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Raith shook his head. "But—" This wasn't right. The man was supposed to curse and yell and warn him away from his little girl.
"What did you think I was going to say?" DeVane asked, sounding amused. "Think I was going to tell you to stay away from her?"
Well, yeah.
The judge finally let out a fleeting smile. He shrugged. "Sorry, but despite what I think about you impregnating her and then not speaking to her for weeks afterward, you're the one she chose. So it's my job to make sure you don't run away again."
Raith's mouth fell open. Huh?
The judge sighed and frowned as if weary with dealing with him. "Let me tell you a little story, Malloy."
"Your Honor, I don't think—"
"Shut up and listen."
Raith shut up and listened.
"A long time ago," the judge started, "right before I married Willow's mother, there was a man in this county who beat his wife to death and was sitting in jail, waiting for his hearing. I was the county attorney at that time, and I fought to get his bail denied, but the judge said no, and the piece of trash got out on bond. Just as I predicted, he jumped bail and skipped out of his trial." The judge shrugged, looking beaten down all of the sudden. "While he was on the run from the police, he raped one woman he thought I was interested in before he realized Brenda was my true soft spot."
He paused significantly and stared Raith straight in the eye to make sure he had the younger man's attention.
A shiver of dread raced up Raith's spine. "What'd he do to her?"
"He shot her," the judge answered simply. "Only caught her in the leg. But still..." Fisting his hand, he continued, "He tried to kill my Brenda... because of me. So don't think I don't know what you're going through right now, kid. I know. I've been there and stood in that waiting room, wondering if the woman I loved was going to die or not… because of my stupid job. I know exactly what you're thinking."
"You can't honestly tell me Willow would be safer with me around her."
DeVane pierced him with a probing stare. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Raith shook his head, but Willow's father spoke before he could voice his argument. "I know this is hard. You're thinking you need to stay as far away from her and the baby as you can get. None of your enemies can hurt them if they don't know you care. They'll be safer that way, right? Or you're thinking you could quit your job and everything will be fine. But it won't. Evil will always roam this world and people will try to hurt her no matter what you decide. So… don't you want to stick around, fight the bad and protect her as much as you can? Or do you want to run and risk letting her and the baby face it all by themselves?"
Raith didn't answer.
"Think about this too," the judge added. "If I'd left Brenda when I'd thought it was the best thing for her, if I'd stayed away, we never would've married. Willow wouldn't exist today. None of my children or my grandchildren would've been born. I would'v
e missed out on the best years of my life.
"Your father was a very good and brave man, Malloy. I'm sure he never would've wished the misery of his tragic death on you and your family. But he took a chance, and your mother told me at his funeral she was grateful to have known such a wonderful person. She was thankful for the time she had with him."
Shaking his head, Raith said, "How does that have anything to do with—"
"Don't cheat my daughter out of any happiness you can give her."
"Hey. What's going on back here?"
The judge turned and eyed his daughter as she joined them. Then he grinned and looped an arm around her shoulder. "Did you know this fiancé you picked out had such a weak stomach?"
Willow frowned in concern and started forward. "Raith?" she said, going straight to him. "Are you okay?"
He rubbed a hand over his belly.
"I think you passed your morning sickness off to him," her dad teased.
Willow rolled her eyes. "I wish."
She didn't notice how he melted out of the picture and left her alone in the alley with Raith. She was too busy lifting her hand to his forehead. He sighed in delight at the cool touch of her fingers.
"What's wrong?" she murmured, concern evident in every crinkle marking her brow.
