Page 49 of Refuge for Cherilyn

“Apology accepted. Could I say something here?” Maisey asked, turning to Shaw.

“Of course.”

Maisey focused her attention, laser sharp, on Candace. “Honey, I see kids like you every day. Your mom and stepdad don’t pay any attention to you, you run wild and do what you please, and you act like you’re entitled to anything you want. You’re not. Everybody has to work for what they want one way or another. But being rude to people will get you nowhere. It’ll keep you from getting a good job, keep you from making friends, and generally undermine everything you try to do in life. Being kind will get you a lot farther. I’m a social worker. I visit kids like you every day in juvenile detention, and it’s not pretty. I’d rather not see you wind up there.” The girl said nothing.

Shaw glanced at her. “Well?”

“Um, okay, Cheryl? Right?”

“No. My name is Cherilyn,” the thin blond reminded her.

“Cherilyn. Yeah, okay. Um, I’m sorry for what I said. That was really rude of me. I mean, you have pretty eyes. Really. And you’re not fat. That’s good. And also, I respect Dad’s decision to be with whoever he wants. It’s really none of my business.”

“You got that right,” Shaw muttered under his breath.

“So I’m really sorry. Really. And for your girl too. What’s wrong with her?”

“Candace!” Shaw barked.

“No, it’s okay.” Cherilyn stood there almost like she was bracing herself. “She’s just mentally handicapped. She has a really low IQ and will never be able to read or write. She yells, but Maisey thinks maybe she’s hard of hearing. That’s why she came over today, to take Lara, Maya, and me for Lara’s hearing test.”

“Maya?”

“Maya’s my oldest daughter. She’s fifteen. Lara is ten. She can’t help how she is. She was born that way, and there’s nothing anybody can do about it, but she’s sweet and friendly.” Cherilyn’s voice broke when she said, “She’s my baby and I love her.” Then she turned to Shaw. “Can we just go? I can’t do this anymore.” Tears spilled from her lower lids and she wiped them away with her palms before they could reach her jaw.

Shaw wanted to go to her and sweep her up in his arms, but he didn’t think it was the right time. “Sure. And I’m sorry she treated you that way. We’re going to keep talking about it and it had better not happen again.”

“Could we maybe, I dunno, get a motel room for the girls and me to stay somewhere tonight? I just?”

“No. It’s not safe. You know that. And besides, we’re not going to have any more trouble like this. Right, Candace?”

The girl dragged her shoe across the floor. “No. No more trouble.”

“See? It’s fine. Now, you guys go get Lara’s hearing tested and maybe we’ll meet you for lunch. I don’t know. Let me know when you’re about done and I’ll see what’s going on then, okay?”Fuck it. I don’t care what anybody thinks, Shaw thought and stepped right up to Cherilyn. “It’s gonna be okay, I promise.” His hands gripped her upper arms gently and he leaned in to give her a kiss on the forehead.

“Okay. One of us will call you. Girls, come on,” she called down the hallway. A door opened and both girls walked toward them, but when Lara saw Candace, she walked right up to the teenager.

“PWIDDY HAIR,” she bellowed.

Candace jumped a little. “Um, thank you?”

“MAISEY, WE GO?”

“Yep. We’re going. Come on. Shaw, we’ll give you a call in a bit,” the social worker said as she opened the door and shooed the girls out.

“Please. And thanks for this.” Cherilyn was right behind Maisey, but he caught her before she made it out the door. “Hey, I’ll miss you, babe.”

The smile she gave him was weak. “I’ll miss you too. See you in a bit.”

“Yep. Bye.” He stood there and watched them get in the car, then waited as it rolled down the driveway.

Cherilyn didn’t turn around to wave goodbye.

His heart broke. Candace had hurt her, and he was horrified. He had the promise of a good relationship, and a fifteen-year-old brat had ruined that. So deep in thought, he hadn’t even realized that Candace had walked past him and down the hallway. “Are you shitting me? They’re inmyroom?”

“It’s not your room. You’ve been gone for three years and wouldn’t even speak to me. It’s my house. They wanted that room. You can take the guest room.”

“So now I’m a guest?”

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