Chapter 10

 

Nathan wasn’t sure what to think about his parents. They’d abandoned him—by his way of thinking, not once but twice. Doing some reading in old newspapers, there had only been a few references about his disappearance in the months after he’d gone missing. After that, he’d found out from talking to a reporter, the incident was republished on his birthday every year. And every year, the reporter told him, his parents couldn’t be reached for comment on how they were dealing with it. Nathan didn’t know why, but he didn’t think they’d been dealing with anything. Only, as he’d overheard Meghan say to her sister, that they’d been just as happy to have him gone as she was to have him in her life.

Meghan was a really super person. She made him laugh. Made sure that he had what he needed, and sometimes what he didn’t need. When she’d signed him up for school to start the week after Thanksgiving, Nathan and her had gone out and gotten him new shoes, clothes, as well as his very first backpack.

“Nathan?” He had zoned out for a moment. but she didn’t make him feel stupid over it. She never made him feel stupid about things that he did. “They’re here. It’s not too late for us to reschedule this if you’d like.”

“No, I’m okay. I just want to see what they want.” When she sat down in the chair that she kept hopping up and down in, he smiled at Meghan. She was more nervous than he was, he thought. “You promise not to leave me with them? I don’t think that they’ll hurt me or anything, but I might need you there.”

“No, I won’t leave you. And you’re aware that Adrian is going to be there, right? He’s just going to be there to answer any questions you might have in this.” He nodded. “And the rest of the family, our family, they’re going to be there as well. Just in the event that you need them.”

“I’m glad. Aren’t you?” She nodded, and Nathan felt his heart hurt for what this was doing to her. “We’ll be fine, Meghan. I know it.”

Although he’d already decided to not go with his parents, he’d promised Meghan that he’d not make the decision officially until he talked to them. He no more trusted them than a snake in a room full of tasty rats. Nathan thought of Grandda Ollie and had to smile. Some of the things he said were just too funny not to repeat. And there were a few that he wasn’t allowed to repeat.

“I want you to know that wherever you hang your hat, I’m still going to be here for you whenever you need me. And if’n the people that created you say that you can’t see me no more, then I want you to know that all you have to do is pick up that phone of yours and call me. I’ll be there lickety split for you.” Nathan hugged the elderly man, trying to hide his tears from him. “You’re a good boy, Nathan. And a good hearted one too. You’ll be fine. I know it.”

But how did anyone know if he’d really be fine or not? He’d been thinking about it a lot, and he had a feeling that his parents were only out for one thing. Money.

Nathan knew that the Whitfields had money. A great deal of it, Meghan had told him. And while they were generous with it, helping others with it when they needed it, they were never stupid about it. Nathan had already figured out, even in the short time that he’d been with them, that his parents were terrible with money and not at all generous, especially when it didn’t give them more.

When his name was called to go into the courtroom, he stood up and adjusted his tie. Dylan had told him it was always good to put your best foot forward in this sort of thing. It wasn’t exactly what she’d said. Nathan knew better than to repeat anything she might say. She sure did have a way with words, he thought.

The judge wasn’t sitting at the big desk that he’d seen on television when there had been one to watch. Instead, he was sitting at a table with just a plain suit on, and no robe or anything like that. When he was asked to have a seat, Nathan sat as far from Welham and Evelyn as he could. Under the table, he reached for and gripped Meghan’s hand tightly. He had to admit, he was as afraid as he’d ever been in his life.

“Hello, Nathan. My name is Judge Wicker. We’re here today to talk to you about your feelings on things left unsaid about your—”

“Those people have no right taking him right from under our watch. He’s our son, not the famous Whitfields’.” Nathan looked at Evelyn. He wouldn’t call her mom, nor the man that had fathered him dad. They weren’t here for anything but what they could get. Even if he’d not overheard someone say that about them, he would have been able to figure it out. “We want to press charges against them and have them pay for the trouble that they put us through.”

“And what sort of trouble have they put you through, Mrs. Hitchcock? Did they rough you up to take him? Did they, I don’t know, drop him off at the hospital, telling all the staff that could hear them that they didn’t think they could raise him to be their own? I wonder what you might have said had the woman that took him in the first place perhaps killed him.” The judge looked at Nathan. “As I was saying when I was rudely interrupted, we’re here to see what it is that you wish to do.”

