Chapter 27

Baton Rouge, LA, 1989

Libby Turner smiled as she finished grading Ridge's math test. "One hundred percent!" she said.

"Yes!" Ridge held both hands in the air. "Ice cream tonight!"

"That's right," Libby said. "I knew you could do it."

"Do you think we can go to Baskin-Robbins? Instead of Vince bringing home ice cream?"

Libby sighed. She couldn't blame him for wanting out of here. What eleven-year-old child wanted to stay home all day? Ridge should be at the ice cream shop or the arcade with friends.

"Soon, sweetie. It's not safe for you to be seen right now."

"When will I go back with Mom?"

"Not till your dad's trial is over." Libby knew this was a lot for a child to take in, but she would not lie to him. He had already been through enough lies. "Would you like to call your mother tonight? Tell her about this A+?"

Ridge looked at his hands. "Not really."

Libby's brow furrowed. "Why not? It's been a week since you talked to her. She loves you very much."

"Do you love me too, Libby?"

"Of course, I do."

"Will you still love me as much after I go home with Mom?"

"I'll love you always, forever, and no matter what." She angled her chair toward him. "But we were talking about your mom and why you haven't wanted to call her."

Ridge began wringing his hands. "She never lets me talk to Sloan."

Libby frowned. "I think she's worried Sloan won't understand. That she'll tell someone she shouldn't."

"But Mom promised I could talk to Sloan. I'm doing this for her, and I can't even talk to her."

Libby cocked her head. "When you say you did it for Sloan, what do you mean?"

Ridge looked up at her, his face ashen. "Mom didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Ridge stared past her at the kitchen wall. Libby swept his bangs away from his eyes. "What did your mother tell you, Ridge?"

"Daddy was hurting Sloan. She told Mrs. Evans, but Mrs. Evans didn't believe her because she liked Dad so much."

A lump formed in Libby's throat. Why hadn't Caroline told her this? "So, your father was abusing all three of you?"

"No. He was nice to me. I'm not sure why he hurt Mom and Sloan."

Libby pressed her back against the kitchen chair. This boy needed counseling, and soon. He was confused about so much.

"Nice? But he was hurting you, Ridge. That's not nice. Hitting isn't nice."

Ridge looked confused. "That time he was sleeping and threw me off of him? That kinda hurt."

"Yeah. I bet it did. And remember how you had those bruises on your face and arm? How did you get those?"

"Oh, when I slipped? I was running in the kitchen with my socks on. Doreen told me not to, but I did anyway."

"You don't have to lie anymore. We know your father hurt you."

Ridge gave a slight headshake. "Just that one time, but he was asleep, so it was an accident."

He was in denial, Libby realized. He wanted to pretend he was the lone family member who was not a victim.

"Did you ever witness him hurt your mom? Or Sloan?" Libby wondered if Ridge would give his own stories to them. That way, he could share but still not paint himself as weak or victimized.

Ridge shrugged. "Well, that time I jumped on his back. He was on top of Mom, but he was asleep. He had been on top of Mom before shaking her, but Walt pulled him off her. Those were the only times I saw him try to hurt her. Mostly he screamed in his sleep. It's from the war."

"Your mom got a black eye after you got your bruises. Do you remember that?" Libby asked.

Ridge brought the collar of his t-shirt to his mouth. "Yeah. She told me Daddy hit her."

"And how did it make you feel to know that?"

"Surprised. Because Daddy was real nice to her. Noah said sometimes Walt and Doreen yelled at each other. But my mom and dad never fought. I didn't know he was hurting her."

Libby heard the stress in Ridge's voice. She needed to let it go for tonight. "Why don't you go play in the backyard? I'll call Vince and tell him to pick up ingredients for ice cream sundaes."

Ridge opened his mouth, letting the soggy shirt collar fall out. "It's nice how Vince comes home every night."

Tears filled Libby's eyes. This poor kid had never known a normal family. "It sure is," she said, turning away so he couldn't see her cry.

Libby waited till Ridge was in bed and the dishes were washed before calling Caroline. "How are you?" she asked, trying to keep a pleasant tone, even as Ridge's words gnawed at her. He was a child, and children lied. Caroline was her best friend. She could trust her.

"I'm great." Caroline's voice was light and bubbly. "How's our boy?"

"He's good." Libby dried the final bowl. "Already asleep. We had a busy night."

"No problem. Tell him to call whenever he's free. So, listen, I talked to the D.A. today. We've got this, Libby. Ridge did everything right. We hit a home run."

The excitement in Caroline's voice disgusted Libby. Made her feel like she'd just accidentally dipped her sleeve into dirty dishwater. It shouldn't have. This was her plan, too. She wanted Jay to go to jail. He shouldn't be free to hurt Ridge or Caroline. But to be this excited about the destruction of a family didn't feel right.

