Hector Padillo dressed in his best suit and drove to the DCFS office. He had an appointment with the social worker in charge of Grace’s case, Susan Orsby. He’d talked to his lawyer, hack public defender that he was, the man had still been able to tell him that he had rights, unless and until he was convicted of the crimes he was accused of, he still had the right to see his Grace. It would have to be supervised visits at the DCFS office, or some other place of their choosing, but he had the right to see her, and he was going to demand visitation.

First of all, going to see this bitch at her office would let him get a look at her. He was going to hang around the building for the day and find out what car she drove. He had plans for that vehicle and the bitch that drove it. No one took his baby girl away from him and got away with it.

Then when he got the supervised visitation, he’d be able to find out who had his daughter. The cow would have to bring the girl to the DCFS office. He’d be watching.

Stepping through the glass double doors he pasted a false smile on his face and walked up to the reception desk.

“Good morning, I have an appointment with Susan Orsby,” he said. “Hector Padillo.

The woman looked at her computer, “Yes, Mr. Padillo, Ms. Orsby is expecting you. Down the hallway on your left, second door on the right.”

“Thank you.” He nodded and strode down the hall. He tapped once on the door and a voice called, “Come in.”

A small, white woman in a blue suit stood up from behind the desk to greet him. She looked nervous. Good. He liked women nervous. “Hello, Mr. Padillo. Would you like a cup of coffee before we start?” she asked, walking to a coffee maker sitting on a cabinet at the side of the room.

Pouring on the charm, Hector said, “That would be nice, thank you.”

Taking the styrofoam cup she handed him and sitting in the chair she indicated, he took a sip and tried not to make a face. It tasted like piss water. Why was it that white women couldn’t make a decent cup of coffee?

“So, what brings you to my office today, Mr. Padillo?” Susan asked.

“I want to see my daughter. I want to see my Grace.”

The woman visibly swallowed. “Mr. Padillo, you have been charged with abuse against your child. She is in a safe place now. I don’t think it is in her best interests for you to see her at this time.”

Hector leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees. “I know my rights, Ms. Orsby. I’ve spoken to my lawyer. He said I’m entitled to supervised visitation.”

The woman leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Yes, you are entitled, Mr. Padillo, but Grace is doing well where she is now. She is happy and healthy. I hate to disrupt that dynamic.”

“She is my child, Ms. Orsby. I demand to see her. It is my right. If I have to, I will get my lawyer involved.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Fine, Mr. Padillo, if you insist.” She pulled up a calendar on her computer. “Wednesday at ten a.m., here at the office, for one hour. Is that satisfactory?”

“Yes, that will be fine.”

“I’ll set it up,” she said with a sigh.

Hector stood. “I appreciate your cooperation.” If looks could kill, he would be dead where he stood.

“Good day, sir,” she said.

Hector turned and left the office, a lilt in his step. He had succeeded in his mission and only had to wait two days for completion.

* * * *

On Monday morning, Mo had a new group of kids arriving for her program. Mataus was coming to help out. He wasn’t much of a horseman, but he would keep Grace occupied while she worked with the other kids, and that would be a big help. This group was older children, twelve to sixteen, so she couldn’t include Grace in the lesson like she could if she was dealing with younger kids.

A knock on her back door signaled his arrival promptly at seven a.m.

“Good morning, handsome,” she said, greeting him with a warm kiss. “Coffee is ready.”

He snuggled her close for a moment and then said, “Great, I could really use a cup. You start early. I’m not used to these hours.”

Mo laughed. “Ranchers hours. The day is half over already.”

“Oh my God, that is ridiculous!”

“I’ve already been out to the barn and fed the horses.”

“That’s hardly half the day.”

She hip bumped him. “You know I’m only teasing you.”

“No fair teasing an un-caffeinated man.”

Grace skipped into the room and squealed when she saw Mataus. “Matty!” She ran to him and put her arms up. “Pick me up.”

