A Family for Christmas (15 page)

Maggie woke sometime in the night, and a feeling of aloneness engulfed her. She rolled over and reached out for Trent but he was gone, his pillow cool. When he didn't return after several minutes, Maggie tossed off her covers and pulled on her robe to go in search of him.

She found him in the front parlor, sitting on the overstuffed sofa, staring up at the lit tree. Its ornaments sparkled against the deep green curtain of fragrant pine.

“It turned out beautifully, didn't it?” she said. Bright. Noisy. Joyful. And a little hectic in places. Maggie saw the tree as a concrete symbol of their new family. Created by the combination of Michael and Sarah's ornaments and the ones Maggie and Trent had collected over the years, the tree was a harmony of color and lights, just as the family they'd fashioned was a perfect symphony of love and happiness.

Trent nodded, his head tipped to the side a bit as he stared up at the tree. “The angel's still a little
lopsided, but Grace did a bang-up job getting it up there, didn't she?”

Maggie thought of the picture she'd taken of Trent standing on the ladder holding Grace up to put the angel on top of the tree, both of them wearing their brightest smiles. Grace's happy squeals of accomplishment, and Trent's laughter still echoed in her mind. She chuckled. “Except that now she thinks the Christmas angel's called a ‘put on.'”

“We'll work on that next,” Trent said.

The hollow sound of his voice tweaked Maggie's radar. She studied him in the low light of the tree's many tiny lights. “Trent? What is it?”

“What if they aren't here for Christmas, Mag? What if my parents get them?”

“They'll be with us. Please have faith.”

Trent pursed his lips and shook his head. “I wish I could. Believe me, I wish I could. But God let my parents have Mike and me. So my mind tells me it can happen again to these kids. And my heart's so busy being scared that I can't seem to catch my breath half the time. Everything was going so well.”

“And it will again,” Maggie promised as she snuggled next to him. Hugging his arm, she dropped her head on his shoulder. “We'll be sitting here on Christmas night, exhausted, toys scattered all around, the kids asleep and us too tired to go up the stairs.”

“How can you be so sure?” he whispered, his voice breaking on the last word.

“I don't know. Somehow, my faith assures me that
it will all turn out fine, even though we might have to walk through the fire first”

Trent sighed. “I just don't have that kind of trust to give, Maggie. I wish I did. Someday maybe I will, but not right now.”

The flash of understanding left Maggie stunned. It was a lack of trust that held him back from committing to the Lord. He couldn't trust Him any more than he was able to trust her. And it was all her fault. She had broken Trent's trust when she broke their marriage vows by leaving him, and now she felt as if her own heart would break. She was very much afraid that it was the memory of her faithlessness that kept him from embracing the Lord and His life-giving faith.

Maggie sat up and scooted around to face Trent. Tears flooded her eyes. “Oh, Trent, I took so much from you when I left. I'm sorry. I'll prove you can trust again, somehow.”

Trent's eyes widened with something akin to panic. “No, Maggie, it isn't your fault! Please don't blame yourself. Please. I've forgiven that. It's forgotten. My problem is that every time I've become secure in my life something happens to show me that it's all smoke and mirrors. Most of those times were my own parents' doing. Nannies who made me feel loved fired with no warning. Family vacations canceled out of the blue. Shipping me off to Ruxley. Graduations they didn't show up for. Just like now. They come out of the woodwork with this suit just when I thought they'd given up the idea.”

“Trent, I know your parents betrayed your trust, but Jesus isn't going to betray you! I failed you, too, but He won't. He isn't a flawed being the way we are.”

“But that's just it, Mag. I feel as if every time something has gone wrong He
has
betrayed me, because He let it happen.”

“No. It's the people in your life. He's given us free will, and with it we've made choices that. hurt you. Myself included. You may have forgiven me but that doesn't change what I did. I'm going to keep praying that Jesus will reveal Himself to you so you can place your trust in Someone who'll never fail you the way I did.”

