Adjusting Addie

by RJ Gray

  After watching Lindsey's testimony, Addie heard her name called. Brad squeezed her hand encouragingly as Addie rose and walked to the stand. She felt the sweat run down her back and hoped that her forest green silk blouse wasn't getting wet. Addie found herself testifying in a different type of court setting. Unlike family court, she didn't have any experience with the judge on the bench in criminal court. Whitehall's defense attorneys were throwing every possible excuse for his behavior out to the jury, including mental illness. He had a mental illness, all right, Addie thought. He is a narcissistic bastard. The prosecutor had been very kind to Addie on the stand. He had asked mostly yes and no questions and had left little to interpretation. Addie had been prepared for his line of questioning, because they had practiced several times in the past six weeks.

  Addie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from cursing at the sleazy defense attorney who was currently cross-examining her. They would find a female lawyer to do it. It was a good play on the defense's part, since most of his charges were crimes against women.

  "Is it true, Ms. Gabriel, that you were against Mr. Whitehall having his daughter returned to him from the very first visit?"

  "No," Addie said, remembering her practice sessions.

  "No? Can you elaborate?"

  "No. I was not against Mr. Whitehall having his daughter returned to him from the beginning." Addie kept it short and to the point. The defense attorney was trying to get an emotional response out of her. In truth, Addie was feeling very emotional. She had a small panic attack before she walked into the courtroom, knowing she would have to see him again, but she had worked through an array of emotions with her new therapist. It was still hard for her to sit across from the man who had pressed a gun against her head. It was difficult to not walk up to him and slap the smug smile off of his face. His defense attorney was ruthless in her cross-examination action, and Addie had been painted as a terrible person who was on the side of the foster parents. Whitehall's team implied that Addie simply didn't want to give Lindsey back to him, even going as far as to present some of the statistics from her cases, showing how more mothers got their children back than fathers concluding that she was a feminist who didn't want men to have their kids back. The lawyer made her out as someone with loose morals who had her boyfriend physically intimidate Whitehall and made the outrageous claim that Addie was a coconspirator with his wife against him. Addie was shaking in anger when she left the stand but had somehow managed to maintain her composure.

  After Addie, Whitehall took the stand. He was incredibly manipulative, and Addie had worried the jury wouldn't see through him. Luckily, the prosecutor was prepared for that act and had quickly put many holes in his story. He ribbed him until Whitehall's true side had come out in an explosive outburst on the stand. Addie was sitting with Brad's arm around her shoulder while she watched him. Every time he lied, she scooted forward a bit more. Two minutes into his testimony, and she was on the very edge of her seat, biting her tongue to keep from shouting out, "Liar!" His testimony was full of lies and exaggerations. Brad gently pushed on her shoulder until she shoved back against the seat. He pulled her tightly to his side and held on to her.

  Addie remembered what Brad had whispered when she had returned to his side after testifying—he was proud of her. Addie glowed, thinking about it. He told her several times during the past several weeks how proud he was of her, that she was strong and he admired her unwavering devotion to seeking justice, mostly for Lindsey. He was proud of her for standing her ground and doing it with integrity. Every day, Brad told Addie he loved her. Addie thought it would get old hearing someone tell her that as often as he did, but it never did. It never got old because of the authenticity behind each word. He meant every syllable. Brad never said anything just to say it.

  After all the testimonies had been heard and the two sides addressed the jury, everyone stood to leave. A quick conversation and the group headed next door to a local restaurant for dinner. They wanted to be close by when a verdict was reached. Addie's support system—Ben, Brad and Annie, talked about the hearing while they ate. Well, while everyone else ate. Addie just pushed her food around her plate, her stomach in too many knots to actually put any of it in her mouth. They were hopeful that the jury would do the right thing and convict him. While they all knew that he was guilty, it was imperative for the strangers listening to come to that conclusion. For Addie, the verdict was more about Lindsey's security. She wanted Lindsey to be safe, and the only way she could guarantee her safety from this monster was if he was behind bars.

  Ben's phone rang just as the waiter brought around the after-dinner coffees the group had ordered. Brad had asked the waitress to box Addie's dinner.

  Addie searched Ben's face while he talked and stood up abruptly. "The verdict is in!" she exclaimed.

  "Go," Annie said. "I'll pay."

  "No, I've got this." Brad handed Annie his credit card. "Meet us at the courthouse?"

  "Will do," Annie said. "Now, go!"

  Addie took off running. She was racing through the front of the courthouse when Ben and Brad caught up to her. Getting through security was easy; her purse was still at the table in the restaurant. They made it into the courtroom before the judge. Finally, everyone was there, and the judge came out.

  Addie heard him question the jury about a few things. She couldn't tell you what they were, though. She felt like time stood still until the judge finally was handed the verdict from the clerk. He read it and handed it back.

  "On the count of first degree kidnapping, we, the jury, find the defendant guilty."

  Addie gasped so loudly, she missed the beginning of the next verdict, "…attempted homicide, we, the jury, find the defendant guilty."

  Addie closed her eyes as she listened to each of the next twelve verdicts come in. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. She felt the tears start to fall from her eyes. He was convicted on all counts. She leaned into Brad, every ounce of strength draining from her body. He was guilty. He would never hurt anyone else, ever again.

