by Gen Griffin
“No, you're not,” Cal interrupted him before Kerry could even process what Addison had said. “You're coming to dinner at my parents’ house. All of you are. Even Kerry, if he wants to.”
“Okay. For what?” Ian asked.
“Cal thinks he might be able to prevent his own murder if there are enough witnesses around when he tells my Dad that Gracie is dropping out of college to marry him,” Addison supplied with a sigh. “You realize I'm going to get my ass chewed out, again, right?”
“Suck it up.”
“As long as Katie's invited, we'll be there,” Ian was grinning. He acted like he'd already forgotten that he'd been within seconds of being shot and buried in the swamp just hours ago.
“Of course Katie's invited. Everyone is invited,” Cal looked over at the Sheriff. “You going to be able to make it?”
“If I leave for Baker's County now.”
“We need to go ahead and haul that truck up there too,” David said. He stood up and walked over to the wrecker. The Sheriff and Ian were moving towards Ian's cruiser. Perkins was glaring at them from the backseat of the car. Kerry was glad he wasn't the one who had to transport the man.
“How about you?” Cal asked, surprising him. “I meant it when I said you were welcome to come to dinner.”
Kerry hesitated and then shook his head no. He didn't fit in with Cal Walker and his friends. He appreciated what they had done for him today, he really did, but he wondered how close they had come to letting Perkins kill him.
And then there was the matter of Casey.
“Thanks for the invite, but I really just want to get a shower, write that report and go to bed.”
“I understand,” Cal said. “See you around.”
He walked over to the passenger seat of Addison's truck and the two of them got in and drove away, leaving Kerry standing alone on the side of the road beside his own cruiser.
Chapter 43
“As I relieved as I am to have a murderer off the streets, I know Richard Perkins isn't why y'all insisted on having this dinner party.” Jane May waited until the last pork chop was sitting alone on the center dish and the potato salad was almost completely gone from the serving dish before she changed the topic from Richard Perkins’ arrest to the real reason Cal had asked his mother to host this celebratory dinner party.
Addison groaned under his breath.
David sighed and laid his head down on the fancy tablecloth. “Wake me up when I'm done getting my ass chewed.”
Loretta Walker neatly reached across the table, pinched him by the scruff of the neck, and pulled him back upright the same way she had when he'd been a bratty 8- year-old who had never eaten a meal that hadn't come out of the microwave or a drive thru bag until he'd found himself seated at the Walker's table staring at three different-sized forks. “Mind your manners, son.”
“Oww.” He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck as she released him. “I hate that.”
“You're not too old to get a whupping,” Loretta informed him with a teasing glint in her eye. “I don't care how tough you think you are.”
“You still going to make him pick his own switch?” Joshua Walker was sitting at the head of the table and smirking benevolently at the assembled crowd of Gracie and Cal's closest family and friends. “Or do I get to?”
“No, thank you.” David inched away from Joshua. The old man had literally beaten David onto the straight and narrow path when he had been a kid. As an adult, he was grateful for the morals and work ethic that Cal's family had instilled him, but he had no desire to repeat the process.
“I'll never forget the first time you got your hands on him, Loretta.” Ian's tiny, diminutive mother was laughing. “I don't remember what he got in trouble for, but I do remember that he was horrified that you'd made him do housework as punishment for his crimes.”
Loretta laughed. “He'd never seen a bottle of bleach before in his life. I made him scrub the grout with a toothbrush. Him and Cal both. They had painted my bathroom red trying to make fake blood for Halloween. After I'd specifically told them not to.”
“We got into a lot of trouble back then,” Cal admitted with a chuckle. Gracie's chair was almost touching his and her cheek was nearly resting on his shoulder.
“Y'all still get in a lot of trouble,” Jane May pointed out bluntly and without humor. Her eyes flashed grimly. Gracie’s and Addison's mother had not smiled even once during the entire dinner. “Too much trouble, if you ask me.”
“Good thing nobody is asking you,” Addison shot off with a snarky grin. He was sitting as far away from his mother as humanely possible while still being at the same table.
“Addison!” Loretta leveled him with a warning glare. “I don't know what has gotten into you boys tonight.”
