Not by Sight (37 page)

Riley Jo seemed lost in thought for a moment. She replaced the blade of grass with a lock of her hair, which she twisted around her finger. Finally she said, “I had another baby brother. His name was Luke.”

“Really? I didn’t know that. Where is he?”

Riley Jo shrugged. “Pa said he died in the night. I heard him cryin’ and cryin’. Pa hollered at him, and then he was quiet. The next mornin’ when I got up, Luke was gone.”

“Where was he?” Kate’s heart nearly pounded out of her chest. Was the man a worse monster than she had imagined?

“Pa said Luke stopped breathin’ so he had to bury him. Otha wouldn’t talk about it. But I seen her cryin’ when Pa weren’t around.”

“Did Isaiah take you to Luke’s grave so you could say good-bye?”

“Nope. He wouldn’t let us talk about him neither.”

“How old were you when Luke died?”

“Six.”

“Have you told anyone else about Luke?”

Riley Jo shook her head. “Pa got really ugly and made me promise never to speak of it, but I ain’t ascared of him now. The sheriff said I don’t hafta see him no more. I wish Luke didn’t die. I think Pa shaked him. I seen him do it before.”

Kate felt sick to her stomach. She would have to tell Virgil to add that to the charges he was mounting against Isaiah. And he’d have to question Otha about why she didn’t report it.

“You were brave to tell me that,” Kate said, blinking quickly to clear away the tears of empathy. “I’m sorry you lost your baby brother. I’ll bet that was very hard.”

“Yes’m. Powerful hard. I cried in my pillow sometimes, but I did what Pa told me and didn’t say nothin’.”

Riley Jo was quiet for perhaps a full minute. Finally she lifted her gaze. “Miss Kate, did you know my real ma’s name is Kate too?”

“I did know that.”

“Abby said she loves me lots and wants me to come home with her.”

“Well, Abby’s right.”

Riley Jo mused, “Do you know Abby?”

Kate nodded. “Yes. I’ve known Abby all her life.”

“Do you know her mama, too?”

“Yes. Better than anyone.”

“Are you best friends?”

“Something like that.”

Riley Jo turned and looked into Kate’s eyes. “Is she nice?”

“She’s not perfect. But she loves her children and tries very hard to show them every chance she gets. All she can think about right now is you coming home again.”

“Did she tell you that?”

“She didn’t have to,” Kate said. “It’s been that way for five long years. She’s missed you with a love so deep there are no words for it.”

Riley Jo paused as if she were processing, then cocked her head and looked up at Kate again. “If I ask you somethin’, you hafta tell me the truth, right?”

“Of course, sweetie. What is it?”

“You
promise
you’ll tell me the truth?”

“I will,” Kate said. “I promise.”

“Are
you
my real mama?”

Kate stopped breathing. She hadn’t seen that coming. She felt hot all over, her heart racing, her temples throbbing. She’d promised Virgil she wouldn’t go there. But Riley Jo had opened the door. And she wasn’t about to lie to her.

“Yes! Yes! I’m your real mama. The sheriff just whispered in my ear a few minutes ago that the test you took proves it. I wasn’t supposed to tell you until you had time to get over all the difficult things that have happened. But you asked me outright. And I’ll never lie to you …” Kate’s voice cracked, tears streaming down her face.

Virgil was going to be so mad.

Riley Jo cupped Kate’s cheeks with both hands, just the way Jesse always did when he wanted to comfort her. “Don’t cry. I’m happy. I like you.”

Kate laughed and cried at the same time. “I like you, too. And I never ever stopped loving you—not for one minute.”

“Not for a teeny-tiny second?”

“Not for a single heartbeat.”

Riley Jo smiled—that beautiful, angelic smile Kate recognized! “So then, you’re my mama and Abby’s mama, and she really is my sister.”

“For sure. And I know Abby’s anxious to see you as soon as you get settled at your foster parents’.”

“Why can’t I just come home with you?”

“Because some really nice doctors will want to examine you first and make sure you’re okay. And some other doctors, and probably a judge, will want to talk with you and see how you feel about everything.”

“Well, I sure ain’t feelin’ happy about livin’ with strangers.”

“I know. But there are some things we both have to get used to. For example, what would you like us to call you? You’ve always gone by the name Ella, but we remember you as Riley Jo. You’ve never been to school, and we’ll need to talk about that. And of course, you’ll want to get to know your brothers and your grandpa Buck and Halo the cat. There will be more things like that we’ll need to work out. We can take them one at a time.”

“Can I see you while I’m with my foster parents?”

Kate smiled. “Definitely. This is going to have such a happy ending. After all you’ve been through, it’s a miracle you’re here with me now.”

Kate heard someone cough, and Roberta came out from behind a tree, holding two cans of apple juice.

“Here you go, ladies.” Roberta handed one can to Riley Jo and one to Kate.

“Thanks.” Kate took a sip and studied Roberta’s expression. “How long were you standing there?”

“Just long enough.” Roberta winked. “I mean, how else is a mother supposed to answer that?”

Chapter 39

One week later, as the morning sun sat just below the horizon and turned the sky a blazing shade of hot pink, Buck sat at a table at Flutter’s Café, having breakfast with Titus and reveling in the sound of Abby laughing with the customers at table six.

“Can you believe how good all this is turning out?” Titus said.

Buck smiled. “Actually, I can. Oh, I admit I started havin’ some doubts. But God planned to bring Riley Jo home, even when we couldn’t see it.”

Titus’s eyebrows came together. “But you have to wonder why He didn’t save Micah.”

