Ginny stood next to him, and he could see her trembling. She was frightened to death. Fueled by anger, Walker started up the steps, the decaying boards protesting under his weight.
“My daughter and Ginny missed the bus, so I brought Ginny home.” It was a lie, but it would suffice for now.
“She got legs, she can walk. There ain’t nothing wrong with her but stupidity.”
“Go inside,” Walker said to Ginny.
“You don’t tell my daughter what to do,” Earl spit out.
Walker nodded to the girl, and she opened the screen door. A thin woman holding a small girl stood there. Four other children of various ages were behind her. He noticed the woman’s bruised face before she quickly pulled Ginny inside.
“You better have supper ready on time,” Earl shouted at his wife. “And stop mollycoddling those brats.”
Walker had had enough. He jerked the jug out of Earl’s hand and flung it into the yard. It hit a chicken and she flapped away squawking.
“What…the hell…?”
Walker kicked the chair forward with his foot. Earl spit and sputtered, but being drunk, his reflexes were slow. Taking Earl’s face in his hand, he yanked it up so he could look into his bloodshot eyes.
“Listen up, Earl.”
“You…y-ou b-bastard.”
Walker squeezed tighter and Earl’s straggly beard scratched his fingers. “You’re not paying attention, Earl. Now, listen. If you lay one hand on Ginny, I’m coming back with both fists loaded, and I’m going to show you what a beating feels like. You got that?”
“Y-ou…y-ou…” Earl sputtered.
Walker squeezed even tighter. “And lay off the wine.”
Earl’s eyes almost bugged out of his head and Walker released him. Rubbing his face, Earl said, “You can’t tell me what to do on my own p-property.”
“I have a badge that says I can,” Walker replied. “And you better listen to me. I’m coming back tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. If Ginny, your wife or any of your kids have bruises, I’m arresting you and throwing your ass in jail. I’ll make sure you get convicted, and Earl, those inmates in Huntsville don’t care for child abusers. They’ll have a good old time with you.”
Earl’s bugged-out eyes opened wider. “Y-you can’t…”
Walker straightened. “This is a warning. Next time I won’t be so nice.”
“I can’t go…go to jail. I got kids to feed.”
Walker looked at this man who had reached the very bottom. “Think about it, Earl. All you have to do is stop drinking and take care of your family instead of using them as punching bags.”
“You think you’re high and mighty—”
Walker pointed a finger at him. “Get your act together. I’ll be returning in a couple of hours to make sure you heed my warning.” Saying that, he swung off the porch and headed for his car.
And clean air.
THE RIDE HOME WAS AGAIN in silence. Georgie woke up as he pulled into their driveway. The house was a block away from Walker’s General Store. He had no interest in running the store, but Nell had. So they worked out a compromise. They split the profits fifty-fifty and she drew a salary.
Walker had also inherited his father’s house and land. Nell lived in his grandfather’s house, which was next door. When he’d first brought the kids to High Cotton, Nell had helped him, but he could see now it had been a mistake. Her life was the store, and there wasn’t room for anything else. He would have to find other babysitting arrangements when he had to go on a call.
He lifted Georgie out of his car seat, and they went inside the white clapboard two-story house with the wraparound porch detailed with black gingerbread trim. The Walkers before him had taken very good care of the house, so it was in good shape. When he’d returned, he’d had central air and heat installed for the kids.
Since he was an only child, he’d often wondered what he was going to do with the house, land and store in High Cotton. He had no desire to live here. He’d been away too long. But life had a way of mocking his plans. At the ripe old age of thirty-six, this was the only place he wanted to raise his kids now.
He set Georgie on his feet in the big kitchen. “It’s about suppertime, what—”
Haley made a run for the downstairs bathroom and he could hear her throwing up. Dammit! He didn’t know how to help her. She’d started having problems when she was about six. The doctor thought she might have irritable bowel syndrome, but she didn’t. More tests were run and the diagnosis was a nervous stomach. She needed a stress-free environment and a healthy diet void of spicy and high-acidity foods. No matter what he and Trisha had tried, nothing completely cured Haley’s problem.
The divorce had triggered a major upset, and Walker could see his daughter wasting away before his eyes.
“Haley sick,” Georgie said, twisting his hands.
“Yeah.” Walker tousled his son’s hair. “She’ll be okay.” She had to be. “Daddy will be right back. Do you want to watch a movie?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How about Shrek?” he asked, making his way into the living room.
“No. Finding Nemo,” Georgie shouted from behind him.
Walker found the movie and slipped it into the DVD player and pushed buttons on the remote. Georgie grabbed his Curious George off the sofa and settled in front of the TV. Walker hurried to the bathroom.
Turning the knob, he saw that the door was unlocked. He tapped so as not to invade her privacy.
A muffled “Go away” came through the door.
“Haley, sweetheart, it’s Daddy.”
“Go away.”
He couldn’t do that. “I’m coming in.” He opened the door and glanced around. The bathroom was large and had an antique bathtub with claw feet. Everything in the room was antique from the pedestal sink to the pull-chain toilet. Haley was sitting by the toilet, her back to the wall, her forehead on her drawn-up knees.
Ignoring the horrible smell, he sank down by her. Honestly, he didn’t know what else to do.
“Are you okay?” He stared at his boots, searching for the right words.
“Just leave me alone,” she muttered against her knees.
“I’m your dad and I’m not leaving you alone—ever.”
“Oh, yeah.” She raised her head and his heart took a jolt at her pale face. “You leave us with Aunt Nell all the time.”
“I have a job, and I’m not leaving you alone here at the house.” They’d had this conversation before. It was the only thing Haley had opened up about.
“Why not?” Her watery eyes suddenly cleared. “I’m ten years old and I can take care of Georgie. If something goes wrong, we live in the middle of High Cotton and I could get help in no time.”
“So you think you’re responsible enough.”
“As much as Aunt Nell.”
He mulled this over and wanted to meet her halfway. “I’ll think about it.”
She placed her head on her knees again.
Several seconds went by. “We need to talk about today.”
She