"I'm sorry, do you have a problem with the offer or with the person making it?" I'd caught the quick flash of disdain in her eyes when she'd placed me, the subtle lifting of her chin, the faint edge of ice which crept in to her voice. I'd been prepared to ignore them because Kitty was Tammy's friend and I already knew my oldest niece didn't have many friend but I'd be damned if I let this woman with her pretensions at superiority look down her nose at me. "Because unless I'm mistaken, I'm the one with a business and a house and you're the one clipping coupons."
"Having nice things doesn't make you a nice person." She sniffed and I finally understood where my niece had picked up the disgusting habit. "Everybody in this town knows what kind of person you are, Jeannie Jackson."
"First, I can promise you almost nobody in this town knows the kind of person I am." I mirrored her position, leaning forward and lowering my voice. "And second, even if I was the kind of person people think I am, I'm also the kind of person who knows treating a teenage girl who was unlucky enough to get pregnant like she's trash is not only bad parenting it's a fucking disgrace to humanity."
"How dare you." Her cheeks went ice white before ugly red color rushed back in to them. "You come in to my house and insult me? Curse at me?"
"If you knew as much about me as you thought you did, you'd know I'd curse God Himself if I thought He was being a dick." I turned to Kitty, sitting and watching the entire scene play out with her mouth hanging open. "I'll ask this once and I expect a straight answer-do you want this baby?"
"I don't know." She widened her eyes, shaking her head wildly. "Nobody ever asked me before."
"Why am I not shocked?" I reached over, resting one hand on her shoulder and squeezing tight. "If you do, you can come stay with me and the kids and we'll figure this out together. If you don't, I've got a lawyer who probably knows someone who specializes in adoptions and can get one squared away in less than eight weeks."
"She can't do either of those things." Mrs. Haverty lifted her chin even higher, curling her mouth in a sneer. "She's under eighteen and needs parental consent."
"First, in case you missed the memo, it's her body and she can do what she wants with it, which includes giving a baby up for adoption." I stood, pulling Kitty up with me, something which took more than a little effort. "Second, I'm going to guess you've also never heard of a little thing called ‘emancipation of a minor'. Normally it would take a month or so to push things through but I've got enough money to grease enough wheels I can probably make it happen in two or three weeks." Even as I threw down the gauntlet, I wondered what the hell I was doing. The last thing I needed or wanted was one or two more kids in an already bursting at the seams household.
But my conscience, the little bastard, was standing on a soapbox and railing in my ear about doing the right thing even when it was inconvenient and I didn't have the wherewithal to find a reason or a way to shut him up.
"I can stay with you?" If Kitty's wide eyes and fluttering hands hadn't convinced me, her tentative question, with hope ripe around the edges, would have done me in. "While I decide? And after?"
"You can stay as long as you want." I nudged her toward what I assumed was the direction of the bedrooms, my gaze on her quietly fuming mother. "Go get whatever you want out of your bedroom. Make it quick."
Kitty had barely waddled out of earshot before her mother said, "If she leaves this house, she won't be welcome back here ever again."
"Something tells me she hasn't been all that welcome here for a while so it probably isn't too much of a loss." I pressed my palms on the table and leaned down until our faces were inches apart. "I'm curious, because it's been a while since I was in Cotton Creek and I'm wondering if it's still as backwoods and misogynist as ever. The boy, whoever he was-how much crap is he taking for getting his girlfriend pregnant?" I waited for her to answer, not surprised when she remained silent. "Let me guess-he's living life like nothing ever happened while everybody whispers and talks about your daughter like she somehow managed to get pregnant all by herself?" When she still didn't answer, I nodded and straightened. "Yeah. Some things in this town never change."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Later that night, I looked up from my laptop and frowned, glancing over at Tammy. "Did you hear that?"
"It's the doorbell, Aunt Jeannie." Tammy rolled her eyes, shooting Kitty a look which probably had something to do with my utter lack of coolness or awareness. She passed the ball of yarn to Kitty and stood, brushing her skirt down. "I'll get it."
"Yeah, you do that." I turned my attention back to my screen, scanning the email and making notes on the legal pad next to me. So far all the new hires were working out beautifully, far better than I would have imagined, which wasn't shocking considering I'd been certain they'd all crash and burn right away. Not because they weren't skilled-I wouldn't have hired them if they weren't-but because I was demanding and exacting and not a little neurotic where it concerned my baby. So when Tammy pointedly cleared her throat, I threw my pen down and huffed out a breath. "What?"
"Evening, Jeannie."
Now I looked up, meeting Sheriff Underwood's gaze without flinching. "Sheriff. I'd ask to what do I owe the pleasure but I'm guessing this isn't a social call."
"Well, I don't know rightly what it can be called." He nodded at Tammy and then Kitty, who'd lost all the color in her face. "Miss Jackson. Miss Haverty. You're looking well. Not much longer, hmm?"
"About eight weeks." She flicked her tongue over her lips and reached one shaking hand for her water. "Give or take. The doctor said first babies have a tendency to be late."
"I remember our first was about two weeks late." His hangdog features softened even further, his lips curving in a smile. "Mrs. Underwood was ready to pull the boy out herself if he didn't come that day."
"What's the problem, Sheriff?" I stood, shoving my hands in my back pockets and rocking on my heels. "Because in case you missed the obvious, you're scaring the shit out of the girls and it's not making me all that happy."
"Now, see, I just came from over at the Havertys' and I'd say they're none too happy, either." He hooked his thumbs in the front loops of his pants, sucking air through his teeth. "Mrs. Haverty is saying you kidnapped her daughter and Mr. Haverty is saying you threatened his wife."
"Sheriff, you know me. Do you think I would do either of those things?"
"Well, not without great provocation and having shared a meal or two with the Havertys I would believe it wouldn't take too much to get you worked up where you might shoot your mouth out without thinking about the consequences." He fingered the brim of his hat, his lips twitching in a smirk. "They're not the easiest people to get along with, the Havertys, but they're still citizens of the county and I have to listen to their complaints and investigate them."
"That's just stupid." Tammy bit the words out and I couldn't say who was more shocked by her outburst, me or the Sheriff. She crossed her arms, her brows drawing together as she frowned at the Sheriff. "Mr. and Mrs. Haverty are horrible parents and everybody knows it but nobody said anything and now they're mad because somebody did." She flung an arm toward Kitty, sitting and watching the show with the sort of fascination usually reserved for firework displays. "They haven't bought anything for the baby, not one thing, and they wouldn't let anybody give Kitty anything, either. I had to sneak her Mama's old clothes from when she was pregnant with Conway. And they said she couldn't go back to school, even when Mama and Mrs. Neal and Mrs. Underwood all said they would babysit for free. They're horrible people who just want to make Kitty's life miserable and that's wrong."
"Well, now." Sheriff Underwood blinked a few times before taking off his hat and scratching his head, clearly struggling for words. If the red tips of his ears were any indication, he was also more than a little embarrassed at being yelled at by a teenager. "I can't disagree with you about those things being morally wrong and decidedly un-Christian but Tammy, honey, legally they're not doing anything wrong."
"It's abuse." Tammy crossed her arms again, nodding her head firmly, and I had a sudden flashback of Loretta doing the same thing any time she was certain she was right. I fought back the quick stab of grief, rubbing away the ache in my chest as she said, "It's mental and emotional abuse and that is wrong, legally."