“The Lord has His reasons,” Buck said. “Far be it from me to question Him. Like the preacher said last Sunday, our lives are tapestries. It takes some dark threads to make a beautiful design. Losin’ Micah was a dark thread, but I see each one in my family has grown stronger and even more beautiful because of it. And gettin’ Riley Jo back is a real faith builder for me and Jesse—and most of all, Abby. When all she had was blind faith, she held on for dear life. And God did bring her
and
her baby sister home.”

“When do you think Riley Jo will actually be coming to live with you?”

“Sometime within the next week.” Buck folded Saturday’s newspaper
and set it aside. “The folks at DCFS think Riley Jo’s about ready. The rest of us have been ready for five years.”

“I can only imagine what this ordeal’s been like.” Titus took a sip of coffee. “Do Kate and Hawk seem less bitter?”

“They sure do,” Buck said. “Kate’s over the top with joy at the moment. She’s givin’ Virgil and Hawk the credit for savin’ those kids. But I’ve noticed Hawk’s real quiet. Seems like he’s mullin’ things over quite a bit.”

“It was a really brave thing he did. Must be sobering to know you saved one person’s life—let alone three.”

Buck nodded. “He won’t take credit for it, though. Insists he’s not a hero.”

“Maybe he’s just being humble.”

Buck laughed. “That’s not usually Hawk’s strong point. It’s more than that. But I can’t put my finger on it yet.”

Titus spread strawberry jam on his last piece of toast. “What about Otha Tutt? Will she get to see Riley Jo?”

“Looks that way,” Buck said. “The sheriff’s questioned Otha at length and is convinced she had no clue that Isaiah had kidnapped Riley Jo and killed her real father. All that happened before they met. But just between us”—Buck lowered his voice—“there was another issue that had to be resolved. Seems Otha and Isaiah also had a baby boy, Luke, who died. The sheriff checked, and there’s no record of Luke Tutt’s birth or death. Riley Jo told the sheriff she heard Luke cryin’ and fussin’ one night, and then he was gone the next mornin’. She thinks Isaiah shook the baby because she saw him do it before.”

“Couldn’t the sheriff just ask Otha what happened?”

“He did.” Buck stroked his mustache. “Otha told the sheriff that Luke had colic, and Isaiah was up late, tryin’ to calm him down. She went to sleep and discovered the baby missin’ the next mornin’. Isaiah seemed as upset as she was. Told her Luke had stopped breathin’, and he decided to go ahead and bury him in order to spare her havin’ to see her dead baby. Otha was devastated but never suspected he’d caused the baby’s death. Neither of them spoke of him again.”

“Just like that?” Titus said. “Without even calling the coroner?”

“That’s the way mountain folk handle things. Otha said she didn’t even know that births and deaths are supposed to be recorded with the state. She’s gonna have to file delayed birth certificates on the twins and baby Luke, and a death certificate on Luke. The main thing is the woman seems like a right good mother to those boys. And she was good to Riley Jo.”

“Are you going to call her Riley Jo?”

“That hasn’t been decided yet,” Buck said. “Kate wants the child to be comfortable with her name. They’ve been workin’ on it together, but so far, they aren’t sayin’.”

Abby changed out of her staff shirt, then sat on her bed, reading a text message from Jay, who wanted her to take her to a movie later on.

A knock at her door caused her to look up. Hawk stood in the doorway.

“Come in,” she said. “What’s up?”

Hawk flopped on the bed next to her. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something and keep forgetting.”

“What’s that?”

“Didn’t you tell us that Riley Jo said she saw an angel once? Had a strange name.”

“Yes. Custos, why?”

“What did she say about him?”

“Well …” Abby thought back on her conversations with her sister. “She said he was humongous and strong. Then one time she fell out of a weeping willow tree into the pond and was choking on water. The next thing she knew, she was on the shore, and Custos was drying her with his wing.”

Hawk shifted his weight. “She actually said that? He dried her with his wing?”

“Exactly that. Why are you asking?”

Hawk shrugged. “I just want to know everything about her. Anything else—like why she called him Custos?”

“She said he told her his name, that she didn’t name him. He also promised that he was always watching out for her, even when she didn’t see him.”

“So … did she think this was her guardian angel?”

“Not in so many words. But that’s how I see it. Jay and Grandpa think so too.”

“Cool.” Hawk stood. “So who are you texting … Jay?”

“Uh-huh. We’re going to the movies this afternoon.”

“I’m glad you two are together now, and not just best friends. I like him a lot. You seem like a good fit.”

Abby felt her face warm. “Thanks to you, Jay’s still breathing. I know I’ve probably overdone my thank-yous, but I can’t thank you enough for saving him—and us. Isaiah really would have killed us.”

“I believed it the second I saw him pointing his rifle at Jay’s chest.”

“You were
so
brave,” Abby said.

Hawk shook his head. “I really wasn’t. I didn’t even think about it. I just aimed and shot the rifle out of Tutt’s hand.”

“Thank God.”

“Yeah.” Hawk cracked his knuckles and seemed to stare at nothing.

“Are you all right?” Abby said.

“I’m fine.”

“You’ve been acting weird ever since you came to our rescue.”

Hawk smiled. “I’ve
always
been weird, according to you.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re a cool kind of weird.”

“Thanks. I’ll let you get back to lover boy. See you later.”

Hawk got up and left the room.

Abby sensed there was something on her brother’s mind but wasn’t sure what it was.

Kate put the last of the lunch dishes in the dishwasher and turned the dial to Normal Wash.

“Mama?”

Kate turned around. “Hawk. I didn’t hear you come in. What is it?”

Hawk’s expression was tentative and somewhat somber, his eyes animated. “Can we talk—just the two of us?”