by Glines, Abbi
“Why don’t we get her into the living room and you two can sit on the couch and cry all you want?” Kent said in a gentle voice.
Braden nodded but she didn’t let go of me. We managed a few more sniffles and sobs before easing back enough to look at each other.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I nodded then I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’m lost and confused.”
Braden reached down and grasped my hand. “Let’s go to the living room and get comfortable”
I wasn’t ready to talk right now but they both deserved an explanation. I needed to tell them exactly what had happened in Rosemary. And maybe they could help me figure out what I was going to do with my life now. My travels were over. I needed to live my life here. Where I was sure of my surroundings and I couldn’t hurt anyone else.
I began explaining how everything happened at the gas station and then how I ended up there once again because of Tripp. Then I told them about how I lost my heart to Woods and how I would do it all over again.
When I was finished Braden was wiping at her eyes again. “I hate that man. I want to strangle him. How could he do that to you? And does Woods know?”
I shook my head then paused. I wasn’t sure if Woods knew now or not. Did he think I’d just left him? Did that matter?
“It doesn’t matter. I can’t stay with him. You know that more than anyone. What happens when I snap and I lose my sanity? I don’t want Woods to love me and be left with a shell of a woman the way I was left with my mother. He has this life in front of him with so much he’s worked for. I can’t be who he needs. I’m trying to be who I need. I’m not what any man needs, Braden. You know that.”
Woods
The lunch shift had ended ten minutes ago. I wasn’t late yet. I parked the truck and headed inside. I hadn’t seen Della in six hours and that was just too damn long. I wasn’t scheduling her for two shifts again. No matter how hard she begged. I shoved open the kitchen doors and everyone froze. Normally my entrance didn’t get much notice. They were used to me walking in and out. Jimmy was clocking out. He glared at me and cocked his hip to the side.
“You just now showing up to worry about the lack of help we had around here? You go and arrest the best damn help I’ve had since Blaire worked here. Then no explanation or peep out of you.”
Arrest his help? What help?
“What are you talking about?” I asked looking around for Della. Maybe she could explain the drama queen’s outburst.
“Oh, I don’t know Woods. Maybe the fact the po-po shows up and arrests sweet little Della and scares the shit outta her then you do nothing. You let them take her and you don’t worry about the fact she’s scheduled to work two shifts today.”
I grabbed the first thing I could reach which was the front of Jimmy’s shirt. “What did you say about Della and the police? Stop blabbering and fucking explain yourself,” I roared. The blood was rushing to my head and pounding in my temples. I had known something was wrong but nothing Jimmy had said made sense.
“The police came and took Della right after she got here this morning. You didn’t know? They said Mr. Kerrington wanted her escorted out of the building before they cuffed her. She was scared man. Really scared.”
I let go of Jimmy’s shirt and he stumbled backwards. The selfish controlling fucker had my Della arrested. She was scared. She was gonna need me and I wasn’t there.
“FUCK,” I roared and stormed out of the kitchen and started running. I had to find her.
“It was Josiah Burton who arrested her,” Jimmy called out behind me.
I was going after Burton first. I’d gone to school with Josiah and it wouldn’t be the first time I’d beaten the shit out of him. It would however be the first time I got charged with assaulting an officer.
“If you hear anything, call me,” I replied and opened the door to go to the police station and the sorry ass police in this town that could be bought.
I’d go see my father last. He wasn’t going to be as easy to threaten.
I didn’t check in at the front desk when I got to the station.
“You have to check in Mr. Kerrington,” Margaret Fritz called out as I stalked past her without a word.
Deputy Sheriff Josiah Burton was in his office when I reached it and I walked into without knocking and slammed the door closed behind me. I locked it just in case I needed time to kill him. I turned to glare at the man I knew had been paid off to do my father’s bidding.
“You better start talking you sorry motherfucker, or the last thing I do before they lock me up is blow your sorry ass head off,” I growled.
Josiah jumped up from his desk his beady eyes going round in surprise.
“I did just what your dad had me do. I covered everything. The paper work is done and filed; she can’t come back to town. I secured it. Calm down. It’s done. No reason to get so damn demanding.”
He thought I knew about this. I forced the raging need to rip his head off down and stared at him deciding exactly how to play this. I needed more information.
“What time did you arrest her?”
Josiah shook his head. “I didn’t. Like your dad told me I just cuffed her and threw her in the back of the squad car. Scared her a bit. Then took her to him.”
My chest was about to explode. They had purposely scared her. My father would pay for this. Every minute she was terrified he would pay tenfold.
“Where was my father? Where did you take her?
Josiah frowned. “Your house.”
He had taken her to my house.
“Is she still there?”
“No man. I told you I did all the paperwork. She was warned not to come back or I’d arrest her and then she was shipped off to wherever the hell he had Leo take her.”
“Why can’t she come back?” I asked balling my hands into fists.
Josiah started to answer and stopped. He studied me a minute and then his jaw went slack. “You don’t know. He did this and you didn’t know. Fuck me,” he said, sinking back down into his chair. “Oh man, Woods. I thought you knew. I thought she was crazy and you were scared of what she might do. I was getting rid of her for you. Your dad said she was dangerous. A mental case. I even roughed her up a bit. I didn’t know… please tell me that girl is screwed in the head and what I did was good.”
I closed my eyes tightly trying not to think about the part where he said he’d roughed her up a bit. I needed to hit someone. “How did you rough her up?” I asked in a slow even voice.
“Just jerked her around unnecessarily by the arm and put the cuffs on a little too tight.”
