Ties That Bind (3 page)

“Then do so. Temporary order of protection is granted. Ms. Smith, I’ll see you back here…”

Kate looked at Portia who said, “Three days from now at three o’clock.”

Kate pounded the gavel that she’d bought herself, along with a formal judicial robe, when she was appointed as a judge. Traditionally, a spouse or significant other gave the two items as gifts, but Reese hadn’t been around to bring presents—something she still resented.

Kate spent two hours dispatching cases—foster-care arrangements, neglect hearings, domestic-violence incidents.

At nearly three o’clock, Portia leaned over. “Judge Renado, you should take a break before the next one. It’s time for the termination of parental rights case.”

Moaning, Kate shook her head. “No, let’s do this first. Then I’ll need a break.”

Portia glanced at Lucy Linstrom, Kate’s clerk, and Robert Cannon, her stenographer; all of them knew Kate was a stickler with these types of cases and lingered over them more than most judges.

“All right, Mr. Vance. You’re the Legal Aid lawyer for the petitioner, Ms. Monica Leahy?” A beanpole of a girl, Monica wore her hair cut short and a sullen teenage scowl. One Kate was all too familiar with. It was Sofie’s favorite expression these days.

“Yes, Your Honor,” the lawyer replied.

She glanced at the respondent. “Ms. Leahy, are you Monica’s mother?” The woman looked about thirty. “Yes, Your Honor.”

“Do you have counsel?”

“Um, no.”

Glancing to the back, where a redheaded man sat, Kate nodded to him. He was an 18-B lawyer, named for the statute that provided for a court-appointed attorney. They earned fifty dollars an hour and waited to be appointed by the judge.

“Mr. Simons, can you step up?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Let’s begin. Ms. Leahy,” she said to the mother, “do you understand what terminating parental rights means?”

“I won’t be Monnie’s mother no more.”

“Correct. Legally, you will have no say over anything she does.”

“She ain’t got no say anyway,” Monica spoke out.

“Mr. Vance, please inform your client that she isn’t to speak out of turn.” Kate glanced back to the mother, who was worrying the strap of her purse. “Ms. Leahy? I’d like to ask you some questions.” Kate always fired off at least a dozen questions before she even considered terminating parental rights. “Has anyone coerced you, made any threat or used any force to bring you to surrender?”

“No, Your Honor.”

“Has anyone promised you anything in return for this surrender?”

“Just some peace of mind.” This from Monica.

A few snickers.

“Excuse me?” Kate said in her stern judge voice.

“I’m incorrigible,” Monica spoke again. “She don’t want me.”

“You’re not to speak, young lady, unless asked. If you continue to do so, I will take punitive action. Do you understand that?”

“Yeah.”

“Ms. Leahy, are you surrendering this child of your own free will because you want to, and for no other reason?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

God, how could a mother surrender her child?

“Monnie’ll be better off with a mother who can handle her.”

Out of nowhere, came Sofie’s enraged face and spiteful words, three years after the divorce. Kate had been seeing Tyler for a while, but their relationship had just begun to get serious. I’d be better off with a different mother. I don’t want to live with you. I hate this stupid condo and that jerk you date. You ruined my life.

“Do you understand that if I accept this petition, your surrender will be effective immediately and will be irrevocable? By that I mean, never able to be changed. You will never be her mother again.”

For one brief moment, Mrs. Leahy faltered. She looked longingly at the girl. The daughter was swallowing hard. That was all Kate needed.

She often postponed these kinds of cases. Sometimes the reason was one party’s confusion over what was happening, sometimes it was signs of hesitation. Sometimes, it was just a gut feeling. But surrender of parental rights was serious business and no judge did it capriciously. She almost always adjourned the first time to give everybody a chance to think over such an unalterable move. The hesitation she saw in the two women prodded her to do just that.

“I am not fully convinced this is what either of you wants. I’d like to see you both back here in six weeks. If you’re here, and fully convinced surrender is what you want, then I’ll terminate rights.”

And, as always happened, Kate couldn’t help the impromptu lecture that came from her mouth. Some people said her tendency to give advice made her a great judge and some people warned that it made her look like a sap. She wondered what Reese would think. “Ms. Leahy—Monica. I urge you to try to make peace with your mother.” Easier said than done, Kate knew. “The bond between a mother and child should never be severed.”

