Steel, Danielle: The House On Hope Street

“I’m so sorry to call you on Christmas Eve … Phil called a little while ago, and …” She began to sob as Liz listened and tried to soothe her.

“What did he say?”

“He says if I don’t tell you to unfreeze everything, he’s going to kill me, he says he’ll never give me ten cents of support, and the kids and I can starve for all he cares.”

“That won’t happen and you know it. He has to support you. He’s just trying to scare you.” And he had, very successfully. Liz hated cases like this one, where she had to watch a client she liked being abused. Some of the stories Amanda had told her early on had made her shudder. He had browbeaten and terrorized her, so much so that she had waited years to leave him. And now she was just going to have to tough it out while he threatened her, and they got her the kind of support she deserved to get from him. But Liz knew it wasn’t easy for her. Amanda was a perfect victim. “Don’t answer your phone again tonight,” Liz said quietly. “Lock your doors, stay home with the kids, and if you hear anything suspicious outside, call the police. Okay, Amanda? He’s just trying to scare you. Remember, he’s a bully. If you hold your ground, he’ll back off.”

Amanda didn’t sound convinced when she answered. “He says he’s going to kill me.”

“If he threatens you again, we’ll get a restraining order next week. And then if he comes near you, we can have him arrested.”

“Thank you,” she said, sounding slightly relieved, but not enough. “I’m so sorry to bother you on Christmas Eve.”

“You’re not bothering us. That’s what we’re here for. Call again if you need to.”

“I’m okay. I feel better now. Just talking to you helps me,” she said, sounding grateful, and Liz’s heart went out to her. It was a hell of a way to spend Christmas.

“I feel so sorry for her,” Liz said to Jack when she walked into their bedroom afterwards. She’d been talking to Amanda on the phone in the hallway. “She’s just not equipped to deal with that bastard.”

“That’s why she has us to defend her.” He had taken off his shoes and was wandering around their bedroom in stocking feet, silently chortling to himself about the gift he had bought her. But when he glanced at Liz, he saw that she was looking genuinely worried.

“Do you think he’d really dare hurt her at this point?” she asked him. Phillip Parker had hurt his wife a long time before, but they had been separated for quite a while.

“No, I don’t. I think he’s just trying to intimidate her. What does he want now? For us to reverse today’s order?” Liz nodded. It was exactly what Jack had expected, and didn’t surprise either of them. “He can sing the blues on that all he wants, we’re not reversing anything, and he knows it.”

“Poor Amanda. This is so hard for her.”

“She just has to tough it out and get through this. We’ll do fine for her, and he’ll get over it. He has more than enough to give her a decent settlement, and support for her and the kids. He can cut back a little on one of his girlfriends if he has to.”

“Maybe that’s what he’s afraid of.” Liz smiled, and looked admiringly at her husband. He was taking his shirt off, and as always, he looked incredibly handsome to her. At forty-four, he still had a strong, athletic-looking body, and in spite of the white hair, he looked years younger than he was.

“What are you smiling at?” he teased her, as he took off his trousers.

“I was thinking about how cute you are. I think you’re even better looking and sexier than when we got married.”

“You’re going blind, my love, but I’m grateful for it. You look pretty good too.” At forty-one, no one would have guessed that she had had five children. He walked back across the room and kissed her, and they both put Amanda Parker and her problems out of mind. As much as they liked her and felt sorry for her, she was still part of their work life, and something they needed to forget now, in order to put their work behind them and enjoy Christmas with each other and their kids.

They sat in bed and watched TV for a while, the girls came in to say good night before they went to bed, and Liz heard Peter come in on the stroke of eleven. He was always conscientious about his curfews. And after they watched the news, she and Jack turned off the light and slid into bed, with an arm around each other. She loved cuddling with him, and when he whispered to her, she giggled, and tiptoed across the room to lock the door of their bedroom. You never knew when one of the children would come in, particularly Jamie, who often woke up at night and came in to ask her to help him get a drink of water, and tuck him back into bed. But once the door was locked, the room was theirs, and as Jack slipped off her nightgown and kissed her, she moaned softly as they found each other. It was the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve.

The House On Hope Street

Chapter 2

On Christmas morning, Jamie climbed into bed with them at six-thirty in the morning. Liz had her nightgown back on by then, and they had unlocked the door before they went to sleep. Jack was still sound asleep in his pajama bottoms as Jamie settled in next to Liz. She and Jack had cuddled close to each other all night, and everyone else in the house was still asleep when Jamie asked her if it was time to go downstairs yet.

“Not yet, sweetheart,” she whispered to him. “Why don’t you sleep with us for a while. It’s still nighttime.”

“When will it be time to go downstairs?” he whispered softly.

“Not for another couple of hours.” She was hoping to stall him for as long as possible. At least till eight, if she was lucky. The others were old enough not to want to get up at the crack of dawn anymore. But Jamie was overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation. Eventually, she tiptoed back to his room with him, and gave him a kiss and a bucket of Legos to play with. “I’ll come and get you when it’s time,” she promised as he started building something with the Lego blocks, and she went back to cuddle up to Jack for another hour. He was warm and cozy, and she smiled to herself as she tucked herself in right behind him.

It was after eight when Jack finally stirred, and Jamie walked back into their bedroom. He said he’d used up all his Legos. Liz kissed her husband and smiled at him, as he grinned sleepily at her, remembering the pleasures of the night before, and she sent Jamie to wake the others.

“How long have you been up?” Jack asked, casting a lazy arm around her, and pulling her closer.

“Jamie came in at six-thirty. He’s been very patient, but I don’t think he’ll hold out for much longer.” Five minutes later, he was back in their bedroom, with the others straggling behind him. The girls looked half asleep, and Peter had an arm around Jamie. He had helped put the bike together for him the night before, and was smiling, thinking of how much Jamie was going to like it.

“Come on, get up, Dad,” Peter said with a grin, pulling the covers off his father, as Jack groaned and rolled over, trying to put a pillow over his head, but just watching him do it brought out a spirit of mischief in his daughters, and before he could defend himself, Annie and Rachel jumped on top of him, and Megan tickled him, as Jamie squealed in delighted excitement. Liz got up and put her robe on as she watched them. They were suddenly a tangle of arms and legs, all acting like little kids again, as their father retaliated and tickled them, and pulled Jamie into bed with him. They were one big pretzel of giggling kids and bodies as Liz laughed and finally rescued Jack, and told them all it was time to go downstairs and see what Santa had left them. Jamie was the first off the bed as soon as she said it, and rushed headlong toward the doorway, and the others followed suit, still laughing, as Peter and Jack walked behind them. Jamie was already halfway down the stairs as the others left their parents’ bedroom.