now, but he’s on medication for it and is improving.”
“Ear infections. My grandson is plagued with them.” The judge smiled slightly. “Thank you, Ms. White. You’re excused.”
Relief that the ordeal was over flooded through Darby. It was all she could do not to leap from the witness box. She rose and walked to the rear of the courtroom.
She didn’t know if she was expected to leave or not. But she didn’t want to go out into the corridor and face the curiosity of the reporters, if they were still hanging around. And her experience of reporters led her to believe that they would be.
So she quietly slipped into a seat in the back row.
“This is a difficult situation,” Judge March was saying. “Elise and Marc left no will, no provisions financial or otherwise for their children. The Northrops were, in fact, experiencing some financial difficulty as I understand it. But, as I said when we sat down here this morning, the welfare of the children is the only concern of this court.”
Ten minutes later it was over. Just like that. Garrett got to keep the children.
For a while, at least.
Caldwell stormed out of the courtroom, his attorney trotting unhappily after him. When the doors swished open, she heard the rapid-fire questions begin. In a smooth motion, the door whooshed closed, blotting out the voices.
She stood and waited while Garrett spoke with his attorney. Then the other man turned to Darby and shook her hand. “You did very well on the stand.”
She shifted nervously, feeling like a complete fraud, even though she had been strictly truthful about her account of the accident.
He smiled. “Not everyone does,” he assured her. Then his eyes narrowed for a moment. “I keep thinking we’ve met.”
Darby’s face felt stiff. She raised her eyebrows, lifting her shoulder casually. “Don’t think so.” It was all she could do to push out the words.
“Well. Anyway. Thanks. Garrett, I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ve got that meeting with Zoning tomorrow.”
“Make sure Carmel’s got it on my schedule.”
Hayden nodded, then he left. Leaving Darby alone with Garrett.
She looked anywhere but at him. “Mr. Carson is pretty upset.”
“So it seems.” He paused for a moment. “I wasn’t sure you’d hang around after the judge kicked everyone out of the place,” he finally said. “I’m glad I was wrong.”
“Courtrooms,” she excused weakly. “Not my favorite place.”
“Nor mine. Spent too much time in ’em when I was the reigning delinquent of Fisher Falls.”
“You?” Her gaze drifted over him. In a charcoal-colored suit fitted across his wide shoulders, his lean face once again clean shaven, his springy black hair brushed back from his face, he looked the very picture of uprightness and responsibility.
“I had a liking for hotwiring cars,” he admitted.
Her jaw loosened. “You stole cars?”
“I…liberated them from a certain owner with frequent regularity.”
“Mr. Carson’s cars?”
His grin was slow and utterly wicked. “Pretty and smart,” he said. “Come on. Let’s get outta here.”
She kept her smile in place with an effort. Please, let the reporters be gone. “Carmel is probably tearing her hair out by now.”
“She’d be saying that no matter how well things went. Figures it’ll keep me feeling guilty. But I’m not ready to go home. I thought we’d go somewhere for lunch. You know. Somewhere that doesn’t involve finger foods and sipper cups. You game?”
She moistened her lips. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“We need to talk about the kids.”
“We don’t have to go to a restaurant to do that.”
“Humor me.”
It was a mistake. She knew it. But looking at him, all she could think about at that moment was the way he’d tipped back his head into the mud the other day and laughed. “Garrett—”
He nudged back the brim of her hat. “The Overlook,” he murmured. “They have a dessert menu there that’ll make you cry. And if not that, at least lick your lips.”
She felt her ears heat, realizing she had pretty well done just that as she’d watched his mouth form his words. “I don’t know. I hear it’s a pricey place.”
“I think I can swing it,” he said dryly.
She pressed her lips together, looking away. “I…all right. But we really shouldn’t be out long. It wouldn’t be fair to Carmel.”
He nodded once, satisfied, and pushed open the door for her to pass through. She was so distracted by the hand he tucked against the small of her back that she barely remembered to adjust her hat as she walked out into the corridor.
But she needn’t have worried, because the wide hallway was empty. The spectators, reporters included, had gone and for a moment she felt weak with relief.
Garrett jabbed the elevator button and looked at her. “You all right? You look a little shaky.”
She managed a smile. “I must be hungrier than I thought. Didn’t smell my coffee this morning.”
He didn’t look convinced, but the elevator doors slid open and Darby stepped into the nearly full car before he could comment. Lunch hour was obviously calling to the government workers who populated the top floors of the pillared building.
The occupants shifted, making room for Garrett’s tall body, and Darby found herself wedged into the corner. She swallowed and looked up at the lit display above the door.
They had only three floors to descend, but it might as well have been twelve for the way the elevator seemed to grind along. She could feel her chest tightening, her lungs struggling for breath. Knowing what was happening didn’t help her to prevent it. A screaming knot rose in her throat, welling, swelling upward—
The doors slid open, passengers erupting around her into the lobby.
“Come on.” Garrett’s arm closed around her shoulders. “Outside.”
Suddenly she was outside. Fresh air filled her lungs. She felt sunlight on her arms, heard laughter from a passing group of office workers heading down the steps to the street.
She was pressed against Garrett’s side, her nose buried in his shoulder. “Oh, God.” She pushed away, as far as his arms allowed. Embarrassment burned inside her. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Let’s just get to the truck.” He guided her down the shallow steps. “Or maybe you’d
