Heart of the Family Page 5

  Hannah sought a shaded area where she could keep an eye on the door into the Elephant Enclosure. The children circled her with Gabe off to the side. Tears ran down his cheeks. She drew him to her and draped her arm over his shoulder.

  “I didn’t…mean—” Gabe released a long sob “—to do anything wrong.”

  “Sometimes keeping a secret isn’t a good thing.”

  Gabe looked up at her, fear invading his blurry gaze. “Am I in trouble?”

  Hannah gave the boy a smile. “No.” Then she surveyed the other six children and added, “But this is a good time to talk about what y’all should do if someone approaches you and wants you to go with them. Don’t go without first checking with one of the staff at the refuge. Even if you know that person.” She made eye contact with each child.

  Susie broke from the circle and hurried past Hannah. “Dr. Jacob, did you find Andy?”

  Hannah pivoted and saw relief in Jacob’s expression as he nodded. The tautness in her stomach uncoiled. “Where is he?”

  “Security has him and his mother at the front gate. I told them we’d be right there.”

  Hannah gathered the children into a tight group, then they headed toward the zoo entrance. A member of security waited in front of a building. The young man indicated a door for them to go through. Inside Andy sat in a chair with another security guard at a desk.

  Hannah hurried to Andy and sat in the vacant seat beside him while the other children milled about the room, trying not to look at them. “Are you all right?”

  Swinging his legs, Andy stared at his hands entwined together in his lap and mumbled, “Where’s my mom?”

  Hannah scanned the area and noticed Jacob talking with a man who appeared to be in charge. “I don’t know.”

  He lifted his tear-streaked face. “They took her away.”

  “Who?”

  Andy pointed toward the guard nearest him, his hand shaking. “One of them.”

  Hannah patted his knee. “Let me find out what’s going on. Stay right here.”

  His head and shoulders sagged forward. “I want to see my mom.” He sniffed. “She came to see me.”

  The quaver in the child’s voice rattled Hannah’s composure. All she wanted to do was draw him into her arms and hold him until the hurt went away. Instead she rose and crossed the room to Jacob and the security guard by the desk.

  Susie approached. “Is Andy all right? Can we help?”

  “He’ll be fine. And if you can keep the others quiet and together over there—” she waved her hand toward an area off to the side “—that would be great.”

  “Sure. I’ll get Terry to help me.” The young girl hurried to her friend and whispered into his ear.

  As Susie and Terry gathered the children into a group and lined them up along the wall, Hannah stopped near Jacob by the desk. “Where’s Andy’s mother?”

  “Security has called the police for me. They’re on their way. She violated a court order. She can’t see Andy unless it’s a supervised visit arranged ahead of time.”

  Hannah glanced over her shoulder to make sure Andy—for that matter, the other children, too—hadn’t heard what Jacob said. Thankfully he’d kept his voice low. The boy continued to look down at his hands. “Andy wants to see her.”

  “No!”

  Although whispered, the force behind that one word underscored Jacob’s anger. From the few comments he’d made, Hannah wondered what was really behind his fury. She moved nearer in order to keep their conversation private, aware of so many eyes on them. “She’s still his mother. We could be in the room with them to make sure everything is all right.”

  He thrust his face close. “I won’t have that woman disrupt his life any more than she already has by pulling this stunt.”

  She met his glare with her own. “I am the manager at the refuge, and I do have a say in what is done with the children.”

  Jacob started to speak but instead snapped his jaw closed.

  “I’ll talk with Andy’s mother first and see what prompted this action today.”

  “It won’t do any good. She doesn’t deserve a child like Andy.”

  There were so many things she wanted to retort, but she bit the inside of her mouth to keep her thoughts quiet. It was important that Andy not realize they were arguing over him. “Beyond that day in your office, have you had any contact with the woman?”

  His eyes narrowed. “No.”

