Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
Ouida Mae had never loved teaching more since Valentin had come to work at the Junior high.
Or was it that she loved having him there all day, every day? They ate lunch together and left the school at the same time with Sophie.
Every time she asked if he’d like to join her and Sophie for dinner, he’d gladly accepted. Twice that week, he’d ordered takeout and brought dinner to them. Thursday evening, he’d brought fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy.
Ouida Mae and Sophie had made a salad to go with it, and they’d sat around the dinner table talking about their day at school.
Mr. Jones was out of the hospital, recovering at home and not in a hurry to return to work.
Sophie had weathered four days back at school. Her classmates had stopped pointing and whispering behind her back. She studied hard and did all of her homework, improving her grades since she wasn’t going hungry or sleeping alone in a shack in the bayou. She even laughed at some of Valentin’s stories about how he’d been teaching his students some self-defense skills.
Nigel had put those skills to use that day when the class bully cornered him in the hallway and tried to shove him into a locker.
The skinny little nerd managed to twist the bully’s arm up behind his back and made him beg to be released. Nigel wouldn’t let go until the bully promised never to pick on any of their classmates again.
The bully promised. Nigel let go. Immediately, the bully went after Nigel. Herschel came up behind the bully and used the same technique, once again making the guy beg for mercy. Other members of their PE class gathered around as Herschel released the bully.
“Apparently, their solidarity scared the bully and his buddies,” Valentin said. “They haven’t bothered anyone since.”
“Score one for the geeks and nerds,” Sophie said as she rose from the table and gathered their empty plates. As she walked into the kitchen, she asked, “Are we expecting company?”
“No,” Ouida Mae answered. “Why do you ask?”
“There are headlights coming down the drive.”
Ouida Mae and Valentin rose from the table and walked to the front of the house as a late model pickup rumbled into the yard. When it came to a stop, the passenger door opened, lighting up the interior where a man sat behind the wheel and a woman dropped to the ground. The woman’s knees buckled, but she managed to pull herself upright by holding onto the door.
Once she was somewhat steady on her feet, she staggered a few feet forward and yelled, “Sophie Saulnier! You get yer lazy ass out here right now.” Her words were slurred, and she swayed so much that she had to take another step forward to keep from falling.
“Oh no,” Sophie said from behind Valentin and Ouida Mae. “Why is she here?”
“You know that woman?” Ouida Mae asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. That’s Billie Jean Saulnier,” Sophie said, her tone flat, emotionless. “My mother. The driver is her latest boyfriend, Leland Smolka, the reason why I left home seven weeks ago.”
“Let me see what she wants,” Valentin said.
Ouida Mae stayed with Sophie in the hallway with the light off.
Valentin flipped the switch on the front porch light and stepped outside. “Ma’am, can I help you?”
The woman raised a hand to shade her eyes. “I come to collect Sophie, my thankless daughter.”
“What makes you think she’s here?” Valentin asked.
“My Leland heard she’s knocked up and shackin’ up with that uppity science teacher. ’Bout time she gets her ass home where she belongs.” Billie Jean pointed at the cottage. “I know yer in there, Sophie, girl. Time to come home.”
“Ma’am, when was the last time you saw your daughter?” Valentin demanded, his tone low and dangerous.
“Why, I saw her jusss the other day. Before she got sassy and run off. Two...three...days ago. Been lookin’ fer her ever since.”
Before Ouida Mae could stop her, Sophie charged through the front door. “You’re lying!” she shouted at her mother. “I left over seven weeks ago. You haven’t once looked for me. You don’t give a damn about me. Never have.”
Sophie kept walking toward her mother, color high on her cheeks.
Valentin came to stand beside Sophie. Ouida Mae stood on her other side.
The teenager glared at her mother. “You never cared if I lived or died, and you didn’t believe me when I told you that your boyfriend tried to rape me.”
Leland shoved open his truck door. “Now, that’s a goddamn lie!”
“Did he tell you how he got the wound on his hand that night you went out to buy more drugs?” Sophie asked.
“He got it fishin’,” Billie Jean said.
“He got it when he tried to put his hands down my pants. I stabbed him with my knife, or he would’ve raped me. You left me with a pedophile.”
“That bitch is lyin’ through her teeth.” Leland dropped down from his truck.
“Get back in your truck, Leland,” Valentin said.
Leland’s lip curled back. “What are you going to do if I don’t?”
“Try me,” Valentin said, his voice low and dangerous.
“You lying little hussy,” Sophie’s mother lurched forward and grabbed the girl’s hair. “Yer my daughter, and yer comin’ home with me where you belong.”
Ouida Mae grabbed Billie Jean’s wrist. “Let go of her, or I’ll call the sheriff.”
