Chapter Three
We walk downstairs and head to the kitchen.
As soon as Hannah spots her mom, she climbs down off the chair and runs over to us, wrapping her arms around her mom’s legs, far too gently for someone her age to be conscious of.
Unless, of course, they’re used to having to be careful of their mother’s injuries.
“Hey, baby. I hear you’re making cookies,” Dawn says softly.
Hannah looks up at her. “We have to have sandwiches first, and then Mr. Riggs and I are going to make some.”
“Sounds good.”
Hannah beams a toothy grin at her mom before walking back around the counter and climbing back up onto the chair that Riggs holds steady for her.
“We’ll go set up in the living room and find a movie to watch,” I tell them, knowing Dawn needs to rest.
“No worries. We’re good here,” Riggs replies, sending a reassuring wink Dawn’s way.
I lead her to the sofa and wait for her to sit before I tug the fleecy blanket over her. I hand her the remote and move the side table closer. “I’m going to grab you some sandwiches and a drink. Find something to watch. It will help distract you a little. You want something warm or something cold?”
“Oh, um, just water, please.”
“Alright, I’ll be right back.”
I walk away, giving her a little space, as I head back to the kitchen and grab a bottle of water from the fridge. “Anything here ready to go?”
“That’s mom’s sandwich there. She doesn’t like mayo,” Hannah tells me, pointing at the blue plate.
“Perfect. Thank you, Hannah.”
I take the food and the bottle of water out to Dawn and place them on the table next to her. “I’m going to grab you some Tylenol.”
“I’m okay.”
“I’m going to grab you some anyway, and then I’m going to call my lawyer, Jen.”
She tenses, her head spinning around to look at me, the no ready on her tongue.
I stop her before she can say it. “He put his hands on Hannah, Dawn. That’s without touching what he did to you.
Take it from someone who knows how this story plays out.
It won’t stop here. A slap will turn into a punch and then a kick, and before you know it, that little girl will be taking the same kind of punishments that you are. ”
She looks like she wants to throw up at my words, but there is no pussyfooting around the truth.
“If you go back and something happens to you, who gets Hannah?”
She grips the back of the sofa, looking like she might melt right off it.
“That’s what I thought. When you’re in survival mode, all you can focus on is the here and now and making it through each day.
Now you have space to breathe, you’re going to be hit with a lot of ugly truths that will hurt just as much as his fists do.
I’m going to need you to push through it for me, okay?
There is power in taking control of your own life.
In putting protections in place for your daughter that you perhaps wished someone had put in place for you.
I’m going to be here with you every step of the way, but you have to be with me on this. ”
She releases a shaky breath. “I’m scared.”
“I know you are. Scared is good. It means you can still trust your instincts. If you weren’t scared, I’d be concerned. Now, is there anything I need to mention to Jen, anything pressing or that she should know right off the bat so she can get the ball rolling?”
“I don’t know. I know he’ll fight me for Hannah.
Not because he wants her, but because he won’t want me to have her.
He’ll make her life hell just because he knows it will hurt me.
I wanted to spare her…I tried to fix things.
I thought, if I could be a better wife, everything would be good again.
But it’s not me. I am a good wife. I’m a good mom.
He just makes me feel like I’m going crazy.
Like I’m the one causing all the problems.”
“That’s what abusers do. They gaslight you so you think you’re always at fault. But you know that’s not true because there is no fucking reason on earth that will justify that handprint on Hannah’s face, other than the man that put it there is evil.”
“I tried to protect her—”
“You are protecting her, Dawn. This is the best way to do it. Don’t let that sweet girl in there become a weapon he uses to strike at you with.”
“You’re right. Tell me what I need to do.”
“I’ll ask Jen. She’ll be able to tell me more.”
She nods, biting her lip. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to pay her or if she’ll even take my case.”
“She’ll take your case, and don’t worry about paying her. I didn’t pay for fifteen years, and now I have to practically force her to take it.”
