Speechless, I stare up at him helplessly. I don’t know what to say to that.
He pulls up his pants and walks over to me. “I know your head must be spinning with so much going on. And I’m not going to push you, Chrissy. But I promise you, once you take a few minutes you’ll realize that what’s between us is more than can be smashed into a single afternoon together.”
I keep putting on my shoes and try not to think about what he’s saying. It’s too tempting to let his words sink in, and then I’ll get hopeful. I can’t get hopeful right now. I need to remain steadfast. “I’ve gotta pick up Katie.”
He wants to say more, I know he does, but he just nods his head and we both leave my house. He walks me to my car, and I almost bring up paying him back, but decide that conversation can be saved for another day. Everything is too raw right now, and I just need to go.
“I’ll see you later, Chrissy. This isn’t over.”
I merely nod my head before I drive off.
I’ve barely gotten myself together when I’m given more bad news at the preschool. While I’m there, I’m delivered paperwork about required visitation rights while the child custody is in litigation.
Man, he wasn’t kidding about his bigtime lawyer. This man is jumping down my throat!
In the paperwork it says that David will get to have Katie for 24 hours. David will be picking her up from preschool the next day.
I’m going to fall apart. I know I am. If there’s ever a person that needs to be with her friends right now, it’s me. I want to call up Olivia, Lacy, Carrie, and Rose and have them all meet me at Patty Cakes so I can hash all this out. They’re the best friends a woman could have, but I know I don’t have time right now. I have to figure this out. How in the world am I supposed to let my little girl go with him? I don’t know how I can do it.
I put on a brave face for Katie. “How was your day at school?”
“It was so good, Momma. Did you ask Bart if he’ll show me how to do the magic trick? Huh, Momma, did you?”
I can’t help but smile. At least I did something right. “I did. He said he would show you so you can do it for your friends.”
“Yes!” she says excitedly.
“So what do you think about going to Patty Cakes for a treat?” I ask her. She agrees excitedly and starts to ramble on about her day. I’m in a daze the whole way to Patty Cakes.
“Well, this is a nice surprise!” Carrie says, seeing us as we walk in. She must notice my ashen face because she focuses completely on Katie, bringing her hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll. They laugh and have a good time while I sit and watch. When she occupies Katie with crayons and a coloring pad, she finally turns to me. “What’s wrong?”
“Can you keep an eye on Katie while I go outside to call my attorney?”
“Of course, but what’s wrong?”
I can’t even say it. I hand her the papers that will tell her visitation is being enforced, and David gets twenty-fours of unsupervised visitation with Katie starting the next day.
“It’s not ideal, but he wouldn’t hurt Katie. Right?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know, Carrie. He’s different. There’s something going on with him. He’s pulled a knife on me and well, I just don’t think I can let her go with him.”
Carrie’s gasp is loud, and even Katie lifts her head to look at us. We both smile at her until she goes back to coloring.
Carrie grabs my hand. “We have to do something.”
“I’m going to call my attorney.”
She nods her head and watches me worriedly. Taking a deep breath, I go out to the sidewalk to make the call.
Bart
The rest of the afternoon has been filled with work. Now, more than ever, I want to catch David. The sooner that’s taken care of, the sooner Chrissy can relax and see exactly what we have together.
The talk with David’s friend that just got out on parole proved fruitful. He told me about a storage locker in town where David kept all his stolen goods. After going to the storage lot, I find the locker with the purple and green lock on it. The friend didn’t know the number, but he was able to describe where it was and the color of the locks.
I go back to the courthouse to get another search warrant, but Leah’s not as easy to deal with this time. I’m sure she’s heard already that I’m spending time with Chrissy. That’s how fast news travels in a small town like Forest Grove. I had to get Scott on the phone to help me, and finally, Leah said she’d get it to me by the next day. I can’t argue with her. It’s almost closing time, so I thank her and leave.