobby and put a hand on his shoulder. A quick glance into the room and he saw Courtney sprawled on the floor. There was no missing the unmistakable red swatch across her cheek.
“What’s going on?” Eddie stepped through the doorway.
“Stay out of it, mister. It’s family business,” a man growled.
“You okay, Courtney?”
She was on her side on the floor. “Get Bobby out of here.” Her eyes were wide with fear.
“Bobby, come here. Listen to your dad,” the man commanded.
“That’s Kurt,” Bobby whispered. He pressed against Eddie’s side.
Kurt started toward Bobby and Eddie, and Courtney grabbed his leg. The man kicked her.
Eddie pushed Bobby behind him and stepped into the room, grabbing the man’s collar. “Hey.”
Kurt reached out and swung at him, but Eddie easily blocked the punch. The man took a step back, eyeing the situation, then reached down and grabbed Courtney, tugging her to her feet.
“Tell that guy to leave.” Kurt wrapped an arm around Courtney’s throat.
“Eddie, take Bobby to safety. Please.” Courtney begged. “I’ll go with you, Kurt. You don’t need Bobby.”
“Kurt, I’ll call you Dad. I promise. Don’t hurt Momma.” Bobby pleaded.
So, this Kurt was Bobby’s father? Eddie looked the man over from head to toe, assessing his opponent.
“Courtney, I’m not leaving you here with him.” Eddie’s voice was icy cold as he held back his fury, evaluating the situation carefully.
“Come any closer and I’ll snap her stupid little neck.” Kurt tightened his hold on Courtney and she coughed, both hands reaching up to tug on his arm.
Eddie didn’t think the man was strong enough or smart enough to do what he said, but he wasn’t taking any chances. “Okay, have it your way. She’s nothing to me.” He stepped back, leaving a pathway to the door.
Kurt sidled toward the open doorway, loosening his grip on Courtney only enough so she’d walk with him. He sidestepped Eddie with a wide arc around him, keeping his distance.
“Like I said, it’s a family matter.”
As Kurt stepped through the doorway, Eddie lunged for him, grabbing the arm he had wrapped around Courtney. The girl slid free as Eddie pulled Kurt off balance.
“Go,” Eddie urged her.
Sh
e took one quick look, grabbed Bobby, and fled out the door.
Kurt recovered his balance and stood facing Eddie.
“I told you that you should stay out of it.” Kurt picked up a broom leaning against the wall and held it menacingly in front of him. “You’re going to pay for that.”
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to hit women?” Eddie stalled for time as he glanced around for something to defend himself with. Nothing.
“I don’t need a lecture from you, old man.”
“Seems like you do.” Eddie moved to the left.
“Seems like you need a lesson.” Kurt swung the broom handle and Eddie dodged it, judging the instant that Kurt lost his balance from the power of his swing.
Eddie lunged for Kurt, and they both went crashing to the floor. Kurt came up punching, but Eddie rolled him to his stomach and sat on him, grabbing one arm and pulling it up behind the man’s back.
“Sit still or I’ll dislocate your arm.” Eddie held one of the man’s arms firmly behind his back, with his knee trapping his other arm.
“I’ll take it from here.” A uniformed man stepped into the room with Tally and Courtney right behind him.
“Luckily, Sheriff Dave was eating at Magic Cafe, so I turned around and got him.” Tally sucked in a gulp of air. “Couldn’t keep up with you and Bobby, anyway.”
The sheriff crossed over, handcuffed Kurt, and dragged him to his feet. “We don’t take kindly to hitting women here on Belle Island. You’re in a heap of trouble.”
“She deserved it. Extorting money from me each month. Child support. Ha. How do I even know the kid is mine?”
“You can tell all that to the judge. Right now you’re headed to lockup, and I don’t expect you to be out anytime soon, being that you’re a credible threat to this young lady.”
Courtney stood in the doorway with an angry welt across both cheeks and a red mark on her throat. Eddie crossed to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I’ve been better.” She smiled wryly, winced, and grabbed her side.
“You should get those ribs checked out. That was a pretty hefty kick.”
“Don’t I know it.”
The sheriff put a hand on Kurt’s shoulder and started walking him out the door.
“I’ll get even with you,” Kurt growled at Courtney.
Eddie stepped in between Kurt and Courtney. “Son, I think you should be careful of those threats. If you ever, ever put a hand on her or on Bobby, you’ll be dealing with me. Understand?”
The sheriff led Kurt away, and Courtney sagged against the doorframe. “Tereza has Bobby back at the cafe. I need to go see him and make sure he’s okay.”
“Come on, then.” Eddie put an arm around Courtney’s shoulder and he and Tally walked her back to Magic Cafe.
Chapter 23
Tereza let go of Bobby’s hand as soon as the boy saw them a few yards away on the beach. He went racing across the sand and flung himself into Courtney’s arms. Courtney wrapped her arms around the boy.
Tally didn’t miss the girl’s gasp as he squeezed her tight. “You okay?”
“She probably has a cracked rib.” Eddie stood behind her.
“Momma, Mr. Eddie saved you.”
Courtney nodded as she brushed the curls away from Bobby’s face. “He did.”
“He’s awfully good at saving people.” Bobby let go of his mom and went and wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist. “Thank you, Mr. Eddie.”
Eddie looked down in surprise, then lowered himself to look directly at Bobby. “You’re welcome, Bobby.”
“You don’t ever let the bad guys win, do you, Mr. Eddie?”
“I, uh… well, I guess not.”
“Kurt hit-ted Momma all the time.”
