Page 9 of Tethered

“I know you are. Scared is good. It means you can still trust your instincts. If you weren’t scared, I’d be concerned. Now, is there anything I need to mention to Jen, anything pressing or that she should know right off the bat so she can get the ball rolling?”

“I don’t know. I know he’ll fight me for Hannah. Not because he wants her, but because he won’t want me to have her. He’ll make her life hell just because he knows it will hurt me. I wanted to spare her…I tried to fix things. I thought, if I could be a better wife, everything would be good again. But it’s not me. I am a good wife. I’m a good mom. He just makes me feel like I’m going crazy. Like I’m the one causing all the problems.”

“That’s what abusers do. They gaslight you so you think you’re always at fault. But you know that’s not true because there is no fucking reason on earth that will justify that handprint on Hannah’s face, other than the man that put it there is evil.”

“I tried to protect her?—”

“You are protecting her, Dawn. This is the best way to do it. Don’t let that sweet girl in there become a weapon he uses to strike at you with.”

“You’re right. Tell me what I need to do.”

“I’ll ask Jen. She’ll be able to tell me more.”

She nods, biting her lip. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to pay her or if she’ll even take my case.”

“She’ll take your case, and don’t worry about paying her. I didn’t pay for fifteen years, and now I have to practically force her to take it.”

She looks relieved, which is good. I’ll be paying Jen myself for Dawn, but she doesn’t need to know that. I don’t want her to feel obligated toward me in any way.

“I’ll be right back. Please make yourself at home.” I give her shoulder a squeeze and head to the den, where it’s quieter.

I drop down on the sofa with a sigh and pull out my cell phone to call Jen. She doesn’t answer, so I head up to the workshop and mix a cocktail that will help Dawn feel a little better. I grab a jar of the cream for bruising and take it downstairs just as my cell rings. I dip back into the den and put my stuff on the table so I can answer.

“Hey, Jen.”

“Sorry, Calliope. I was in with a client. You okay?”

“I’m fine, but I have a house guest who could use some legal advice.” I fill her in on everything that’s happened and listen as she takes a deep breath.

“Alright, first things first. I’ll work on getting an order of protection against the ranch. If she won’t press charges, tryingto get one for her and the child will be harder. But the ranch is different, especially given your history. This way, if he approaches the ranch at all, he can be arrested, regardless of his reason to be there.”

“Wait, you can do that?”

“Not as a general rule, no, but there have been a few incidents where the building and the people within have fallen under blanket protection. Like a sex offender not being able to go within fifty yards of a school he might live near.”

“Not sure this is the same, but whatever you can do to help, I’ll take.”

“Not saying it will be easy. I’ll have to be my usual charming self and hope we get a judge that isn’t part of the old boys’ club.”

I grunt at that, knowing exactly how that goes. I have faith in Jen, though. If anyone can make this work, it will be her. But I won’t be putting all my eggs in one basket, just in case.

“If that fails, keep them close, as you still have your order of protection.”

I sigh. “Okay, what else should we do?”

“Get Riggs to take her over and collect essential paperwork like birth certificates, passports, and shit like that. Have her call Hannah’s school and have him taken off the pickup list if he’s on it. Take a photo of any marks on both Dawn and Hannah. I like to have them in case he switches this around to make Dawn the bad guy.”

“Oh, I have no doubt about that. Guys like this don’t like to lose.”

“Well, he’ll try to pull at the threads of her life to see which one unravels, and then he’ll keep pulling until she’s tied up in knots. That’s when he’ll likely swoop in and seek custody.”

“I’ve taken photos of Dawn. I’ll get one of Hannah.”

“Good. Make sure she keeps any nasty texts and voicemail messages, too. Anything that will paint him in a bad light.”

“I’ll tell her.”

She’s quiet for a minute. I know she wants to say something. She’s just trying to word it in a way that won’t hurt.