T
rent squeezed Maggie's hand as they entered the courtroom. He heard her take a deep breath before she started down the center aisle. Still clasping her hand, he had no choice but to follow. All the children were with Nancy and Ester in an anteroom. The children were there because his parents had petitioned the court to have them immediately available to them after the hearing.

Ed had filed a counter-motion requesting that the children be excluded from the courtroom. The female judge had readily agreed, but her thoughtlessness in requiring their presence in the courthouse worried Trent to no end. Was she the kind of woman who didn't care if children were upset? Did that mean she wouldn't be bothered by the idea of forcing the children to live with virtual strangers? Or were they there so she could solicit their opinion?

Maggie and Sarah's mothers were with the children,
not only to take care of them and to keep them calm, but also to testify if they were needed. Nancy Merritt's health worried both of them.

He and Maggie reached the front of the room, so Trent stepped aside to let her through the narrow break in the railing. Trent glanced at his parents and turned away, not sure he'd ever want to set eyes on either of them again after this.

Maggie moved to the farthest seat at the table where Ed was sitting alone, and Trent sat next to his friend and lawyer. Ed turned toward them, deliberately blocking the view of those at the plaintiffs' table. “I tried to reach you this morning but you'd left already,” he said in a low voice.

Trent felt instant panic at Ed's tone. Ed never sounded worried without reason. “We had to swing by to pick up Ester and Nancy. Why were you trying to get hold of us?”

“Jason Wright added a name to their witness list— Nadine Morresey.” Ed stared at him. “What does your old girlfriend have to do with custody of Mike's kids?”

The name rocked Trent to his core. “I don't get it. First, she wasn't really a girlfriend. More like a dinner companion. As far as I know my parents have never met her.”

“They apparently have. I couldn't block her appearance, but I might be able to get a continuance,” Ed suggested. “No,” Maggie said immediately. “We can't put this off. My mother just had to peel little Grace off me. Even she's feeling the tension. It's heartbreaking
to see those precious little people frightened like this.”

Trent nodded. “I agree, Ed. The kids can't stand this any longer. And I'm not sure about Maggie, but I can't either.”

“Okay,” Ed said with a determined nod. “The real point is, can Nadine hurt us? Think. What does she' know that would help their case?” Ed asked.

While a jumble of thoughts rushed through Trent's mind, Maggie replied, “Trent dated her until the accident. Maybe they're trying to establish that he was going forward with the divorce until the children needed us.”

“If that's all she's here for, we'll just admit that you got back together for the kids' sake. There's really nothing wrong with that as long as you've worked through your differences. But—” Ed dragged his hand through his hair and grimaced “—Look, Trent, I hate to be so blunt, but how close were you and Nadine?”

Trent glanced at Maggie and put his arm around her. “I don't see how they can make a moral issue out of this. I made her seem like more to Maggie when I was trying to push Maggie away, but she was never more than a friend. Anyway, Mag and I were legally separated, and I only saw Nadine socially. I was never unfaithful to my wife. I was never in Nadine's apartment. She invited me in, but the thought of it made me uncomfortable. She was only inside my place once. And that was before I ever took her out. She stopped by to see Maggie, and I told her Mag had left me a month earlier. After that, she called me
once in a while to see how I was doing. A couple months later, I was so lonely that I asked her out for dinner.

“But that first night when she came by to see Maggie, I had fallen on the ice and was on painkillers and muscle relaxers. I woke up the next morning and couldn't remember the night before. It scared me to death, so I stopped the medicine. Later that day I did finally remember that she'd been there, but only because she called to see how I was. Man, I thought that scared me, but not knowing what I might have said to her scares me a lot more. Suppose I told her why Mag left me?”

“Well, there's nothing to do but think on our feet and try to counter anything she says as best we can,” Ed said. He glanced past Maggie, nodding his head in that direction. “We're about to find out how well we do.”

“All rise,” the court bailiff called. “The court of Chester County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is now in session. The Honorable Winifred T. Golden presiding.” Trent stood, his stomach roiling. Maggie slid her hand into his and once again gave it a reassuring squeeze. He closed his eyes.
Please, God. Please.