“I think it was the part where we nearly all died,” Ian chimed in, not entirely helpfully. He was on his third helping of baked beans and was the only one still eating. “I don't want to look at the barrel of a gun that close again. Ever.”
“I think we should all just count our blessings that no one was seriously injured,” Loretta said mildly. She cast a slightly nervous glance at where Jane May was still stewing.
“We do have a lot to be thankful for.” Granny Pearl grinned broadly at Gracie, who had her chin resting on Cal's shoulder.
“Speaking of grateful,” Cal shifted his weight slightly and moved to draw everyone's attention.
Jane May beat him to it. “No. I'm not going willing to condone your actions any longer.”
“What?” Addison blinked at her.
“No.” Jane May crossed her arms over her chest and glared down at the fancy china place settings that were sitting around the elaborate formal dining room table in Cal's parents’ house. “I've had quite enough of your behavior.”
“Mine?” Addison asked. “Or Cal's?”
“Addison. Stop provoking your mother.” Granny Pearl kicked him under the table.
“Stop enabling him.” Jane May glared at her mother-in-law. Gracie purposely sunk back into the wall and tried to blend in with the wallpaper. Cal squeezed her fingers under the table, and she twisted her arm so that the entire length of it was in contact with his warm skin. Cal was sitting back in the chair looking relaxed, despite Gracie's mother's ever increasing frustration.
“Jane.” Dale Malone frowned at his wife. “I don't think this is necessary. Not here. Not in front of everyone we know and care about.”
“Oh, so you think we should just sit here and smile and nod while our daughter ruins her life?” Jane May turned on him viciously. “You want me to sit here and pretend I'm happy while she destroys her future just to please Addy?”
“I'm not destroying my future,” Gracie snapped.
“To please me?” Addison was baffled. He looked to David for parental translation, but David just shrugged his shoulders and snagged one of the last few pieces of garlic bread out of the basket.
“She's doing this to make you happy,” Jane May practically spit the words at him. “We all know how mad you were at her when she broke up with Cal. I know you made her life a living hell. Now she thinks she's getting married just to get back in your good graces, and I won't have it.”
“I did not,” Addison glared at his mother. “Where the hell did you get that idea?”
“It was obvious.”
“To who?”
“Me.”
“Gracie, did I make your life a living hell?” Addison pouted at his kid sister.
“No,” Gracie was telling the truth. She shrugged at Addison. “Mom, stop blaming Addy for me dropping out of college. It's not his fault. I didn't even ask his opinion.”
“You're blowing this out of proportion, Jane.” Dale Malone was a man of few words but he was watching his flustered wife with a mixture of annoyance and exhaustion. “I, for one, am relieved to know that we won't have to stay up at night worrying about how to pay the bill for her tuition for another three and a half years.”
�
�Thank you, Daddy.”
Dale narrowed his eyes at Gracie. “I do, however, have a problem with the lying, sneaking around and general disrespect you're showing towards your mother.”
“Oh, sorry,” Gracie swallowed a lump in her throat. Addison kicked her ankle under the table and gestured for Gracie to shut up. Gracie sunk down in the chair, leaning even closer to Cal's side.
“I'd like to know how you plan on supporting yourself?” Jane May glared at her daughter, her battle lines drawn. “Or where you think you're going to be living?”
“With Addison. And as for a job,” she turned and glanced down the table at Joshua Walker. “Pappy, can I come work in the store with y'all? Please?”
Pappy laughed. He'd always had a soft spot for Gracie, and she knew it. “You know you have a job any time you want it, baby girl.”
“Thank you.” She smiled sweetly at Cal's grandfather and batted her eyelashes at him. Pappy laughed as Gracie turned back towards her mother. “Next threat?”
“You just lost your car, young lady.”
“Fine. Keep it. The transmission keeps getting stuck in third gear.” Gracie crossed her arms over her chest and glared defiantly back at her mother.
“And as for you,” Dale turned on Addison.
“Why do I keep getting drug into this?” Addison asked.
“Because you're a bad influence.” David was unable to hide his amusement at the turn the conversation had taken. “You know, like I usually get accused of being.”