“I beg your pardon, young lady,” Mo admonished.

“Pick me up, pweese!” Grace cajoled.

Matty swept her into his arms and kissed her cheek. “Good morning, sunshine. How are you today?”

“I good. We ride horses today!” she said.

Mo frowned. “Grace, I told you that you wouldn’t be able to ride this morning. I have to work and you are too little to ride with this group.”

Grace squirmed in Matt’s arms and he put her down. She stomped her little foot. “I want to ride horsey!”

“That’s enough of that,” Mo said. “I’ll take you riding another day. You can’t go today.”

Matt could see this was about to escalate, so he knelt down in front of Grace. “How about we go swimming today instead? I brought my swim suit. We could even have a picnic out on the pool deck. It’s going to be a beautiful day.”

Grace’s scowl dissolved into a smile. “Can we play with the big ball in the pool?”

“You bet.”

“Okay.”

Grace went to the table and sat down. “Can I have oatmeal for breakfast?”

“Crisis averted,” Mataus whispered in Mo’s ear.

She nodded and answered Grace’s question. “Yes, you can have oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Mo pulled down a bowl and mixed up the instant oatmeal, popping it in the microwave to heat up. “Milk or orange juice?”

“Milk, pweese.”

“You got it, little bit.” Mo poured her drink and retrieved the oatmeal from the microwave. While Grace ate, Mo and Matt sipped their coffee and chatted about the day.

Another knock sounded at the door and Shannon popped her head in. “Hey y’all. I smell coffee.”

“You know where the pot is. Grab a cup.”

“I will, then we better get going, the kids will be here any minute.”

“Slave driver,” Mo groaned.

“Ha, this coming from the drill Sergeant,” Shannon answered.

“I was not a drill Sergeant, and you know it!” Mo snapped.

“Yeah, well you’d never know it by me.”

“Ladies, ladies, it’s too early for fighting,” Matt interjected.

“We’re not fighting,” Mo said. “This is our friendly banter.”

Matt shook his head. “Are you two sisters?”

“Almost,” she answered.

“Well, try to behave,” he said taking her in his arms.

She leaned up and kissed him. “That’s no fun.”

“PDA,” Shannon said. “Get a room.”

Mo winked at her. “We will, later.”

Matt pushed her toward the door and smacked her ass. “Naughty girl.”

She looked over her shoulder with a saucy grin. “Don’t you know it.”

As Shannon followed her out the door she glanced back at Matt. “You’re good for her,” she said, then closed the door behind her.

As always, when Mo was working with kids from the program, the day passed quickly. It seemed like the kids had just arrived and already the day was over. Usually she felt let down as she waved goodbye to the last of the children. Today she looked forward to heading back to the house and Grace and Matt.

“Hi, honey, I’m home,” she called as she entered the door. Grace came running and slammed into her legs, talking a mile a minute.

“We went swimming, and had a picnic, and Matty read me a story, and I tooked a nap and drew you a picture. Wanna see? I was a good girl!”

Mo squatted down and hugged her. “Well, I’m glad you had fun, and yes, of course I want to see the picture you drew.”

Grace ran to the refrigerator and pulled off the drawing, thrusting it into Mo’s face. Mo leaned back and took the drawing, holding it at a distance she could actually see it. Three stick figures, a small one in the middle, with two larger ones on either side. A big sun in one corner, and flowers all around.

“It’s us,” Grace said. “You, me and Matty. Our family.”

Grace’s eyes teared up. “It’s absolutely beautiful, darling. I love it.” She hugged the little girl tightly. “Why don’t you put it back up on the fridge so everyone can see it.” Mo stood and surreptitiously wiped the tears from her cheeks, as Grace skipped over to re-hang the work of art.

Matt met her gaze and gave her a knowing smile. “Hi,” he said, crossing to kiss her cheek. “I missed you today.”

“I missed you too. It looks like you two had quite a day.”