The bailiff announced the principles in the case, and Jason Wright stood to present his side of the argument. His opening statement held no surprises. Nor did his polished appearance or dramatic flare. He was well prepared and methodical.

Then it was Ed Hanson's turn. He approached the bench, his suit slightly rumpled, his hair as askew as
ever. He had an. aw-shucks demeanor that came across as unsophisticated and unfocused—and a mind like a steel trap. Nothing got past the man. He seemed to Trent to be the bar association's answer to Columbo.

Wright called his first witness: Nadine Morresey. Trent hadn't noticed her in the room because he'd been concentrating on the proceedings. She looked horrified to be there. As if she wanted to be anywhere else. She was well-dressed, and looking, as always, sweet and comforting. The very qualities that had drawn him to her in those dark days when he'd needed a friend.

The bailiff swore her in and asked her to state her name.

“Nadine Turner Morresey,” she replied.

“Ms. Morresey, would you tell the court how you know Mr. and Mrs. Trenton Osborne?”

“I went to high school with Maggie—that's Mrs. Osborne. After she left Trent, he and I became very good friends.”

“Oh, come now, Ms. Morresey. Friends?”

Nadine blushed. After a long hesitation she swallowed and said,
“Friends,”
with an embarrassed wobble in her voice.

Trent's blood reached the boiling point. He glanced at Maggie to gauge her reaction, but she seemed as serene as ever. Where did she find this ability to trust? Then he looked over at Ed, who had just scribbled the word
friends
on his yellow legal pad, then underlined it heavily several times.

“Were you aware that there was a reconciliation under discussion between them?” Wright asked.

Nadine blinked, clearly shocked by the question. “Yes. Uh. No, not really.”

“Which is it, Ms. Morresey?” Wright asked.

“It hardly matters, Your Honor. Any answer would be hearsay,” Ed called quietly.

“Sustained. Please stick only to facts Ms. Morresey can add,” Judge Golden instructed Wright.

“Where did you think your relationship with Trenton Osborne
was headed?
”

“Headed?”

“Didn't you tell Albertine Osborne that you hoped to marry her son one day?”

Ed put a restraining hand on Trent's arm, or he would have shouted his own objection. He had never considered her as anything more than a friend.

Looking horribly embarrassed, she said, “I guess I said that but—”

“So this man, who was going to marry you, took you out for the last time when?”

“But—”

“When, Ms. Morresey?”

“The day before his brother died. Trent left on a business trip an hour after we had lunch.”

“And at that time he was still going forward with the divorce?”

“Yes.”

“When was it that you first learned of their reconciliation?” Wright asked.

“After Michael and Sarah's memorial service.”

“Are you aware of the reason for the near end to their marriage?”

“Objection, Your Honor, we aren't here to dissect
the Osbornes' marriage,” Ed called out before Nadine could open her mouth. “I've let several hearsay remarks go by in the interest of time. Four youngsters are waiting to see if they'll have a Merry Christmas with the aunt and uncle they love,” Ed added, making the point that the older Osbornes didn't seem to care. “Ms. Morresey is hardly in a position to know the reason why these people separated. And we're willing to stipulate that one of the reasons for their reconciliation was the guardianship of the children. Perhaps that way he will stop badgering his own witness.”

What did I say that night?
Trent thought, racking his brain and finding only what he had back then—fuzz! This was their worst nightmare coming true before his eyes.

“Your objection is noted, but I'll allow this avenue to be explored up to a point. I want to see where this goes,” the judge said.

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Wright said with a bright smile. “Now, Ms. Morresey, what exactly did Trent Osborne tell you was the reason they separated?”

“Well, Maggie can't have children. She wanted to adopt. Trent wouldn't go along with her.”

“So Trenton Osborne hates children so much that he let his marriage end over it,” Wright said at lightning speed.

“Your Honor,” Ed said, his tone rife with disgust.

