As he stepped onto the sidewalk with Isaac in his arms, Joni leapt out of the car and ran toward them. Isaac reached for her and tears mingled with her laughter. “Thank you, Jesus. Oh, thank you.”
James blinked against the sting in his eyes as Isaac clung to Joni. “I prayed. Like you said. I asked God to help you and Daddy find me.” His smile outshined the sun. “And He did. God helped Daddy find me.”
Her watery gaze met James’s. “Take us home.”
He kissed them both and held open the rear passenger door.
Joni buckled Isaac in his booster seat and then climbed in beside him. James didn’t blame her for wanting to be close to the precious little boy. If someone didn’t have to drive, he’d be in the back with them too. He cherished their laughter as he slid under the wheel. God. I don’t deserve it, and I know you didn’t do it for me, but thank you for answering Isaac’s prayers. He glanced at the miracle in the backseat. The candy bar had been devoured. “You still hungry?”
“Yes, sir.”
James drove up to the menu board and ordered a cheeseburger kid’s meal for Isaac, a grilled chicken salad for Joni, and a twenty-piece chicken nugget meal for himself. He paid at the first window and pulled to the next. He almost dropped the bag of food at Isaac’s words.
“…then Daddy grabbed Eric by the neck like this.” Isaac held his throat with both hands. “And throwed him at the stuff. Then he squeezed real tight and—”
“Isaac.” James shook his head and reached for their drinks. “I’m sure Joni doesn’t want to hear all that.”
Isaac reached for his fries, crammed a fistful in his mouth, and mumbled, “But you rescued me.”
~~~
Rain drizzled off the tin roof and pooled in the dirt below the eaves of the farmhouse. Beside him on the porch swing, Joni shivered, and James pulled her closer while Isaac pushed a Tonka truck across the wooden boards near their feet. The yellow dump truck carried a load of blocks to the potted plant beneath the living room window.
“Vrmmm.” Isaac smiled as he filled up another load with sticks this time and pushed the steel-framed truck across the wide planks.
Joni snuggled close. “What are you thinking about?”
James kissed the top of her head. “His father.”
She stiffened in his arms. “Do you know who he is?”
He shook his head. “I’m trying to figure it out.”
“He looks so much like you. Maybe the lab made a mistake.”
“No. They did the test twice. Once, they swabbed the inside of our mouths. They said Kathy’s DNA shouldn’t matter. The first test was inconclusive. The last time they drew blood.”
“How could that happen?”
“I don’t know. Maybe someone has DNA similar to mine.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder. “What if he was related to you?”
“Joni? Seriously? A long-lost cousin turns out to be my son’s father? I mean, come on.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Not long-lost, but maybe a cousin. Has Travis ever meet Kathy?”
She was grasping at straws, but James decided to humor her. “Once.”
“What month?”
“It was Thanksgiving.”
“And when is Isaac’s birthday?”
“August nineteenth.” James sat up straight. His foot held the bench mid-swing. “Joni, I get what you’re saying, and if it was anyone other than Travis, I’d be suspicious. But our dads are twins. He’s like my brother. I’m sure Kathy wouldn’t have minded, but Travis would never sleep with someone I was seeing.”
Her hard gaze never wavered. “Yes, he would.”
“No, he wouldn’t.”
“James, I know different.”
“Whoa! Wait a minute.” James scrubbed his hands through his hair. “Are you saying you and Travis…?” He swallowed the bile in his throat.
She slapped him across the chest. “No.”
He pushed off the porch with his toe, putting the swing into motion. “Then what makes you sure he’s capable of doing it?”
Joni bit her bottom lip the way she did when she was nervous and swallowed. “Back in the fall, before you made it to the church…” A pink tongue wet her lips. She sucked in a breath and blurted, “There was an incident.”
Acid churned in the bottom of his stomach. He didn’t like where this was going, but he had to find out the whole story. If Travis hurt her, he was a dead man. James tried to keep the anger out of his voice. “Did he ask you out?”
She shook her head. “Not exactly.”
“Then what?” He kissed her hand. “Joni, tell me.”
