His Heart for the Trusting (19 page)

“Does it end
here?  Or are you going to keep coming back to extort more money from me?”

Lillian
grinned.  “That depends.”

“On what?” Sara
said, outraged.

“On how much
money is actually in that trust fund of course.  And whatever else is left to
you in that will.”

Mitch laughed
again.  “You haven't even seen the will yet, have you?  For all I know my
grandfather left me his antique gumball machine and WWII memorabilia.  Anything
of his is priceless to me, but I don't think you'd see it quite the same way. 
I'll take my chances in court.”

Lillian's face
hardened.  “I'd think long and hard about that before you do.”

“When the judge
hears what I have to say--”

Lillian talked
over him.  “It won't matter when I present him with my proof.”

Mitch stopped
short.  His hand found Sara's again and he squeezed it.

“That's right,”
Lillian taunted.  “You didn't think I'd have gone to the trouble of bringing
you all the way back here if I didn't have an ironclad case, now did you?” 

“What proof
could be more damaging than the fact that you left a baby on my doorstep with
no word of when you'd be coming back?”

She smiled
sweetly.  “How about receipts from a hotel in the town next to Steerage Rock
proving that I was living there all along?”

“If you were in
Steerage Rock all that time, why didn't you come back sooner?” Sara asked.

“It would have
ruined my plans.”

“A single hotel
receipt isn't enough proof.  You could have picked it up from anyone staying in
the area.  It doesn't mean you were there,” Mitch charged.

“Well, then
there are the cell phone records showing I called the ranch on several
occasions, only to have my calls refused.”

“But you
never...  Oh, directions to the Powwow,” Sara said, recalling the longer than
normal conversation.  “And those wrong numbers.  That was all you?”

Lillian
nodded.  “When I'm done telling the judge that I sent Jonathan to meet his
father only to be turned away and driven to taking legal action in order to get
him back, you'll see who wins.”

Sara stepped
forward.  “How could you do that?  Don't you even care about Jonathan?”

“He's a cute
kid,” Lillian said, shifted uncomfortably for a moment before straightening her
spine.  “But in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly mother material.  I
never intended to raise a child.”

“You only
intended to use one for money,” Sara supplied.

“Let's go,”
Mitch said, pulling her toward the court.  “My lawyer is here.”

Furious and
unable to find her voice, Sara twisted on her heels and left Lillian to meet
with Mitch’s lawyer.

As Liz Chadwick
introduced herself to both of them, Sara felt sick inside.    It angered her
that she'd actually felt empathy for Lillian to the point of almost ruining her
relationship with Mitch. 

“Are we ready
to go inside?” Liz asked as she reached them.

Mitch gazed at
her and then to Lillian as she breezed by them on her way into the courthouse. 

“No,” he sighed
and proceeded to fill Liz in on the conversation they'd just had with Lillian. 
“There isn't anything we can do?”

The lawyer just
shook a head of tight curls, pulling off her wire-rimmed glasses.  “No matter
what you say about her character, the evidence is damaging.  It will look as
though she's been in Texas all this time.  The phone calls to the ranch, the
hotel receipts.  It all makes it look like she didn't abandon Jonathan at all
but that you kept Jonathan from her.  That evidence will be far more damaging
to you.”

Mitch blew out
a frustrated breath, his jaw tight with fury.  “That's not the way it
happened.  The only reason she's doing this if for money.”

“Can you prove
it?  What evidence do you have to counter her claims?  She's got the cards
stacked in her favor.  We have no proof except the word of a father, who as the
evidence indicates, has tried to keep his son from his mother.”  As Liz wiped
her glasses clean with a Kleenex, she sighed.  “We'll just have to hope the
judge is open-minded enough to hear us out.  Your only hope may be to seek
joint custody.  But that means moving back to Baltimore.   I'll meet you inside
in five minutes.”

“Don't worry,”
Sara said, smiling up at him.  

“How can you
say that?  I don't know how I'm going to fight against this?”

She wrapped her
arms around Mitch’s shoulders and reached up on her toes, giving him a kiss. 
“You're going to walk into that court and tell the judge the truth.  You love
your son and you have his best interest at heart.”

