A Better Solution (Crowley County Series Book 2) Read online

  Andy sure seemed to love having the extra attention that his grandmother gave him. The two of them had grown so much closer in those three months.

  Now, Sue Ann sat down at the table with the only family she had left. Both of her parents had been only children, so there was no one else. She had always missed having cousins like Jo had. She figured that was why she’d latched onto Jo at such an early age. She’d always enjoyed going with Jo to visit her relatives scattered all around the county.

  Sue Ann’s mother was just an older version of her only a little shorter and with her blond hair losing its luster as it was beginning to turn gray.

  Wanda looked into her daughter’s eyes and said, “What’s the matter Hon? You look more than just tired tonight.”

  Sue Ann looked over at her son. Andy was so much like her with his light complexion and blond hair that her ex-husband had, more than once, questioned whether or not he was the father. But she knew better. She wasn’t the one who’d played around.

  Andy was her pride and joy. He was big for seven. After all, his father was six four and she was five ten. What else could he be but tall?

  Making sure Andy wasn’t looking, she looked back at her mother and shook her head slightly. She was relieved when Wanda seemed to get the message that Sue Ann didn’t want to talk about it in front of Andy. But she also knew her mother would corner her after Andy went to bed.

  That was when she noticed that her mother seemed to be rather upset about something herself. Sue Ann decided that after Andy went to bed there would be a two-way mother daughter talk for sure.

  At nine o’clock, after she was certain that Andy was asleep, Sue Ann sat down at the kitchen table across from her mother.

  “Okay, Mom, what’s up?”

  Her mother didn’t say a word. She just stepped over to a cabinet, opened it, and pulled a large brown envelope out. Still without a word, she handed it to Sue Ann.

  As soon as the envelope was in her hands, they began to tremble. The return address was that of the court in Springfield. She knew it wasn’t going to be good news. It never had been when she’d received a letter from that court.

  Her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn’t open the envelope, so Wanda reached out to take it, opened it, and then handed it back to Sue Ann.

  When she finally pulled the letter out and looked down at it, her worst fears were on that page.

  Wanda placed her hand on Sue Ann’s arm. “What is it Hon?”

  “Ray’s going to try to take Andy away from me again.”

  She dropped the papers to the table and Wanda grabbed them and began to read them.

  “It says here that the court date isn’t until March tenth. She turned to look at the calendar on the wall behind her. “That’s still six weeks away. You have to get ahold of your lawyer right away tomorrow and get him started working on it.”

  Sue Ann could only nod her head. She couldn’t talk past the lump in her throat. There was no way she would ever let Ray have Andy.

  Wanda shook the papers in the air between them. “It says here that he’s claiming he can give Andy a better, more rounded home life with both a father and a step-mother.”

  That surprised Sue Ann. “Let me see that.”

  She grabbed the papers and read them all the way through this time. When she finished, she dropped them to the table again. “I didn’t know he was getting married again. Andy hasn’t said anything about it.”

  Wanda leaned across the table and wrapped her fingers around both of Sue Ann’s wrists. “You don’t still have feelings for that snake . . . do you?”

  Sue Ann shook her head violently. “No way. I could never take him back after the way he was cheating on me and with more than one woman.”

  “Good.” Wanda sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Well that miserable excuse for a man is never going to get my grandson. We’ll fight him all the way.”

  Sue Ann laid her head down on her hands and began to sob softly. Her worst nightmare might be coming true but what could she do about it? A boy like Andy did need a mother and a father, not just two women. Was that how the judge would see it? Would they take Andy away from her?

  When she went to bed, she lay there looking up at the ceiling with the light on for almost an hour. She had to think of a way that she could convince the judge that she was still a better choice to raise Andy than Ray. But how?

  * * *

  Floyd finished the hamburgers he’d picked up on his way home and sat down in his tiny living room. He didn’t know what else to do, so he turned on the TV and sat there without really watching it. He knew he’d probably fall asleep in front of the tube again tonight before he finally dragged himself off to bed.

  He glanced at the book sitting on the coffee table in front of him. He didn’t really like to read. He’d picked the novel up in the grocery store the other day out of desperation for something different to do for a change. That hadn’t worked very well either. Every time he picked it up to read, it put him to sleep faster than the TV did.

  Sure enough, he was starting to doze when his doorbell rang. He stood and mentally shook himself in an attempt to clear his foggy mind as he turned the TV off. When he looked through the peephole, he saw a very prim and proper middle-aged woman with gray hair in a bun, dressed in a very conservative gray suit.

  He stepped back and opened the door. As soon as he did, he looked down and sure enough, she was carrying a briefcase. After being in law enforcement for as long as he had, he could spot a social worker a mile away. But what would one be doing knocking on his door at seven o’clock in the evening?

  The woman cleared her throat and said, “Are you Floyd Ray McCracken?”

  He stepped back to let her in and said, “Yes, I am. What can I do for you ma’am?”

  “I am Miranda Watkins with the Missouri Department of Social Services, Children’s Division.”