“He’s just a kid. What sort of things do you suppose he’d say? I’m sure that he has his own stuff that they bought for him. Probably a car too, even though he’s only ten.” Nathan told Wilhelm that he was actually twelve. “Whatever. I’m sure that he’s been promised the moon if he’d say that he didn’t want to be with us.”

“I do have a lot.” He looked at the judge when Wilhelm said he knew it. “I have a roof over my head that I don’t have to worry about leaking on my face. There is always hot water, no matter what time I take a shower. My clothing is new and not full of holes, and I even get to go to school like other kids. But the best part of all is that nobody is tying me to the floor or making me help steal from other people that no more deserved it than I did being dropped off like I was bath water on a Saturday night.”

Judge Wicker laughed and it reminded him of the Santa he’d seen in the big mall in Columbus. Nathan smiled back at him. He really liked having something to laugh about.

“I’m guessing that you’ve been spending a lot of time with Ollie Whitfield. He’s a good man. He told me just this morning that he is going to have you call him Grandda no matter how this turns out.” Nathan said that he loved the old man. “Yes, I can see that you do. There are a great many people in this town that love him as well.”

“They’ve been really good to me, sir. Meghan and her sister told me that so long as I was alive, I’d have a safe home. I didn’t know how much I needed that until someone gave it to me.” Nathan looked at the family, his family should he want it. “If it’s all the same to you, sir, I’d like to stay with them. They’re g—”

“You ungrateful cur.” Nathan looked at his father, Welham, when he stood up and shouted at him. It was then that he noticed that the entire group of Whitfields, all of them, stood up as well. “You think you just say what you want to do? I’ll tell you the answer to that. You can’t. Your mother and I, we grieved for a long time for you being gone. Nobody came to give us any information. They didn’t look very hard, if you ask me. Now you just show up out of the blue, and that was hard on us. I don’t know if you even know what we went through to get you back and all.”

“Your Honor, if you’d not mind, I have a few things that I can add to Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock’s claim about what they’d been through. Or in their case, what they’re claiming to not have gotten. I do believe that once you’ve heard this, you’ll be able to make a better judgement in this case.” Wilhelm started shouting at Dylan as soon as she spoke, telling her to keep her mouth shut, that she had nothing to do with anything. “Oh, but I do. And if you tell me to shut up again, I will rip your tongue out of your throat and wipe your ass with it.”

Nathan wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t do it anyway. He really liked Dylan, but like everyone in the family, he was a little afraid of her. She was as bad-assed as anyone he’d ever come across since being taken from his home all those years ago.

When given permission to approach the bench, Nathan looked at his biological parents. Since he’d been living with Meghan, he could now see what wealth could give a person. And from the looks of the two of them, they looked like they had some too.

He had no recollection of his family before recently. Had someone asked him, he might have not remembered his last name. Shelby had called him Moron for most of his life, and for a while there, he’d thought that it was his middle name or something like that.

Shelby was going to prison, and for a long time. He’d not been the only kid that she’d taken, and had she not messed with the Whitfields, he was as sure as he could be that he’d not have been the last. Shivering once, he went back to his thoughts on the two that had brought him into the world.

The day that he’d seen them for the first time that he could remember, he thought that Evelyn had turned her nose up at him. And now that he’d been observing them for a couple of days, he knew now that Welham had been angry. At what, he’d had no idea, until he spoke with the police. Not only had Sunny been with him, as well as Adrian for legal representation, but so had Ollie. Now that was a man that he’d love to be related to.

“I’m going to ask you some questions about your stay with Ms. Crock. All right?” Nathan had glanced at the three people that had come to mean a great deal to him. When they nodded, he told Dale Winston, the sheriff, that he was ready. “Good. You’re a very lucky young man. I need to tell you that right from the start. And what I mean by that will become clearer as we talk.”

“Am I in trouble?” The man had told him that he wasn’t. “I can answer your questions. But I don’t know how much I can help you. I’m just glad to have found Adam in the first place. They’ve all been good to me since I was taken to his house.”

