Page 31 of Refuge for Cherilyn

Cherilyn couldn’t believe that. “Really?”

“Yes. I have a feeling that with the few times she doesn’t yell, she’s managed to read your lips a little. Come with me. Stop right outside the bedroom door.” The two women stopped and stood there. Very softly, Maisey said, “Lara?” The child didn’t turn. “Lara?” she said again, a little louder, but there was no response. In a regular speaking voice, she said, “Lara?” But there was no response. “Lara!” she called out loudly.

Lara spun. “I LARA!” she shrieked back.

Cherilyn was mortified. “Oh my god.”

“Yeah. She can’t hear. That’s why she screams all the time. She can’t tell she’s screaming, because she’s not hearing her own voice.”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe… How could I be so stupid? I can’t believe?”

“Hey!” Maisey gripped Cherilyn’s forearms and looked up into her eyes. “It’s okay! You’ve lived with it until it seemed normal. But I haven’t, and I see what’s going on here. I’ll get her set up for a hearing test. But you’ll have to take her. They won’t come here.”

Before she could answer, Shaw spoke up. “We’ll get her there. You tell me where and when.”

That was all she could take, and Cherilyn began to cry. What had she done to deserve being treated so kindly? She was just trash, just a throw-away person, and here were complete strangers making arrangements to help her and her kids. Nobody but her had ever cared about Lara?no one. Not one soul. Even the teachers at the school seemed exasperated with the little girl. But Shaw genuinely seemed to care, and so did Maisey and Carly. “Why are you doing this? Why does anybody care about me and my girls?”

A pair of strong, warm arms pulled her toward him, and Shaw clutched her to his chest, her forehead resting on his shoulder. “Because you’re a worthwhile human being, a good person, somebody who for once deserves a break in their life. Life has just happened to you, sweetie. It’s time to take some of that life back, make it happenforyou, and we all want to help you.”

Another hand landed on her shoulder blade. “All of that stuff is over for you. You’re going to get the help you need, and we’re going to walk right alongside you. When it’s easy, we’ll celebrate with you, and when it’s hard, we’ll be there to hold you up. You’re one of us now, and that’s not going to change, so get used to it,” Maisey said with a little chuckle.

She could hear Carly moving around behind her. “I think we need to let you rest a bit. If there’s anything I can do for you, don’t hesitate to call my office. If I can’t help, one of my deputies can. We’re going to find this monster and when we do, he’ll never get a chance to hurt you or those sweet girls of yours again.” Cherilyn turned just enough to see Carly, and the sheriff’s smile warmed her. Carly sweetly pushed a strand of hair off Cherilyn’s face and swept it behind her ear. “And let Shaw here help you. He’s one of the good guys.”

She could feel the vibrations from that deep voice when he laughed. “I try!”

“You do good work, officer. We’ll get going. Cherilyn, if you think of anything you forgot to tell me, just give me a call. I’ll leave my card on the table here. Shaw, talk to you soon.”

“You bet,” he answered the sheriff.

Maisey patted Cherilyn’s arm. “I’ll get that test scheduled and give you a call. And you’ve got my number, right?”

“Yes,” Cherilyn sputtered through her sobs.

“Okay. If you think of anything else you need, let me know.”

“Is there… Could you… I really think Maya needs to go to a, you know, a woman’s doctor.”

“We can get her an appointment with a gynecologist. That’s not a problem. So I just want you to know, if it’s okay, I’m going to open a file on you at the office. Don’t worry, it’s not for anything except an open pathway for me to do anything I need to do to help you and do it at the state’s expense. You’re not being evaluated in any way. Is that okay?” Cherilyn nodded, and she felt a hand land on her shoulder and rub it. “Good. I’ll be talking to you. You take care of yourself.”

“I will,” Cherilyn tried to say, but it came out as a whisper.

“Y’all need to come over for dinner some night. I’ll talk to Aaron and let you guys get together on your schedules. How’s that?”

She felt Shaw nod. “Sounds good. I think it would be fun.”

“Great! Get some rest, honey, and I’ll be in touch. Bye.”

There was theclickof the door and Maisey was gone. Cherilyn could hear her speaking out on the front porch, and she assumed Carly was still there. She stood there, leaning against Shaw, and he rubbed her back as he held her. “See? Everything’s gonna be okay, darlin’. Everything. You can stop worrying. You’re safe here, your girls are safe here, and you have a lot of help.”

“MOM! MAISEY! WAN MAISEY!”

“I guess I should go see if I can calm her down.” As soon as Shaw let go, she felt the absence of his warmth. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and she couldn’t even tell him how she felt about him.

Howdidshe feel about him? He was kind and gentle and generous, and she wondered what he’d be like in bed.Stop it!she told herself, but she couldn’t. The longer she was around him, the more she wanted him. Sure, he didn’t look like a movie star. Instead, he was arealman, one who worked hard, who messed up and apologized, who hit the mark sometimes and failed at others, but always got up and tried again. He was funny and smart, caring and giving. They’d known each other a whole day, and already she felt closer to him than she had anyone in a very long time. As she headed to the bedroom, she turned and smiled at him. “I’m so sorry we’ve just kinda taken over your life.”

But the smile he returned made her heart quicken. “I’m not.”

“Is Maisey going to find us somewhere to live?”

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