  She looked around the living room at Floyd’s overstuffed black leather furniture and pointed with a nod of her head. “Could we make ourselves comfortable, Mr. McCracken? What I have to say to you may be better received while sitting down.”

  Now, Floyd was really confused. She apparently had the right place and it was obviously him that she wanted to talk to. But what in the world would a social worker be wanting to talk to him about, especially if he needed to sit down to hear it? Children’s Services? Why would they want to talk to him? He was a bachelor after all.

  Once she was seated on the couch across from Floyd’s armchair, she opened her briefcase on the seat beside her and pulled some papers out of the case. She placed the papers in her lap and looked up at him again while he was still trying to get a handle on just what in the world was going on here.

  Floyd was not about to ask her again what this was all about. He’d worked with enough social workers over the years to know that they sometimes liked to make the people they were dealing with squirm a little before they lowered the boom on them.

  Was that what she was going to do, lower the boom on him? She did want him sitting down first. But what could she possibly have to say to him that he couldn’t take standing up?

  The woman finally cleared her throat again and said, “You were, at one time, married to Darcy Decker?”

  “Yes.”

  Sure, he’d been married to Darcy but she’d dumped him eleven years ago. The divorce had even been final for a long time now. And they never had any kids.

  She let her last question settle for a moment before she looked at him sharply. Then after another pause said, “You have no idea why I’m here this evening do you Mr. McCracken?”

  It was starting to bother Floyd that she kept calling him Mr. McCracken. Nobody’d called him that since he’d been sheriff. In fact, it just plain didn’t sound right. After all, Mr. McCracken was his dad, not him.

  Then he started to get mad at the way she was dragging this whole thing out. Either she didn’t want to tell him or she was enjoying it. One look at her almost p
inched expression made him think it was the latter.

  When he simply shook his head she continued, “Do you know that you have a daughter, Mr. McCracken?”

  Floyd was sure you could have knocked him over with a feather. That couldn’t be possible. Could it? The look he gave her must have given her the answer she needed.

  “Darcy Decker, she reverted to her maiden name after the divorce, gave birth to a baby girl, it seems, shortly before your divorce was final. She was living in the Kansas City area at the time.”

  Floyd was still so much in shock that he couldn’t think, much less utter a single word.

  That was when the woman smiled, or was it a smirk? And the urge to hit a woman was stronger than he’d ever had. The woman was enjoying this whole catastrophe and at his expense too.

  “Ms. Decker died in a car accident two weeks ago and it took us this long to determine who the next of kin may be. It appears that you may be the father, Mr. McCracken.”

  When he didn’t . . . couldn’t say anything, she said, “Now, Mr. McCracken, I want you to think about my next question very carefully before you answer it.”

  When he just stared at her, she continued. “If it turns out that you actually are the father of Penelope Sue Decker . . .”

  She paused and he knew for sure now that she was enjoying all of this, again at his expense.

  “If it is proven that she is your biological daughter, will it be your desire to be awarded legal custody of her?”

  Floyd continued to stare at her smirking face until what she had just said sunk in. Did he want her? Something changed inside his mind. Yes! If she truly was his daughter, you bet he wanted her.

  When he started to speak, he had to clear his throat first. “Yes, I do want her . . . if she really is my daughter.”

  The smile or smirk grew as she lay what looked like a three part form on the coffee table between them and he picked it up.

  “That is an order for DNA testing to be done on you. The lab already has a sample from Penelope. Once you give them yours, they will determine if you actually are her biological father.”

  She sat back as if to let that sink in then pointed at the form he held and said, “All you have to do is go to that lab in Springfield tomorrow before noon, and we’ll have the results the next morning, Wednesday.”

  She seemed to be waiting for him to say something but he couldn’t even think much less speak.

  “At that time, if the test is positive, the court has already determined that upon my recommendation you will be awarded temporary custody of her for ninety days.”

  She paused as if to let that sink in. She also seemed to be measuring him in some way. By the look on her face, he was sure he wasn’t measuring up to what she expected.

  “I will call you as soon as we receive the test results and at that time we will set a time for me to bring Penelope here.”

  She paused again. But this time, Floyd interrupted her little game. “How soon will you be able to bring her here?”

  “If the test is positive and you are available, I should be able to have her here by two o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”

  When he didn’t comment but merely nodded his consent, she continued, “During that initial ninety day time period, we will monitor the situation. That will, of course, consist of two scheduled home visits and one unscheduled visit. At the end of that time, we will make our report to the court. Then the court will decide on permanent custody.”

  Again, she seemed to be waiting for him to say something and when he didn’t, again, she said, “Do you have any questions, Mr. McCracken?”

  When all he could do was shake his head, she said, “Is this all clear to you then?”

  Again, he could only nod his head. Real intelligent looking McCracken.

  She closed her briefcase, rose, and said, “May I do a quick inspection of this apartment to determine its suitability for a little girl?”

  He figured he’d better say something this time. “Sure, go right ahead.”

