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Chapter Four

Abby’s first few days at work were spent brainstorming with Wynn—what specifics the program would focus on, how she would get referrals, and people she needed to contact once she had all the pieces in place to begin the actual work.

Most referrals would probably come from teachers and police officers, but family court attorneys like Wynn and Garrett could request appointments for their clients. There were resources out there for all kinds of obstacles people faced. The problem was connecting the resources with the people who needed them and that’s where she came in.

It had been a while since she’d felt anything but helpless, but somewhere down inside, there was a bubble of hope. Putting a program like this in place was a bold move for a small town, but one that could really impact the lives of the residents. She was excited to get started.

Her experience working in the refugee camp along the border of Jordan had broken her, for lack of a better word. She hadn’t realized how broken she was until she’d finally gotten to her apartment in Atlanta. She’d barely recognized her own home.

She’d been exhausted but she couldn’t sleep. Too thin, but food hadn’t appealed to her. In the middle of the third sleepless night, when she’d been mindlessly scrolling through social media, she’d seen Wynn’s message, asking if she knew any social workers who might be interested in a job like this. She’d called the next morning and two hours later, she’d talked to her boss, (tried to) quit her job and packed her suitcase.

It had been the right decision. After a week in Red Hill Springs—sleeping at night, eating at the café—she was starting to feel not quite so fragile, like the pieces of herself were slowly knitting back together.

“Knock, knock.” Garrett opened the door to her office. He was holding two white paper bags, which he placed on her desk.

She leaned toward him. “You know that’s not actually the same as knocking, right?”

“Yes, but I brought goodies from the Hilltop Café. Doughnut or cupcake?”

“Which one has frosting?”

“Oh, please. Who do you think I am? Both.”

She found herself smiling, another sign that she was reentering the land of the living, and a not-uncommon occurrence around Garrett. “In that case, please do come in. I’ll have the doughnut.”

“Good choice.” He handed her the doughnut still in the wrap and pulled out the cupcake, vanilla with white frosting, before dropping into the chair opposite her. Peeling back the paper, he took a gigantic bite.

With her doughnut halfway to her mouth, she stopped to watch.

In two more bites, he’d finished it off and caught her watching him as he licked frosting off his thumb. He laughed, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and brushed the crumbs off his coat. “Two brothers. I had to learn to be fast when there were treats around. Do you have any siblings?”

“In a way, I do. I have some half siblings that are a lot younger. And I grew up with my cousins. My mom and I lost our house to a tornado when I was five. I lived with my grandma for a while, and then with my aunt and uncle.” She took a bite of the doughnut and pointed at it with the other hand. “Mmm, really good.”

His eyebrows drew together. “I have so many questions. Were you in the house at the time?”

“Yes. We were in the bathroom under the stairs. It was the only part of the house that survived.”

He let out a low whistle. “That’s extreme. You didn’t go back to live with your mom?”

“No. My mom got married the next year.” Elvis nosed her hand and leaned into her leg. She took another bite of the light-as-air doughnut and sighed in appreciation.

“So?”

She put the rest of the doughnut down and brushed the sugar off her hands. “So, nothing. You asked if I had siblings. And the answer is, kind of. We’re not that close, though. My life up to this point has been pretty different than most people’s.”

“You could say that. You gonna eat that?” When she shook her head, he picked up the other half of her doughnut and scarfed it down. “Where was your dad?”

“He was military. Killed in a training accident when I was just a baby.” She realized Elvis was standing beside her and wondered if her voice had betrayed some tension that she hadn’t even realized she was feeling. Her dog was sensitive to every nuanced emotion, which was what made him so good at his job.

She sent him back to his bed with a hand signal.

Because she was fine. A lot of kids had chaotic childhoods. It wasn’t like she hadn’t had food to eat or a roof over her head. Garrett opened his mouth, she could only assume to ask another question, and she didn’t want to answer any more questions. “So what’s up with you?”

“Oh, right. Why I came to find you. I have a client coming in today. Melanie. I’d love it if you could talk to her while I play with her little boy for a few minutes. She doesn’t get a break very often.”

