Jailbird (15 page)

Chapter Fourteen

It was no surprise that the Torres family
welcomed Gabrielle with open arms and without question. I was sure
Charlie had given them a heads-up at church, but they were still
more accepting than any normal person would have been. When I grew
up, I wanted to be just like them.

Isabel instantly recognized Gabrielle’s name.
I’d forgotten that conversation until she commented, “Miss Neena,
your dream came true. She’s very pretty, like you.”

“You’re right, sweet pea. My dream did come
true.” So much had changed since Isabel overheard me talking in my
sleep. I’d told her at the time Gabrielle was just a dream. Now
those dark days were feeling more and more like they were the
dream.

Lunch passed quickly. I was exhausted by the
time the dishes were cleared, but didn’t dare let it show. Anjelita
was watching me like a hawk. I’d even stopped eating long before I
was full just to keep from arousing her suspicion. So now I was
sneaking food every time she walked out of the room.

The third time she walked back in and caught
me with my cheeks full, she threw her dish towel down in
disgust.

“That is it, Neena Russell.”

“What?” I tried to look angelic, but my
cheeks were too squirrel-like to pull it off.

“If I promise to not tell Charlie before
you’re ready, will you at least stop trying to hide it from
me?”

“You really won’t tell Charlie?”

“No, I think you should.”

“Oh thank God, I’m starved. This is the first
food I’ve kept down in ages,” I collapsed into a chair with a fork
and the leftover pot roast. “You are such a good cook.”

“Have you been to the doctor yet?”

I gave her a blank stare.

“Neena, you should go to the doctor.”

“Doctors file insurance claims.”

“You have to tell him. He’ll be so
excited.”

“I don’t know how to explain this to you, but
I just can’t tell him yet. Just let me wait one more month. Then
I’ll tell him.”

“You’re killing your marriage if you do
this.”

“Gabrielle is a good kid, isn’t she?”

“She is,” Anjelita gave me a look that spoke
volumes, but allowed me to change the subject. “I was really
surprised when Charlie said you had a daughter today.”

“Don’t worry, he knew about that one.”

“Very funny. Is she going to be here a
while?”

“I’m not sure. I have to talk to Conrad
still.”

“If you enroll her in school it will stir up
gossip faster than the one on the way.”

“I’d thought of that. Boy, won’t the combo be
fun?”

“Just face it. You’re a gossip magnet. The
sooner you get used to it, the better.”

“I really didn’t want to draw attention to
myself, though.”

“You messed that up when you became the .01
percent of the town that is Native American. Even if they would
have let that one slide, marrying the town’s most eligible bachelor
right away probably hurt your chances a little.”

“You set us up,” I frowned.

“I know,” she admitted. “I’m just saying
you’ve already drawn attention to yourself. Who cares? You have a
good life. Don’t let a bunch of small-town gossips ruin that for
you.”

“I don’t know. Something about Elena scares
the hell outta me.”

Anjelita frowned at me and I shoveled more
pot roast into my mouth. She could chalk it up to small town gossip
all she wanted. Something in my gut told me that Gabrielle’s
presence might stir up gossip, but the baby would be enough to send
Elena over the edge.

I almost wondered if my family wouldn’t be
better off if I left rather than turn the wrath of the sheriff’s
daughter on them. And I wasn’t about to risk giving birth in prison
again.

“Are you still eating?” Conrad poked his head
back into the kitchen.

“Leave the girl alone, she needs the extra
fuel,” Mamá Torres swatted Conrad on her way by to pull the pie out
of the oven.

“There’s pie?” My head perked up.

“Why does she need extra fuel?” Conrad cocked
his head to the side and studied me.

“For the baby, of course,” Mamá Torres looked
at him like he was a brick shy of a full load.

“The baby? Really? Charlie, you sly dog!”

“Shhh…” I jumped up just as Charlie ambled
into the kitchen.

“What did I do now?”

“When were you going to tell us?” Conrad
slapped him on the back.

“Tell you what?” He looked from Conrad to me
and then to Anjelita, who sank guiltily in her chair. His face grew
dark. “What don’t I know?”

