Page 65 of Come Back for Me
Connor laughs and scoops her up. “Because the lights are too bright. Let’s all get back to bed before the sun comes up and we all melt.”
Hadley giggles. “We don’t melt in the sun.”
“We don’t?”
“No!” Her voice is high and filled with amusement. “People don’t melt, Connor.”
“Well, look at that. You taught me something. Now, Mommy can bring you something to drink and I’ll super tuck you in.”
He looks back at me and winks before heading out.
I stand in a daze, my fingers touching my lips remembering the kiss we shared and wishing it were me he was tucking in too.
I’m in so much damn trouble.
* * *
Nate’s office is exactly what I pictured it to be, which is to say it’s the opposite of Sydney’s. Hers was white with gray furniture, modern décor, and nothing at all overbearing or lawyer-ly. Hers felt like an inviting and clean place where she wants her clients to be calm and open. Whereas everything about Nate’s screams “look at me!”
His desk takes up a third of the room with bookcases lining the back. He has a large, leather wingback chair that’s tufted and dark. There is no art, only his diplomas and a few photos of him with the mayor and other people of the county.
“Do you have any questions?” Nate asks as he turns in his chair to face me.
Sydney taps her pen and then looks to Nate. “What are the safety measures being taken for Hadley upon the reading of the verdict.”
He shakes his head, eyes narrowed at her like she’s being ridiculous. “Really, Syd?”
“Don’t Syd me. If he’s found not guilty or if he’s released until sentencing, do you think he’s going to leave them alone?”
The pit that’s been sitting like a rock in my stomach turns over, sending a new wave of anxiety through me. I really wish Connor were with me, but because he’s also a witness, he isn’t allowed to talk to the prosecution at the same time as I am.
Not like we couldn’t plan some coup if we wanted to since we live in the same house, but whatever.
Nate shifts in his seat and then looks down. “I don’t know. I guess we could happen to have a deputy at the school.”
“I would appreciate that,” I say with a soft smile. “I know this is hard on everyone. It’s a small town, we all know each other.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sydney cuts me off. “I don’t care if I knew him, you, or anything else. What I saw that night, Ellie . . . well, I want to make sure that this never happens to you again.”
My body feels cold, and I move my hands up and down to try to ward off the chill. I never want to go through it again either. The safety and security I’ve started to become accustom to is going to fade unless he’s found guilty.
On top of that, I’ve been told that the time he’s been held can be used toward time served. Kevin doesn’t have any prior arrests and he isn’t considered to be dangerous. The fact that he was held at all still seems to have Nate and Sydney mystified.
“No one can control that, Syd. My biggest worry is the hearing,” I admit.
Nate sits up straight. “What has you worried?”
The easier question to answer would be what am Inotworried about. There is nothing easy about this process. I have no idea what to expect. Sure, they’ve gone over scenarios, but that’s not etched in stone. If Kevin is released, there is no way he’ll let this go. I will have ruined his life, so I’ll have to pay.
He isn’t going to fall at my feet and apologize. We’re serving him with divorce papers, I’m not at his precious house keeping things the way he wants them. Not to mention I haven’t even checked on the farm. For all I know, the workers are stealing cows, and I don’t care.
What I do care about is my and Hadley’s safety. So, yes, I’m worried.
“Everything. But what if they don’t believe the evidence?”
Nate and Sydney share a glance, and then Nathan speaks. “I can’t control the way it goes, God knows I wish I could. What I can do is present the truth in the best way I know how. I’ll paint the picture and hope they see it. That’s why we’re going to have a lot of these talks and a lot of rehashing things. I have four months to build a case.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that they might not believe me.”
