Page 111 of The Bitterroot Inn (Jamison Valley 5)
At least there was that.
“I met Coby about four months ago when I met Maisy,” Hunter said. “In that time, I’ve had the honor of spending time with him. He’s a remarkable child. He’s got his father’s intelligence. And his mother’s heart.”
My fortitude wavered. Hunter’s eyes, full of regret and apology, were waiting for mine. His shoulders tensed before he glanced at Eleanor.
“Your Honor, if your concern is introducing Everett to Coby, I will ensure that happens. But I can’t in good conscience keep quiet about Nell’s character. Coby would not benefit from spending time in Michigan.”
Nell?
The judge asked the same question.
“Nell, her preferred name,” Hunter clarified.
Eleanor was Nell.
The blows kept coming and I sank, defeated, into my stiff chair. I had asked Hunter specifically about Nell and he’d shut me out. That would have been
the perfect opportunity for him to come clean.
“Let’s hear about these character issues,” the judge said.
Hunter nodded. “Coby needs love and affection. He’s no different than any other child. Nell doesn’t have it in her to give him the love he needs. It’s just not part of her makeup. Nell married my father when I was ten, and in the twenty-four years that I have known her, she has not once given me a hug. She’s never made me a meal or told me that she cares. All of those things, those motherly things that Coby gets from Maisy, will be entirely absent in the time he spends with Nell.”
As wrecked as I was that Hunter had kept his secrets, my heart still felt sad for his childhood. His mother had died too young. His father had had to cope with the loss of his wife. Hunter had gotten stuck with a cold stepmother and Everett as a stepbrother.
But he’d lied. I couldn’t forget that.
“Coby is a happy child, Your Honor,” Hunter continued. “Separating him from his mother would only cause stress in his young life. If Eleanor had been more loving in my youth, I’d agree that a grandmother’s influence could be beneficial for Coby, but I don’t think that is the case here.”
The room went silent as Hunter’s last words rang through the room. Everyone sat motionless, digesting his statement.
Moments later, Judge Tubor broke the air. “Would you like to respond, Ms. Carlson?”
Eleanor stared shocked at Hunter, blinking a few times as she formulated her response. “My chef makes delicious meals and the boy would have an excellent nanny for the other parts.”
“Coby,” Hunter said. “Not ‘the boy.’ His name is Coby.”
Surprised turned to hate and her face twisted in a snarl. “I hate that name. If she hadn’t murdered Everett, he’d have a decent name.”
Every Holt in the room gasped.
“I apologize, Your Honor,” Eleanor’s attorney spoke up after shushing his client.
“It would be in your best interest, Ms. Carlson, to leave your opinions about your son’s death out of these proceedings.”
“Of course,” her attorney answered.
“Do you have anything else you’d like to add, Dr. Faraday?” the judge asked.
Hunter shook his head and nodded to Stuart. “No. Thank you for the opportunity to speak.”
“You’re excused.”
Hunter nodded and rose from his chair. As he walked past me, I studied the table until he’d returned to his seat. When I looked up, Judge Tubor was staring at Eleanor’s attorney.
“Do you have other witnesses?”
The bald man shook his head.