  “Then let me assess the situation.” Again she sent a quick glance toward Andy then the other seven kids to make sure they weren’t hearing what was said. “If I don’t think her intentions are honorable, I won’t let her see Andy. Deal?” She presented her hand to seal the agreement.

  Jacob looked at it then up into her face. His fingers closed around hers, warm, strong. “Deal. But I want you to know I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  She wasn’t sure it was, either, but for Andy’s sake, she needed to try. Maybe there was a way to salvage their family if the mother was trying this hard to see her son.

  “Where’s Andy’s mother?” she asked the head of security, not sure that Jacob would have told her.

  The man pointed toward a door at the end of the hall where another guard stood. She made her way down the short corridor, stopping for a moment in front of Andy to give him a reassuring smile. His tear-filled eyes reinforced her resolve to try and make this work for him.

  At the door she paused and peered back. Jacob’s sharp gaze and the tightening about his mouth emphasized his displeasure at what she was attempting. Then she swung her attention to Andy, and the hopefulness she saw in his expression prodded her forward.

  Lord, let this work. Help me to reach Andy’s mother somehow.

  When Hannah entered the room, she found Andy’s mom sitting at a table, her head down on it as though she was taking a nap. The sound of the door closing brought the woman up, her gaze stabbing Hannah with fury.

  “You don’t have no right to take my son away. I wanna see Andy.”

  Calmness flowed through Hannah. She moved to the table and took the chair across from Andy’s mother. “I’m Hannah Smith, the manager at Stone’s Refuge where your son is staying.” She held her hand out.

  The young woman glared at it, then angled sideways to stare at the wall.

  “Mrs. Morgan, Andy wants to see you, but I want to be assured that you won’t upset him and cause a scene.”

  Again her angry gaze sliced to Hannah. “He should be with me. This ain’t none of your business. He’s my son!”

  Hannah assessed the woman, focusing on her eyes to try and discern if she was on any drugs. Other than anger, she didn’t see anything that indicated she was high. “The court has taken Andy away from you and is reviewing your parental rights. You may see Andy when you make prior arrangements with his case manager. You can’t see him alone.”

  Some of the anger leaked from her expression. “I just wanna see my baby. I shouldn’t have to ask for permission. I haven’t taken no drugs in days.”

  “That’s good. Would you consider going into a rehab facility?”

  Her teeth chewed on her lower lip. “Yes. Anything. Will I get Andy back then?”

  “That isn’t my decision. It will have to be the court’s. But it will be a step in the right direction.” Hannah folded her hands on the table, lacing her fingers together. “How did Andy get hurt the last time you were with him?”

  Tears sprang into the young woman’s eyes. “It was an accident. He fell and hit his head.” Her gaze slid away from Hannah.

  “Why did he fall?”

  Silence. Andy’s mother bit down hard on her lip.

  “If I’m going to help you, I need to know everything. I need the truth.”

  The young woman opened her mouth to speak, but clamped it closed without saying anything. The indentation in her lower lip riveted Hannah’s attention. When she finally peered into Andy’s mother’s eyes, a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “If you’re s
erious about being in Andy’s life, you have to trust me.”

  The lip with the teeth marks quivered. “My boyfriend pushed him away.” More tears welled into Andy’s mother’s eyes and fell onto the table.

  “Why did he do that?”

  Mrs. Morgan dropped her head, much as Andy often did. “Because he was hitting me and Andy wanted to stop him.”

  “I see.”

  Her head jerked up. “No, ya don’t! He didn’t want me to take him to the doctor. Andy was throwing up. When my boyfriend passed out, I brought my baby to see Dr. Hartman. That’s when everything went bad. They took Andy from me. I went home and my boyfriend had left me. He’s—he’s—I’m all alone.” She swiped her trembling hands across her cheeks. “I don’t—” she sucked in a shuddering breath “—wanna be alone.”

  “So all Andy’s injuries were caused by this boyfriend?”

  “Yes, yes, I’d never hurt my baby. Never!” Tears continued to flow from her eyes.

