The Forgotten Child, Lorhainne Eckhart [bearly read books txt] 📗
- Author: Lorhainne Eckhart
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Cliff clasped his hands in front of himself while he looked at Brad. His head hung. “I guess I do.”
“She lied to you, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, she did. More than you know.”
It’s hard to say which gave Brad more enjoyment, hearing that, or, an hour later, watching Crystal spark in a fit of rage when she saw Cliff, in his beat-up truck, driving in.
Cliff cleaned up before dinner and he stumbled behind Mac when he walked in. Crystal stiffened and paled. After Cliff and Mac left, Crystal cornered Brad at the back door.
“What the hell is that man doing back here?”
“I rehired him. In fact, he’s now my foreman.”
“After what he did, you’d bring him back? He’ll steal from you; he ransacked your personal records, for God’s sake.”
“How’d you know he went through my records?” Brad asked. She looked away.
Crystal was starting to slip, too many lies to keep track of. “Well, you must have told me, or maybe it was him.”
“Mmm, mmm, I never told you. And, Crystal, don’t even think about going out to him and starting trouble. You stay away from him.”
She tossed her long mane over her shoulder, flicked back a stray hair with her long painted nail, and then stormed through the kitchen.
Brad tied his boots, when he heard the front door slam and her SUV speed down the driveway. Brad laughed. “Scored.”
Brad was on his second cup of coffee when the phone rang. “Brad here.”
“Hey, it’s Keith. We got us a court date for next Tuesday. The judge has finally agreed to expedite for the benefit of Trevor. Oh, and I got a really friendly call, as soon as I walked in the office this morning, from Crystal’s lawyer. He’s furious and has filed a motion to delay this hearing.”
“Can he get it?” Brad stepped out of the house to make sure Crystal couldn’t hear him.
“I’ll do my best to make sure he doesn’t. And I wanted to let you know, I’ve got several affidavits about Crystal and the defaming comments she’s made around town against Emily. Along with Cliff’s statement, and thank you for that, her story is beginning to appear shaky.”
“Well, you’re the best. That’s why I hired you.” He could hear tapping in the background.
“Brad, could you come to the office right now?” Keith’s tone took on a seriousness Brad recognized well.
“What’s going on, Keith? I’ve got cattle to feed, a ranch to run.” But his stomach tightened a little more when he heard the sigh on the other end.
“Get your men to look after the ranch. You need to come in, Brad. This can’t wait.”
Brad stared up at the house as he walked, in the chilly air, around to the front. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Brad was waved into Keith’s office. The secretary pulled the door closed behind him. Keith smiled, but not in a confident way. It was his way when he had to say something, to someone, that he didn’t want to.
“Spill it, Keith. You’re making me nervous with all this prancing around.”
“Crystal’s lawyer has thrown a monkey wrench into the middle of things.”
Brad took a deep breath, and leaned back in the plain brown chair. “And what would that be?”
Keith leaned forward and clasped his hands on the desk in front of him. His eyes dimmed. “Crystal’s claiming Trevor’s not yours. The father is some guy she met in Miami.” The room narrowed and Keith appeared to be talking in slow motion. The ringing in his ears buzzed, long and loud, as the ache in his heart swelled, until he’d swear it’d shatter into a million tiny pieces. He launched himself out of the chair “I’ll kill her. I swear to God, she’s dead!” Keith in turn jumped out of his chair, and pinned Brad against the wall.
“Shut up, Brad. Listen to me.” If Keith hadn’t kept himself in such good shape, there’d be no way he’d be able to keep Brad in that room. Even so, Keith was sweating as he forced Brad back down into his chair.
“Brad, get a hold of yourself.” He stood over Brad, breathing hard as he held his arms loosely at his side, obviously prepared to grab Brad if he bolted again.
“We’ll order a paternity test today. Brad, I got to warn you, if it turns out he’s not yours, it’ll make the custody battle a little tougher. Not impossible, don’t forget that, on the birth certificate, she named you as the father. You still want him if he’s not yours?”
Brad shoved Keith as he jumped out of the chair. “God dammit, he’s my boy. I don’t care what comes back; that’s my little boy. Do you hear me?” The pain consuming him thickened his words.
Keith reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Hey, I’m on your side. I’ll make the arrangements to confirm paternity, but heed me well, Brad. Until this is over, move out. Unless you can guarantee that you can cool that temper of yours, and not do anything stupid, you stay away from her. Pack your bags and move out. Move to one of those cottages on your property. And you make sure you’re never alone with her. I don’t care how, but you find a way. We’re too close, this is the final battle, my friend. Don’t blow it.”
Brad listened but he wanted her gone, whatever it took. Crystal knew exactly what buttons to push. The more Keith talked, the less he heard. “I can’t stay here. I need to clear my head.”
“You promise me, Brad, before you walk out that door, that you’ll pull it together and not do anything stupid.”
He knew what Keith was saying and he didn’t know if he could do it. “I’ll try, Keith, that’s all you’re going to get.” Then he left feeling numb.
He didn’t know how long he sat in his truck, or how he got here, but he climbed out of the truck and Emily was there; her hands in the dirt with Katy beside her.
Emily froze, just looking at the sadness that appeared to weigh on him when he leaned against the truck made her go to him. She took his hand. She led him to the house. “Katy, time to come in the house.”
She let go of Brad’s hand and watched as he walked, like a man who’d lost everything, into the kitchen and stood before the sink, staring out her small, square window.
Emily popped in a movie for Katy, tucking her blanket around her on the sofa. She grabbed the phone. Gina answered on the first ring.
“Hey, sugar, what’s cooking?”
“Gina, something’s happened. I need a big favor. Can you come and get Katy?”
“Can you talk about it?”
“Not now, Gina. I realize this is short notice… and I promise, I’ll tell you later.”
“I’ll be right there, Em.”
Emily hung up the telephone. She came up behind Brad and slipped her arm around his waist. “Gina’s coming to get Katy. Brad, you’re scaring me. What’s happened?”
He turned around and stared down at her with a face like granite. He didn’t touch her. His arms hung at his side, as he gazed down, his eyes glistened with tears. He touched her face, right before his jaw trembled.
She wiped away the tear that fell just as a car pulled up. “Gina’s here. I’m going to throw some stuff in a bag for Katy so she can spend the night. I’ll be right back.”
Emily had a quick chat with Gina, packed Katy’s bag and had her out the door in less than five minutes. When she walked back into the kitchen, Brad had put on a pot of coffee. His jacket was tossed over the back of her cheap wooden chair. He’d regained his dignity.
She took his hand and pulled him into the living room, sitting beside him on the sofa. “What’s happened?”
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