She stared at her hands. “When Aunt Sandra introduced us, I was floored at how much he resembled you. Well, other than his blond hair. After she left the room, he said he could imagine my loneliness while you were out of town. He offered to...uh…stand in for you.”
James stood and paced the length of the porch. He turned and knelt in front of her, his hands on either side. “Did he touch you?”
Her fingers traced his jaw. “No.”
“You should’ve told me sooner.” He half rose and gave her a lingering kiss before walking out into the rain.
“Where are you going?”
He called over his shoulder. “While Dad is gone on vacation with Mom, Travis is working the lumber yard.”
~~~
The next day, Joni wrapped supportive arms around James as he called Tasha Covington on speakerphone. Again, the caseworker defended the abandonment accusation against Kathy because the sitter was willing.
James tried to convince Joni to go back to school, but their time with Isaac was almost up. She couldn’t leave them. Surely Kathy would crash soon. Late at night, they’d whisper ideas to each other about how to keep Isaac. One night, he came to a conclusion. “Sam and Anna paid her ten thousand. We’ll offer her double, triple. I can’t let him go again, Joni. I can’t.”
Greed wasn’t Kathy’s only motive. For some reason, she hated Joni. “I don’t think she’ll sign the papers for any amount of money.”
Unfortunately, three days later, during Isaac’s nap, her theory was proven correct when the sheriff knocked on the door with official papers.
James held it open. “Uncle Tommy, come in.”
She accepted a hug from James’s rotund uncle. “Would you like a glass of sweet tea?”
He shook his head. “Can’t.” He folded the papers and slipped them inside his pocket. “James, I have no intention of honoring this warrant for your arrest. You have twenty-four hours to produce Isaac or you’re guilty of child abduction. Find a way to appease Kathy. I don’t want you in Mobile County Jail.”
“Yes, sir.”
James’s uncle tipped his hat in her direction. “Hope to hear you sing in church soon, Joni. Maybe when all this settles down, you’ll do me the honor.”
“I’d love to. Thanks for not taking James to jail.”
Wrinkles appeared at his eyes. “You’re welcome. Keep him out of trouble.”
“I’ll try.”
Sitting once again at the kitchen table, James dialed Kathy’s cell and turned on his phone’s speaker. He pulled Joni into his lap and kissed the side of her neck. The call went to voicemail. “I got your message. What do you really want? Call me and we’ll talk.” He pressed the end button.
Joni turned into him and kissed his brow. “You look tired.”
His arms locked around her. “I’m exhausted.”
She kissed him and tried to take away his worries. “It’ll be over soon.”
He held her close and she listened for his heartbeat. “I hope so.” His pulse accelerated when the phone rang.
He put the call on speaker. “How much?”
Kathy laughed. “You’ve got to be joking. I don’t want a lump sum. I want everything. The land, the house, the money.”
His shoulder muscles tightened beneath Joni’s hands. “I’ll sign it all over, if you’ll give me and Joni consent to adopt Isaac.”
/> “No.”
He swore and slammed his fist on the bar. “You don’t want him and you know it. Give him to me.”
“You want him and I find myself in need of a babysitter. You pay me five hundred a week and you can be Isaac’s new live-in nanny.”
“You’re crazy.”
“That’s my offer. Take it or leave it. But if Isaac isn’t here in twenty-four hours, guess who goes back to jail? Then who will look after the brat? Little Miss Perfect?” Kathy snorted. “I don’t think so. I want things the way they were before that home wrecker showed up.”
“Joni is not a—”
“Tomorrow, James. Isaac better be here with or without you.”
Joni sagged against him as the call dropped. “What are we going to do?”
Isaac ran into the kitchen. “Are the cookies ready?” He climbed up in the chair next to them. “I’m hungry.”
Without a word, James walked out. The screen door slammed as Joni rose to pour Isaac a glass of milk.
She held her sorrow at bay until hours later when Isaac slept beneath James’s grandmother’s quilt. What would happen to him? If James went to jail, Isaac’s abandonment was a matter of time. Kathy only used him as a ploy to bend James to her will.
