"Oh, I'm happy to help you there. I'll talk to Wilma Riley. She's been everywhere signing guys up for this."

"I have no idea who that is," he said.

"You don't need to. But just so you know, Wilma is the biggest animal lover in town, and she's a vocal member of Tim's congregation. Wilma will guilt him into it. Let me see what I can do."

"So you'll help me?"

"I'll help you get Tim into the auction. But I think you're cracked if you think Charlene and Tim are a match made in heaven."

"Even if Miriam Randall has guaranteed it?"

"Mike, if Miriam's right and Charlene and Tim are a match, they will find each other."

Ethan came scurrying up to his mother. "Mom, you won't believe it. Rainbow's cat caught a mouse, and she ripped off its head, and there was blood and gore everywhere. Isn't that cool?"

Amanda blanched. "Did she tell you that?"

"Yeah. She said her cat was teaching the kittens how to kill mice."

Amanda took her child by the shoulders. "Ethan, I'm sure she was merely-"

"No," Mike interrupted. "Tigger is quite a mouse killer."

"Is that why you have a Band-Aid on your head? Did you really trip over a mouse?" the boy asked.

"Yeah," Mike had to admit. And once he answered that question, Ethan was all over him for the rest of the gory mouse story.

Mike took a long swim against the Edisto's current while Amanda watched the kids. Then he gave both Ethan and Rainbow swimming lessons. Ethan took to the water like a baby seal. Rainbow, not so much.

But they both made progress.

Amanda left around noon, and Mike rounded up Rainbow for lunch, too. They packed up the new sand toys and headed back to the Polk family's river house, where he'd stashed a pizza in the freezer.

He had just topped the hill when a tan police car came crunching down the gravel access road. The cruiser pa.s.sed them and then rolled to a stop ahead, blocking their way to Charlene's house.

An African-American officer wearing the uniform of the Last Chance police department emerged. The guy gave the words "poker face" a whole new meaning. He wore mirrored gla.s.ses and a Stetson that shaded his face. He gave nothing away.

He strode toward them, invading Mike's s.p.a.ce. He put his hands on his hips, the threat clear. Rainbow freaked out. She leaned into Mike, throwing her arm around his waist. She was trembling.

"You Michael C. Taggart?" the cop asked.

"I am."

"You'll need to come with me."

"On what grounds?"

"Trespa.s.sing. Breaking and entering. I don't want to cuff you, sir. If you come without a fight, we can get the child into emergency protective custody without causing a scene. I've already notified the county."

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you not break into the house up yonder?" He pointed toward Charlene's house. Mike noticed a second car in the drive right behind his-a big-a.s.s, black Town Car that he didn't recognize.

"Uh, look, there's some mistake. Charlene Polk gave me the keys to the house and told me that I could use it whenever I wanted. You can call her and check it out. And for the record I don't want Rainbow to go into emergency protective custody. She's already had enough of that. Just call Reverend Lake."

The cop let go of a sigh. "Look, Reverend Lake is busy. It's Sunday. And Miz Frances says you broke into her house. She wants us to have you arrested, and when that happens to a single parent, we call the county and put the kids into protective custody."

"I didn't break into her house. I had permission."

"Not from Miz Frances you didn't. And when a property owner out here tells us that someone has broken into their house, then it's my job to bring that person in." He paused for a moment, his face utterly impa.s.sive. "So, you coming? Or do I have to put cuffs on you and scare the little girl? You've got three seconds to decide."

Rainbow might not say much, but she could hear just fine. The moment the cop said the word "cuffs," she took off up the hill running like there was no tomorrow.

Had she learned this tactic from Angie? Mike's sister had been arrested a number of times, which meant this wasn't the first bust Rainbow had witnessed.

All this flashed through Mike's head in an instant, along with an overwhelming need to protect Rainbow no matter what. So he didn't think about the situation, he ran after the kid. And that's how he ended up being tackled by the cop and cuffed without ceremony. The moment he was incapacitated, he swiveled his head searching for Rainbow, who was still screaming her head off.

Someone-a woman he didn't recognize-had captured Rainbow. The kid was struggling to get away, kicking at the woman, who was screaming right back at her. But the words coming out of the adult's mouth were mean and bigoted.

The cop hurried up the hill to take charge of Rainbow, who was still struggling, although her screams were starting to subside. "Miz Frances, there's no need to be ugly, now. And I surely do hope you are right about this," the cop said.

Miz Frances glowered at the cop. "It's not your job to question me. I'm Ryan Polk's wife, and that man did not have my permission to use this house. I hope you charge him with resisting arrest." She turned her nose up in the air and headed back inside. Wow. Was that woman Charlene's mother?

Mike muttered a low curse. Maybe Charlene wasn't such a good mate for Tim, after all. Not if Rainbow's future granny was a bigot. He hoped the kid hadn't understood some of the nasty things the woman had said. Wow, it was incredible to see that kind of bigotry on display. And with an African-American officer on the scene.

The cop picked Rainbow up and threw her over his shoulder-a move that was pretty much standard practice when Rainbow was behaving this way. Mike didn't blame him for doing that. It wasn't unkind. It was merely expedient.

But then Rainbow did the unthinkable. She bit the cop hard, right on his a.s.s.

It was wrong to take any satisfaction from the kid's violent behavior. Rainbow needed to learn how to control herself. But he couldn't help it. A small part of him-the street kid he'd once been-admired Rainbow's grit.

CHAPTER.

16.

Tim's cell phone rang just as he walked through the front door of the parish house after Sunday services. It was Andrea. His heart lifted. "Hey, Andrea."

"Tim. I'm sorry to call you on a Sunday like this. I know this is your busy day, but there's an emergency."

"What?"

