“And if he catches us?”
“Cedric will step in.”
“Right.” She nodded as she looked at screen shot she took of FaceTime with Joseph. “Right.”
The flight to Memphis and the short car ride after to Dyer felt like the longest trip I’d ever taken in my life. Cedric had eyes on Laz, and from what he was told hourly, Laz hadn’t emerged from Lucy’s apartment since he went in late the night before. Our court time was at 8:00 a.m. There was a good chance we could pull it off. I drove the rental with white knuckles as we passed the desert I swore I’d never return to for the second time. When we go
t to the courthouse, Amber could barely control herself when her son came into view in the arms of his mother.
“Taylor?” Stacy Walker looked between the two of us as Joseph squirmed in her arms. The minute Joseph saw his mother, his excited screams turned into a pleading wail. I studied Joseph for the first time. He was a duplicate of his father.
“Wow, Taylor, you look so fancy.” Forcing my eyes away from the baby, I turned to greet his mother.
“Hi, Stacy.”
“You look . . .” She bit her lip as Joseph reached for Amber. “You look so nice.”
“Thank you.” Amber’s eyes implored hers, and Stacy handed over the baby, not taking her eyes from me. “I always wondered what happened to you.”
“I went to college.” I left your son shot in a motel room to whore my way through business school.
“Amber never told me she was staying with you.”
Surprised, I looked over to Amber, who shrugged. “I didn’t know if you wanted anyone to know.”
“Yes, she’s been with me the entire time. Things are good. She’s sober.” Stacy’s shock was unmistakable as she looked over to Amber. “I can see.”
“Janice Adler.” Amber’s attorney intervened with the presentation of her hand in Stacy’s face and shook it before she addressed the three of us. “We really shouldn’t communicate too much before the hearing.”
Stacy was still fixated on me, and I saw an opportunity. Ray’s voice a whisper in my ear. “You can do this, kitten.”
“Actually, Stacy, do you mind if we talk privately for a moment?”
Laz’s eyes stared back at me. She looked older than her years, and I was positive she had on the same blue dress she wore the day I met her. It was far worse for wear and stained from years of heavy use. “I guess that would be okay.”
After a stern warning from the judge, Amber held Joseph tightly to her chest with relief-covered features as we walked out of the courthouse. Our lawyer reminded us we still had work to do upon our return to Charleston with a curt, “I will be in touch.”
Fearful of an impending backlash, I darted my eyes around as Cedric opened the car door for the three of us, an unmistakable smile on his face. He knew how much the day meant to me personally. We were a family. For the first time in our lives, we were truly a family. Amber buckled Joseph into the new car seat she bought only an hour before. She sat in back with the baby as Cedric and I kept our eyes peeled. I let out an audible breath once we crossed the county line and made it onto the interstate, headed toward the airport.
“I don’t understand. Are you sure we aren’t being followed?” I glanced in the rearview and saw nothing but pavement and blue sky.
“I’m just as fucking surprised—
“Hey, language,” Amber protested.
“Sorry,” Cedric apologized as he darted his eyes my way. “He’s still at Lucy Hardin’s apartment. My guess is he crashed.”
“This was just too easy.” I glanced back at my sister, who shrugged. “He goes down hard after a week sometimes.”
New hope filled me as I realized we were going to be safe at home within a matter of hours.
Cedric gripped my hand. “Let’s go catch a plane.”
Amber smiled down at her son. “Ready to go on your first airplane, buddy?”
“Truck,” Joseph replied as he pointed to his T-shirt.
Amber’s tearful laugh was music to my ears.