Free Sworn to Protect by DiAnn Mills Page B

lip.
    “What’s wrong?” Danika asked.
    “What isn’t?” Barbara brushed a mosquito from her leg.
    “Do you want to talk?”
    “I hate to bother you when you have your own life.”
    “I’m here and I’m listening.” Danika took the empty chair where Nadine had sat and pulled Tiana into her lap.
    “It’s hard to know where to begin.” Barbara avoided eye contact. “This morning I told Jacob I suspected Nadine of drug abuse.” She took a deep breath, and Danika took her hand. “He called me a liar. I dared him to search her room, never thinking he’d actually do it. Nadine witnessed the whole thing. He tore her room apart, dumped out drawers, everything. Anyway, he found pills under her mattress, ones she called oxycotton. She admitted using them to cope with ‘life.’ He wanted to know where she got them, and she refused to say. I don’t need to tell you about the shouting that followed.”
    Danika wanted to ask if Jacob and Barbara had discussed help for their daughter, but knowing Jacob, he wasn’t finished with his lecture and ensuing punishment. He’d demand to handle it his way. “I’m so sorry. What can I do?”
    Barbara reached into her purse and pulled out a tissue. “Prayer is the best thing you can do for this family. You were right when you questioned my Naddie, and I should have spoken up sooner. I suspected she was using something for a few months, but I couldn’t bring myself to approach her. Where does a teen find street drugs? She goes so few places. I still find it incredible to believe.”
    “Why—”
    Barbara shook her head. “Don’t berate me. I get enough criticism from Jacob.”
    “Oh, honey, I don’t want to upset you.” Danika felt her throat tighten, and she reached for Barbara’s hand. “Jacob’s hurting from finding out about Nadine.”
    “According to Nadine, he pushed her into using. She’s repeatedly cried to me about how he won’t let her have friends or go places. My goodness, she’ll be a senior this fall, and he wants her playing Barbies. I purchased her a cell phone, but Jacob doesn’t know about it. I thought that concession would help. It did for a short while, but she’s miserable. And so are the other kids.” Barbara glanced to where Jacob was practicing softball before the game. “He accused me of turning the kids against him.”
    Danika believed every word. Jacob made life intolerable for those he loved at home and his peers at the station. She wanted so much for her brother-in-law, but he had to make the first step.
    “I can’t take much more. What he’s doing to the children is forcing me to make a decision.”
    Divorce. Barbara didn’t need to say the word. Danika had feared the split for several months. “Can I have Nadine’s number? Maybe I can call or text-message her.” She reached into her purse and wrapped her fingers around her phone to input the information. Barbara gave her the number with a reminder that Jacob could not find out about it. “Thanks. What about help for Nadine’s problem?”
    “I’ve been sitting here thinking about the services offered by the Border Patrol, church, and the community. Not sure which option would be the best. I’d like for the counselor to be Christian.”
    “My counselor prays for her patients.”
    Barbara tilted her head. “I thought you stopped going.”
    “I did, but this week I scheduled an appointment for Tuesday night. She sees patients as late as nine o’clock, which allows me to get Tiana to bed.”
    “Would you write down the name and number?”
    Danika reached back inside her purse and pulled out a small notebook to jot down Shannon Perry’s information. “You’ll like her. She listens with her heart, and her method is to help the patient find their own solutions to their problems, not give orders.”
    “Nadine is stubborn. She’d butt heads with someone else telling her what to do.”
    Like her father. “This sounds like a good fit and definitely worth a