She picked up the bakery bag and tossed it into the trash can under her desk. “Sure, I’d love to. What’s the story?”

“You know how sometimes the deck is so stacked against you to start with that no matter how much you want to, you can’t get ahead?”

Abby looked up. “Yes. Is that what happened to Melanie?”

“Yeah. She’s on a safety plan with Child Services. She made some questionable life choices, but she wants to do right by her kids. You’re gonna love Nash. He’s four and he has cerebral palsy but it hasn’t slowed him down much. He’s a little carrottop with a pistol-ball personality to match.”

“So basically, you want me to find out what needs she still has and connect her with the resources?”

“Exactly.” In the other room, Charlotte started to cry. “Oops, that’s my cue.”

He was gone with as little fanfare as he’d arrived, but she realized she felt good, like she could breathe. And she knew it wasn’t just gaining distance from all she’d been through. It was a job where she knew she could make a difference. It was doughnuts and laughter and baby snuggles and…it was Garrett.

For some reason, it was Garrett. In the back of her mind, she heard an alarm bell go off that said this is different, he is different. But she wasn’t going to listen to it, not right now. Right now, she was going to take Elvis outside for a quick walk and wait for her first client to arrive.

Garrett met Melanie at the door as she tried to maneuver a very small wheelchair. Nash was bouncing in the seat.

“Garrett!”

“Hey, buddy.” He held out a fist and Nash smashed it.

“He’s been so excited to get to come to your office.” Nash’s mom looked like a teenager with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

“Glad you could make it.” He’d been her court-appointed attorney for the past year and she was doing good. Trying. But trying didn’t mean succeeding. He was here to make sure she had everything she needed to succeed.

Abby opened the door to her office and she and Elvis started toward them. The golden retriever’s tail was wagging a mile a minute.

Nash’s face lit up as he saw the dog. “Doggie. Mama, doggie!”

“I see, Nash. He’s a pretty doggie.” To Garrett, she said, “He’s been begging for a dog, so his day is made.”

“This is Elvis. He loves to play with boys.” Abby gave Elvis a hand signal. As he laid his head in Nash’s lap, the little boy squealed with excitement. To Melanie, she said, “Hi, I’m Abby. I work with Garrett.”

“Melanie. And this is Nash. He’s a little excited to meet your dog.”

“Elvis loves to meet new people, so I think he’s pretty excited, too.”

Garrett leaned over and stage-whispered, “Nash, Elvis is so soft, you could use him as a blanket!”

Nash squinted up at Garrett, clearly thinking that through before he giggled. “Uh-uh. Doggies can’t be blankets!”

Abby shook her head at Garrett, but she had a twinkle in her eye, so he’d count that as a win on two fronts. He clasped his hands together. “I have a surprise for you guys.”

He’d worked for weeks trying to scrape together funding for a specially made stroller for Nash, one that would accommodate his baby sister as well. He brought it out of his office into the open space near the conference table.

Melanie’s eyes widened. “Garrett, what is that?”

“Hopefully, the solution to your problems.”

“Seriously?” Her eyes filled with tears and she put a hand out. “Garrett, you know I can’t pay for this.”

“Don’t worry about that. Let’s see how it works.” In one quick motion, Garrett popped open the stroller and locked the seat into place.

The sound caught Nash’s attention and he looked up. “What’s that?”

“A new stroller. Try turning it around, Melanie.”

She turned it with one hand and looked up in wonder. “Oh, it just glides.”

Garrett grinned as he reached for a couple of levers near the back wheels and folded a smaller seat into place. He had a new appreciation these days for baby products that were so idiotproof even he could work them. “And this is the sibling seat. Little sister gets to sit here.”

Melanie’s face crumpled, her eyes filling with tears.

“Melanie?” Garrett’s smile faded.

“I don’t know how you did this…” She sniffed, visibly struggling for control. “It will change everything. No more missed appointments.”

“Wanna ride. Garrett, I wanna ride.” Nash untangled his fingers from Elvis’s fur and held his arms up.

Melanie laughed. “Hang on, little man. I got you.”

After Nash was unbuckled, Garrett reached down and lifted Nash, placing him in the seat.