Please, Sofie, don’t insist on this. I can’t bear for you to be living away from me.

She turned to the other woman. “Ms. Leahy, try to reconcile with your daughter. The court can provide counseling for you both to see what’s best for you. You’re breaking the natural order of things if you give her up.”

The mother nodded. The girl looked down.

When she pounded the gavel, Kate was drained.

“I’m calling for a fifteen-minute recess.”

As the burly, uniformed court officer, Carlos Rayes, left to notify those in the waiting area, Kate headed to her chambers. Once inside she closed the door and let her own, private domain calm her. The room was elegant and classy. Enclosed in frosted glass and rich oak, it had a secure yet professional feel to it. She crossed to the small fridge she kept in the corner and removed a bottle of water. She retrieved her cell phone from her desk, sank onto the soft leather, chestnut colored couch, and checked her voice mail. Two messages from Tyler. One from Sofie’s school. Three from Reese. One from Jillian asking her to have a drink after work.

She dialed Sofie’s school, only to be told her daughter had missed classes again today. She tried Sofie’s cell, but there was no answer. She closed her eyes, breathed slowly and let in the thoughts of that fateful day when her only child had demanded to go away to school…

Reese had tried to convince his daughter otherwise. “Sofie, honey, your mother and I love you. You need to be with us.”

Still, Sofie remained stone faced. “That’s the last thing I need. I don’t want to be with her.”

Ah, the awful truth. Her, Kate, not them.

So Kate had swallowed her pride and squelched the horror of Sofie’s statement. “All right then, you can live with your dad full time. At least you’ll be with one of us.”

But Sofie surprised her. “I don’t wanna live with his bimbo.” Dray and Reese had just moved in together. “Anyway, I wanna be away. From both of you.”

And so, the child of her heart had been enrolled in a private school a hundred miles away. Kate had not only lost the man she’d loved more than God, but also the daughter she cherished more than her own life. Looking around at her chambers, she thought about the Leahys and wondered, starkly, how different her own family was from them.

With that depressing thought, she headed back to the courtroom.

o0o

“DRAY? IT’S REESE.” Sitting back in his office, he propped his feet up on the desk and anchored his cell phone between his ear and shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t get to call you sooner.”

“That’s okay. Rough day?”

“The worst. Did you see the paper?”

She hesitated. Damn he should have contacted her right away to tell her himself about Anna Bingham’s accusation and the ensuing publicity. “Yes, I saw the paper. I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

“Thanks. How’s your day?”

“Fine. Busy.”

“Look, I’m not going to be able to make it tonight.” She always cooked on Friday nights and they shared a romantic meal alone. After which they’d make love. It was a special time for them as a couple.

“I can wait if you’re going to be late.”

“I have no idea what time I’ll be done here. Kate’s coming over after she finishes at the courthouse and we’re getting started on some things suggested by the lawyers.”

“You already met with your lawyers?” There was a little bit of pout in her voice at having been kept in the dark.

“A conference call this morning. I’m sorry, honey. I know I should have filled you in on all this.”

“It’s okay, Reese. You have a lot on your mind. We can catch up this weekend.”

Uh-oh. “I’m going to see Sofie tomorrow.”

“Did you tell me that?”

“I might not have.” He knew he hadn’t. Sofie had specifically asked that his young bimbo—her words—not come with him to visit.

“Hmm.” She waited. When it became apparent he wasn’t going to invite her to go along, she said, “Well, Sunday maybe.”

“Yes, of course. Why don’t you call one of your girlfriends and do something tomorrow?”

“Maybe.”

“All right. Well, don’t wait up for me.”

“We’ll see. At least get something to eat.”

“I will.” He clicked off, feeling like a first-class jerk. Sometimes, he just didn’t think about Dray, about calling her or confiding in her. He and Kate had worked hard at talking to each other, recognizing they both had a tendency to keep to themselves. But it had been easier to bare his soul with his ex-wife. With Dray, he couldn’t seem to open up. He had to do better. He hated hurting her. She was a beautiful woman, generous to a fault, and very much in love with him; his friends envied his relationship with her. He needed to be more appreciative of her devotion.