“We had a ball. I have dinner in the oven. You hungry?”

“Starved.”

“It will be ready in half an hour. Why don’t you go grab a shower?”

“Damn, a girl could get used to this kind of treatment.”

“That’s my plan,” he said waggling his eyebrows.

“Devious man.”

“Go.”

“Thank you,” she said, after another kiss Mo turned to head for the bathroom. 

Mo took a quick shower and slipped into a pair of shorts and a tank top. When she made her way back out to the kitchen the scents that assailed her had her mouth watering. “Oh my god, that smells fabulous!”

“My famous pot roast,” Matt said. “With carrots and potatoes.”

“Wow, I’m impressed.”

Matt pulled out a chair. “Have a seat my lady and I shall serve you.”

Grace was already sitting at her place at the table.

“Thank you, kind sir,” Mo said taking a seat.

“Would the lady care for a glass of wine?”

“That would be lovely, thank you.”

Matt poured her wine then brought a steaming bowl to the table filled with the sliced roast and vegetables. He served each of them before taking his own seat. The meal was delicious.

“Matt, this is wonderful. Thank you so much for going to all this trouble.”

“No trouble at all. I enjoy cooking. Especially for two beautiful ladies.”

Grace giggled. “I a beautiful lady.”

“Yes, you are, little bit, a very beautiful lady.”

“What do you say, Grace?” Mo asked.

Grace looked at her quizzically. “You say ‘thank you’ when someone gives you a compliment,” Mo said.

“Oh.” Grace nodded. “Thank you, Matty,” she said, beaming a smile in his direction.

He pinched her cheek. “You are most welcome, princess.”

The rest of the meal passed in pleasant conversation about their day. Matt and Mo cleared the table and did the dishes together, while Grace went and watched TV in the living room.

“Are you trying to drive me to distraction with those shorts?” he asked, coming up behind her as she was loading plates into the dishwasher.

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you mean,” she teased.

“Oh, I think you do.” He slid his hand up her leg and teased the edge of the material. “I could just slide my hand right under here and cup a cheek. What would I find under there? Are you wearing underwear? A thong? Nothing?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

His hand slid further up and encountered bare butt cheek. “Umm, a thong or nothing at all. Shall I keep going and find out?”

Mo glanced over her shoulder and said, “I think you better wait until Miss Grace goes to bed.”

Matt sighed and withdrew his hand. “Spoilsport.”

“Them’s the breaks, big guy.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Mo closed the dishwasher and turned in his arms. Her nipples were hard little nubs, poking through the thin cotton of her tank top. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll make it worth the wait,” she said, reaching up on tip toe to plant a deep kiss on his succulent mouth.

His hands cupped her bottom, pulling her close and pressing her into the proof of his desire. “Oh, baby, if you keep that up I’m going to forget we have an audience in the other room.”

“Just hold that thought for later,” she said, with another brief, hard kiss. She pulled back and stepped from his arms. Mataus groaned.

“When does she go to bed?” he whined.

“In an hour. You can wait that long. You’re a big boy.”

He looked down at the bulge in his pants, “You can say that again.”

Mo slapped his arm. “You’re terrible.”

He took her in his arms again. “And you love it,” he said burying his head in the crook of her neck and kissing the spot behind her ear that drove her mad.

She giggled. “You’re right. I do.”

The phone rang and Mo fished it from her pocket. “Saved by the bell.” She looked at the caller I.D., “It’s Susan, I wonder what she wants. Hello?”

“Hey Mo, how is Grace doing?”

“She’s doing fine. Why? What’s up?”

“Shit, I don’t know how to tell you this.”

“Susan, you’re scaring me. What is it? Just spit it out.”

“Her asshole father came to the office today. He talked to his lawyer and came in demanding to see Grace.”

“What! He can’t do that, can he? He’s been indicted for child abuse.”

“Unfortunately, he can. He hasn’t been convicted, yet. He’s entitled to supervised visitation.”