  “But staying with your boyfriend did hurt your child.”

  “I know, but I don’t have no money. I’m—” Andy’s mother sagged forward and cried. “I love Andy. I…” The rest of the words were lost in the woman’s sobs.

  Hannah came around the table and touched her shaking shoulder. “Let’s start with you talking to Andy. If that goes well, we can discuss the next step, Mrs. Morgan.”

  The woman lifted her head, rubbing her hands down her face. “My name is Lisa Morgan. I ain’t never been married.”

  “How old are you?” Hannah went back to her chair.

  “Twenty-three. I can’t pay for rehab. I don’t have no money.” She dashed her hands across her cheeks then through her hair.

  “Let me worry about that. When you think you’re ready, I’ll go get Andy.”

  Lisa straightened, smoothing her shirt. “I’m ready to see my baby.”

  Hannah pushed to her feet and headed for the door. She hoped she was doing the right thing, that Jacob was wrong. Lisa had been a child when she’d had Andy. Maybe she’d never had a break.

  Out in the hall she motioned for Andy to come to her. She caught Jacob’s regard over the heads of all the kids who had surrounded him in the security office. “We won’t be long. Maybe the children would like to ride the train.”

  “Yeah!” several of them shouted.

  “Can we?” Terry asked Jacob.

  “Sure.”

  His gaze intent on her, Jacob crossed to her while she opened the door into the small room where Lisa was. Andy slipped inside. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the boy throw himself into his mother’s outstretched arms and plaster himself against her. His cries mingling with his mother’s could be heard in the hallway.

  “This is a mistake,” Jacob whispered while he peered inside at Andy and his mom.

  “What if it isn’t?” Hannah lifted her chin a notch. “I’m going to have security call the police back and tell them they don’t have to come.”

  “She should be held accountable for breaking the court order.” A steel thread weaved through each word.

  “That will only happen if, as a member of the foundation board, you overrule me.” She directed a piercing look at him. “Are you?”

  He met her glare for glare while a war of emotions flitted across his face. Finally resignation won. “No, I’m not going to. But don’t leave them alone together.” He pivoted and strode to the group of children hovering around the head of security’s desk, asking him tons of questions.

  Hannah paused in the entrance into the room and said to the guard nearby, “Please call the police and tell them it isn’t necessary to come.” Then she went in and closed the door.

  “Mom, when can I come home?” Andy pulled back from his mother. “I miss ya.”

  Lisa shifted in the chair until she faced her son, clasping his hands. “And I missed ya, too. I have some things to work out, but once I do, you’ll be able to come home with me.”

  “When?”

  Lisa shook her head. “I ain’t sure.” She slid her gaze to Hannah, then back to her son. “I’m gonna do everything I can, but it’ll be up to the judge when.”

  Andy puffed out his chest. “I’ll tell him I want to come home. He’ll listen to me.”

  “Baby, I’m sure he will, but I hafta do a couple of things before we go in front of the judge. Then ya can tell him what ya want. Okay?”

  Andy frowned. “I guess so.”

  “Good. I know I can count on ya, baby.” Lisa drew her son to her and held him tightly.

  Emotions clogged Hannah’s throat. She swallowed several times before she said, “Andy, I’m sure we’ll be able to arrange for your mother to come see you at the refuge. You can show her your room. She can meet your friends.”

  Hope flared in the boy’s expression. “Yes. How about tomorrow?”

  Hannah rose. “Let me see what I can arrange, Andy. It may have to be some time next week.”

  The light in his eyes dimmed. “Promise?”

  “I can promise you I’ll do everything I can to make it happen.” Please, Lord, help me to keep that promise.

  Jacob leaned into the railing on the porch of the cottage and stared up at the crystal clear night sky, littered with hundreds of stars. The cool fall air soothed his frustration some as he waited to speak with Hannah after the children were in bed. He didn’t want to have this conversation where the kids might overhear.