“Yes, you are lucky to have found them. Now, the time that you spent with Ms. Crock, were there any other children around? Not necessarily your age, but younger. Sometimes babies? I’m just fishing for answers here, not trying to upset you.” Nathan had no idea why asking him questions about others would upset him, but he nodded. “Do you by any chance know what happened to them? I mean, they weren’t with you when you made it to Adam’s house, correct? What I’d like to know is if you can tell me where they might be.”

“There were some babies. I watched them when Shelby went on her runs. I don’t know what that meant, but when she came back, she had money. They never stayed with me for very long. Just a few days to a week.” He thought of something, then looked at Sunny again. “Some of them had name bracelets on them, like the one I had on me when I was in the hospital. I wrote them down. I was going to go and see them if I ever got out, and see how they were doing. I can give those to you if you want. I would write them down on this little book I’d taken once. I was.... Never mind. I stole a book and wrote them with a pen the bank was handing out at this fair thing.”

“You’re very brave, Nathan. And if you tell me where you took the book from, I’ll make sure that he understands that you will close a great many cases with the information you stashed away.” He thanked her and told her where the book was. “Do you know which church it was? I mean, there are four on Main Street alone. If you can’t remember, that’s fine too. I can find it.”

Nodding, he turned back to Dale. He had had the strangest smile on his face. Ignoring it, he told him the names of the children that he could remember. Also, since he’d kept most of them, he told him where the baby’s bracelets were.

When he was finished talking to the police officer, he had to go to his room. Nathan felt his skin crawl, and took a long hot shower to try and wash off the feeling that he’d been dipped in something nasty. The things that they’d told him, the information that they’d been able to figure out, made him doubly glad that he’d not been left to stay with his parents, the biological ones, because he was sure that he might not have survived it.

And now here he sat with all the people that had been so nice to him, so supportive that he felt his heart lighten, his mind clear up. Nathan couldn’t have picked out better people to be around, and he was thrilled for it.

~*~

Adrian had read the contents of the paperwork that had been handed to Judge Wicker. Every few minutes he looked at the couple that was suing Adam and Meghan. They’d not mentioned Ivy, because apparently they’d not known about her. Which was fine by him. Adrian wanted this done yesterday. Not only because he wanted justice, but because he hated to be in the same room with them.

“I’m going to call a short recess. Don’t anyone leave, if you want to hear this thing through, I’m not going to take that long.” Pounding his gavel down on the desk that he was sitting at, James Wicker left them all there without another word.

Adrian knew that it was going to be only the few minutes that he’d promised everyone. Sunny and the rest of the family had been working nonstop on the paperwork, and they’d provided so many phone numbers to verify things that Adrian was sure this was going to be a win for him and the rest of the family. The Hitchcocks were in for a big awakening when this was done.

Adrian didn’t look around the room. He wanted to, badly. But he wanted to look like a man that had not one care in the world. He’d been practicing that for the last several months, since it had been pointed out to him that he could be read like a book.

“If you were to look at a group of your own people like you’re looking now, they’d be scared too. Perhaps scared isn’t the right word, but they’d feed off what you’re showing, and that could be bad. The country doesn’t want to see that their president is afraid or untrusting.” He’d told Henry that he was scared. “Yes, I’m sure you are. But, and this is the funny part, you don’t show it as much as you used to. Keep working on your facial expressions and you’ll be fantastic when it comes to meetings.”

Adrian worked on that now as he waited for the judge to come back. Every once in a while it would hit him that he was the governor of the state of Ohio, and that he was getting more and more people telling him what a good job he was doing in just using his hometown to see how to make things work.

The school had all new play equipment, and most of the cost had come by way of donations. Three more cities around his little town were implementing things as he had. The library was getting new shelving. Programs were being set up to help with after school sitting for working parents.

The one that he was most proud of was the lunch program. Like a lot of cities in all states, there was some grumbling and complaints from parents about what their children were being fed. He’d had a meeting with the parents of the children, as well as the school board, and had volunteers coming in daily to not only help with serving, but also making the meals for the kids.