"Your brother has been arrested. And the officer in charge took emergency custody of Rainbow, which is allowed under South Carolina law. Unless we get Mike to specify in writing that you should take charge of Rainbow, she's going to go into foster care. So you need to get down to the munic.i.p.al building right away."

Tim's heart started hammering in his chest. Mike was arrested? He couldn't believe it. And hearing this news made him wonder if he'd been too gullible. "How do you know this?"

"I get called in on these cases to make an a.s.sessment as to whether the child has been abused. Rainbow is with me right at the moment. I have to tell you that the policeman started out insisting that Rainbow be sent to juvenile detention. Which is ridiculous for a child her age. But she apparently bit the officer."

"She bit him?"

"Yes, she bit him on the backside." Andrea sounded as if she were trying not to be amused.

"You know," Tim said, "violence like that is not amusing."

"No, it's not. But in this case, if you ask me, the officer had it coming. In my judgment, he could have handled things a little differently. In any case, Mike has been arrested, so you need to get down here."

"Arrested? For what?"

"I gather he broke into a house down at the country club. I don't know all the details, only that he's being held at the county munic.i.p.al building."

"Why would he break into a house down at the country club? He just needed to ask for keys to Martha's house."

"He didn't break into Martha's house, Tim. He broke into Frances Polk's house, and Frances is pressing charges."

"Frances Polk?"

"Tim, I know you're new in town, but Frances is married to Ryan Polk, who runs the First National Bank. When Frances has a hissy fit, everyone in the government pays attention, right down to the Last Chance police department. So Mike's in big trouble. You need to get down here before someone does something stupid and throws Rainbow into a foster home. I'm trying to get the sheriff's department to let me talk to Mike. He needs to specify in writing that you are Rainbow's temporary guardian. But I need you here to take custody of her."

"But I'm not-"

"I know you don't think you're ready. But you are. You're a good person, Timothy Lake. You may be still trying to process the fact that you have an extended family, but please ask yourself: Would you rather they put Rainbow in a home with complete strangers or let her stay with you? Didn't you say last week that you regretted the fact that you didn't offer Mike and Rainbow a place in the parish house?"

Tim's heart came right up into his throat, and his body flushed. He couldn't breathe. He started to reach for his rescue inhaler.

"Tim, are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here. What on earth was Mike thinking, breaking into Frances Polk's house?"

"I have no idea. But that's beside the point."

Was it? Mike had been raised without religion, without a moral code, without a father figure. The fact that he got himself into trouble shouldn't be so shocking. And yet it was.

"All right," Tim said through his suddenly tight throat. "I'll be there just as soon as I can."

Charlene's phone rang as she was finishing up at George Nelson's farm. She didn't recognize the caller ID, but it was a local area code.

An emergency, probably. She pressed the talk b.u.t.ton. "Dr. Polk."

"Hey, Doc, it's Sheriff Rhodes. I've got a little situation down here at the county building and I thought maybe you could help."

"Uh, Sheriff, if you have an animal situation, you should call animal control."

"It's not an animal situation. I need to ask you a question. Did you give Michael C. Taggart permission to use your family's river house?"

"Yes. I gave him the keys yesterday."

The sheriff, who was normally a cool and collected guy, used a swear word.

"Uh-oh. Sheriff, please don't tell me someone ha.s.sled him out there."

"I'm afraid it's worse. Your momma called the Last Chance Police Department when she found a strange car in the drive and clothes in one of the bedrooms. I guess she went a little nuts when she realized it was Mr. Taggart and his little girl."

"Nuts?"

"Well, ma'am, Meryl, the dispatcher on duty, said your momma pitched a fit. Meryl didn't know what to do with her so she patched her in with Royal Sherman, the new deputy chief in Last Chance. And I reckon he decided this represented his big opportunity to show the folks that they could count on him. Unfortunately, Royal doesn't really know how things work in a small town. I'm afraid he treated the situation like we were in downtown Atlanta or something. I'm afraid he arrested Mr. Taggart for trespa.s.sing and resisting arrest."

"Oh, my goodness, where was Rainbow when this happened?"

"Right there. She's with Dr. Newsome right now, and I gather some attempt is being made to name Reverend Lake as a temporary custodian. I'm on my way down there, and I hope to have this straightened out. It would be helpful if you could get your momma to call me and let me know this was one big misunderstanding."

"Isn't my word good enough, Sheriff?"

"I reckon. But you know how she can be."

"My mother can go to h.e.l.l. You can't hold Mike. He had permission from me to use the house. I gave him my key. I can't believe this."

Fury coursed through every atom in her body. Mother hadn't wanted Charlene to keep Derrick's baby. And now she wanted to make Rainbow pay just because Charlene had grown attached to her.

Mother's cruelty was breathtaking.

Sheriff Rhodes sighed audibly. "Look, Charlene, I'm on my way down to the office. I'll get this straightened out. But for everyone's sake, it would be helpful if your momma would apologize."

"She won't."

"That's too bad."

"You need to let Mike go. Now."

She didn't wait for Sheriff Rhodes's response. She hung up on him and stood in George Nelson's barn taking deep breaths as she calmed herself.

She knew exactly why Stone Rhodes wanted Mother's apology. He had to stand for election every four years, so it only made sense that he didn't want to get crosswise with one of the wealthiest and most politically connected families in Allenberg. But even so, the sheriff had no case against Mike. And he knew it.

Charlene left the farm and drove straight to the river. Mike's car was still in the drive, but Mother's sedan was nowhere in sight. So Charlene drove to her parents' house in town.

She purposely wore her boots and neglected to wipe her feet as she hurried into the family room, where she found Daddy watching a baseball game and Mother sitting beside him drinking a gla.s.s of wine.

They looked as if nothing untoward had occurred in their lives this Sunday afternoon.