“Awesome!” The little boy let out a delighted laugh. “Go, Garrett. Ride.”

Garrett looked at Abby. “I could take him for a quick spin around the block, to try it out.”

“I think that might be necessary.” She laughed as Nash bounced up and down in the seat. Garrett caught him as he launched himself into midair.

“Dude. You have to sit still while I buckle you!” While his fingers were busy with the buckles, Garrett looked up at Melanie. “Abby’s the new social worker in our office. If it’s okay with you, I asked Abby if she had time to talk to you this morning.”

The smile on the young mom’s face faded. “Sure, I guess.”

Abby put her hand on Melanie’s arm. “Don’t worry. It’s just a casual visit. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Sure, thanks.” She followed Abby to the kitchenette but looked back toward the door where her little boy was rocking back and forth in the new stroller.

“We won’t be long.” Garrett double-checked the buckles holding Nash into the seat. “No more trying to pretend you’re an astronaut, hear me?”

Nash giggled. “Three, two, one…”

“Blast off!” Garrett blew through the front door, pulling it closed behind him as they raced down the sidewalk. The ecstatic laugh from the four-year-old in the seat told him he’d definitely made the right decision on the stroller.

He gave a quick glance back at the office. He knew Abby was a pro and together she and Elvis were a formidable team, but it was his first time trusting one of his clients with her. Melanie’s confidence was still a little shaky. He hoped he was doing the right thing.

Abby handed Melanie a mug of coffee. “Sit down with me? I bet you don’t have much time to rest with Nash around, not to mention your little girl. How old is she?”

“Nova’s almost six months old. She’s with a neighbor right now.” Melanie followed Abby into her office, pausing to look at the pictures Abby had hung on the wall the day before.

Abby sat in one of the chairs that she’d moved into a conversational grouping. Elvis sat beside her, his attention glued to her face. “Those are photos of people I’ve met at some of the disaster areas I’ve worked in over the years.”

“I can see the destruction in the background, but they look so… I don’t know, strong?”

“Some of the people in those photos lost everything, but despite that, they were still standing. It’s a powerful statement.”

“I can so relate to that.” Melanie sat in the chair next to Abby, the wariness gone from her face. She was young, early twenties maybe, but the way she carried herself made her seem much older.

With a barely perceptible motion of her hand, Abby released Elvis to go to work. He sat in front of the young mom and tilted his head. Melanie smiled at him. “Hi, buddy.”

He nosed her hand and when Melanie reached out to scratch him, Abby knew the connection had been made.

A smile played across Melanie’s face as she rubbed one of Elvis’s ears. She kept her eyes down, but she said, “I don’t know what Garrett told you…”

“He didn’t tell me much. Truly.”

“I’m on a safety plan with the social services people, and Garrett’s my attorney. When we went to court, he fought for me to get to keep my kids with a caseworker checking in on us every month.”

“I don’t want to be nosy, but if you want to talk about it, I’m a good listener.”

The young mom blew her thin bangs out of her eyes and shook her head as if she wanted to negate the memory itself. “My fiancé got high with his friends and came to the hospital when Nova was born. He got a night in jail and I got a caseworker. I had to choose between keeping my children or keeping him. Getting rid of him was the easiest choice I ever had to make.”

Melanie had one hand deep in Elvis’s fur now, the other one smoothing the small hairs on his forehead. “What was hard was that our car was in my fiancé’s name. Without a car, I missed some of Nova’s well-baby checkups and that brought the caseworker back to my house.”

“Oh, wow. That must be so scary.”

“It is—was. The safety plan says I have to take the kids to the doctor and to their therapy appointments on time. The caseworker comes to visit. And we have to go back to court in six months.”

“And where does the stroller fit in?”

There was silence for a moment, the struggle to rein in her emotions once again visible on Melanie’s face. Finally, she looked up with a small shrug. “I couldn’t get on the bus with both kids because I couldn’t push Nash’s wheelchair and a stroller at the same time. And I couldn’t lift the wheelchair if I had Nova in a carrier. I just—I couldn’t do it. Someone at church let me borrow a double stroller, but Nash needs more support than a normal stroller can give him.”