Adrian laughed to himself. Of course, since doing that, there had been less complaints about anything. Because as soon as they opened their mouths to bitch about things, he’d just shove the volunteer list in front of them and tell them that they should help in whatever area they found lacking. That had been his mom’s idea, and it shut them up quickly, complimenting him after that for a good job. Most people, he’d come to realize, would rather shut up than to pony up, as Grandda was fond of saying.

The nudge to his arm had him look at Nathan. He’d really fallen for the kid. He was smart, savvy, and he knew the meaning of being kicked to the curb more than most. Nathan could have come out of this as a bitter person. But Adrian had noticed that he was hanging out more with Kyle and Elliot, Dylan and Evan’s boys, and becoming a good hand at the ranch. Adam had hired him for the fall work, which wasn’t all that much, so he could have some money of his own.

Standing when told, Adrian and the state appointed attorney for the Hitchcocks were asked to approach the judge. When Sunny spoke to him, he sort of zoned out from the judge and listened to her. She was laughing hard, but once she told him what was going to happen, he had to hide his own smile.

Listen to the judge. I’ll talk with you later. Oh, and by the way, you’re welcome. He asked her what she’d done. Nothing. But by Nathan giving me what he did, I was able to find all the children. They were sold on the black web. I’ll talk to you later.

James looked pissed. More than that, he looked murderous. It wasn’t often that this man got into a temper, but right now, he’d bet anything that the man would gladly have put the Hitchcocks before a firing squad. And more than likely would have pulled the trigger himself.

“Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock, you are going to be remanded over to a higher court today. You’ll be sitting in a cell, not much larger than you had that poor boy locked away in.” Welham started to complain but James cut him off with a bang to the desk. Not even with the gavel. “You will keep your tongue behind your teeth, or so help me, I’ll have you sitting in a prison with all sorts of deviants. Now, as I was saying before being so rudely interrupted. You’re being charged with—let me get this all straight here. You know, this is just too long to say it all today. I’d like to go home and shower, to get the stench of you two off my skin. I’m ashamed to have you residing in the same state as myself. You sold your son to that woman. Have you any idea what he suffered because of that? How much he had to endure because you didn’t want him? Christ, you people are dangerously stupid.”

“We didn’t do that.” James just cocked his brow at Evelyn when she spoke up. “You have no idea what we had to go through when that woman took our little boy. And now these people are trying to turn him away from us. They’re the ones that should be behind bars. I don’t know where you’ve gotten your information, but it’s all lies.”

“Really? Well, once she was talked to, Ms. Crock told us all about your little deal with her. You’d kidnap babies from the hospital and sell them to her for a tidy profit. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you’d tell them which houses to rob. And by putting that young man inside the home by illegal means, the three of you would again share in the profits.” He looked around the room, and then asked Nathan to stand up. “I’m so sorry, young man, that you’ve been put through all this. If there is anything I can do to help you, you just let me know. I’ll make sure that you have my number too.”

“Your Honor? If you’re really serious about that, I know what you can help me with.” James glanced at Adrian, then back at Nathan. “Meghan, Ms. Walton, said that I could be her kid. And all the Whitfields, they’re really good to me too. I have a backpack of my own. And friends that I don’t have to worry about having to take from them. I have food when I want it, as well as Meghan giving me hugs whenever I want them. Sometimes even when I’m not sure that I want one.”

Meghan stood up along with all the other members of the family when James asked her to do so. James laughed, telling her that she had a good support system. She assured him that she did, and that she did want to adopt Nathan.

“She will do no such thing.” Adrian looked at Evelyn. “I don’t know where you got all these lies from, but that woman is not going to take our son from us. Not without a price, anyway. We’re going to need a better lawyer than this person here. And then there will be compensation for dragging us through this when we had nothing to do with it. If they want him, it’s going to cost them. They seemed to have all the money anyway.”

No one said a word. She had just offered to sell her child in front of a sitting judge. Adrian turned to Meghan and asked her to take Nathan into the hall. This, he had a feeling, was about to get nasty quickly.

As soon as he was gone, Adrian turned to James.