“You're an even worse influence,” Jane May glared at David pointedly. “And you're not marrying my daughter. I've said it once and I'll say it again. Not with my blessings.” She turned to Loretta, apparently mistaking the other woman's calm demeanor for acceptance of a reality that didn't exist anywhere besides in Jane May's own mind. “I just don't understand how you can sit here and be so calm, Loretta. You're acting like this – ridiculous idea – is okay?”
“I'm fine with the decisions the children have made,” Loretta spoke calmly and with a small smile carefully plastered on her rounded face. “I think it really is for the best, all things considered.”
“For the best?” Jane May choked on the last word. She cast a glance from David, to Cal to Gracie and then on to Addison. “For the best? I know that you love David just like he was your own son, but this is ridiculous. You can't possibly think it’s a good idea for Gracie to drop out of college and marry David.”
“Oh for the love of God.” David cast a sideways glance at Cal. “Can we set the record straight yet?”
“I'm waiting for everyone to shut up first,” Cal said pointedly.
“Why would David marry Gracie?” Granny Pearl sounded genuinely perplexed. “It’s obvious that Gracie and Calvin have resolved their differences.” She gestured to where Gracie was watching the argument with her chin on Cal's shoulder. Their fingers were tightly intertwined.
“Olivia Barker said Gracie and David were kissing in the middle of Italiano's last weekend,” Jane began.
“Oh good God, Jane. Olivia Barker said?” Frank choked on his spiked sweet tea. “Be reasonable. Olivia Barker is a lying nuisance.”
“I didn't believe her at first. Then I found out that Gracie really has been skipping her classes. Obviously she's here now, even though she isn't supposed to be.”
“I have no-.” David stopped when Loretta put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.
“Enough, all of you. Jane is clearly upset and you children – and yes I'm calling all of you children, because that is what you're acting like.” Loretta shot a purposefully reproachful look at Addison. “You all need to stop tormenting her.”
“But it's fun,” Addy whined.
Loretta took a deep breath and looked purposefully at Cal. “Do you and Gracie have some news you would like to share with everyone, son?”
Cal smiled slowly and held up Gracie's left hand with his own right hand. The diamond ring glinted in the warm light that was being cast by the chandelier. “David's not marrying Gracie. I am.”
“Well, that makes a lot more sense,” Granny Pearl grinned. “Congratulations. I'm so happy the two of you have worked things out.”
“Gracie and Cal?” Jane May stared at the two of them, her mouth hanging open. She was visibly deflated as she took in the way her daughter was leaning against her childhood sweetheart.
“Right,” Addison eyed his mother warily. “For the record, I'm pretty sure they worked things out between themselves because they were miserable without one another. Not because of me.”
“Addison had nothing to do with anything,” David grumbled.
“Right,” Addison agreed, then frowned at him. “Was that supposed to be an insult?”
“Moving right along.” Pappy smiled at Gracie and Cal. “I think this is the best news we've had all year. I'd like to propose a toast to Gracie, Cal, and the bright future ahead of them.”
Everyone except for Jane May lifted their glasses.
Chapter 44
“Hey, what are you still doing here?” Ian stuck his head in the doorway of the Sheriff's Office and gave Kerry a curious glance. “I figured you would be home in bed by now.”
“No. Not yet. I was just finishing my report.” Kerry frowned down at the discarded report in his hand, struggling to comprehend what he was reading. He hadn't been sure how he felt about the days' events when he had walked into Sheriff Chasson's office and set his finished report front and center in the middle of the Sheriff's desk. “It took me four hours to write out my full account of what happened with Perkins today.”
“Wow.” Ian looked suitably impressed. “Better you than me.”
“Yeah. Your copy is on your desk. All you have to do is sign it,” Kerry told him distractedly. He had put his report on the Sheriff’s desk and turned around to walk back out of the office when he caught sight of a report sticking out of the wastebasket next to the desk. Without thinking about it, Kerry had reached down and picked up the packet of papers. Certainly, the Sheriff was aware that official police reports should always be shredded before they were disposed of. He'd wondered if the report had fallen off the desk and landed in the trash by accident. Kerry had been about to set the report back on the edge of the desk when his own name caught his eye. He'd recognized Addison Malone's handwriting.
