Heart of the Family by Margaret Daley Page B

nearby, “Please call the police and tell them it isn’t necessary to come.” Then she went in and closed the door.
    “Mom, when can I come home?” Andy pulled back from his mother. “I miss ya.”
    Lisa shifted in the chair until she faced her son, clasping his hands. “And I missed ya, too. I have some things to work out, but once I do, you’ll be able to come home with me.”
    “When?”
    Lisa shook her head. “I ain’t sure.” She slid her gaze to Hannah, then back to her son. “I’m gonna do everything I can, but it’ll be up to the judge when.”
    Andy puffed out his chest. “I’ll tell him I want to come home. He’ll listen to me.”
    “Baby, I’m sure he will, but I hafta do a couple of things before we go in front of the judge. Then ya can tell him what ya want. Okay?”
    Andy frowned. “I guess so.”
    “Good. I know I can count on ya, baby.” Lisa drew her son to her and held him tightly.
    Emotions clogged Hannah’s throat. She swallowed several times before she said, “Andy, I’m sure we’ll be able to arrange for your mother to come see you at the refuge. You can show her your room. She can meet your friends.”
    Hope flared in the boy’s expression. “Yes. How about tomorrow?”
    Hannah rose. “Let me see what I can arrange, Andy. It may have to be some time next week.”
    The light in his eyes dimmed. “Promise?”
    “I can promise you I’ll do everything I can to make it happen.” Please, Lord, help me to keep that promise.

     
    Jacob leaned into the railing on the porch of the cottage and stared up at the crystal clear night sky, littered with hundreds of stars. The cool fall air soothed his frustration some as he waited to speak with Hannah after the children were in bed. He didn’t want to have this conversation where the kids might overhear.
    Not only didn’t Lisa Morgan get hauled down to the police station for defying a court order, but now Hannah was making arrangements for the woman to see Andy here at the refuge. Dinner, no less, in two nights! And worse, she’d persuaded Laura and Peter to go along with this crazy plan of hers.
    The sound of the front door opening and closing drew Jacob up straight, but he didn’t look at Hannah. He kept his gaze glued on the stars.
    Lord, give me the right words to convince Hannah of the folly of getting Andy and his mother together except in a courtroom.
    “You wanted to talk to me.” Hannah moved to the other side of the steps and leaned against the post. “I’m tired so can we make this quick.”
    He clenched the wooden railing. Patience. He faced her, a couple of yards between them, her expression hidden in the shadows of evening, although Jacob didn’t need to see her to imagine her glower. “We need to talk about Andy and his mother.”
    “No, we don’t. You may be on the board, but I was hired to be the manager.” She pushed away from the post, her posture stiff. “That means I run the refuge. I have Peter and Laura’s support.”
    Which he intended to change the first opportunity he got a chance to speak with them. “And what happens when Lisa Morgan takes Andy again and harms him. Or comes to the cottage on drugs. Or lets her son down by not showing up when she’s supposed to.”
    “She isn’t the one who hurt Andy. It was her boyfriend who isn’t around anymore.”
    “She allowed it to happen. That’s the same thing in my book.”
    “One of the calls I placed this afternoon was to a drug-rehab facility. I got her in. She can start the program next week.”
    Jacob snorted. “So she goes through the motions of getting clean, and the second she gets Andy back she’s taking drugs again and hooking up with that boyfriend or some other who is equally abusive to Andy.” As much as he tried to keep visions of his past from flashing across his mind, he couldn’t. The first time his mother had come out of drug rehab, he’d had such hope that she would stay clean. She’d lasted one whole day. He could