“Where is my money, big boy?” Adrian told her that there wouldn’t be any coming. “You think so? Well, I got news for you. He’s my son, and I will do whatever I want with him. By damned if I won’t. I’m sick to death of people thinking that we’re the bad guys right now. You’ll either pay up, or I’ll have him killed right in front of you.”

A threat. She’d just threatened a person in a government position. Adrian didn’t even look at James. He could only hope that the man was hearing what he was. That they didn’t give two shits about Nathan except in a way that could make them money.

James stood up, and no one in the room could believe what was transpiring right in front of them. When he made his way to the steps, he yelled for the bailiff to come and take the couple away. The two of them were screaming about money and how they were being victimized over this, and that everyone was out to get them. Adrian didn’t have any idea where that notion had come from with these two, but he was glad to have this day over.

Within two hours, not only was Nathan free of his parents, he also gained an entire family. Meghan kept hugging him, telling Adrian how much she appreciated him stepping in for them. He hadn’t, not really. All he’d done was sit with Nathan while everything seemed to have been worked out for him. Nathan was beside himself with happiness too.

“I wanted to tell you thanks, Uncle Adrian. I thought for sure they were going to take me with them when we were all done today.” Adrian told him that was never going to happen. “I know you say that, but I don’t really trust much. I’m getting there—you guys are making it easy for me to do that too.”

“You’re a good person, Nathan, that has had a shitty life so far. But you’re going to be all right now, I think. Don’t you?” Nathan grinned and nodded. “Good. You ever need anything from any of us, you have only to ask. All right?”

“Yes. I’ve got a lot of friends now. I never thought I’d ever have any.” He looked around. “Aunt Sunny said that I had a reward coming, for helping with finding those little babies. You think it would be enough for a new bicycle? I don’t want to ask Mom—Meghan said I could call her that—because she bought everything I could ever need. Kyle and Elliot, they got some nice ones, and I’d like to go riding with them sometimes. But don’t tell Mom.”

“No, I won’t do that. I haven’t any idea how much you’ll receive.” He said that he didn’t really care, but thought it would be nice to have a bike. “I tell you what. You come out and shovel my driveway a couple of times, and I’ll make up the difference for you. Deal?”

“Nah, I’d like to do that for you anyway. For today and saving my butt.” Nathan leaned a little closer to him, and Adrian leaned in to him as well. So, in a whispered voice, Nathan asked him for a favor. “I’d like for you to teach me how to be an upstanding person. You know, like Great Grandda is always talking about what you are.”

“It’s a deal.”

They shook on it, and then Nathan hugged him. Adrian had to stand with his back to everyone while he gathered up his emotions. Who knew that a hug could mean so much from someone that wasn’t related to you by blood.

On his way home, Adrian called Henry. The two of them had been talking a great deal lately, mostly about football and food, but they were also talking about his life after being president. Henry had it in his head that he could retire and hide from the world for a time. Adrian thought he was nuts for even thinking that. The man was too well liked.

You are as well—you know that, don’t you? He had to laugh at his brother, Evan when he poked into his thinking. I have something to talk to you about with the hotel since Adam is so busy lately. Perhaps you could even join us on this venture? I’d love that. And I was thinking this should be a family thing anyway. So, I wanted your thoughts about having a few changes made to it before we start tearing things out. Grandda told me about this firm that he used to use when he needed work done. The man’s name is Mason Jay Barnhart.

Should I expect to have my mate turn up on this? They both laughed. What sort of things do you have in mind? I’m on my way into town now. I had a few things to do, then I decided to get some dinner. Where are you?

In the hotel. I came here with Dylan, but she was called away for some work. He told his brother he was sorry. It’s all right. It was making me crazy to be at home alone when she had to go out. But this project with you guys, it’s giving me something to do.

All right. Let me get some gas then I’ll meet you there. I was thinking too that we should have Flora come by and see about the garden. I’m sure that she can tell us if it’s worth saving or not. Some of the flowers and bushes are out of control. Evan said that he was thinking the same thing. Great. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.

Adrian wouldn’t doubt that his brother had already contacted this Mason person for whatever project he had in mind, as well as had a quote on the job. Adrian knew that whatever it was that he wanted, it would be epic.