“Just remember you’ve kept things from me
this week, too…,” I fidgeted in my spot. “Maybe we should step
outside to talk.”

“Maybe,” he grabbed his coat from a hook on
the wall and held the door for me while I slid mine on. We stepped
out into a gray drizzle. I scowled at the sky. Charlie scowled at
me.

“Are we going to have a baby?”

I pressed my lips together and studied him
for a second. What was I so afraid of? This was Charlie. “Yes.”

“How long have you known?” He looked like
he’d been punched in the gut.

“Since yesterday.”

“How long have you suspected?” He realized he
hadn’t asked the right question.

“My birthday.”

“Did you plan on telling me any time
soon?”

“No,” my voice was as small as I felt.

“Why?”

“Lots of reasons. It’s hard to explain.”

“Could you try please?”

“Do you want to try to explain to me why you
won’t answer my questions about Mary’s trial?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I’m not. You can’t be mad at me for keeping
something from you when you’re keeping something from me!” I
couldn’t seem to help the fact that my voice was getting
louder.

“But it’s a baby, Neena, our baby. We should
be celebrating right now, not shouting at each other!”

“It’s too much all at once Charlie. My brain
is on overload. Cut me some freaking slack.”

“But the baby, this is a good
thing—right?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t stopped to think of
it that way yet.”

“No, sweetie. This is a good thing,” his
voice and expression had softened. He reached for me now, pulling
me into an almost reverent hug. “I’m crazy in love with you and
you’re having my baby. That’s a very good thing.”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” I paused to consider
his words. There were so many reasons this was not a good thing.
But none of that really mattered in the shadow of the fact that I
loved Charlie and now we were irrevocably tied to one another. “Hey
Charlie…”

“Yes love?”

“Are we okay now?”

“Of course.”

“Then can we go inside? It’s freezing out
here.”

We reentered the house to find the kitchen
full of people trying to look like they hadn’t been listening to
our conversation. Charlie and I exchanged mirthful looks and were
instantly surrounded by well-wishers. It took a while to extract
ourselves after that. By the time we did, I desperately wanted a
nap. I knew I wouldn’t be able to have a decent conversation with
Charlie and Conrad until the girls went to bed anyway; and at this
rate, I’d never outlast them.

As I crawled into my rumpled bed, I realized
the newspapers were still in a pile on the floor. Curiosity beat
tired any day. I pulled the papers onto the bed and began to flip
through them.

I’d assumed that the drawn look on Charlie’s
face meant the trial wasn’t going well. I was wrong. It was going
very well. The papers were full of stories about the brilliant
young lawyer that appeared out of nowhere to bring justice to a
forgotten inmate in the Dixon Correctional Facility.

In fact, Charlie was getting more attention
than the trial itself. Charlie, and the speculation as to what
would motivate him to free Mary O’Donnell.

Suddenly I understood with sickening clarity
why he looked so concerned all of the time. I knew why a reporter
was on the reservation. Why Conrad and Gabrielle were in my living
room right now.

I’d been found. If this reporter had
connected Charlie to Conrad, then it was just a matter of time
before she made her way here. In fact, I was a little surprised she
hadn’t yet. Or maybe she had, and I just didn’t realize it.

Some part of me cried out, “Run. Run far, run
fast…
run
.” I took a deep, steadying, breath.
Charlie
. His scent clung to my pillow, wrapping itself
around my senses.

If I ran, where would I run to? What would I
run to? I had something worth living for again, and it was all
right here in Hampton.

The pendulum in my mind swung again and I
began to worry that my presence would cause Charlie more pain. What
if he was found to be an accessory? Who would raise Cara then?
Julie?

The thought of that viper twisting sweet
little Cara’s mind made my stomach roil. I squeezed my eyes shut
and concentrated on calming down. I did not want to spend the
remainder of my afternoon with my head in a toilet.

I could hear footsteps in the hallway and
recognized them as Charlie’s. My eyes started to leak again at his
concern. I’d never understand why he loved me so, but I knew he
did.