She looks relieved, which is good. I’ll be paying Jen myself for Dawn, but she doesn’t need to know that. I don’t want her to feel obligated toward me in any way.
“I’ll be right back. Please make yourself at home.” I give her shoulder a squeeze and head to the den, where it’s quieter.
I drop down on the sofa with a sigh and pull out my cell phone to call Jen.
She doesn’t answer, so I head up to the workshop and mix a cocktail that will help Dawn feel a little better.
I grab a jar of the cream for bruising and take it downstairs just as my cell rings.
I dip back into the den and put my stuff on the table so I can answer.
“Hey, Jen.”
“Sorry, Calliope. I was in with a client. You okay?”
“I’m fine, but I have a house guest who could use some legal advice.” I fill her in on everything that’s happened and listen as she takes a deep breath.
“Alright, first things first. I’ll work on getting an order of protection against the ranch.
If she won’t press charges, trying to get one for her and the child will be harder.
But the ranch is different, especially given your history.
This way, if he approaches the ranch at all, he can be arrested, regardless of his reason to be there. ”
“Wait, you can do that?”
“Not as a general rule, no, but there have been a few incidents where the building and the people within have fallen under blanket protection. Like a sex offender not being able to go within fifty yards of a school he might live near.”
“Not sure this is the same, but whatever you can do to help, I’ll take.”
“Not saying it will be easy. I’ll have to be my usual charming self and hope we get a judge that isn’t part of the old boys’ club.”
I grunt at that, knowing exactly how that goes. I have faith in Jen, though. If anyone can make this work, it will be her. But I won’t be putting all my eggs in one basket, just in case.
“If that fails, keep them close, as you still have your order of protection.”
I sigh. “Okay, what else should we do?”
“Get Riggs to take her over and collect essential paperwork like birth certificates, passports, and shit like that. Have her call Hannah’s school and have him taken off the pickup list if he’s on it.
Take a photo of any marks on both Dawn and Hannah.
I like to have them in case he switches this around to make Dawn the bad guy. ”
“Oh, I have no doubt about that. Guys like this don’t like to lose.”
“Well, he’ll try to pull at the threads of her life to see which one unravels, and then he’ll keep pulling until she’s tied up in knots. That’s when he’ll likely swoop in and seek custody.”
“I’ve taken photos of Dawn. I’ll get one of Hannah.”
“Good. Make sure she keeps any nasty texts and voicemail messages, too. Anything that will paint him in a bad light.”
“I’ll tell her.”
She’s quiet for a minute. I know she wants to say something. She’s just trying to word it in a way that won’t hurt.
“Just say whatever’s on your mind, Jen.”
“It’s annoying that you read me so well.” I grin, though it slides off my face at her following words. “You should give Shepard a heads-up.”
“I’ll contact him if I need to. I won’t put Hannah or Dawn in danger because of my feelings for the man, but right now, Dawn doesn’t want him involved. Truth is, I can’t urge Dawn to put her trust in a man I don’t trust myself.”
She sighs. “I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it. I swear I’m going to give that man a kick up the ass the next time I see him.”
“Can you even get your leg that high?”
She gasps dramatically. “How dare you. I’ll have you know I’m incredibly flexible. Why, you should have seen the positions James put me in on our dirty weekend away. We would have made the author of the Kama Sutra blush.”
“And, I’m hanging up.”
“Honestly, there was this one time when he was so deep that I—”
I hang up and shudder. “I need to scrub my brain.”
Walking to the kitchen first, I see that Riggs and Hannah are mixing cookie dough. I snap a picture of them and a close-up of Hannah’s cheek before putting my phone away.
“It smells amazing in here.”
“Turns out Miss Hannah is an expert baker. She didn’t really need any help from me at all.”
Hannah grins, looking so damn proud of herself that it makes my stomach clench.
“He has very tall legs. He got all the ingredients down for me.” She pats his hand reassuringly, and I have to bite my lip at how fucking adorable this whole scene is.
