Pamela turns to face me and crosses her arms over her abundant chest. The woman wears cutoff shorts that showcase her long, slim legs and a barely there tank top that reveals her midriff and belly piercing. I catch a glimpse of a few tattoos scattered in various places—and a few bruises that look to be fading. Where did those come from?
"Did someone hurt you?"
The question slips out before I can stop it, and I know it's a mistake in an instant. Pamela's face freezes as though cast from stone, and the glare she sends me is intended to put me six feet under.
"Probably her loser boyfriend," Madi says. "Right, Mom? The one who's always sorry and who'll never do it again? You got back with him, didn't you? It isn't someone new, is it? That's why you took off and left me here. Because of him!"
I'm at a complete loss as to how to handle the situation, but thankfully I'm saved by the sound of a low, powerful engine roaring down the street. Gabe pulls into the yard in his Jeep and is out from behind the wheel in an instant.
Pamela curses a blue streak that has me pressing my hands over Dani's little ears.
"Pamela, time to leave," Gabe says the moment he gets within speaking distance. "Come back when Kace is here."
"You can't tell me what to do. That's my kid."
"Come back when Kace is here," he says again. "Madi's not going anywhere right now."
Pamela turns toward Madi, and I watch, my heart squeezing tight when I see the woman's expression turn from angry and resentful to…manipulative.
"You belong with me," she says, tears welling in her eyes. "I screwed up. Okay, Mads? Happy? I said it. Tad said he didn't want kids around, and we needed some time alone, so I brought you here. But I'm your mother."
Madi glances at me and Gabe and then Dani before she swallows hard and in a small voice says, "And I'm the kid you dumped for a guy who hits you. So what?"
Chapter 32
Kace
I'm not sure what I'll walk into when I get back to the house, but Sully is driving as fast as he can in Wilmington's bumper-to-bumper traffic, trying to get me back on the island.
I'd been doing reps when Mads's text had come through about Pamela and nearly missed the low sound. But I thank God Lindsey's there and wonder how long Pam had been there before Lindsey's arrival.
"What are you going to do?" Sully asks, sliding me a glance across his truck from behind the wheel.
"I don't know. Mads doesn't want to leave, though. She wants me to petition for guardianship or something." I rake a calloused hand over my face and rub hard. "What are the odds my sister will put her kid first and let her stay without causing problems?"
Sully snorts and that pretty much sums up my own thoughts.
"Yeah," I drawl, my gaze on the buildings we pass.
Times like these, I regret not going ahead and installing security cameras around the house. It's something I definitely need to look into, especially with a child and a teenager in my care and a family member who can't be trusted.
I don't want to get our mom involved because she has enough stress and health issues and things to deal with in her own life, but I think I might have to. Every now and again, Pam will listen to our mother, and maybe I can get lucky and that will be the case with guardianship. I can only hope.
Finally we make it to the island and over the bridge, and Sully cuts down every side street and back alley he can to get us there just a few minutes faster.
I don't see Pam's old beater car when we roll up, but there's a Maxima with California plates I assume to be Lindsey's and Gabe's Wrangler parked cockeyed in the yard. Sully and I hurry out of his truck and make our way to the door. Through the glass, I see Lindsey sitting on the couch beside Mads, talking softly.
They look up when I burst through the door. "You okay?" I ask Madi.
My tough-as-nails, show-only-sarcasm niece's eyes fill with tears, and her face crumples.
"Ah, Mads, come here, honey."
She surges off the couch, and I wrap her in my arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as I cradle her close.
"You're okay. You hear me? We're going to figure this out."
She doesn't say anything, but I feel her head shake in a no. I squeeze her a bit tighter and just give her a moment to know I care. That I'm here. "Kiddo, I promise we'll figure something out. And I always keep my promises."