  She did a quick walk through the kitchen, bathroom, and each of the bedrooms. When she came back into the living room she said, “This apartment is too small for the long term care of an active little girl Mr. McCracken. Will you be able to secure something more suitable, such as a house with a fenced yard, by the end of the temporary custody?”

  Floyd looked around the apartment and tried to visualize him living here with a little girl. Nope! Wouldn’t work at all.

  “Yes, Mrs. Watkins. I’ve been thinking about getting something more permanent for quite some time anyway. I’ll get ahold of a realtor tomorrow and start looking.”

  “Good. Also, it might save you some possible problems down the road if you would allow us to inspect the home before you purchase it.”

  “No problem.”

  “Well, in that case, we’ll be in touch. Good evening Mr. McCracken. With that, she let herself out the door while he stood there staring at the open door with his mouth still gaping wide.

  Floyd forced his body to move and he walked over to the door and closed it. Then he sat back down in his chair. All he could do was just stare into space for at least ten minutes. Now that the social worker was gone, everything she’d just told him began to sink in. Collapse on him was more like it.

  He may have a daughter! Him? What did the woman say her name was? Penelope! He had to chuckle in spite of himself. What a name for a kid. Maybe she goes by Penny. Then it dawned on him that the social worker hadn’t even told him how old the kid was.

  He did some quick calculating. First, he had to remember when the divorce had been final. She’d said that the kid was born shortly before that. Oh yeah, that would have been . . . nine years ago. Then the kid must be around nine.

  He had a nine-year-old daughter and he’d never known it until just a half hour ago. Wait a minute. They wouldn’t know for sure until the DNA test results were back. But as he thought about it though, Floyd didn’t need to know the test results. Suddenly, something deep inside of him told him that Penny was his daughter. He couldn’t have explained that feeling even to himself but he knew it deep down. He just knew it.

  Jo! He needed to call Jo. He was still closer to her than he was to anyone else in his family.

  As soon as Jo answered the phone, Floyd said, “Are you sitting down Little Bit?”

  Her voice showed surprise. “Yes, I am. What’s this all about Floyd?”

  “Little Bit, I just found out that Darcy had a baby girl nine months after the last time I was with her.”

  It was totally silent on the other end for a long moment then Jo let out a whoop and said, “Oh Floyd that’s wonderful news.”

  Then he waited for it to sink in a little more.

  “But how did you find out? Will Darcy let you go see her? How old is she? What’s her name?”

  “Whoa, Little Bit. Let me answer one question at a time. First, a social worker was here just a little while ago and she said Darcy died in a car accident up by Kansas City a couple of weeks ago and they’ve just now found me to tell me.”

  “Okay, then what’s her name?”

  “The social worker said her name was Penelope.”

  “Oh what a pretty name and I’ll bet she goes by Penny. That’s just so sweet, Floyd.”

  Floyd told Jo everything the social worker had told him and her excitement didn’t lessen even after he told her about the DNA test.

  “Oh Floyd, I just know that she’s your daughter. Just think. You’re a daddy.”

  They hung up shortly afterward and Floyd went to bed with little girls, social workers, and ex-wives on his mind. Needless to say, he didn’t sleep very much that night and it certainly wasn’t because of boredom this time.

  Chapter Two

  Sue Ann’s mom usually took Andy to school in the morning while Sue Ann finished getting ready for work, but Wednesday morning, she got ready early so she could take him herself. She wanted to stop off and talk to Jo before going to work. There was just so m
uch that she needed to talk to her best friend about.

  When she pulled up in front of the First Baptist Church parsonage Jo’s husband, Pastor Gil Turner, was coming out of the house. He stopped and waited for her to get out of her car.

  She jumped out and called out, “Congratulations, Daddy!”

  He grinned back at her and said, “Thank you, Sue Ann. I’m still trying to get used to the idea. Imagine that. I’m going to be a father. It’s pretty strange but it’s great.”

  She laughed and said, “I think you’ll get used to it quick enough.”

  “I sure hope so. Well, I need to get down to the office. Jo’s in the kitchen. Go on in.”

  With that, he started walking down the hill to the church and she stood there for a moment watching him go. She just shook her head. How could she have ever been so wrong about someone the way she had been about him? He had changed her best friend’s life so much for the better that she thanked God for him.

  That sounded strange coming from her. She’d fallen away from God for a while before Gil came to town and turned her little friend’s life upside down . . . and thus hers in the process. Now she felt good about her relationship with the Lord again thanks to both Jo and Gil.

  She still thought he wasn’t much to look at though. He was possibly a little shorter than her and his pale red hair looked almost bleached. One thing though, he didn’t have freckles like most redheads.

  Sue Ann shook her head to clear it of those thoughts and tried to concentrate on why she needed to talk to Jo. She worked on putting a smile on her face as she knocked once on the back door and entered Jo’s kitchen to find her sitting there with a cup of coffee in front of her.

  When Jo started to get up to get Sue Ann a cup, she said, “No, don’t get up little mommy, I can get my own coffee.”

  Jo just laughed and watched Sue Ann pour herself a cup of coffee and pull out a chair at the table.