“What does that
mean for us?”  His gaze was so intense, she didn't know what to say.

“We'll worry
about that later.  You'll see.  Everything is going to be just fine.”

This was
Mitch's fight and he needed to do it his way, Sara thought, her heart pounding
as they climbed the courthouse stairs.  She was here for Mitch, to support him
in any way he needed.  Whatever the outcome may be.

* * *

The courtroom
was filled with people waiting to be heard.  Mitch had never seen the inside of
a courtroom, except on TV.  It didn't look very much like the docudramas he'd
seen on TV and suddenly he had no idea what to expect.

“They'll be
hearing some other cases before ours,” his lawyer said as they sat down.

The wait was
long and tedious.  Mitch tried his best not to show his nervous energy.  

“Will the party
of Broader vs. Broader please step up to the bench,” the judge finally asked.

Lillian had
just stepped into the courtroom, led by her lawyer.  Her lawyer was polished to
a spit shine, complete with Armani suit.

Sara sat back
in the bench while Mitch stood and straightened his tie.  He glanced back at
her before joining Lillian and the lawyers in front of the judge.

“I've read the
affidavits and I have to admit cases like this anger me a great deal.  To use a
child in a marital dispute in unconscionable.”

“Your honor,
we've submitted our statement of the events that took place in Texas,” Liz
interjected.

“I see that,
Ms. Chadwick.  But it doesn't exactly mesh with the statement Mrs. Broader
made.”

“For the
record, Lillian Devereaux changed her name to Broader only recently.  On the
marriage certificate and the annulment papers she chose to keep her maiden
name.”

“That's not
uncommon to want to have the same last name as your child's.  I've seen it many
times in divorce cases.  It's not against the law to change your name to Woody
the Clown if it makes you happy.”

A ripple of
quiet laughing broke free in the courtroom, which the judge stifled with one
hard look.

“What I don't
understand, Mr. Broader is why you did not support your ex-wife during her
pregnancy.”

When his lawyer
tried to answer, the judge held up a hand.  “I'd like to hear it directly from
Mr. Broader.”

“After the
annulment I immediately left for Texas.  I didn't even know Lillian was
pregnant with my child until she dropped Jonathan on my doorstep when he was
just a few weeks old.”

The judge
glanced down at the papers, his eyes grazing their conflicting statements.  He
shut the papers quickly and pushed them aside.

“You claim she
made no attempt to contact you until the night before you were served papers to
bring your son home.”

“That's
correct.”

“Then how do
you explain all the evidence to the contrary?”

“It's a lie,”
Mitch said flatly.

The judge drew
in a deep breath and a rumble of whispered spread out in the courtroom and
died.  “I believe that is my job to decide.”

Pulling the
papers back in front of him, he said.  “It is also my job to decide where this
child should be raised.  I'd like to hear from both of you why you think I
should choose you.  We'll start with Mr. Broader.”

“Because I love
him.  I'm not saying I did right from the start, because I didn't even know
about him.  It was quite a shock to find out I was a father.  But in time, and
with some help—a lot of help—I fell in love with my son.”

Sara listened
to Mitch's declaration, his voice deep and steady when he spoke of his love for
Jonathan.  If for no other reason that this, it was worth all the pain of
loving Mitch just to have him come to this place in his life, knowing his love
for his son.  Tears sprang to her eyes.

“Love alone
isn't enough,” the judge said.  “This child needs care and consistency.  This
statement states you have a nanny taking care of him while you work.  But you
work long hours.  Mrs. Broader has stated that you are looking for another
nanny.”

Lillian's
lawyer interjected.  “With proper child support, my client can care for the
infant herself and live comfortably.”

“I'm aware of
the kind of child support your client is seeking.  We'll have to shave that
down a bit to meet the state's guidelines.”

“What state
guidelines?” Lillian shot out.

“Child support
is based on salary.  This inheritance referenced here is irrelevant in child
support cases.  It is up to Mr. Broader to appropriate what he chooses to his
son in his own will or trust.”