Anger swelled through Tally. No wonder the girl was so skittish. She was hiding out from a monster. Courtney started to stand up and grabbed her side. Tally reached down to help her to her feet. Tally looked at Courtney’s face with two angry welts across her cheeks. Rage and disbelief flooded through her, along with an overwhelming urge to protect the girl. “Courtney, come with me. Let’s get some ice on your face. We’ll get your ribs checked out, too.”
Courtney nodded and leaned on Tally as they slowly climbed the steps to the cafe. She settled Courtney into a chair, took a good look at her, then turned to Eddie. “Why don’t you take Bobby into the kitchen. I bet he could use some ice cream. Bring back some ice in a bowl for Courtney, too.”
Eddie nodded and took Bobby’s hand. “Come on Bobby, let’s get ice cream for your mom, what do you say?”
Tally sat down next to Courtney. “That’s why you’ve moved around so much? Trying to hide from Kurt?”
“Yes. He’s Bobby’s father… but… he’s cruel. At first, it was just aimed at me. But then he got this court order to pay child support, and he got so angry. Then he hit Bobby. He hit his own son. I left that night. He found me though, a few days later. I was just at a friend’s house. That night he… well, when he was finished, I could barely move for days. He didn’t even apologize like he did the first few times he’d hit me. Now it was all my fault because I’d filed for child support and taken Bobby away. Honestly, I didn’t even want money from him. I just wanted him to leave us alone. But the state got involved and Kurt said he was going to file for custody and I couldn’t let that happen.” Courtney’s face paled, and she shifted in the chair, holding her side.
“Take your time.” Tally’s heart was breaking for all this girl had gone through—and she’d gone through it alone.
“I left the next day. I didn’t have much. A bit of savings. We packed a few suitcases, and I drove as far away from there as I could.” Courtney reached a hand up and gingerly touched her face. “I thought Kurt had given up on us after a few months, but somehow he located where we were living. We just managed to get away before he got to us.”
“Well, we’re going to see about making sure Kurt never harms you or Bobby again. There’s going to be no more running for you two. I’ve got a lawyer I’ll call in the morning and we’ll see what we can do.”
The girl’s eyes filled with tears. “You've been so good to me, so good to Bobby. I don’t know what I would have done if Eddie hadn’t shown up. I…” Tears streamed down her face.
“That’s okay. You cry if you need to. You’ve had quite the day.”
Tally gathered Courtney into her arms while the girl sobbed.
* * *
Eddie peeked out the kitchen door and saw Courtney wiping tears from her face. Tally must have said something that made her smile, though, because the corners of her mouth turned up, but then she winced. Eddie would like to get his hands on Kurt and teach him a lesson or two about how he should treat women. Or better yet, send him so far away that Courtney and Bobby never had to deal with him again.
Tally saw him looking out the door and waved him over. She must have said what needed to be said to Courtney.
“Come on, Bobby. I think your mom would like some of that.”
“She loves ice cream.” Bobby carefully grabbed the bowl of ice cream and carried it over to his mother.
“Here, Momma. I made it myself. Well, I didn’t make the ice cream, but I made the bowl of it. Mr. Eddie let me scoop it out myself. The ice cream was hard. Did you know if you put it in the microwave just a tiny bit it softens so you can scoop it out?” Bobby sat down, breathless, and placed the bowl in front of his mother.
“Good to know.” Courtney smiled at the boy.
“Momma, is Kurt gone now? For good?”
“He is if I have anything to say about it.” Tally leaned forward and took Bobby’s hand. “You were very brave to come get help.”
“I was brave, wasn’t I?” Bobby swung his feet as he perched on the chair. He turned toward his mom. “Momma, are you going to be okay? Your face looks funny.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Remember when I took you to the doctor to have your leg checked out?”
Tally leaned forward toward the boy.
“Yep. I got stitches.”
“Well, your mom needs to see the doctor, too. Her ribs hurt a bit. I’m going to take her and get her checked out.”
Bobby shrugged. “Well, at least you won’t need stitches.” His face was grave. “They hurt even though I said they didn’t.”
“You were very brave about them,” Courtney assured her son.
“Hm. I guess I’m just a brave kid, huh?”
Tally smiled. “I guess you are.” Tally stood. “How about I take your mom to get checked out? You stay and finish up the ice cream. Eddie, can you watch him?”
“I can. Bobby and I will go clean up the mess at the storage building, too.”
“I don’t know…” Courtney looked unwilling to go without Bobby.
“He’ll be fine with Eddie. Let’s get you fixed up.”
Courtney rose slowly from her chair, leaning on the table to steady herself. “Bobby, be good for Mr. Eddie.”
“I will, Momma. You be brave at the doctor’s.”
“I’ll try to be as brave as you were.”
Bobby puffed up his chest. “Well, you can try.”
Chapter 24
Eddie and Tally closed the door of the storage building behind them after getting Courtney and Eddie settled in for the night. Tally had made Courtney promise to call if she needed anything, but Eddie wasn’t sure the girl would bother anyone even if she needed help. He figured both Bobby and Courtney would be out as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Bobby from the excitement of the day, and Courtney from the mild pain pill she’d finally accepted from the doctor.
“I hope I can get her some legal help,” Tally said as they trudged back to Magic Cafe.
“She needs a protection order.”
“She needs more than that. She needs him permanently out of her life.”
“What are you thinking?” Eddie eyed Tally.
“I’m thinking maybe I could talk him into relinquishing his parental rights. It’s not like a court is going to give him visitation after all this violence. Maybe then he’d leave them alone. If Courtney decides to stay here… well, she’d do just fine raising Bobby here.”