He glanced at the clock. He and Kate had played phone tag all day; finally, she’d left him a message saying she’d be at his office by seven. He’d order food to be delivered. Kate loved Italian cuisine, so he’d get her favorites: gnocchi, green salad and cannoli. Chocolate. He was dialing for the takeout before he cursed himself for remembering what the woman—who had hurt him more than anyone in the world, and whom he was glad to have out of his life—liked to eat.

His relationship with Dray was so much simpler. He was indeed a lucky man.

o0o

“TYLER, IT’S ME.”

“Hi, doll. Where are you?”

“I’m waiting at Gavels to meet Jillian for a drink.”

A long hesitation. She wondered why. “Will you be out late?”

“Yes. I’ll be quick with Jillian, but I’m going over to the law offices to work with Reese on this Bingham thing. He got more documents during the day for us to review.”

“I see. I’ll be done at seven. Want some help with that?”

“No, I think Reese and I need to hash this out together.”

“Whatever you think is best. Come here after?”

“It’ll be late.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Maybe. I’ll let you know.”

“I’ll count on you.”

Kate clicked off with a heavy heart. Tyler was unhappy, she could tell by the tone of his voice. But she needed to do this investigation with Reese, and truthfully, having Tyler around would make things more tense. Already, she was stressed, not only because of the accusation and publicity, but about being with her ex-husband again. Hell, she didn’t have any choice! They had to figure out this whole Bingham thing—and fast, before their reputations were destroyed. So she’d bite the bullet and spend time with Reese again. She vowed to be better around him, not sniping and sarcastic. Maybe he would, too, though she sensed a seething anger in him when they were together. For both their sakes, they needed clear heads, unclouded by the past, to save their jobs.

Problem was, the past was like a tangible presence in the room whenever she was with Reese. It was a past that had almost destroyed them both, but there had been so many wonderful years, that were almost impossible to forget…

She’d met Reese that first, harrowing year at law school. Kate had secreted herself away in a cubicle in the Yale library, studying for her International Law course when a shadow fell over her desk. She looked up to see a shaggy-haired guy in disreputable jeans and flannel shirt standing over her. He had startling green eyes. “Hi, Kate Renado,” he’d said in a low, smirking tone.

“Do we know each other?” she asked.

“Not yet. But we will.”

“Excuse me?”

“You got a higher grade than me on that last International Law exam.” IL grades were posted for all to see.

“I beat everybody,” she said, matching his tone.

“This time. I’m going to be valedictorian of our class.”

“Salutatorian, maybe. I’ll be number one.”

He grinned then. She didn’t know it at the time, but that grin would get him into her pants, literally, and into her life sooner than she could blink. “No way, sweetheart. But I need somebody to study with.”

“No study group for you? What, didn’t they want someone with such a humble attitude?”

“Most of them go too slow. I figure you could keep up with me.”

“I could run over you, hotshot. What’s your name anyway?”

“Reese Bishop.”

“Hello, Reese Bishop. Now go away.” She glanced back down at her book, hoping he didn’t leave. Even then she’d wanted to be with him.

“You don’t have a group, either. For the same reason.” Again the grin. “You might as well give in now. You’ll succumb eventually.”

“Modest aren’t you?”

“Modesty doesn’t get you valedictorian, a good clerking position, your own firm, then a judgeship.”

“Is that what you’re shooting for?”

“Yeah. Though I’d do pro bono stuff, too, to help poor people like me. What about you?”

She wanted the exact same things. “Maybe.”

“Come on, Katie.”

She scowled. “Nobody calls me that.”

“Good. I’m special.”

“Go away.”

“I’ll be back.”

“Like the Terminator.”

He winked at her and then swaggered down the aisle. He pestered her for a few weeks until she finally gave in.

She had no idea that fateful Friday would change her life forever…

“Kate? Hi, sorry I’m late.”

Startled, Kate looked up. It took her a minute to realize who spoke to her, that she was at Gavels, in the present time, and that she’d been thinking about when she and Reese met.

“Where were you?”