“But what about
me?  I was married—.”

Impatiently the
judge cut her off.  “And you had the marriage annulled after only two weeks. 
Let's face it, Mrs. Broader, your lawyer should have explained this to you. 
The money was willed to your ex-husband before you were married, and he
inherited it after the marriage dissolved, therefore making you ineligible to
claim any of it as his spouse.  By virtue of having the marriage annulled, it
was as if you were never married at all, and therefore, not entitled to spousal
support.  If you have a problem with that, take it up with your divorce
lawyer.  But I can guarantee if you come before my bench with this, I will
strike it down.”

Steam seemed to
rise from Lillian's ears.  She gave a hard glance at Mitch and folded her arms
across her chest.

“My primary
concern is this child and the events that have transpired since his birth.  I'd
like to take a half hour recess to mull over these affidavits before making my
decision.”  With the strike of the gavel, he rose and waltzed into his
chambers.

“I had a chance
to look at the evidence Lillian's lawyer has and I won't lie to you.  It
doesn't look good,” Liz said, snapping her brief case closed.  “Why don't two
grab a cup of coffee?  There is a cafeteria in the lower level.  I'm going to
see if there are any last minute tricks I can pull out of a hat to help us. 
I'll meet you back here when court reconvenes.”

In silence,
Mitch and Sara took the elevator to the bottom floor.  Mitch looked so
shattered, it made Sara's heart ache.  When the elevator door flew open, she
was as surprised as Mitch to see Lillian waiting for them, a smug grin
splitting her face.

Mitch
stiffened.

“Have you given
my offer any more thought, Mitch?”

“I won't
bargain with you for my son.”

“You're going
to lose what's most precious to you.  Then what?”

He didn't
respond, but Sara could feel his pulse pounding where she held his arm.

“As soon as we
walk into that court room again, it will be too late.  The judge will hand
custody of Jonathan over to me, and I promise you, I'm not going to make it
easy for you to see him.  I suggest you think about that for a while.”

Lillian turned
on her heels and waltzed into the women’s bathroom.

Mitch's heavy
sigh spoke the gravity of emotion he was feeling.  Sara had believed this was
Mitch's fight.  It wasn't her place to intervene.  She was here only to lend
her support to him if he needed it.  But she was wrong in thinking it was only
about Jonathan.  It was about the two of them, too.  And Sara had a lot of
fight in her in that regards.

“Why don't you
get us something to drink?  I'll be right back,” she said.

“What are you
doing?”

She drew in a
breath of courage and smiled up at him, feeling confident for the first time in
a long time.  “I think it's time Lillian and I had a woman to woman chat.”

Mitch shook his
head.  “I don't want you anywhere near that woman.  There's no telling what
she'll do.”

Sara chuckled. 
“You don't have to protect me, Mitch.  I’m pretty steady on my feet right now.”

His dark brows
drew together.  “What are you going to do?”

“Do you trust
me?”

“With my life,”
he said.

He gave her a
crooked grin and bent his head to kiss her lips.  As he drew back, he was about
to say something, hesitated, and then shook his head. 

“Don't worry,”
she said, touching her hand to his cheek.

“I’ll go see if
they serve any herbal teas here.”

It wasn't what
he was going to say.  It had been an afterthought, Sara knew.  As she pushed
through the restroom doors, she wondered just what it was he'd held back.

Lillian was
staring at her reflection in the mirror, applying a fresh coat of lipstick as
Sara approached.

Sara didn't
waste any time getting to the point. 

“Tell me
something.  Did you just marry Mitch to get his money?”

“What do you
think?”  Lillian glanced at Sara's reflection and shrugged.  “Mitch is a good
man.”

“I won't argue
with that.  What about Jonathan?”

“You know what
they say about the passion of wedding nights.  I didn't trick him or try to
trap him.  After Mitch told me there was no will and that anything his
grandfather had would probably go to his father, I didn't see any need to stay
married to him.  I mean, I wasn't going to go traipsing through manure on some
cattle ranch in Texas until Mitch saved enough money to buy a ranch in some
equally boring town.”