the next few weeks pushed her past the boiling stage. “I do know what I’m talking about, which happens to be a lot more than you think. Enough that I could march right in to your good-old-boy judge with it, and he would give me custody of Becky in a New York minute.”
“All right,” he said, his teeth clenched. He turned to face her and leaned down to meet her eyes. “You got something like that you’re sitting on, quit flapping your wings like a brood hen who’s just caught a javelina in the henhouse, and say whatever you’ve got to say.”
“Or what? You’ll hit me?” Kayla demanded. “Just like you did Ronnie? Well—”
He grabbed her arm. She jerked free in outrage, feeling a momentary regret that she had blurted the question.
Sam backed away a step. “I wasn’t going to hit you—”
“Oh, of course not. That’s what they all say. But then, I’m not your wife, so I’m not really worried that you would—”
“Stop it,” he said. “Just stop.”
His face had drained of all color. His mouth hung slack for a moment, as if she had hit him in the face—literally, instead of just with her words.
“That’s not what I intended to say,” he continued. “I meant, I wasn’t going to hit you. I just wanted you to stop saying those things. Look, I don’t even know where you got that idea. Well, yeah,” he contradicted himself immediately, his voice bitter. “Reckon I do. But how could you believe that?”
“Ronnie—” In spite of her eagerness to prove herself, she stopped and changed direction. “I’d seen proof, Sam. Cuts and bruises.”
“What? When?”
“When I came here to help Ronnie leave town.”
He stared at her, saying nothing, his eyes bleak and seeming unfocused. Without warning, he raised his arm and stepped toward her again.
Chapter Ten
The instant Sam saw Kayla flinch, he dropped his arm to his side.
She stood staring at him, her pupils widened to dark pools, and he realized just how much he’d frightened her.
“Listen, calm down. I’m sorry,” he said, almost running the words together in his hurry to explain. “I was only going to point to Town Hall. I want you to go up to the courtroom with me to see the judge. He’ll tell you the truth. Come with me, please. If I go in ahead of you,” he added, fighting to keep resentment from his voice, “you might think I talked him into lying for me.”
For a second, he could see her waver, torn between agreement and flight. She took a long, deep breath, then turned and walked toward Town Hall. She waved her hands in the air to Becky, who entered the building ahead of them.
He let Kayla walk ahead of him, too, and gave her plenty of room to go through the double doors into the building without crowding her. His stomach churned with both guilt and regret. Her words had torn him up inside. But he’d never meant to scare her.
Inside the courtroom, Ellamae sorted through paperwork at a small desk in the corner. Becky sat in the judge’s leather swivel chair behind his huge old desk, her face all Sam could see above the surface. The judge stood beside the chair, grinning down at her. At their approach, he looked up.
Kayla’s hands began moving.
“Now, young lady,” he said to her, “if you’re telling this little one to move, hold on, because she’s got my permission to sit here.”
As they watched, he swung the chair in a gentle circle, while Becky flipped her hands back and forth in the air. He waited till the chair came to a halt before turning back to them.
“Well, this is a surprise, isn’t it? I didn’t expect to see you two setting foot in my courtroom again so soon. What can I do for you?”
Sam hesitated, feeling like a danged fool for bringing Kayla in here. What could the judge do, anyhow?
Kayla didn’t believe anything Sam said. Hell, she didn’t even consider he’d told the truth about his own child. Why would she accept that he’d never touched his ex in anger?
“Judge—” He drew a deep breath, fighting humiliation at the thought of what he had to ask. A bead of sweat ran down his temple. For once, the overhead fan sat still, just when he needed it most. He brushed the moisture away.
“Judge Baylor,” he started again, “would you tell Becky’s aunt why my ex-wife was covered with cuts and bruises when she left town?”
The man’s brows leveled