Free Letting Go by Sloane Kennedy Page B

the tense situation. She ushered the children upstairs. Devlin turned his cold eyes on Elliot.
    “I believe it would be better if you and your wife waited outside,” he said.
    “No! Now I want to know what the hell is going on here. Where did you find her? And why the hell didn’t you contact us?” At his sharp tone, the woman took another step closer to the two men.
    “Dr. Dane,” she began.
    “I want some answers damn it!” His rage was palpable but Devlin was unmoved.
    “Dr. Dane, I am going to ask you for the last time to wait outside.” His polite threat enraged Elliot even more but Caroline’s hand on her husband’s arm stopped him from taking the stand off to the next level.
    “Come Elliot, let’s go start the car so it’s nice and warm for Isabel.” Several long moments passed before he seemed to realize that an outsider had witnessed his rage. He glanced pointedly at the other woman and then nodded his head.
    “Of course. Casey, it’s good to have you home” he said gently as he moved towards the front door.
    “Honey, we’re glad you’re safe. You come home whenever you’re ready, okay?” said Caroline. She gave Casey one last longing look before she took her husband’s hand and followed him out of the house.
    “Mr. Prescott, I trust that you will be able to adequately explain all this to the court?” said the other woman sternly.
    “Yes ma’am, I will.”
    “Good.” She left the house.
    Devlin turned to Casey who hadn’t moved. Her eyes were glued to the floor. “They’re gone,” he said. She looked at him and then scanned the empty room. Devlin pried her fingers from his sleeve.
    “What are they doing here?” she asked as the reality of it all started to sink in.
    “They have visitation every other Saturday.”
    “No, I mean what are they doing here in New York?”
    “Your stepfather moved his practice here from Connecticut two years ago.”
    She looked at him in disbelief. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “Because I was afraid you wouldn’t come if you knew they were in the same city.”
    “You’re damn right I wouldn’t have come,” she said irrationally as she turned and started up the stairs. He grabbed her wrist.
    “I’m sorry about this. I was going to tell you this morning before they got here but they were early.”
    Mrs. Potter appeared at the top of the stairs with Isabel in hand. The little girl was holding on to Sampson’s collar with her other hand.
    “I don’t wanna go with Gramma and Grandpa Uncle Dev.”
    Devlin released his grip on Casey and went to kneel in front of the little girl. “I know you don’t darlin but it’s just for a little while. They’re gonna take you to see all the animals at the zoo. You like the zoo, right?”
    The little girl nodded pitifully and ran her hand over Sampson’s head. “Can Sampson come?”
    “No honey, he has to stay here. Otherwise the people at the zoo might want to keep him and you don’t want that, do you?” She shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. The display of affection tore through Casey like a knife. “You be real good, okay?” he said as Mrs. Potter urged her down the stairs.
    As she passed Casey, Isabel softly said, “Bye Miss Wilkes.”
    “Bye Isabel.” As she watched the little girl disappear out the front door, her anxiety about her parent’s close proximity to her was temporarily forgotten.
    “How can you let them take her?”
    “I don’t have a choice. If I don’t comply with the court order, they’ll put her into foster care until the custody suit is settled.”
    “But you know what they’ll do to her!”
    Devlin struggled to remain calm even though the helplessness that consumed him was pure torture. “I couldn’t prove that you and Amanda were physically abused. And without proof, the court wouldn’t deny visitation. But it’s supervised visitation – that woman was an officer of the court. Isabel is never alone with either of them.”
    The explanation