“You’ve gotta be shitting me?”

“I wish I was.”

“We’ve just now gotten Grace to the point of feeling safe and secure. This is going to set her back terribly. How am I going to tell her?”

“I’m sorry, Mo. I didn’t have a choice.”

“When?”

“Wednesday, six o’clock, at the DCFS office.”

“Oh my God, so soon?”

“I’m sorry, Mo, but if I didn’t schedule it he was going to get his lawyer involved and that would have been a disaster.”

“Mother fucking son of a bitch. Can I be there with her?”

“No, that’s not allowed. Only someone from the agency. I’ll be there with her. I promise she won’t be alone with him for a single second.”

“She’s going to be scared to death. She’s still having nightmares, Susan.”

Susan sighed. “We could try getting her in to see a psychiatrist. If he or she said it was against her interests to see him I might be able to get the court to side with us, but it’s doubtful.”

“We only have two days! That seems impossible.”

“Yeah, it would be a hail Mary.”

“I doubt Grace would even tell a psychiatrist what happened. It takes her a while to open up to new people.”

“I think you’re just going to have to let this visit happen, Mo, then deal with the consequences.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one holding her in the middle of the night. Damn, damn, and double damn.”

“All I can say is I’m sorry.”

“I know. It’s not your fault. It’s that bastard who calls himself her father. All right, I gotta go. I’ll talk to Mataus and we’ll figure it out. We’ll see you Wednesday. Bye.” Mo hung up and resisted the urge to chuck her phone at the wall. Carefully laying it on the counter before walking over to Mataus and laying her head on his chest. He enfolded her in his arms.

“I didn’t get all of that, but it’s bad news from what I heard.”

“Yeah, I have to take Grace for a supervised visit with her father on Wednesday.”

He rubbed her back. “Yeah, that really sucks.”

“How am I going to tell her?” she asked, looking up into his eyes, hers swimming with tears.

“I don’t know, cher. We’ll think of something.”

* * * *

Mo put Grace to bed with extra kisses and hugs and two stories that night. She didn’t tell her about the visit with her father. She wanted her to sleep that night and knew Grace would be upset and probably have nightmares again if she knew she’d have to see her father again. Mo knew she was only delaying the inevitable, but she wanted to give her one more peaceful night.

Mataus pulled Cara down onto his lap on the couch and enclosed her in his arms. She rested her head on his chest and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Oh, Matt, what am I going to do? My heart is breaking. I just don’t know how to tell Grace she has to see her father. She’s going to be so upset and scared.”

Mataus rubbed his hand up and down her back. “All we can do is be there for her. Make sure that she knows we love her and we’re not going to abandon her. That she’s not going to be alone with her father and he won’t be able to hurt her.”

Mo tipped her face up to look at him. “What would I do without you? You keep me grounded. Will you stay tonight and help me tell her in the morning?”

“Yes, of course,” he said leaning in, taking her lips in a gentle kiss. As usual, the moment their lips met, passion ignited in her soul. The hand on his shoulder slid up into his hair, drawing him closer as she deepened the kiss. She loved the feel of his soft, silky hair sliding through her fingers and she twirled the strands at the nape of his neck, eliciting a groan from Mataus.

He shifted her on his lap, drawing her closer, and kissing down her neck. He licked her earlobe and drew it into his mouth, nibbling it softly and then whispered in her ear, “You smell delicious. I want to take you to bed and eat you up.”

“Mmm, sounds wonderful. Let’s go.”

Mataus lifted her like a baby and carried her to the bedroom. Kicking the door shut behind them. He laid her gently on the center of the bed, following her down to lie beside her. Propped on one elbow he caressed the side of her face as he looked down at her. “You are so beautiful, I’m almost afraid to touch you.”

Mo shook her head. “You’re so silly, I’m not beautiful. Cute maybe, but seriously, Mataus, you are gorgeous.”

“Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” he said, leaning in to steal a kiss. With meticulous and tender care Mataus worshiped her face with kisses, from her forehead to her eyebrows, over her eyelids to her cheekbones, down her cheeks to the corners of her mouth. There he paused for long moments, teasing her lips, licking, nibbling, delving inside to gently twine his tongue with hers, drawing it into a mating dance as old as time. He continued his ministrations, moving down her body, peeling away her clothing as he went. Mo had never felt so cherished or aroused. She wanted to reciprocate, but she was lulled into such a state of hypnotic passion she couldn’t seem to make herself move. She lay there, moaning in pleasure and allowing Mataus to be the master of her desire.

“That’s it ma cher, so beautiful,” Mataus said, when he had her bare, running his hands from her hips to her breasts and cupping the mounds. He ran his thumbs across her nipples and Mo arched off the bed. “Look how pretty they pout for me?” he said, leaning forward to take a bud into his mouth.

“Oh God, Matt. That feels so good,” Mo said, her malaise finally ending and her arms wrapping around his back to pull him closer. His lips came off her nipple with a loud pop, and he squeezed both mounds. “Hold that thought,” he said, as he scrambled off the bed and quickly removed his own clothes.

He returned to her, settling between her thighs. “Are you ready for me, my sweet?” he asked reaching between her legs to run his fingers through the cream coating her sex. “Oh, yes. You are so wet for me,” he said, grasping his cock and sliding it along her hot, wet slit. He pressed forward, feeding into her a slow inch at a time. Mo sighed, arching up into him, but he refused to increase his pace. He pulled back and thrust forward, each time, giving her a little more of him, until he was finally seated to the root and then he held there, staring into her eyes. The connection was magical, like nothing she ever experienced in her life. The joining of two souls.

Never breaking eye contact, he began to move, slowly gliding in and out, each thrust hard and deep, hitting just the right spot inside her. His pelvic bone ground against her clit on each downward stroke. Her hands grasped his muscular ass, pulling him closer as her body bowed to meet his. Her breath quickened as her body tightened and she wanted to close her eyes in ecstasy, but she couldn’t break contact with his eyes, it was too intense, too special.

As her body raced toward orgasm, electrical pulses shot out from her stomach to her arms and legs, down to her toes and fingers. His name broke from her lips as she crested, falling over the edge. Her internal muscles clamped down and Mataus followed her to climax, thrusting hard and then holding deep inside her as he held her close in the aftermath of their explosion.

He rolled them to their side and cuddled her close. Mo laid her head on his chest. When their breathing returned to normal Mo said, “Oh, Mataus, that was amazing.”

He looked down at her and caressed her cheek. “You are amazing.”

Although he could see she was sexually sated, her eyes were clouded and her mouth pinched. “You’re in pain aren’t you?” he asked with concern.

Mo shook her head. “It’s nothing, just some twinges. I’m used to it.”

“Stop being such a martyr. Turnover and I’ll rub your back.”

Mo rolled to her stomach and Mataus’ strong hands began to work out the cramps in her lower back and hip. A low moan escaped from her lips. “Oh God, that feels so good,” she groaned. Within minutes the spasms released and she drifted off to sleep. Mataus kissed her spine and lightened his caresses, as he felt her breathing even out and a slight snore come from her lips. He snuggled close and sleep took him too.

A dark haired man with slicked back hair in an ill-fitting suit sat outside an office building watching the door. Mo’s truck pulled up and she, Grace and he got out of the vehicle. The man’s eye’s twinkled with glee. He took out a notebook and wrote down the license plate number of the truck and he tucked the notebook back into his jacket pocket. Patting the pocket after tucking the notebook away. He then exited his rattletrap sedan and headed toward the double doors of the building.

Mataus woke and sat on the edge of the bed. That was how Hector Padillo was going to get the information on Mo’s vehicle. Well, Matt could circumvent that. They would take his car to the DCFS. One problem solved, and he wouldn’t even have to tell Mo.