  Epilogue

  The warm August wind rustled gently through the trees in the otherwise silent courtyard. Brad stood at the end of the aisle, waiting for Addie to appear. Soon, the Wedding March started, and everyone stood.

  Annie, the maid of honor, came down the aisle ahead of Addie and stood across from Brad. "You hurt her, and I will kill you," she threatened.

  "I won't hurt her."

  "I know," she replied with a smile.

  Everyone then fell into place. Annie stood next to Addie's bridesmaids—Amy, and their college friend, Joslyn. Brad had chosen Ben as his best man. His groomsmen included Jeremiah and Sherry's son, his childhood best friend, Brett.

  Brad had proposed at the YMCA where it all had begun, much to Addie's dismay, as she was in workout pants in all of the proposal pictures. They had settled into a comfortable routine and both of them had come into their roles in the relationship. Brad loved Addie's spirit and spunk, and Addie loved Brad's sense of humor and leadership. There were, of course, several occasions when Addie was over Brad's knee for a much-deserved spanking, but there were more orgasms than spankings in their relationship. It was all about balance.

  Brad's breath caught in his chest when Addie appeared, walked down the aisle by Ben. She looked gorgeous in her white wedding gown, her long hair flowing down her back, topped with the most delicate of veils. Ben handed Addie off to Brad and went to stand behind him, sparing a wink for Amy.

  Brad lifted Addie's veil and saw the tears in her eyes. "Are you okay, baby?" he whispered.

  "I am more than okay," she whispered back. "I'm surrounded by a sea of love."

  Brad looked out at the crowd of onlookers and knew that Whitehall had been very wrong when he said that no one would miss Addie. In the front row, next to Evelyn, sat a very happy Lindsey and her eternally grateful mother. Across from them sat Brad's beaming parents, happy with Brad's choice. Mrs. Sherry, her daughter-in-law, and brand new grandbaby sat behind
them. Brad noticed Kimberly, some of his Marine Corps brothers, and a few other friends of theirs from the YMCA spread out among the guests. There was indeed a sea of love witnessing their big day, but there was even more love between the two of them.

  "Do you, Addisyn Marie Gabriel, promise to love, honor and cherish Brad Lee Murphy, from this day forward and until death do you part?" the pastor asked.

  "I promise to love, honor, cherish and obey him," Addie said, making Brad's heart swell with pride.

  After saying his vows, Brad pulled Addie to him and kissed her. The kiss was not a sweet, passionate kiss of a newlywed. It was the dominant, rough kiss of an alpha male claiming what belonged to him, and Addie wouldn't have had it any other way.

  The End

  RJ Gray

  RJ Gray started writing at the age of five when she won her elementary school’s story contest. Her writing has evolved from short stories about unicorns to books about dominant alpha males and feisty, stubborn females. RJ holds college degrees in both social work and criminology, topics that can often be found in her novels. She has spent the past fifteen years the wife of an Army bomb technician and as such, she has a passion for military and veteran causes. RJ lives in Virginia with her husband, two young sons and their recently rescued beagle-lab puppy.

  Visit her website here:

  www.AuthorRJGray.org

  Find her on Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRJGray/

  Don’t miss these exciting titles by RJ Gray and Blushing Books!

  Absolving Amy

  Adjusting Addie

  EBook Offer

  WOULD YOU LIKE A FREE SPANKING STORY EVERY MONTH?

  At http://www.blushingbooks.com, we provide our visitors with a free eBook every single month! That's right, every month we choose an eBook to give to our customers at no charge, both to show our gratitude for your business and to provide a sample of the content we offer.

  Can you read this free eBook on your Kindle? Yes! Once you’re logged onto our site, it’s easy to send a book right to your Kindle.

  Can you read it on your iPad? Yes! Your Kobo? Yes! Your Nook? YES!

  We provide all of our books on BlushingBooks.com in several formats so that you can read our stories on virtually any reader! Membership at BlushingBooks.com is free, so sign up today and get your free story right now!

  DO YOU NEED A TRIP TO THE WOODSHED?

  Since 1999, Bethany's Woodshed has been publishing the best romantic and erotic BDSM and spanking fiction on the Internet. Before there were eBooks, there was Bethany's! More than a decade later, The Woodshed is Blushing Books exclusive preview site, and it is still going strong delivering the best, original stories - now with two updates a week. We guarantee at least 40,000 words of brand new, professionally written stories each week by all your favorite Authors, plus at least 20 completed books when you join. Carolyn Faulkner, Addison Cain, Anya Summers, Maren Smith, Starla Kaye, Paige Tyler, Joannie Kay, Abigail Webster, Allison West, Melinda Barron, Courage Knight, Loki Renard ... they're all here, plus many more.

  Embrace the spank!

  See the stories first at The Woodshed!

  http://www.herwoodshed.com

  Blushing Books Newsletter

  Please join the Blushing Books newsletter

  to receive updates & special promotional offers.

  You can also join by using your mobile phone:

  Just text BLUSHING to 22828.

  Blushing Books

  Blushing Books is one of the oldest eBook publishers on the web. We've been running websites that publish spanking and BDSM related romance and erotica since 1999, and we have been selling eBooks since 2003. We hope you'll check out our hundreds of offerings at http://www.blushingbooks.com.

  You might also enjoy our membership site at http://www.herwoodshed.com, where we offer an exclusive first look at new novels and novellas by some of our most popular Authors before they are released anywhere else.