Elle
I got to Jeremiah’s as quickly as I could. Josie was with me, thankfully. I wasn’t sure I could have driven on my own. After she paid our checks at the diner, she found me at City Hall just as I got the call. My heart was racing, and I couldn’t believe this was happening.
Teddy left me in charge of the babies, who were screaming when I got there. Josie took Grace, I took Amelia.
“I’m thinking it’s dinner time,” I said, shaking all over.
“I’ll prepare the bottles,” Josie said. “Try to be calm.”
Easier said than done considering the circumstances, and with two crying infants to care for. Josie had a son of her own, so she knew what she was doing. She placed Grace beside me in the pack and play and hurried to the kitchen.
I walked over to Grace, still cradling and rocking her sister in my arms.
“I promise you girls, I will clear your daddy’s name. He’s a good man and doesn’t deserve any of this.”
“Who are you talking to?” Josie called from the kitchen. “The babies,” I said. “Trying to calm all of us down.”
“Keep talking then,” Josie said. “Do whatever it takes.”
Amelia had started quieting down a bit in my arms. I knew once they had their bottles, they’d be even happier.
I’d nannied before, and I had experience babysitting, but never two at once. And never as their sole caretaker either. I was always there to assist the parents or to watch the kids for a few hours.
But I had no one else to take over for me once Josie left.
Now I knew how Jeremiah felt, and I understood his stress all too well.
That poor man.
Josie came back into the living room, two bottles in hand. She took Grace again, and we sat on the couch together in silence, feeding the babies.
“They were hungry, poor babies,” Josie cooed. “They’ve been through so much.”
“I know,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. I felt very emotional about everything. “Neither of them deserve this.”
“No, they don’t,” Josie said, rubbing my arm. “But they’ve got you. They’re in good hands.”
“I hope so,” I said, looking down at the baby in my arms. I’d never felt so unsure of myself. Not even when it came to the whole mayor thing. This was a million times scarier.
Josie stayed with me and helped me put them to bed, but she had her own family to get home to. She couldn’t stay too late, even if she wanted to help.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, faking a smile to hopefully reassure her. I didn’t want to keep her too late.
“I’m just a call away, and if I can’t come over, Leah or
Piper or Felicity can. We’re all here for you.”
“Thanks, Josie,” I said, giving my best friend a hug.
I held it together until she left, but once the door was closed, I slid down to the floor. The tears finally fell, and I let them. I was alone, the babies were asleep, and I could finally let loose.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I tried my best to wipe away the tears as if the person on the other end could see them. I cleared my throat and hoped I didn’t sound like someone who’d just been crying.
I checked the caller ID. It was a call from the local jail.
I answered right away. “Jeremiah?”
“Yes, it’s me. I’ve only got a few minutes, but I wanted to make sure everything was alright with the girls?”
“I’m here with them. Josie was here too. We took care of them. They’re fed and asleep now.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Are you okay?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?”
“Well, we both know how I’m doing.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I’m still trying to clear your name.”
“No, Elle. Please, just don’t get involved. You need to take care of yourself and my girls.”
“I need to take care of the people I love too,” I insisted, my voice strong. “You know that’s who I am, Jeremiah.”
“I don’t have time to argue about this, Elle. But please, take care of yourself and the girls – no matter what happens. Please.”
“Nothing bad is going to happen. It can’t.” Jeremiah was quiet. “I’m going to prove that the Holts are behind this. Lauren’s car was outside his house, and either Lauren or Alex was there the night he disappeared.”
“Elle, just take care of the girls and yourself. Stay at my house, it’s your home now too. That’s all I want from you.
Let my lawyer handle the rest.”
“Jeremiah, I-”
“Sorry, time’s up. I have to go.”
The line went dead as if cut off by someone other than Jeremiah. I wasn’t sure if they had strict time limits before the phones shut off or if Jeremiah had hung up on me. Either way, it left me feeling empty. I had no idea what to do with myself.
And I had to do something. God knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, and I couldn’t just sit on the floor crying all night.
I picked myself up off the floor and walked through the house, from room to room, looking for things to do. I picked up the toys and blanket from the floor from when they had tummy time earlier and put those away. I cleaned up the kitchen, washed the bottles. I took out the trash. I was running out of things to do since Jeremiah kept his place pretty spotless.
I wandered into his bedroom and picked up the photo on his desk, putting it back in place. Jeremiah looked so young back then. He still had a young face, but nothing like when he was twenty-eight.
He had no idea where his life would take him back then.
Hell, neither did I, but I was only eight. I had so much life to live.
And so did Jeremiah. He still had so much life to live. And he had his daughters to live for.
I began straightening his desk, without even thinking. It just happened. I needed to keep moving, keep busy. I picked up a check book, laughing at how outdated Jeremiah was. I flipped through it absentmindedly, but there was only one check written.
For $100, 000.
My curiosity got the best of me and I checked to see who it was written out to.
L. Dierks. I had no idea who that could be. Dated for April third. About ten months prior.
Only one check was written out of the entire check book. That was it.
I wondered, briefly, if that was for the mother of his children. I had no idea who she was. Some surrogate, I assumed. It would make sense that he paid such a large sum of money to her for that, but with everything else going on, I wasn’t sure what to think anymore.