The shower cut off down the hall and Joni knew she only had a few minutes. She knelt by Isaac’s bedside. Holding his hand against her lips, she quietly prayed. “Please, Lord. Protect him. Keep him safe. I believe in your redeeming love. Save Kathy and change her into a loving mother. Isaac deserves a safe childhood. Whatever your will, Lord, I won’t stand in your way. I know loving James is wrong, but please don’t punish Isaac for my sin.”
Joni sucked in a ragged breath. “Help me to let them go. Help me to say goodbye.”
Strong arms lifted her from the hardwood floor. “No. Isaac needs you. I need you. Joni, we won’t leave.”
~~~
“We’re home.” Isaac ran down the hall of the apartment to his room.
James memorized the layout, Joni’s new furniture, the rug under the coffee table, the huge portrait of him and Isaac on the wall. He wouldn’t give up. He’d waited too long and fought so hard to have Joni in their life.
Her fingers trailed down the keyboard. “I don’t know if all of my things will fit in the car. I didn’t realize I’d moved in this much stuff. I’ll have dad come back for the dresser.”
He pulled her into his arms. “No, Joni. This apartment has always been yours. I swear, she will never step foot in here.”
“But James—”
His gentle kiss silenced her words. “We’ll go, but only until I find another way.”
The hopelessness in her eyes sliced through him. “There isn’t a way.”
“Yes, there is. I met a guy in jail. He can help us.” James blinked back his emotions and did what had to be done. “There’s money in our account. Use it to pay bills and whatever. If you need more, call me.” He didn’t look at Joni as he spoke. He couldn’t. He placed her suitcase against the wall while Joni explained to Isaac why she couldn’t go with them.
James claimed a few more things from the apartment that he needed for work and slipped downstairs to stow them in his truck. He slammed the passenger door and glared into the dark heavens. “Joni loves you and she’s taught Isaac to love you. How can you do this to them?”
Without waiting for an answer, he forced his feet to climb the stairs and walk down the hall. Joni lay on Isaac’s bedroom floor. Two blond heads blended together. Why couldn’t she be Isaac’s mother? Why couldn’t they be a family?
The buzzing of his phone interrupted his thoughts. It was Kathy. Thirty minutes or I’m calling the cops.
“Come on, Isaac.”
Isaac jumped off the floor and his building blocks tumbled down. “We going to work?”
“No.” James couldn’t look at Joni as he answered. “We’re going to Kathy’s.”
“But I want to stay home.”
With a sniff, Joni rose and hugged Isaac to her. “Don’t argue with your daddy. Your momma wants to see you.”
Isaac rolled his eyes and huffed. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Have fun. And remember that I love you.” Joni turned Isaac toward the door. Her wet eyes met James’s. “You’d better go.”
The tightness in his chest threatened to explode. His feet refused to move. She stepped came to him and caressed his jaw. He turned his face into her palm and closed his eyes. “I can’t.”
“Shhh.” Her soft kiss spoke the words neither of them could say. Joni led him by the hand up the hall and opened the door.
He rested his forehead on hers. “I don’t want to do this.”
Her bottom lip quivered, but her words gave him the strength to do what was necessary. “Isaac needs you.”
“I love you.” He tucked her hair behind her ear, and then trailed his knuckle down her jaw, over her chin, and across her lips. “Don’t ever forget, Joni.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I love you, too. Take care of him.”
James crushed his mouth to hers and drank from her sweetness. Then he whispered, “If you need me, call. I’ll be here.”
“I know.”
He broke away from her while he had the strength. “Let’s go, Isaac.”
Joni lifted Isaac and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Isaac.”
Little hands wiped her cheeks. “Don’t cry, Joni. We’ll come home soon.”
She choked on a sob and James peeled Isaac from her arms. He didn’t trust himself to look back. He was afraid he’d never leave.
~~~
The address Kathy had given him, led them to the old wood house that belonged to Cindy’s granny on Houston Street.
Kathy waved from the porch swing as James and Isaac got out of the truck. She nudged her friend. “Told you he’d be here.” She stood and met them at the steps. “Come to Momma.”
