His Heart for the Trusting (20 page)

Lillian was
facing Sara now.  “After Mitch had gone back to Texas, I realized I was
pregnant.  I wasn't even sure it was Mitch's baby.  It didn't make any sense to
tell him unless I knew for sure.”

“I’m surprised
you chose to have Jonathan at all.”

Lillian's
expression hardened.  “I thought about having an abortion.  It would have been
my choice if I had.  But I had the baby, figuring I’d give the baby up for
adoption.  But when I saw how much Jonathan looked like Mitch—”

“You knew Mitch
would do anything to keep his son.  Even pay you for him?”

“I hired a
detective while I was pregnant and found out there actually was a will.  And
the best part of all is that Mitch gets it all.  Grandpa didn’t leave anything
to Mitch’s daddy.  So I didn't go through with the adoption.  I brought
Jonathan to Texas instead.”

“And waited
until Mitch was so in love with his son he'd do anything to get him back.  Is
that how it was?”

“Something like
that.”

Sara held back
a retort and counted to ten to calm herself.  “To think I was actually on your
side.”  Thinking about it now made Sara sick.

Lillian
smiled.  “Good, then you can help Mitch see things my way so we can stop all
this silliness.”

“No, I can't,”
Sara said, shaking her head.  “And I'm sorry if that disappoints you.  You see,
Mitch has a mind of his own and he doesn't allow me or anyone else to control
him.  Nor does he control anyone else.”

She reached
into her purse and pulled out the small micro-cassette recorder she'd placed
there that morning before she'd left Mitch's mother's house.  She rewound it
just enough to give Lillian a taste of what was on it.

In case you
haven't notice, I'm not mother material.  She snapped off the cassette player.

“You little
witch,” Lillian said, with a twist of hate and appreciation all in one. 

“It's all
here.  The conversation in front of the courthouse where you demanded money in
exchange for Jonathan.  And everything you've said just now.”

“He's not going
to win and neither are you.”

“I wouldn't
write Mitch off just yet.  Once the judge hears this tape, there is no way
he'll give you custody of Jonathan.  He’ll believe Mitch was telling the truth
all along.”  It hurt Sara deep in her heart to say the words, even though she
knew there was no love in Lillian's heart for the baby.  She ached for Jonathan
and for what he'd never had, and would never have, in Lillian.   

“You're just
like me, little Cherokee,” Lillian said.  “I'm not going sit back and let you
take what is rightfully mine.”

“Apache.”

Lillian frowned
and then rolled her eyes.  “Same thing.”

Standing tall,
Sara replied, “That's where you are wrong.  You see, Apache people are
warriors.  And deep in my culture were people who knew how to fight for what is
right.  Unlike you, I'm not doing this for money.  I'm doing it out of love,”
she said, depositing the tape in her bag. 

Sara turned to
walk away, but stopped short and spun on her heels.

“Before you
walk into that court, I'd think a little bit about how you're going to spend
any money you might be able to swindle from Mitch while you're behind bars for
extortion.”

Lillian's back
straightened.  “You can't use that tape.”

“Really?  Are
you so sure that you're willing to take the gamble?  I can walk right out this
door and hand it over to the District Attorney if you'd like.  You can take
your chances with him.”

Lillian tossed
her lipstick case into her purse and zipped it closed, soaring past Sara on her
way to the door.

“You're
Jonathan's mother,” Sara said, stopping Lillian at the door.   “You haven't
even asked about him once.  Nothing.  Not how he's coming along.  Not whether
or not he's rolling over or...anything.  Don't you even care?”

Lillian's lips
twisted into a snarl, but it did nothing to stop Sara from speaking her peace.

“If you were
doing this out of love for Jonathan, he would have been first and foremost on
your mind.  Mitch's money wouldn't mean a thing.”

“Guess you have
all the answers.”

Sara blew out a
slow breath.  “I wish I did.”

“You haven't
won,” Lillian bit back.