“Go ahead,” Billie Jean said, backing away, her hand still gripping Sophie’s hair. “The law won’t take my own flesh and blood away from me. And I’ll have you up on kidnappin’ charges. You have no right to keep my daughter from me.”
Ouida Mae held on tight. “Let go of her.”
Headlights turned down Ouida Mae’s driveway. A second later, blue lights strobed as a sheriff’s SUV pulled up beside Leland’s pickup.
Shelby extricated herself from her SUV and called out, “Billie Jean Saulnier, release Sophie.”
“She’s my daughter. I got the law on my side. She’s caused enough trouble.” The woman refused to let go of Sophie’s hair. “She’s comin’ home with me. Her mother. The one who brought her into this world.”
“You’re hurting me.” Sophie’s face contorted in pain. She tried to peel her mother’s fingers out of her hair.
Deputy Taylor stepped up behind the woman. “Billie Jean, release the girl, or I’ll have to hit you with my stun gun.”
“You got no right,” Billie Jean said. “This is my girl. She’s my property, and I’m takin’ her home where she belongs.”
“Billie Jean Saulnier,” Shelby stated clearly. “I’m bringing you in for assault on a minor and abandonment. You have the right to remain silent?—"
Sophie quit trying to peel her mother’s fingers from her hair.
“She’s mine, I tell you,” the strung-out woman yelled.
Shelby pressed the stun gun against Billie Jean’s neck. The shock of electricity dropped the woman to the ground. Since her hand was still tangled in Sophie’s hair, the girl went down with her.
The old pickup’s engine roared to life. Gravel spit out from beneath the tires as Leland backed up, pulled a one-eighty and sped away.
Ouida Mae and Valentin helped the girl to her feet.
Sophie fell into Ouida Mae’s arms and buried her face against her shoulder, her body shaking.
Shelby pulled Billie Jean’s wrists behind her back and secured them together with handcuffs.
When the deputy tried to get the woman to her feet, Valentin stepped forward, scooped the woman’s limp body off the ground and followed Shelby to her service vehicle. She held the back door open while Valentin deposited his burden on the back seat.
“Thank you,” Shelby said as she shut the door. “I’ll book her and see if there’s any chance of placing her in a rehab facility.”
Ouida Mae stood with an arm around Sophie’s shoulders. “How did you know to come? Your timing couldn’t have been better.”
Shelby shook her head, her lips pressed into a thin line. “I was already on my way here,” she said, “to give you a heads-up.”
“Heads-up for what?” Ouida Mae asked, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of her belly.
Headlights appeared at the end of the driveway.
Shelby glanced over her shoulder. “For them,” she said. “Child Protective Services has come to get Sophie.”
Sophie’s arms tightened around Ouida Mae. “Don’t let them take me,” she begged. “I want to stay with you. You said I could stay.”
Ouida Mae looked over the girl’s shoulder at her friend. “Is there any way she can stay? I’ve filled out the application to become a foster parent. Can’t they leave her with me until it’s approved? Surely, they wouldn’t remove her from her school in the middle of a semester.”
Shelby shook her head. “Remy’s working with Senator Anderson to see if they can push the paperwork and interviews through faster, but I’m sorry. Child Protective Services has the legal right to take Sophie into custody and place her in an approved foster home. I can’t stop them. In fact, as an officer of the law, I have to make sure no one interferes with their work.”
A van pulled up beside Sophie’s SUV. A man and a woman got out and approached them.
“Good evening, I’m Deborah Ledbetter, and this is my colleague, Troy Preston. We’re with Louisiana’s Child Protective Services. We’re following up on an investigation into a reported case of child neglect accusing Billie Jean Saulnier of abandoning her daughter, Sophie.”
“I’m Deputy Shelby Taylor. Billie Jean Saulnier is in the back of my service vehicle. She’s under arrest for assaulting a minor,” Shelby sighed as she met Ouida Mae’s pleading gaze and continued, “her daughter, Sophie.”
Sophie’s arms squeezed Ouida Mae tighter. “I’m okay. Please, I want to stay with Miz Mo.”
Ms. Ledbetter frowned. “Is Miz Mo a close relative?”
“She’s closer to a relative than that woman who called herself my mother,” Sophie spat out as she straightened and turned to face Ms. Ledbetter.
“I’m sorry, Sophie, but we can’t leave you with someone who isn’t a relative or an approved foster parent,” Ms. Ledbetter said, her voice gentle, her brow creased in concern. “You’ll have to come with us. We’re required to place you in a safe home approved by the state.”
Sophie lifted her chin. “I’ve been taking care of myself most of my life. I don’t need strangers telling me where I’ll be safe. I’m safe here with Miz Mo. You can go back to your office and leave me alone.”
“We’d be neglectful in our duties if we don’t take you with us now,” Ms. Ledbetter said.