“What a rough time for all of you. Anyone would be reeling after all that.”

“You think so?” Melanie’s shoulders slumped, but hope flared in her eyes. “Do you know how much that stroller was? Ten thousand dollars. I could never have bought that for him. And I guess I just worry how I can be a good mom if I can’t provide what my kids need.”

“Melanie,” Abby said gently, “your kids need you, not what you can buy for them.”

Melanie’s sigh turned into a sob. Elvis nuzzled her chin with his nose, eliciting a strangled laugh.

A squeal of joy reached them from just outside the office. Melanie immediately straightened, swiped tears from her face and smoothed her shirt into place. “I don’t want Nash to think I’m worried.”

As the boys came in the front door, Abby held out a business card to Melanie. “Write down everything you need to really feel like you have a handle on life. Then call and make another appointment with me. There are resources out there and my job is to connect you with them.”

Hope flared in the young mom’s eyes. “You’re serious?”

“One hundred percent.” She paused, looked back at the photos on the wall. “The people in those photos? You’re strong, just like they are. Things have happened that you need to take care of, but you’re still standing.”

Nash shouted from the front door. “Mama! Come see!”

Melanie tucked Abby’s card into her back pocket, swallowing hard before looking up. “Thank you.”

Abby heard her laughing at the engine sounds Nash made as she walked back to meet him. She hoped Melanie would take her up on the offer. Their family, who because of circumstances mostly beyond their control needed help to get back on their feet, was exactly the kind Abby had been brought in to help.

As Garrett walked Nash and Melanie to the door, Abby heard Charlotte waking up in the porta-crib in Garrett’s office and went to check on her. The baby girl had a decidedly crabby look on her face.

“Hi, Charlotte. I bet you need a clean diaper after such a long nap, don’t you?” She reached into the crib and picked Charlotte up. The change was easy with Garrett’s office nursery setup, but clearly, a dry diaper was not what Charlotte wanted. Her cries were getting progressively louder and more annoyed.

Abby picked her up again and tried the pacifier. Charlotte sucked it for a few seconds before spitting it out. “Oh, baby girl, you are mad, aren’t you?”

From the door, Garrett held out a bottle. “She’s probably ready for this.”

“I’d say so.” She took it from Garrett and offered it to the hungry baby.

Over the bottle, Charlotte scowled as if she couldn’t possibly understand what took Abby so long to get it right. Abby laughed. “Hey, I’m not the one in charge of the bottles.”

“She’s opinionated.” Garrett dropped into the chair behind his desk. “Wow. Nash wore me out. Did you and Melanie have a good conversation?”

“I think so. Elvis is kind of a genius at getting people to talk.” She studied Garrett’s face, so handsome with that quick smile that went all the way to his eyes.

“I’m sure it’s all Elvis.”

“Melanie’s doing her best to take care of her kids. That’s gonna be a lot easier with that fancy stroller you got her. How’d you pull that off?”

“It’s just a stroller.” He picked a file up from his desk and spun around to put it away.

“A ten-thousand-dollar stroller?”

He glanced back at her. “Where did you get that idea?”

“Melanie.”

“Oh.” He shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal. I called in some favors. Asked for some donations. Got a small grant. It was a little legwork, but the end result is that Melanie can get her kids where they need to go.”

“A car would’ve been cheaper.”

“Yeah, but then it would’ve been for Melanie and she probably wouldn’t have accepted it. A gift for Nash and Nova is a little harder to turn down.”

“Smart and thoughtful.”

“It’s all part of the service. Plus, you’re gonna get her the rest of the way. We make a great team.” He shot her a nonchalant grin.

He wasn’t fooling her, though. There was nothing nonchalant about him. He was a full-out idealist and she could feel herself getting sucked into his life, bit by bit. How could she not? He genuinely cared about people and wanted to help. If anyone could understand that, she could.

Garrett was a great guy. A sweet guy. She liked him, but she had to be careful. Because if she wasn’t, he would pull her into his windmill-tilting plans and she’d been down that path. Had the bullet wound to prove it.

And that was the last thing she needed right now.