“This isn't
about winning.  It's about making sure a little boy gets the love he deserves
from people who truly love him.”

* * *

The cup of
coffee Mitch had downed too fast while he waited for Sara to come back after
talking to Lillian felt like mud in the pit of his stomach.

“Don't worry,”
Sara said.  How could he possibly not worry?  In all likelihood, his son was
about to be taken away from him before he even had a chance to get to know him,
before he had the opportunity to grow and become his own person.  And there was
nothing Mitch could do to stop it.

Almost
immediately, the air in the courtroom changed.  Mitch was having a hard time
breathing and wished to God he could take off this noose of a tie and end this
charade.

Lillian and her
lawyer walked in to the courtroom just as the judge approached his bench.

“If it pleases
the court, I'd like to approach the bench,” Lillian's lawyer asked.

“It's a little
late to add any more information to this case, counselor.”

“There has been
a drastic...change of heart.”

The judge
scowled.  “What kind of change?”

“If I may
approach the bench?”

“Anything said
at this point should be on record, Mr. Davis. If you feel you must address the
court before my decision is heard, then go ahead.”

Mr. Davis was
clearly unhappy that he was not allowed a private say, but he proceeded.  “My
client has decided to drop all further action against the baby's father.”

“Meaning what?”

“She wishes the
child to remain in the custody of Mr. Broader.”

A hush swept
across the room.  Mitch couldn't believe what he was actually hearing. 
Apparently, neither could the judge.

“Say that
again?”

“My client
would like to relinquish her parental rights to her minor son, Jonathan
Broader.”

The judge
pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.  “This is highly
unusual, especially at this late date in the proceedings.  May I ask what has
brought you to this decision?”

Lillian cleared
her throat.  “Mitch is a good father.  I believe he can take better care of
Jonathan than I can.”

Judge Babcock
didn't appear convinced.  “I want you to think a minute before answering me. 
Is this decision one that you've made of your own accord?”

“Yes, Your
Honor.”  She glanced at Mitch, her face unreadable.  What was going on?  What
was Lillian up to now?

“And you
haven't been pressured in any way?”

“No.”

“I'm not sure I
like this turn of events and I'm not satisfied that coercion of some sort
hasn't come into play here.”

When the judge
turned to Mitch, his heart pumped harder than a wild horse on the run.

“Mr. Broader, I
can't say that I'm still not concerned by this situation.  But since the mother
has decided to relinquish rights and you are the child's father, you will get
full custody by default.  There's no evidence to show you are unfit to take on
that responsibility and you can provide for your son.  But I'm not sure a life
being raised by a nanny will enable this child to have the love he deserves. 
Furthermore, having a different nanny coming in and out of his life and having
a father who works the long hours that are required on a ranch doesn't give much
emotional security.  It's hard being a single parent.  How do you feel you'll
manage that?”

Mitch thought
of Sara and all the nights she'd pushed him to bond with his son.  Emotion
swelled inside of him just thinking about all she'd done for them, for him.

“Well, Your
Honor, that's where Lillian was wrong.”  He turned and glanced at Sara.  “Ms.
Lightfoot is more than just a nanny.  She came into my life at a time when I
was confused and scared witless about being a father, and she made me take the
reins.  She's turned a shell of a house I lived alone in into a home that is
bubbling over with life.” 

And love, he
thought.  She'd filled both his heart and his home with the very essence of
love. 

He kept his
eyes on Sara as he spoke.  “I'm not looking to change things at all.  I like
them just the way they are, except for one thing.  I'm hoping one day Sara and
I will be married and become a family with a mother and father for Jonathan.”

Judge Babcock
nodded.  “Answer me one thing.  If this strange turn of events hadn’t happened
and the situation hadn't turned out in your favor, what would you have done?  
Texas is a long way from Baltimore.  How would you have been a father to your
son then?”

“If Jonathan
was here in Baltimore then I would have chosen to be near my son.  He means the
world to me.  And I can't remember what life was like before he came into
mine.”  He shrugged.  “And I would have prayed that Sara would have chosen me.”