“So noted, counselor. Mr. Wright, please approach the bench.”

“I'd never say I hate kids,” Trent whispered frantically
to Ed, while the judge spoke to Wright. “That's not why I didn't want to adopt.”

Ed looked at him sharply, and Trent realized that he'd just admitted that there was a solid reason behind his stand on adoption. After a long moment, Ed nodded and scribbled something on his pad. “Relax, the judge isn't happy with this guy and maybe not his clients. We have that going for us at least,” he whispered. “I need a little time to think about how to counteract this mess.”

The other lawyer's voice drew Trent's attention. “I'm assuming I am still allowed to explore the Osbornes' relationship, since it will so directly affect these innocent children?”

The judge nodded.

“Why would you say this miraculous reconciliation took place?”

“Calls for a conclusion, Your Honor. Ms. Morresey has no idea why they reconciled,” Ed objected. “No matter what Trent Osborne might have given as a reason, he could merely have been trying to let her down easily because she had too great an expectation of where their social acquaintanceship was leading.”

“So noted, counselor. Sustained.”

“In that case, that's all I have for this witness,” Wright said.

Ed stood, pad in hand, studying his scribble, while the other lawyer took his seat. “Now, Ms. Morresey, suppose you define for the court what you meant when you said that you and Trent Osborne were friends.”

She looked into her lap, then up at the judge. “I meant friends. We confided in each other.”

Ed was almost comically incredulous. “Nothing untoward, as counsel for the plaintiffs implied?”

Nadine fidgeted. “Well, no. Nothing like that at all.”

Trent breathed a sigh, but still wondered why Nadine agreed to testify to help his parents. They were strangers to her. Weren't they?

“Didn't you, in fact, only attend social functions, dinners and the occasional movie or stage play with him? Didn't his work schedule at the very least prevent more contact than that?”

“Yes, those are the kind of dates he took me on, and Trent works very hard.”

Ed raked his hand through his hair and sighed. “Okay. Now just to clarify things for Her Honor. Is it not true that Trent Osborne has never been inside your home? That you were only in his once? And on that occasion you arrived unannounced to see Maggie?”

“Yes. We talked a lot after that,” she added, obviously recovering from the shock of Wright's badgering.

“You
talked
a lot. Went to dinner. Movies. Plays. You were at no time intimate with him, as Mr. Wright implied?”

“No. We were not!” she said, glaring at the plaintiff's lawyer.

“Mr. Wright also implied that Trent had led you to believe he intended to marry you. Did he?”

“No. I-I'm afraid that was all on my side. When
he didn't go back to Maggie after the first time she asked, I sort of started hoping.”

“It would be fair to say these hopes were onesided, wouldn't it?”

“Yes.”

“Did Mr. Osborne tell you he
hated
children? Or did he merely say he didn't believe in adoption?”

“Yes. He never said he hated children. He just said that they broke up over adoption.”

“So, all you know is that the Osbornes were having some sort of a dispute about adoption.”

“Yes!” Nadine said with a sigh.

“Nothing else, Your Honor,” Ed said, a little triumph in his tone.

“Redirect, Mr. Wright?” Golden asked.

The other lawyer shook his head. “No, Your Honor.”

“What now?” Trent asked, frantic.

“I'm thinking,” Ed whispered.

“Your Honor, I'd like to call Trenton Osborne,” Wright said. “I'd like to treat him as a hostile witness.”

Trent's heart shuddered. He looked at Ed, who was pushing himself lazily to his feet. “Your Honor. This is ridiculous. Hostile witnesses in family court? Trent will be glad to testify. He already intends to. We're all supposed to be here looking after the best interests of the Osborne children.”

“I couldn't agree more, Mr. Hanson. Very well, Mr. Wright, you may question Trenton Osborne now, but be careful. You may not badger the witness. I assume you remember the definition of
badger.
”

“It's okay,” Trent heard Maggie whisper past the buzzing in his ears.

“Your Honor, I would like a second or two to confer with my clients.”