Never Let Go by Sherryl Woods Page B

his drink to him and settled herself in a chair, then gazed up at him expectantly. “I’m waiting.”
    He glanced at her in confusion. “Waiting?”
    “You came here to talk.”
    “Right.”
    He stalked from one end of the tiny room to the other, which did nothing to soothe Mallory’s nerves. She wanted to wrench the words out of him, but she sat patiently and waited.
    “I still don’t understand what happened this afternoon,” he said at last. He sat down across from her, his knees splayed. He leaned toward her and studied her face as if by looking hard enough he could see into her soul.
    Mallory returned his gazeevenly. “What don’t you understand?”
    “I just can’t see where you’re coming from. You’re supposed to have Davey’s best interests at heart.”
    “I do.”
    “Then how could you let that woman near him?”
    “She’s his mother. It will be better for everyone if we can bring the two of them back together eventually, but only, only, if Jenny Landers is ready to take responsibility for her actions, to bring her anger under control.”
    “That’s just the problem. How do you know when that happens? Rationally, what you say makes sense. A child should be with his family, and everyone should try to work and make that happen.”
    “We’re agreed on that much, then.”
    “My problem is that what the textbooks and the courts say should happen doesn’t take into account the specific human beings. Not every family can be turned into a loving unit. Not every child is better off at home. Some of them would even be better off with strangers. They might be lonely, but at least they’d live.”
    Justin gazed at Mallory, pleading for her to understand. It was so important that she grasp his point of view, that she realize how much it mattered to him that Davey Landers should have a real chance to be a happy, healthy child. “Do you see what I’m saying?”
    “Of course I do. I don’t want to see Davey hurt again. I promise you I’ll do everything in my power to see that doesn’t happen. I’ve asked Rachel to make an appointment with his mother. Once I’ve talked to her, maybe we’ll all have a better idea of where things stand.”
    Justin still wasn’t satisfied, and he pressedharder. “Are you confident you’ll be able to get a real fix on where she’s coming from? A lot of people are good at faking their emotions.”
    “There are no guarantees. I could make a mistake. I’m only human, but I am trained to read what people don’t say, as well as what they do. I don’t think she’ll be able to hide her real feelings from me.”
    “What did you think of her today?”
    “On the surface, she’s sophisticated, cool, self-confident. Underneath, she’s a deeply troubled woman. She knows what she did was wrong, but I can’t tell if she realizes why she did it. Maybe it was a cry for help. If so, then there’s a real chance that therapy can make a difference.”
    Justin rubbed his tired eyes. “I hope to God you’re right.”
    “We’ve talked about this before, but you’ve never really given me a straight answer. Davey really matters to you, doesn’t he?”
    “He’s my patient.”
    “Justin, please, why can’t you just say it? You care about him.”
    “Okay, damn it. Yes. I care about him.”
    “Was that so difficult?”
    Difficult? A month, even a week ago, he would have found it impossible. He’d kept himself from having feelings for anyone, much less admitting to any. Now suddenly emotions were sweeping through him like a river that was flooding out of control. He met Mallory’s gaze and saw the compassion and love shining there. It made him feel incredibly good inside, but it also terrified him.
    Love was not an emotion with which he had much familiarity. Since childhood, he’d distanced himself from people. To him, caring was equated with pain, and he’d learned to protect himself from it. The walls he’d built were so thick, they could have withstood an assault