my lawyers slapping a subpoena on you so fast, your head will spin. Is that understood?"
His tirade backed her toward the door. Muttering a few more official imprecations, the social worker spun around and slammed out. Axell collapsed in his chair.
This couldn't go on. The mayor would destroy Maya, the school, the bar, and Axell to have his way. Ralph had pushed too far this time. It was time to fight back.
Axell drummed his fingers against the desk. Lawyers took time. While they petitioned the court and wrote subpoenas and did whatever it was they did, three businesses could crumble. And then there was the matter of Constance. While he fought the mayor, Sandra would be fighting for Constance.
He had some decisions to make.
He called his lawyer first. Then he called Judge Tony. He wanted all his facts lined up in a row, then he would storm into this with his eyes wide open and both guns blazing, and the devil take anyone who got in his way.
* * *
Maya glanced at the stern man behind the wheel of the BMW. She'd asked Selene to pick her up at the hospital. Axell had appeared instead. He didn't look very happy about it. She'd wanted to be installed in the top rooms of the school before Matty came home. This wasn't the direction of the school.
As he'd promised, the waters had receded as quickly as they'd risen. Tree limbs and leaves littered the road, but there was no reason they couldn't reach the school. She glanced at the infant sleeping in the car cradle in the back seat. Axell had bought a car cradle! Or maybe he already had one. That made her feel better, so she didn't argue the point. Obviously, there were bigger clouds on the horizon than the cost of a car seat.
She turned back and glanced at Axell. His jaw muscle twitched. She didn't think that was a good sign. "Are we just picking up my things at your house?"
The knuckles on the one hand he had on the wheel whitened. He glanced at her through those stony eyes, but her wayward mind thought she saw pain and uncertainty reflected there instead of anger. Had something awful happened and he couldn't find words to tell her? Panic bubbled near the surface all the time now.
"Constance may not be my daughter," he pronounced out of nowhere.
Maya drew a deep breath and held it. Where did she go from there? Watching rain-soaked pines flash by, she gathered her wits, and expelled the air in her lungs. "Does that matter?" she asked.
Axell threw her another one of those looks, then concentrated on his driving. "Maybe it explains why I'm such a lousy father."
All right, take this one slow, Maya. "You're thinking of giving her up to your mother-in-law again?"
"I'm weighing my options. I want Constance to be happy."
Maya nodded as if she had some clue as to where this conversation was going. She noticed her fingers clenched in fists and forcibly unrolled them. "If you wanted to buy a gift for Constance, and she told you Cleo's was her favorite store, what would you do?"
He glared at her and nearly missed the driveway. "Is this some kind of test?"
"Yes," she said firmly. "Keep your eyes on the road and answer the question."
He studied the question for all of half a second and apparently deciding there was no trick to it, shrugged. "I'd probably buy her one of the kaleidoscopes." He hit the garage door opener and waited for the door to lift. "Do I win the prize?"
"Your mother-in-law ignored Constance's preference and bought her the doll instead, a doll that reminded her of her dead baby brother. Now, who do you think is most likely to make Constance happy?"
Pulling the car into the garage and turning it off, Axell slumped in the leather seat. "You," he replied without hesitation. "You are most likely to make Constance happy."
He looked perfectly miserable as he said it.
Chapter 16
We have enough youth. How about a Fountain of Smart?
"It's damp out here. Let's get the baby inside."
Axell abruptly stepped out of the car and went around to the back door to unfasten the infant carrier.
Maya swung out of the car more cautiously. Whatever had happened to the good old days of spending five days in the hospital, recuperating from childbirth? She still felt as if a train had run over her. She hadn't slept well. She wasn't in any condition for arguing with this domineering