That brought a
smile to the judge's face.  “Full custody is awarded to Mr. Mitchell Broader,
the child's father.  Paperwork will be drawn up for Lillian Broader to sign to
relinquish parental responsibility.”  And with another strike of the gavel, it
was over.

With a sneer on
her lips, Lillian sailed past Mitch without a word.  Mitch didn't want to think
past his joy to wonder what had happened or what had brought it about.  All he
cared about was that Jonathan was going home with him.  He couldn't wait to
hold his son in his arms again.

He hooked his
arm around Sara's and walked out of the courthouse in silence, not wanting to
waste another moment in case Lillian changed her mind.

Once inside a
taxi and heading to his mother's house, Sara wrapped her arms around Mitch and
kissed him on the cheek.

“Congratulations,
Mitch.  You must be so relieved this is over.”

He kissed her
back, this time on the lips, feeling his heart soar with excitement over the
days turn of events. 

“What happened
between you and Lillian to make her change her mind?”

“What makes you
think I had anything to do with it?”

He cocked his
head to one side.  “Don't tell me you had a heart to heart and she miraculously
realized the error of her ways.”

Sara sighed,
opening her purse and pulling out a small tape recorder.  “Before I left Dave
for good, I got smart.  I told you I did despicable things that I'm ashamed
of.  Well, one of them was taping his abuse.  I threatened to expose him in
court, to show it to all those so-called-friends who had defended him the first
time I left.  I had boxes of tapes when I finally went to the lawyer for my
divorce.”

“You
blackmailed him?”

Sara closed her
eyes, shame filling her.  “I'm not proud of it.  Even in doing it, he fought me
tooth and nail during our divorce, and I felt I had no choice.”  She rewound
the tape a little ways and hit the play button.

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.

She clicked off
the tape and spared Mitch the rest.

“I told Lillian
I'd go to the D.A. if I had to.  I'm sorry.”

Mitch sighed,
then chuckled, relief filling him completely.  “What for?  You fought fire with
fire.  Thank you for doing that.  If you hadn't, Lillian would have gotten away
with taking Jonathan and God only knows what kind of life he'd have had.”

“You're not
angry?”

“How could I
be?  If I'd had an ounce of sense, I would have known that Lillian would only
respond to the same kind of treatment she dished out.  She doesn't know the
meaning of fair play.”

He wrapped his
arms around her and she settled against him, molding to his side and making him
feel whole again.

“Sara, what I
said in court-”

“Hmm, I
wondered when you'd get to that.”

“I don't want
you to feel like I'm putting pressure on you to stay at the ranch.  I was
feeling pretty desperate in there and—”

“Did you mean what
you said?”

He gazed down
into her eyes, replaying in his head his own words spoken in front of the judge
just a short time ago and knowing they were true.  “Yes.”

“All of it?”

He smiled. 
“Every word.  Except I forgot to say the part about how much I love you.”

Tears sprang to
her eyes.  “Really?”

“I love you,
Sara.  I'm a patient man, so if you need time then I'll give it to you.  If
living on the reservation is what will make you happy then, I guess we can have
ourselves a ranch there someday, can't we?”

“You would do
that for me?”

“If it means
keeping you in my life, yes.”

“Mitch, do you
have any idea why I came to Baltimore, even after you told me not to?”

“You said it
was because I needed you.”  

“That's right. 
And you know what?  I needed you, too.  I sat there in the house I grew up in
and all I could think about was being with you and Jonathan.  I couldn't
imagine being anywhere else.  That little house on the Double T has been more
of a home to me in these last few months than all the years I spent in
California.  And I realized it wasn't the house or the reservation that made me
home.  It was you.  It doesn't matter where I am as long as I'm with you.  And
in case you're wondering, if things hadn't turned out this way, if Lillian had
won, I would have chosen to be with you.”

He bent his
head and kissed her lightly on the lips, his heart singing. “I love you, Sara.”