Isaac buried his head against James’s neck. “Leave him alone. He’s had a rough night.” James glared at Cindy. “Where’s your grandmother? I don’t think she’ll want me here.”
The tip of her cigarette burned bright as she inhaled. “She died. The house now belongs to me.”
James glimpsed the sadness hidden beneath Cindy’s tough exterior. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “It happens.”
Isaac wiggled in his arms as James asked, “What’s really going on? Why am I here?”
Cindy frowned at Kathy before answering. “I’m going straight. No more dealing. No more using. But until I get a job, someone needs to pay the utilities. She owes me. You’re here to pay her debt.”
Nothing new. He’d paid for Kathy’s sins for over a year, but if in the end he’d have Isaac, he’d give everything he had. “Where’s our room?”
Kathy butted into the conversation. “There’s two bedrooms. You and Isaac can share mine with me.”
“No. We get our own room or we’re out of here.” James held his ground on the bottom step.
Cindy flicked her cigarette across the yard. “Done. She can bunk with me.” The two girls stared at each other. “Unless you want to move in with Maria at Elliot’s? Or work for that creep Brian again?”
Isaac shuddered. James caressed his back and whispered near his ear. “It’s okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Kathy’s hands trembled as she opened the front door.
Surprised the house was clean, he followed her to a large bedroom with an old brass bed and one dresser. Both were probably antiques. He set Isaac on the made bed. “Stay here while I get our things out of the truck.”
The wide-eyed look on his son’s face squashed any remaining sympathy he had for Kathy. Isaac silently nodded and scooted to the center of the bed. James grabbed her arm and pushed her out the door. “We need to talk.”
“Ouch.” She rubbed her arm and stared at him. “What’s wrong with you?”
“We need to get a few things straight.”
She fell into a to
rn fabric recliner and lit a cigarette. “Fine. Talk.”
“I’m glad to see you’re sobering up, but regardless of your plans for a bodyguard and a provider, I’m here because of Isaac. If anyone, including you, hurts him, we’re gone.”
Kathy blew smoke in his eyes. “You can’t do that. He’s my son and if you take him, I’ll have you arrested.” She shrank back in the seat as James leaned over her and glowered.
“Not if you’re at the bottom of the river.”
Chapter Sixteen
Seven sleepless nights later, Joni lifted her head from the library table and stared at her caller ID. Why would Isaac’s daycare call? She ducked behind a football player and whispered, “Hello.”
“Yes, I’m trying to reach Joni Maher.”
“This is she.” Her heart dropped to her stomach.
“Miss Maher, you’re listed as an emergency contact for Isaac Davies. This is the third time his mother’s been late this week, and I’m afraid she’s forgotten entirely today. I can’t reach Mr. Preston by phone. Do you have any way of contacting either of Isaac’s parents?”
“Did you text James? Sometimes he can’t hear his phone ring at the prefab shop.” How could he have entrusted Kathy with Isaac’s care?
“This facility doesn’t have texting capabilities.” The daycare director sighed into the phone. “I’m afraid my next call will be to child protective services.”
“No.” Joni cringed as the word echoed through the silence. She slung her purse over her shoulder and ran out the door. “I can be there in ten minutes.”
“Hold please.”
Joni ran to her car, tossed her books in the backseat and sped out of the parking lot.
“I’ve checked our records. As an emergency contact, you’re authorized to sign for Isaac, but we’ll need to see some picture identification, preferably government-issued. Thank you, Miss Maher. Isaac is an adorable child.”
Joni disconnected the call and texted James at a red light. On my way to Isaacs preschool. Kathy didnt show. Cant believe you trusted her.
Her phone rang with James’s ringtone. She didn’t answer. She didn’t want to talk to him. How could he have abandoned Isaac to that drughead?
Isaac’s face lit up when she raced through the preschool doors. “Joni!” He wrapped his arms around her. “Momma forgot me, again.”
“May I have a copy of your driver’s license for our records?” The harried director pointed to a binder near the door. “And please sign him out for the day.”