“You say the little girl’s name is Sarah?”
Barney gave his mom a sharp look. Surely she wasn’t tapping into this merely because Taffeta’s child bore Barney’s sister’s name. Jeremiah’s jaw muscle started a tic.
Barney didn’t hold much hope that his parents would approve of the short-term marriage idea. They were both romantics at heart, and the muscle that bunched rhythmically in his dad’s cheek didn’t bode well.
“What do you think you should do, son?” Jeremiah asked.
Barney had been mentally circling that question ever since he talked with Bryan, but he was still taken off guard by his father saying it aloud. He had expected Jeremiah to protest that this was the craziest idea he’d ever heard. “Well, I’d like to help the lady if I can.”
“So why are you here, talking with us?” Jeremiah demanded.
Barney replied, “Because you and Mom are old-fashioned and don’t approve of divorce unlessthere’s no way around it. If I help Taffeta Brown, our marriage won’t be a forever kind of deal. Once she gets custody—
if
she gets custody—we’ll dissolve the marital union.”
“And you’re worried that we’ll be disappointed in you,” Kate inserted.
Jeremiah glanced at Kate. Then he met Barney’s gaze. “You know how much your mother and I love children. If what you’ve said is true, that little girl is in a really nasty situation. Did I raise you to be a man who can turn his back on a child in jeopardy?”
Barney couldn’t quite believe his ears. His mother’s old teapot clock ticked loudly on the kitchen wall. The sound, something he normally barely noticed, seemed suddenly deafening even with music in the background. “Mom?” he said. “Are you with Dad on this?”
Kate’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I’m behind
you
, Barney. Marriage is a big decision, and I certainly won’t blame you if you choose not to do it. But if you do, I’ll feel nothing but proud.”
“It’s a long shot that her being married to me will help,” Barney warned.
Jeremiah piped in. “The hell it won’t. You were a state patrolman, and now you’re a deputy here. There isn’t a single black mark on your record. No judge in his or her right mind would think for an instant that a child might be abused under your watch. I agree with your mother. I won’t blame you if you don’t do it, but if you do, we’ll both be prouder than punch.”
Kate sighed. “It’s not healthy for a child to be left with one stranger after another, especially when drugs may be involved. The girl might even be physically harmed. And I think Bryan Vorch nailed it on the head. Grace and Cameron Gentry must realize that their son is heading down a slippery slope. If they once liked and admired Taffeta, it’s entirely possible that they now regret supporting Phillip and turning against their daughter-in-law.”
• • •
As Barney walked back out to his truck a few minutes later, he felt a bit dazed. He’d come here thinking that he knew both his parents, inside and out, and could predict how they might react in any given situation. He’d expected—well, he didn’t really know what he’d expected. Doubts, at the very least. But instead they had surprised the heck out of him. They not only seemed ready and willing to temporarily welcome Taffeta Brown into their family, but also gave him the impression that they might be disappointed in him if he didn’t help her. That was—well, mind-boggling.
He swung by his place to feed and water his critters. Then, without bothering to change out of his uniform, he hopped back in his Dodge and drove into town. There was a pretty brunette on East Main to whom he owed an apology.
• • •
Taffeta had just cleaned up her dinner mess in the tiny kitchen and settled on her sofa to watch some television for an hour, hoping it would take her mind off Sarah and stop her from thinking about hermeeting with Barney last night. She hadn’t
Barney gave his mom a sharp look. Surely she wasn’t tapping into this merely because Taffeta’s child bore Barney’s sister’s name. Jeremiah’s jaw muscle started a tic.
Barney didn’t hold much hope that his parents would approve of the short-term marriage idea. They were both romantics at heart, and the muscle that bunched rhythmically in his dad’s cheek didn’t bode well.
“What do you think you should do, son?” Jeremiah asked.
Barney had been mentally circling that question ever since he talked with Bryan, but he was still taken off guard by his father saying it aloud. He had expected Jeremiah to protest that this was the craziest idea he’d ever heard. “Well, I’d like to help the lady if I can.”
“So why are you here, talking with us?” Jeremiah demanded.
Barney replied, “Because you and Mom are old-fashioned and don’t approve of divorce unlessthere’s no way around it. If I help Taffeta Brown, our marriage won’t be a forever kind of deal. Once she gets custody—
if
she gets custody—we’ll dissolve the marital union.”
“And you’re worried that we’ll be disappointed in you,” Kate inserted.
Jeremiah glanced at Kate. Then he met Barney’s gaze. “You know how much your mother and I love children. If what you’ve said is true, that little girl is in a really nasty situation. Did I raise you to be a man who can turn his back on a child in jeopardy?”
Barney couldn’t quite believe his ears. His mother’s old teapot clock ticked loudly on the kitchen wall. The sound, something he normally barely noticed, seemed suddenly deafening even with music in the background. “Mom?” he said. “Are you with Dad on this?”
Kate’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I’m behind
you
, Barney. Marriage is a big decision, and I certainly won’t blame you if you choose not to do it. But if you do, I’ll feel nothing but proud.”
“It’s a long shot that her being married to me will help,” Barney warned.
Jeremiah piped in. “The hell it won’t. You were a state patrolman, and now you’re a deputy here. There isn’t a single black mark on your record. No judge in his or her right mind would think for an instant that a child might be abused under your watch. I agree with your mother. I won’t blame you if you don’t do it, but if you do, we’ll both be prouder than punch.”
Kate sighed. “It’s not healthy for a child to be left with one stranger after another, especially when drugs may be involved. The girl might even be physically harmed. And I think Bryan Vorch nailed it on the head. Grace and Cameron Gentry must realize that their son is heading down a slippery slope. If they once liked and admired Taffeta, it’s entirely possible that they now regret supporting Phillip and turning against their daughter-in-law.”
• • •
As Barney walked back out to his truck a few minutes later, he felt a bit dazed. He’d come here thinking that he knew both his parents, inside and out, and could predict how they might react in any given situation. He’d expected—well, he didn’t really know what he’d expected. Doubts, at the very least. But instead they had surprised the heck out of him. They not only seemed ready and willing to temporarily welcome Taffeta Brown into their family, but also gave him the impression that they might be disappointed in him if he didn’t help her. That was—well, mind-boggling.
He swung by his place to feed and water his critters. Then, without bothering to change out of his uniform, he hopped back in his Dodge and drove into town. There was a pretty brunette on East Main to whom he owed an apology.
• • •
Taffeta had just cleaned up her dinner mess in the tiny kitchen and settled on her sofa to watch some television for an hour, hoping it would take her mind off Sarah and stop her from thinking about hermeeting with Barney last night. She hadn’t
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