LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

or had been holding in some anger. Noah glanced at the hands that hung at Arnie’s sides; they were loose and relaxed. “Not at all, Mr. Gunterson. It’s against the law to defy a court-ordered visitation agreement. Miss Baldwin is in my car. She’s my employee, she works for the Virgin River Presbyterian Church now. And while she was willing to let the matter go, I thought it was important for her to see her children, and I insisted on stepping in.”

      “You shouldn’t have. The situation is under control.”

      Noah laughed indulgently. “Unfortunately, that’s not true,” he said. “She needs to see the kids and, from what she told me about her attempt to pick them up this morning, they need to see her. I am sure we can work it out. If we talked about it.”

      Arnie’s eyebrows came together in a frown. “Is that what you thought? Well, the kids are having time-out. We had talked about how they would behave if they wanted a special day with their mother. No crying, yelling, complaining or throwing fits. No begging. They haven’t been with me very long, so acting appropriately is new to them. Their mother never bothered to discipline them. Or take care of them at all, for that matter. I’m sure they’ll be on their good behavior by next weekend, but I thank you for your concern.” He backed into the house and attempted to close the door in Noah’s face.

      But Noah’s hand came out fast, hitting the door and preventing it from closing. “But see, that’s not in the court orders—concessions, loopholes and time-outs. I have a copy if you’ve lost yours,” he lied. “You have custody for ninety days until the judge revisits the issue, and your ex-wife has a visit every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It’s a legal document, Mr. Gunterson. At the very least, I’ll get us an escort from the police or sheriff’s department. But if we have to haggle over this more than five more minutes, I’ll get help from the police. And I’ll be in court Monday morning with Miss Baldwin and an attorney. Because you can’t do this to her or the children. It’s cruel. We have to work it out. Or fight it out.”

      Arnie smiled meanly. “Well now. I guess she’s got you under her spell.”

      Noah returned the smile and met his eyes. Noah was determined to set a good example by his behavior, but nothing would have felt better than dragging this son of a bitch out of the house and beating the crap out of him. I could wipe the floor with him; he’s totally out of shape, Noah thought. He’s just a big fat bully. Yet all Noah said was, “Entirely.”

      Arnie chuckled. “You’re going to pay for that. See, Ellie has a very strong tendency to stretch the truth. She’s not usually honest with the facts. Believing what she says usually carries a big price. You just have no idea.”

      If there was one thing Noah had figured out in only a couple of days, Ellie was painfully honest. She could have come up with much more flattering tales about her predicament than she had. “I’ll probably pay a visit to the judge anyway, just to assure him that Miss Baldwin has herself a good job with the local church, has a nice little apartment right on the same street for very affordable rent and has already collected some well-respected friends around town. I might let that go another week or two, depending. You could sweeten the pot by letting the kids pack an overnight bag.” Noah glowered at Arnie meaningfully. “Since they missed most of the day with their mom, and all. Mr. Gunterson, knowing how decent and fair-minded you are, wouldn’t that be a generous gesture on your part? The judge would have a hard time believing you’re just a cruel, vindictive bastard if you did something nice like that.” And then Noah smiled. Meanly.

      Arnie was speechless for a moment. “You really don’t know who you’re dealing with, do you?”

      Noah let out his breath slowly. Unfortunately he did. He grew up with one of them. “I just thought we’d both be happiest if we negotiated. Met each other halfway. Because if we go head-to-head, physically or legally, I’m going to win. Trust me. Now—give the kids a break here.”

      “If I do that, it’ll take me all week to get ‘em back into shape.”

      Noah pushed the door open a little more, pushing it against Arnie. “Watch that, Arnold,” he threatened. “You’re already on thin ice here. You’re not going to get away with anything. You treat those kids harshly and it’s going to come back on you so hard, you’ll never forget it.”

      “Like it’s my fault they haven’t been raised right?”

      “I said, go real easy on them. And I mean it.”

      “Are you threatening me?” he asked coolly, totally unafraid.

      “You’re damn straight. Now, get the kids. I’m getting tired of trying so hard with you.”

      Arnie seemed to think about this. Then he said, “You sure you’re a preacher?”

      “Complete with two master’s degrees, a ton of money and a load of local influence.” He faced him down squarely. Noah was just a hair taller than Arnie, but his arms and shoulders were strong, his neck thick, his chest hard, and while Arnie had that generous spare tire, Noah had a six-pack. He looked Arnie in the eyes easily. And there was only one, maybe two lies in what he had said, and he considered them small ones. His money did not amount to a lot after spending on the church, and he thought maybe his influence went as far as the local bartender. Period. But what the heck. These were innocent children. And no matter what Ellie had done for a living, this bastard was bad. Yet there was nothing about Ellie that was bad. Just nothing.

      Noah’s little secret was—he had a bit of a temper. It didn’t take all that much to push his buttons—especially over matters of injustice. He’d been trying real hard to be one of those turn-the-other-cheek kind of guys, but it wasn’t going that well. Injustice like this ranked right up there as something that made him fighting mad. And he was damn sure going to research Arnold a little further.

      “Stay out here,” Arnie said. “I’ll get the kids ready. And don’t ever pull this again or you’ll be sorry.”

      Noah wanted to slap back many retorts and threats. But he said nothing. He stood. And stood. And stood. He cast a glance over his shoulder at Ellie, waiting impatiently in the car, confusion and anxiety all over her face. It was a good ten minutes before the door opened again.

      Arnie appeared alone in the doorway. He looked behind him and said, “Stay! I said stay!” as if the kids were dogs in training. Then to Noah he said, “She can keep them overnight if she’ll get them back by four tomorrow afternoon.”

      “We can do that. I’ll make sure of it. And I’ll come along to bring them home, just so we’re sure we’re all on the same page here.” From the look on Arnie’s face it was pretty clear that he understood the subtext of Noah’s comments.

      “So, you’re sleeping with her?” Arnie asked.

      Noah was momentarily stunned. “Did you seriously ask me that?” he said, shocked. He shook his head and laughed unhappily. “You know, she’s my employee. People can respect and help each other without there being a sexual agenda. Did you know that?”

      “Not with Ellie,” he said. “She’s a tramp.”

      Noah ground his teeth, his eyes narrowed and his fists clenched. He was seconds away from the happiest moment of his life, when he broke this guy’s nose. But there was a miracle. He didn’t move at all, and simply said, “Let the kids go to their mother now.”

      Arnie stepped back, gave his head a nod and let the kids past. “Mind your manners,” he called after them, and his voice was controlled, civil, as though he meant well. It made Noah’s head spin. It was just as Ellie had said, this guy had two sides—both of them creepy.

      The children each carried small backpacks for overnight, and they tried to walk slowly, until they were halfway to the car, until Ellie’s door came open, and then they lost control and broke into a run. Ellie fell to her knees and they flung themselves into her arms.

      There was so much kissing and hugging and crying, it made Noah nervous. He saw that Arnie watched for a moment, then closed the door.

Скачать книгу