Forbidden Falls (Virgin River #9)(26)

“Did he?” Ellie asked Noah. “Did he say they could stay over?”

“He said we have to mind our manners and behave if we ever want another visit. Mommy, I have been doing my manners,” Danielle said. “I’ve been doing my please and thank-yous, I’ve been keeping Trevor from crying at night.”

Noah thought furiously, that son of a bitch let them think they had earned their visit by being “good.”

“Oh, baby,” Ellie said, tears in her voice. “Trevor, have you been scared?”

He nodded piteously and reached for his mother, the seat belt holding him in place.

“It’s okay, Trev—you’re very brave,” she told him, holding his hand. “Did you bring your books?”

He shook his head. Danielle said, “We didn’t get to bring them. We only have two now. Arnie said they keep us from paying attention.”

“No, they don’t,” Ellie said. “That’s not right. How upside down is that? A school principal who doesn’t want kids to read? Okay, here’s what we’ll do. When we get back to my new place and drop Noah off at his church, we’ll go to the bookstore at the mall in Eureka. We’ll buy books for you to keep at my house. And there’s a library in town—they have books for children. Every week I’ll get new ones for you to look at when you have Saturdays with me.”

“I’m going with you,” Noah said.

“Huh?” Ellie asked.

“I’m going to take you and the kids to lunch, or early dinner, or whatever it is, then to the bookstore for books.”

“You don’t have to do that, Noah,” she said. “We’ll manage.”

But no one could manage against that big, mean cretin. “And then, we’re going to get some legal help. Right away.”

It took a long time for the tension from the escape to wear away, but it did. Noah asked the kids where they most wanted to go for lunch and they picked McDonald’s. Ellie said, “That’s a big treat. We couldn’t do that a lot.”

“Well, today it’s my treat,” Noah said.

“This is…Well, I wish you wouldn’t do so much. I’ll buy. Let me buy. I don’t want to owe you so much.”

“Get over it,” he said shortly. “I want to do this.”

She leaned closer to him. “And I don’t want to be a charity case, Rev.”

“You’re not. You’re a friend. Let it go at that.”

“How’d I rank friend so quick?” she asked him.

“You’re kidding, right? You cleaned the kitchen. Painted the bathroom. Nice job, too. Just looking at how you paint your nails, I was afraid. I was very afraid.”

And she laughed. “That’s good. We’ll get along fine if you stay a little on edge like that.”

Children are almost too resilient sometimes, Noah thought. They were so excited to be having McDonald’s, they perked right up and forgot all the stuff that had them anxious and scared in the car. He delivered their orders while Ellie found a booth. Of course, she sat on one side with the kids, an arm around each one, and they talked about a trip to the bookstore. She promised to read to them a little bit and buy them two books each.

Noah wanted to buy them ten books each. And clothes—they were growing out of theirs. For a guy who couldn’t seem to work up any excitement about his own wardrobe, he was surprised to be angry about the state of theirs. Couldn’t Arnie, who claimed to be the better parent, do something about that? Apparently Arnie had no talent beyond disciplining and punishing. Noah wanted to make a big run through Target and make sure the kids had clothes and shoes that weren’t too small, too worn and too scuffed. He knew Ellie’s funds were limited, but what about the big shot who was going to do better by them? But he kept his mouth shut; it wasn’t his place and he’d been pushy enough.

At the bookstore he told her to take all the time she wanted—hours if she felt like it. “I want to graze, myself,” he said. “I can be happy in a bookstore forever. Just relax and enjoy yourself.”

Noah picked up book after book, reading the jackets, skimming first pages, but unlike his usual bookstore crawls, he couldn’t keep his mind on all the choices. Every so often he’d wander over to the children’s section. He saw them cuddled close to their mother while she read. The next time he checked, he saw Danielle close to her mom while Trevor pillaged the stacks for the next book. Then he peeked and saw Trevor on her lap while Danielle sat nearby, reading her own book. The last time he looked, Trevor was asleep on Ellie’s lap while she read to her daughter.

If the judge saw this, would it matter? he asked himself.

Noah wasn’t only watching Ellie and her children or browsing for books—he was also people watching. He wandered through the mall a couple of times. He’d been out of the mainstream of life for quite a while; he was either working in the fishing trade, attending the seminary or teaching at a conservative university. The students and staff were pretty buttoned down, more right wing than left. They certainly hadn’t looked Amish—there were plenty of tight and ragged jeans, short skirts, but they didn’t push the limits much. He’d been in a monastery, of sorts, where the culture was cautious. He had probably stood out the most, refusing to wear the standard V-neck sweater or herringbone jacket to teach in. As a professor he looked like he looked right now—very casual. He had acquired a suit for his wedding, and he wore it again for Merry’s funeral. He didn’t like the idea of suiting up for future church services.