"Anna's still the media's sweetheart," Caroline said. "She's so pathetic. People eat it up, though. I heard her church set up a fund for the kids' college. Must be nice. Maybe I should take one of those interview offers for my side of the story."

"Don't," Libby said. "People would pick apart every word you say. Something might slip. And the more out there you are, the more they will follow you. They'll keep looking for you after you leave."

"I know. It would just be nice if I got something out of this. Something for the kids' futures, I mean. Has anyone set up a college fund for Sloan? Of course not."

"How is she?" Libby asked.

"She's good."

"Good? Really? Vince and I have worried about Sloan. I thought it would be difficult for her."

"Um, yeah, it's been a bit rocky. She wanted to visit her dad, but I put an end to that. She hasn't asked again and spends most of her time with the Dawsons."

The sleeve in dirty dishwater feeling was back. Hate Jay, that was fine, but Caroline's complete lack of compassion for her own daughter was astonishing. "She needs someone to talk to. She needs you, Caroline."

"Sloan won't talk to me." Caroline's voice suddenly had an edge. "She's a teenager."

"Have you gotten her an appointment with a counselor?"

Caroline groaned. "What's the point of doing that here? We'll be gone in a few months. I'll find them one in New York."

"Scars from abuse run deep, Caroline. She needs to talk to a professional, and soon. It would probably even help the case against Jay," Libby added. If Caroline wouldn't do it for her daughter, she might for her own vengeance.

"Did Ridge tell you that?" Caroline's voice had lost its animation.

"Yeah. Why didn't you? You told me Jay was abusing Ridge."

"Well, he was," Caroline said.

"But you didn't feel the need to tell me he was hurting Sloan too? And that she told her teacher? My god, Caroline, that's huge. She could have been a witness for you. Judges believe teachers. We didn't have to do any of this."

"She didn't believe her. Jay has her fooled like everyone else."

"Are you serious?" Libby paced as far as the cord would allow, silently convincing herself they had done the right thing. What kind of teacher would just dismiss claims like that from a child? "You still should have told."

"You're right, sorry," Caroline said with no emotion. "I had a lot on my mind back then."

Libby heard movement from Ridge's room down the hallway. "I need to get off the phone. Vince doesn't think we should talk much till the trial is over. He's worried they bugged your house."

Caroline sighed into the phone. "How do you live with such a paranoid conspiracist? No one has bugged anything. The police haven't been to my house since Jay was arrested. If they'd bugged it, we would have all been arrested months ago."

Libby knew that. But they were putting their entire lives on the line for Caroline and the kids. And did Caroline even realize that the paranoid conspiracist was currently reading her son another chapter of Hatchet before bed? Libby felt her blood pressure rising. She affixed her pleasant voice and told Caroline it was good talking to her. But she couldn't help slamming down the phone when she finished.

"What was that about?" Vince stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall.

"Caroline."

He stroked his gray beard. "I told you not to talk to her. She hasn't messed up, has she?"

"Legally, no? As a mother, yes, I think so."

Vince walked toward the kitchen. "Come on, have a seat. I'll make you another bowl of ice cream, and we'll talk."

Libby plopped down at the kitchen table. "Is Ridge asleep?"

"Yeah, he passed out before I finished reading." Vince looked up from the ice cream carton. "It's nice to have a chance to do these dad things."

A much-needed warmth expanded in Libby's chest. "You would have made such a good father. Why did we never try to adopt?"

Vince set a bowl of Rocky Road in front of her. "Shoulda coulda woulda. I'd say we've had a good life, a fulfilling one, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, of course. But it does feel good to do this. To take care of a child, to nurture him."

"He's so resilient," Vince said, scooping a bite out of his own bowl. "He's a tough kid. I guess he had to be to survive all that abuse."

Libby set her spoon down. "That's what led to my phone call with Caroline tonight. Ridge told me earlier his dad never abused him. He seemed shocked that I thought otherwise."

"Ridge is a child. I think you forget that sometimes because he's so smart. You saw the bruises."

"Yeah, but he said his mother told him Sloan was being abused by Jay. That Sloan even told her teacher. Don't you think it's strange she never mentioned that to me?" Libby asked.

"Sloan?"

"No, Caroline. Why would she tell Ridge that but not me?"

Vince tapped his spoon against his chin. "Ridge lived in that house. He probably heard or saw things. Probably realized what was happening, and Caroline just confirmed it."

"It's possible," Libby said. "But something seems off. The way Caroline is acting, the things Ridge said."

Vince sat down his spoon, rubbing a hand over his prominent belly. "Let me talk to Ridge tomorrow. He'll shoot straight with me."

Libby reached out and touched her husband's arm. "Thank you. I'm sure I'm just emotional after learning that about Sloan."

Vince put his own hand on top of hers. "Don't worry. They'll both be safe with their mother."

Libby smiled and nodded, but honestly, she wasn't so sure anymore.