  Not only didn’t Lisa Morgan get hauled down to the police station for defying a court order, but now Hannah was making arrangements for the woman to see Andy here at the refuge. Dinner, no less, in two nights! And worse, she’d persuaded Laura and Peter to go along with this crazy plan of hers.

  The sound of the front door opening and closing drew Jacob up straight, but he didn’t look at Hannah. He kept his gaze glued on the stars.

  Lord, give me the right words to convince Hannah of the folly of getting Andy and his mother together except in a courtroom.

  “You wanted to talk to me.” Hannah moved to the other side of the steps and leaned against the post. “I’m tired so can we make this quick.”

  He clenched the wooden railing. Patience. He faced her, a couple of yards between them, her expression hidden in the shadows of evening, although Jacob didn’t need to see her to imagine her glower. “We need to talk about Andy and his mother.”

  “No, we don’t. You may be on the board, but I was hired to be the manager.” She pushed away from the post, her posture stiff. “That means I run the refuge. I have Peter and Laura’s support.”

  Which he intended to change the first opportunity he got a chance to speak with them. “And what happens when Lisa Morgan takes Andy again and harms him. Or comes to the cottage on drugs. Or lets her son down by not showing up when she’s supposed to.”

  “She isn’t the one who hurt Andy. It was her boyfriend who isn’t around anymore.”

  “She allowed it to happen. That’s the same thing in my book.”

  “One of the calls I placed this afternoon was to a drug-rehab facility. I got her in. She can start the program next week.”

  Jacob snorted. “So she goes through the motions of getting clean, and the second she gets Andy back she’s taking drugs again and hooking up with that boyfriend or some other who is equally abusive to Andy.” As much as he tried to keep visions of his past from flashing across his mind, he couldn’t. The first time his mother had come out of drug rehab, he’d had such hope that she would stay clean. She’d lasted one whole day. He could still remember as if it were yesterday finding her passed out on the floor in the living room. “Then where does that leave Andy?”

  “I have to try.”

  “Why?”

  “Andy loves his mother. He wants to be with her. He told me he called her to come to the zoo.” She could never share the pain she had gone through when her family had fallen apart. Even though it was under different circumstances and she had continued to live with her mom, she’d essentially lost her that day
her older brother was killed. And the person responsible stood in front of her. She tamped down on the words of anger she suddenly wanted to shout at him. They would do no good. She needed to learn to work with this man—somehow.

  “He’ll get over it.”

  Hannah drew in a sharp breath. “How can you say something like that?”

  “Because I did.”

  His whispered words hung in the air between them. Did she hear him right? She stepped closer. “What did you say?”

  He pivoted away from her, gripping the railing. “My mother was like Lisa Morgan. On drugs. Nothing else was important to her. Certainly not me. Or where the rent and food money was going to come from. And when she didn’t have enough money for her drugs, she took her frustration out on me with a fist or a belt.”

  Her anger disintegrated at the anguish in his voice. She wasn’t even sure he was aware of it lacing each word. A strong impulse to comfort inundated her. She held her ground for a few seconds before she covered the distance between them to stand next to Jacob.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, meaning it. She caught a glimpse of his expression in the moonlight. Painful memories etched deep lines into his face as though he was reliving his past.

  Finally as if he realized he had an audience to witness his agony, he blinked and shook his head. “I don’t need your pity. All I want from you is to put a stop to getting Andy together with his mother.”

  As though she had no control over her actions, she lay her hand on his arm. “I can’t. Andy is so excited about his mother coming to dinner.”

  He jerked away. “What you mean is, you won’t! You want to try some little social experiment to see if it works.” He thrust his face close to hers. “You’re experimenting with a young boy’s life.”

  Hannah stepped back. “And you’re not? What happened to you was a tragedy, but that doesn’t mean it will happen to everyone in the same situation. What if Lisa can successfully kick the habit? Wouldn’t Andy be better off with his mother rather than in the foster-care system, possibly never adopted? We owe it to him to try.”

  “We owe him protection and a quality life.”