Free Dead End Fix by T. E. Woods Page A

them, so exhausted he could barely walk, he was grinning like a jack-o’-lantern on Halloween night.
    “I’ve got
girls,
” Mort remembered his son saying. “Two of them. Claire was magnificent.
Twins.
Doc says they’re perfect.”
    Edie cried. Mort wrapped Robbie in a bear hug and danced him around the polished linoleum of the obstetrics waiting room. Then the three of them floated to the nursery, leaning on one another as ecstatic words of hopes and dreams tumbled from their lips.
    “There they are.” Edie pointed to a double-sized clear bassinet. “There are my grandbabies.”
    Mort looked down at the two small bundles inside. One twin, who he soon learned was Hadley, wore a pink cap and slept sweetly, wrapped up in her matching blanket. Next to her was her sister, wearing a white cap and squirming against the constraints of her swaddling. Mort watched her little legs push as tiny hands reached upward. Hayden.
    Then it happened.
    The miniature human opened her ice blue eyes and looked right at him. Separated by glass and under lights Mort wanted to scream were too bright, Hayden Edith Grant, newly born and instantly loved, fixed on him…claimed him…and he was hers.
    Edie used to tell him not to get used to the color. “Lots of babies are born with blue eyes. They’ll change. It may take a while, but that color will settle down.”
    It didn’t. His granddaughters were seven years old now. Their eyes were still the color of an Alaskan glacier in full sunlight.
    And now those mesmerizing eyes begged him for forgiveness.
    “Honey, this has nothing to do with anything you’ve done.”
    Hayden looked away.
    “Have I ever lied to you?”
    She pulled a stuffed panda closer to her and held it against her chest.
    “Ever? Maybe even once?” Mort asked.
    Hayden shook her head. Blond curls danced across her pillow.
    “I’m not going to start now. Look at me, sweetie. Can you?”
    Hayden turned toward her grandfather, giving Mort a full view of her torture. He laid his hand on the panda she clutched as armor.
    “Aunt Allie took Hadley. We think Hadley wanted to go.”
    “She left a note.”
    “I know she did. She said she was going on an adventure, remember?”
    Hayden’s breath caught. Mort stroked her hair, hoping to avert another round of pain-filled tears.
    “Aunt Allie didn’t have permission to take Hadley, sweetheart. And Hadley didn’t have Mom and Dad’s permission to go.”
    “Is she going to be in trouble?”
    “Hadley? No, sweetie. We’re going to be happy when Hadley comes home. She belongs here. With us.”
    Hayden scooted closer to Mort. He touched the end of her turned-up nose and smiled.
    “What about Aunt Allie? Will she be in trouble? She belongs here with us too, right?”
    Mort heaved a sigh. He had just promised never to lie to his granddaughter. But he was forced to deal with the difficult truth that his daughter, the golden child who had once brought such magic into his and Edie’s lives, had grown into a calculating criminal. A manipulative murderer who held nothing and no one above her own desires.
    But to Hayden and Hadley, Allie was a fairy princess. A beautiful vision promising the moon and the stars.
    “Let’s go downstairs, sweetie. We’ll see what Mom and Dad are up to, okay?”
    She rolled off the bed and into his arms. Mort held her and rocked, promising her everything would be fine. When she pulled away and headed down the hall, Mort was relieved. He hadn’t had to lie. And he hadn’t had to tell the truth.
    No, Hayden. Your aunt Allie doesn’t belong here with us.

Chapter 12
Seattle
    “What the fuck?” D’Loco called out from the porch of the old three-story Victorian that served as the 97s’ clubhouse. “I know I only gave you twenty, but damn, son. Brother could fix hisself up with something better than…what the hell is that?”
    Kashawn Meadows rolled up to the front of the house. He beamed a toothy grin at D’Loco and six other brothers relaxing in