While the woman spoke, the man closed the distance between himself and Sophie and wrapped his arms around her.
Ouida Mae cried out, “Please, don’t hurt her.”
“Miz Mo! Don’t let them take me,” Sophie cried. “Please, don’t let them take me.”
“I can’t stop them,” Ouida Mae said, tears streaming down her face.
Sophie turned to Valentin. “Mr. Vachon, please.”
Valentin shook his head. “Sophie, Deputy Taylor would have to arrest us. We have to work through the system and make it all legal.”
Tears ran down Sophie’s face as Troy carried her squirming body toward the van. “I should’ve stayed in the bayou,” she called out. “I never should’ve trusted either one of you.”
Valentin pulled Ouida Mae into his arms and held her as the van drove away with Sophie.
Once it disappeared out of sight, Ouida Mae pressed her face into Valentin’s chest and sobbed. “I failed her.”
“I’m so sorry, Ouida Mae,” Shelby said. “My hands are tied. Remy’s working on it. He’s got his boss, Hank Patterson, pulling whatever strings he has to speed up the approval process. If you want Sophie back, you can’t skirt the system. If you do, you’ll never be allowed to foster her or any other child.”
Ouida Mae knew the truth of Shelby’s words, but the look on Sophie’s face and the words she’d thrown their way had completely broken her heart.
“We’ll get her back,” Valentin said. “With a US senator and Hank Patterson on it, we’ll get her back.”
“I have to get back to work,” Deputy Taylor said. “I’ll keep you informed of Remy’s progress and where Sophie is placed. Sometimes, I really hate my job.”
For a brief moment, Shelby rested a hand on Ouida Mae’s back. Then she climbed into her vehicle and drove away.
Valentin held Ouida Mae for a long time, standing in the yellow glow cast by the porch lights.
“Come on,” Valentin said. “Let’s get you inside before the mosquitos find us.” He turned Ouida Mae in his arms and guided her into the house.
She moved one foot in front of the other, not thinking, her mind numb with pain.
Valentin walked with her into her bedroom, sat her on the bed and bent to remove her shoes. “Sweetheart,” he said as he lifted her legs onto the bed and eased her head onto the pillow, “Sophie is a fighter. She’s going to be okay until we can bring her home.”
Ouida Mae stared up into Valentin’s eyes. “I just stood there. I didn’t stop them. I failed her.”
“You didn’t fail her.” Valentin brushed a strand of her hair from her damp cheek. “You heard Shelby. If you’d tried to stop them, you would’ve ruined any chance of ever getting her back.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Try to sleep. Do you want me to call Principal Ashcraft and tell her you won’t be at school tomorrow?”
She shook her head. “It’s too hard to get a sub this late. I failed Sophie. I can’t fail all my students.”
“Then sleep.” Valentin brushed his lips across hers. “I’ll pick you up in the morning and take you to the school.”
Ouida Mae clutched his arm. “Don’t.”
“Don’t pick you up?”
“No,” she whispered and pulled at his arm. “Please,” she said, just like Sophie had.
“What do you want?” He leaned over to hear her whispered words.
“Stay with me,” Ouida Mae said. “Hold me like you’ll never let me go.”
For a moment, he stared down into her eyes. Then he kicked off his shoes and lay on the bed beside her. Both still fully clothed, he pulled her into his arms and held her.
Ouida Mae lay nestled in the warmth of his embrace, absorbing his strength. As the shock of losing Sophie waned, something swelled in its place.
A need to be held, to feel alive, to press her skin against his.
She lay perfectly still, fighting the need until she couldn’t a moment longer.
“Valentin?” she whispered.
“Yes?” he said, his arm pulling her closer.
“I need you,” she said so quietly she doubted he could hear.
“I’m here, babe,” he said.
“You don’t understand,” she said, her voice a little stronger. “I’ll understand if you don’t feel the same, but I need to feel warm all over, inside and out. To feel alive.”
“Okay, how can I help you with that?” he asked.
She rolled onto her side and stared up into his eyes. “I need you to make love with me.”
He lay unmoving for so long that Ouida Mae lost her nerve. “It’s okay. Obviously, you don’t feel the same level of desire. Never mind.”
When she started to turn away, he took her hand and guided it to his groin, where his cock made an impressive tent in his tracksuit.
“I’ve had a hard-on every time I’ve left your cottage this week. But I don’t want to make love just to cheer you up. When we make love, I want it to mean more.”
She ran her fingers over the tip of his cock, her breathing getting more ragged by the minute. “I’ve gone to bed every night with B.O.B. But it’s a poor second choice to what I’ve wanted since that first kiss.”
Valentin frowned. “Who’s Bob?”
She rolled away, dug in her nightstand, brought out B.O.B. and laid it across Valentin’s chest. “I don’t want B.O.B. anymore. I want you.”