“You can’t stop me. I’ll not take the money of a Kavanagh. I have three that are finished. Let me get them.”
She rose and exited the room. Alanna wished she hadn’t brought it up. She didn’t want Hattie to think she’d been hinting for a gift.
Hattie returned carrying three baskets. One was about forty centimeters square, and Alanna’s gaze was drawn to it. It would be large enough to store magazines and books by her bedside. The second was round and smallish. It might be good for pens and paper. The third was shaped like a boat.
“I can see you like this one.” Hattie extended the large square one toward her. “Take it. I’m honored to give it to you.”
Alanna’s fingers closed over the basket. Even the texture and weight of it made her smile. “Hattie, I know this must cost you dearly. Please let me pay you for it.” She’d heard what these baskets sold for. “I feel guilty to take it for free.”
“You’re family now, Alanna. Let this be the end of your protests.” Hattie set the other two baskets on the sofa and curled back up into her previous position. “Now tell me why you really came. Something is troubling you.”
Alanna clasped the basket to her chest and rested her chin on the top of it. “Is it usual for Americans to despise cats?”
Hattie frowned. “Cats? Why no. I have half a dozen kittens running around here most of the time, though usually different ones. No one cat seems to stay around for long. Most of us love our cats and spoil them rotten.”
“Last night Barry admitted he’d thrown a cat to the gator. The gator nearly got me when I saved the animal.”
Hattie blinked, then wet her lips and looked down at her hands.
“You’re not surprised.” Alanna tried not to show her shock.
“Barry has always been fascinated with the gators. From the time he was a child. Most often he fed them snakes and lizards. Sometimes rabbits when he could catch them.”
Alanna fought her revulsion. “Why does he like the gators so much?”
“Once he told me he admired the gator’s single-minded focus on its own needs.”
“But Barry is so selfless! He’s helped me through so many problems in the months I’ve known him, and he’s never asked for anything in return.”
When Hattie didn’t answer, Alanna shifted restlessly. Yes, Barry was focused, but that was a good thing. He’d always put her needs ahead of his own, so his obsession with such a savage animal unsettled her. “Do you think he’s thrown other cats to that gator?”
Hattie leaned forward and straightened an already perfect pile of magazines. “I really couldn’t say.”
Couldn’t or wouldn’t? “Did you see any evidence of cruelty when you were his nanny?”
“I shouldn’t be discussing the family this way,” Hattie said with an edge of firmness that warned she wouldn’t endure any more pressure.
Alanna recognized that she’d get no more information out of Hattie. Likely the older woman already regretted saying anything. Would Grady be willing to tell her more? She couldn’t say why it mattered so much to her. Maybe because such cruelty was so far outside her realm of thought. She’d thought she and Barry had the same values.
Now she wondered how well she really knew her new husband. “I’ll be going now.” She rose to her feet. “Thank you for the basket. You are too kind.”
“It was my pleasure.” Hattie followed Alanna to the door.
Alanna stepped outside. The heat and humidity nearly took her breath away. As she walked toward the house, she felt the weight of Hattie’s gaze on her back. If she didn’t know better, she would be thinking she’d seen pity in the woman’s dark eyes.
The scent of flowers reminded her of a wake as she trod the path home, though she didn’t know why the thought entered her head. Insects hummed at her ears, and she caught a whiff of decaying vegetation from the trees bordering the path. Something splashed in the lagoon, and she shuddered and averted her glance as she passed it. The alligator’s eyes sent shivers up her spine.
When Alanna came around the end of the house, she spotted Barry getting out of his Mercedes. He hadn’t been gone long—why? He waved to her. There was a folder in his left hand. Grimness strained his mouth, and she wondered if he knew how his actions with the cat had disconcerted her. Her steps dragged as she approached him.
“We’ve got trouble,” he said before she could say anything. He held up the folder. “Liam’s father has wasted no time. He is suing for custody of your child.”
She clutched her stomach. “Barry, what shall we do? Surely he knows he has no power over me here?”
“You’re not a citizen yet,” he reminded her. “I talked to my friend and he’s going to try to hurry along the paperwork. You’re to appear in Dublin in three weeks to answer the charges. I have another attorney working on delaying that order.”
“What charges? I thought you said he wanted custody. Is there more?”
Barry nodded, his mouth tightening. “Liam’s parents say you’re unfit to raise their grandchild because you’re a prostitute.”