“You okay?” Ian gave Kerry a quizzical look.
“I don't know,” Kerry admitted before he even realized the words were out of his mouth. “I just found this in the trash.” He held up the report in his hands.
“I told you the Sheriff throws away all the Amelia Baxter reports,” Ian shrugged at him. He was still smiling. Kerry supposed that from Ian's perspective, today had been a good day. An epic day. The kind of day a man told his grandkids about 50 years from now.
Kerry swallowed the lump in his throat. “It's not a Amelia Baxter report.”
“Oh. Okay, then what?”
“Did you know Addison was planning on pinning Benjamin Gomez's murder on me?” Kerry asked, still too stunned to think clearly.
Ian opened his mouth and closed it abruptly. He was surprised. But not surprised enough. Kerry took in the awkward way Ian's smile faded and the helpless frown that was left behind where the smile had been.
“Addy did what?” Ian asked.
“Addison wrote out a full report, claiming I was the murderer.” Kerry took a deep breath, trying to mask his hurt. “The same person who helped save my life this afternoon wrote this report because he was planning on destroying me.”
“Oh. Well. Uh.”
“Did you know about it?” It wasn't really a question. Kerry leaned back against Frank Chasson's desk because his knees felt like they were going to give out. He glared at Ian accusingly.
Ian looked extremely guilty as he reached out and took the report out of Kerry's hands. “He didn't really turn this in, did he?” Ian was visibly ashamed as he flipped through the paperwork.
“I don't know. I found it in the tras
hcan.”
“Well, that's okay. I guess.” Ian frowned at the papers and dropped them back down into the trash. “Don't let it bother you. Addy means well, but he doesn't always think things through real good.”
“Why would he want to frame me for a murder he knows I didn't commit?” Kerry felt physically sick. His stomach was lurching and he had to close his eyes to get his nausea back under control.
“Perkins told him to,” Ian admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “I didn't think he'd actually go through with it though.”
“Perkins told him to?” Kerry gaped at Ian in disbelief. “And he just did it?”
“Well, Perkins told him it would-. Oh. Never mind. It’s not important. It was a stupid thing for him to do. I'm sorry you saw it.” Ian looked down at his feet. “Why don't you go home and get some rest?”
“That's probably a good idea,” Kerry said. Complete exhaustion had overwhelmed him during the last few minutes. He felt beaten. Too tired to go on. He stared down at the miserable report in the trash can again. Ian grabbed him by the arm and towed him out of the office before he could bend back down and pick it up again.
“Really. Forget about it. Addy's my friend, but he's a dumbass sometimes.” Ian smiled reassuringly at Kerry. “He didn't mean anything by it.”
“He hates me.” Kerry barely realized the words had left his mouth. He didn't care. He might as well have the truth out there in plain sight. Addison clearly wasn't bothering to hide his dislike for Kerry.
“No. He just doesn't think sometimes.” Ian shrugged helplessly. “I mean, he came after you today. We all did. Me. Addy. David.”
“Why bother?” Kerry glared at Ian, unable to hide his anger and hurt. “Why bother saving me if y'all really want me locked up for a crime I didn't even commit?”
“I don't know what to tell you,” Ian seemed to be at a loss. “We didn't want you locked up.”
“I almost felt okay about being a deputy for Callahan County earlier today, after we came out of the swamp and got back to the cruiser. I felt like maybe it was time to forget all the old grudges and maybe start over from scratch with everyone. Like maybe there was hope for this actually not being the worst job of my life.” Kerry took a deep breath and tried to pull himself together. He wasn't doing a good job of it. His blood ran cold, remembering the way Cal Walker had casually invited him to join them at dinner tonight. It sickened him to think that he'd almost accepted. He'd almost been willing to forgive the past after the events of this afternoon. “Now I'm just wondering how close you guys came to letting me die today? I'm wondering what will happen if I get into a bad situation again? Will you guys come after me or will you let me get hurt? Let me die? Hell, are you going to lay the trap yourselves?”