Riggs looks well and truly smitten, and I can’t say I blame him.
“Well, I was talking to your mom,” I tell her as I place my stuff on the counter and reach for the jar. I twist off the lid and scoop a little of the cream onto my fingers. “And we think it would be kinda fun if you both stayed here for a while. Would you be okay with that?”
She looks at me with wide eyes. “Really? Can we sleep here?”
“Sure can. We’ll get you settled in, and then maybe we can pick something out for you to jazz the place up a little.
” She looks excited, which is when I move closer.
“Can I put a little of this cream on your cheek?” I don’t want to touch her without asking permission, not after everything that’s happened to her.
She looks at it and nods. “Is that the stuff Mommy used?”
“Yeah.”
“It smells good. Like flowers.”
I gently apply it to her face. “You like flowers?”
“Uh-huh. I’m gonna be a flower shop lady when I grow up.”
I chuckle. “A flower shop lady, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Well, I would happily come and buy flowers from you.”
“You know, Calliope is really good at growing flowers,” Riggs tells her.
“Can I see them?”
“Sure, but tomorrow, after we get you all settled in.”
“Okay.”
“Alright, I’m gonna go check on your mom. Shout at me when the cookies are done.”
I head back to the living room and find Dawn asleep.
I place the things I brought down for her on the side table next to her half-eaten sandwich.
I take the seat opposite and watch over her as she sleeps.
The house stirs, a light breeze making my hair move around my face.
I frown and get to my feet, feeling its uncertainty.
“What is it?” I ask softly, not wanting to wake Dawn.
The house feels tense and worried, but I can’t place why.
I head to the front to see if anyone is coming, though the house would have already made me aware of that.
I open the door and look out. The air smells sweet, thanks to the honeysuckle I’ve planted in pots on the deck.
I take a deep breath, letting the fragrance soothe me as I look around.
I see nothing out of the ordinary until I look down and see the parcel on the top step.
I stare at it in surprise. I can’t remember the last time the house didn’t warn me when someone was approaching. The only person who caught me unaware was—
Austin.
I take a step back. Austin—the man who seems to have some kind of immunity to my powers. Who managed to sneak up on me without the house giving me a warning. The same man who knows what I am and what I’m capable of.
I swallow, looking down at the package, which looks more like a gift, now that I think about it, with a silver ribbon tied around navy-blue paper.
Hesitantly, I pick it up, surprised by its weight.
I carry it inside and head back to the living room.
I sit in the chair I just vacated and tug the ribbon free.
I carefully unwrap it, wondering if I should be worried about a bomb or something.
When the paper slips free, I find a large leather-bound book.
There is nothing on the cover, no title, no picture, but there is a large brass buckle keeping it closed.
Confused and unsure why I feel so wary, I open the book and feel warmth rush through my bones.
I feel lightheaded all of a sudden, and I’m pretty sure if I weren’t sitting, I’d fall down. I look around the room, feeling like I’m being watched, which is ridiculous. But then I remember the damn cameras. Of course, I’m being watched.
Pulling out my phone, I open the camera app and disable the two in the sitting room before moving to the one on the porch.
I scroll back through, hoping to see who put this book on my porch.
My instinct tells me it has to be Austin.
But I’d like to be proven wrong. The only problem is that nobody is there.
Between one second and the next, the book appears and disappears as I roll the footage back.
“What the hell?”
Hannah giggles from the kitchen, and I look toward the door to make sure they aren’t coming in. When I’m sure the coast is clear, I look back at the footage before sending a still of it and a message to David to check into it.
I put my phone back in my pocket. I take a deep breath, crack open the book once more, and stare at the first page.
It’s a map, one drawn by hand, but it looks different than the images I’ve seen.
Specific landmarks are missing, and some of the topography looks off.
I slide my finger up to the faint writing at the top of the page. EH. 1652.
Is that a code? I look at the rudimentary map once more, and my mouth drops open in shock.
1652 isn’t a code. It’s a date.
Holy shit.