Page 27 of The Rancher's Heart
“No.”
“Do you get in fights at school?”
She hesitated. “Only when I’m being bullied.”
“You’re bullied? By who?” Jonas didn’t like that.
The kid shrugged.
“Okay. How do you do in your classes?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“Then I think she’ll like you, but how about we wait and see?” Being caught between meeting a sister you didn’t know and being taken into CDHS protection had to be frightening. Crossing his mental fingers that he wouldn’t have to wrestle the teen to keep her here until Sloane arrived, he said, “Don’t move. I have to call Ms. Owens now. If we don’t do this according to the rules, it could jeopardize your stay with Sloane.”And his license, though that wasn’t his primary concern at the moment.
Sitting up straight, Clara narrowed her eyes at him.
“I know. I’m not the boss of you,” he said calmly and dialed the number on the card.
“Hello?”
“Nora Owens?”
“Yes.”
“This is Jonas Lohmen. We met just a bit ago in my office.” He wished he could have this conversation without Clara watching him so closely as she held her breath. From the obstinate look on her face, if the kid could bolt, she would.
“The lawyer. Did you find her?”
He could try to keep her location to himself for another few hours, at least until after Sloane and Clara met, but from experience, he knew that wouldn’t end well. “She’s here.”
“I’ll be right there,” Nora said.
He met Clara’s shuttered gaze. “Listen, Nora. She’s here to find her sister. I’m pretty positive I know who she is. She’s on her way here now.” He nodded at the teen in an attempt to reassure her. She had to have someone on her side. “You know when runaways are forced into a foster home, where they don’t want to stay, they run, and many of them become homeless. We have a chance to connect these two sisters. Isn’t that what CDHS wants?”
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Then, “I could get in trouble for this, but okay. We’ll play it your way, Mr. Lawyerman. But I need to see her tonight to make sure she’s okay, meet this sister, and call my boss.”
“We can do that. We’ll meet at Sloane’s house.” He gave Nora Sloane’s address and then hung up.
Just as he did, the door behind him rattled, and a hand slapped on the glass as Sloane tried to get in.
“Here’s Sloane.” Jonas unlocked the door and stood back.
Maybe he should have alerted his friend to what she was about to walk into. It was too late now. Hopefully, she wouldn’t clock him on the arm, which she didn’t hesitate to do when he overstepped.
“What’s wrong—”
Jonas had backed up to the point that Clara was hidden behind him. She peered around his back. Sloane’s brown eyes widened before she looked at him, more than one question shooting his way.
“Sloane, this is Clara. She showed up at my office a little while ago—”
Her gaze returned to the teen. Her eyes round with her own questions, Clara dug into her pocket and pulled out a wrinkled envelope. Circling Jonas, she held it out to Sloane.
Sloane sat on one of the chairs that lined the window wall. Glancing at Clara, who said nothing, she opened the envelope and took out a sheet of paper. Her brows pulled together as she began to read.
Clara stayed next to Jonas. He put an arm around the girl’s shoulders and edged her over to sit beside Sloane.
Sloane looked up, her eyes shiny, and asked Clara, “Have you read this?”