“It’s going to be a long seven months if you
worry about me this much the entire time, you know,” I didn’t roll
over to greet him. Maybe he wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes that
way.

“Give a guy a day or two to adjust, would
you?” He slid under the covers with me and pulled me back against
him. “I left the papers in here, didn’t I?”

“Yeah.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I can feel your heart. It’s going
crazy.”

“I’m scared you’re going to run away on
me.”

“I thought about it.”

“Is that past tense?”

“I couldn’t leave you, Charlie. Don’t you
know that?”

“Don’t you know I’d do anything to protect
you?”

“I’ve been protecting myself okay for a while
now. You worry about Cara.”

“Or we could both just admit that we’re in
this together,” his breath was warm on my ear as he spoke. It felt
like a caress.

“I thought you were worried about the trial
this week,” I laced my fingers through his.

“No, that’s going really well. Mary was
innocent all along. It’s a total travesty of justice that she was
ever put in jail.”

“I know… if she’d had someone like you to
fight for her back then, she’d never have gone through this
hell.”

“Well, she has me now. You have me now,” he
took a breath, considering his next words carefully. “I’d like to
appeal your case, too.”

“Isn’t it a little late for that?”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to look over
your shoulder? Besides, I think it’s just a matter of time until
this Rachel Cooper finds you.”

“Are you sure she hasn’t yet?”

“I don’t think so. She’s been at the
courthouse everyday, but holes up in her hotel at night. I asked
Sheriff Taylor to keep an eye out for her just in case she wanders
this way.”

“I don’t trust his daughter.”

“I don’t like her either, but he’s a good
guy.”

“It’s more than not liking. She had the
entire town convinced Julie was a meth-head waitress in Nashville
when she’s really a paralegal in Springfield. The woman is a master
at manipulating and has no problem with lying to ruin anyone who
gets in between her and you.”

“Really?” the confusion was evident in
Charlie’s voice.

“Oh sweetie… you give people too much credit.
Elena will stop just short of physically harming me when she finds
out about this baby…if she stops at all. She’ll go for the
jugular.”

“You think so?”

“I promise you she will.”

“Are you afraid of her?”

“Only that she’ll land me back in jail,” I
couldn’t help but shudder a little at the thought.

“One more reason for me to get an appeal
ready for you. I’ve heard of posthumous pardons… I don’t have it
all figured out yet. But I’m gathering evidence anyway.”

“You’re gathering evidence?” I frowned. “On
my case?”

“I have been for weeks now,” he admitted
softly.

“Oh,” I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I
shouldn’t care. I’d told him the story. But there was something
different about him walking down those dark roads that bothered me.
“When are you finding time for all of this?”

“I’ve been able to do most of the research
online. Conrad’s been helping a lot. I haven’t had much time for my
practice,” he admitted then hurried to amend, “but I don’t mind.
There’ll still be people waiting to get divorced when this all dies
down.”

“Where have I been for all of this?”

“Taking care of Cara. Running this house.
Running a small business.”

“But you have the weight of the world on you.
You should have let me help.”

“Maybe you’re right. I just didn’t want to
worry you.”

“I’m your wife. It hurts me when you don’t
include me in your world.”

“Then maybe I should mention that Julie filed
for custody of Cara.”

“What?” I shrieked, coming off the bed. I
lowered my voice to a harsh whisper. “She can’t have her. You
raised that baby. They won’t give that creature your little
girl.”

“I don’t intend to let her have Cara. But
it’s one more thing to fight in court.”

“Would you like me to make her disappear?” I
offered probably a little too eagerly.

“What? No!” Charlie sat up and scowled at
me.

“What can I do, then?” I threw my hands up in
exasperation.

“You mean that wouldn’t cause me another
court case?” Charlie arched an eyebrow and thought about it for a
minute. “Arrange a plan B.”

“Plan B?” I sat on the edge of the bed again,
a little calmer.

“Just in case you’re found before I can clear
your name. I need somewhere for you and Gabrielle to go if this
whole mess blows up. Somewhere no one will find you.”