I grabbed the front of his uniform and jerked him up out of his seat. “Even if she had been crazy, she’s a woman. No woman needs to be handled like that. Ever.” I took a deep breath. “She’s the woman I love. The woman my sick fucker of a father doesn’t want me to love.” I threw him back in his chair and he rolled back and slammed into the wall. I didn’t apologize or wait to see if I was going to deal with charges of my own. I jerked open his door and made my way back out to my truck ignoring questions as I went.
Leo. I had to find fucking Leo.
***
Leo wasn’t in town. My parents had left on a plane for New York City after I left their house today. No one knew anything. I stood on my porch staring out at the ocean and dialed Della’s phone for the hundredth time just to hear her voicemail.
“It’s Della. Can’t answer my phone right now but leave me a message and I’ll get back to you.”
Beep.
“It’s me again. You’re gone. I wasn’t there and you were hurt. God baby, knowing how scared you must have been and I wasn’t there. I just need to find you. Where ever you are. I need to find you, Della. Call me. Let me know you’re okay.”
Beep.
Then a dial tone.
I dropped my phone on the table and gripped the railing in front of me. She was going to have to sleep without me tonight. Her bad dreams would come ba
ck and I wouldn’t be there. Would someone be there? Was she alone?
Della
My phone was gone. I’d unpacked all my things and my phone wasn’t there. Woods couldn’t call me. Maybe that was best. Telling him that I wasn’t good for him hadn’t worked before. His father was forcing my hand and proving to Woods the truth. I wasn’t worth it.
The idea that his father had lied to Woods to make him believe I had left voluntarily or that I actually had stolen something hurt. I didn’t want him to think I would do either of those things. I hadn’t been able to go back to sleep after waking myself and Braden and Kent up screaming last night. I’d sat up and thought about what I needed to do next. Where I needed to go. How I should live my life. Would I ever see Woods again? It had kept me from falling back to sleep and letting another bad dream come haunt me. It was all too fresh right now.
A swift knock on the door broke into my thoughts and Braden opened the door and stepped in carrying a cup of coffee.
“I thought you might be awake,” she said smiling and handing me the cup in her hands.
“Thank you,” I said and took the cup. After taking a sip, I looked over at Braden. “I’m sorry about last night.”
Braden frowned. “You have no reason to be sorry. I’m sorry that you have those damn dreams. I’m sorry that I can’t make them go away. I’m sorry that you found someone to love and it all fell apart. I’m sorry about all of the shit you’ve been dealt. But you have nothing to be sorry about Della Sloane. You never have.”
Having Braden had saved me. No one cared until Braden. Somehow I’d won the loyalty of this bighearted person who I could never thank enough.
“Do you think I’ll end up like my mother?” I asked because it was my biggest fear. Especially now.
“No. I don’t. I think your mother suffered a trauma while she had a newborn and that mixed with the post-partum depression she was suffering at the time. Remember that was found in her records. She had issues and then she lost her husband and son so tragically. No one was there for her. No family. Nothing. She just had this little baby and yes she snapped. Most humans would in her position. If there had been family to check on her and see her spiraling out of control then I believe she would’ve gotten better. That your life would have been much different. But it didn’t happen that way. She was alone and she got lost. That won’t happen to you. Because you have me and I won’t ever leave you alone. You have family.”
I wanted to believe her. I wanted there to be a reason my mother hadn’t been able to come back to me. That it hadn’t just been inevitable.
“What about my grandmother? She was in a mental home,” I reminded her. That fact haunted me.
“Do you even know why? Have you ever researched that? You don’t know why or if this is even true. Your mother told you this and she wasn’t mentally there, Della. I think you’ve lived believing some things that aren’t true. They terrify you. But in all honesty Della, if you were gonna snap sweetie, you would have when we walked in on your mother with the razor in her hand and the slits on her wrists. You didn’t snap. You made it through that and you were brave enough to learn to live. You can do this Della. You can live a happy full life. One that your mother deserved but was cheated out of. Don’t let your fears keep you from it. Please.”
I wanted that. I wanted to live. For the father and brother who I never knew and for my mother who was cheated of a life of happiness. I wanted to live for them. And I wanted to live for me.
“Why don’t you call him?”
I didn’t have to ask her who “him” was. I knew who she meant. She wanted me to call Woods. I wanted a life with him. I loved him. But how could I come between him and his father? His father hated me. I would stand between him and his family. If Woods wanted me more than the life he’d been born to have then he’d find me. I wasn’t going to confuse him by calling him. He needed time to decide if losing his family to have me was worth it.
“I think I’ll wait. He knows where I’m from and he knows your name. If he really wanted to find me, he could easily enough. There is a lot at stake for Woods. I’m not sure I’m worth all that.”
Braden put her arm around my shoulders and rested her head against mine. “How many times do I have to tell you that you’re special? Anyone who meets you and doesn’t want to get to know you and be a part of your life is stupid. I saw it when I was just a kid.”
I smiled. “No. You thought I was a vampire and you wanted to be my friend so I wouldn’t eat you.”
Braden chuckled. “Well, that too. But I found out soon enough you weren’t a blood sucker and I still liked you.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes lost in our thoughts.
“I took off work today. Let’s go shopping,” Braden finally said.
“Okay. That sounds good.” Anything to get me out of this house and my mind off Rosemary… and Woods.
Woods
I hadn’t slept all night. But I had figured out a few things. If Della had been forced to leave without time to think about it, the only place I could think of that she would go back to was Georgia and her friend Braden. That was the only person I knew of that she was attached to.
I’d called Josiah at six this morning and had him run a search for a Braden, female around twenty years old in Macon, Georgia. That was all I knew. Within ten minutes he had a name, phone number, and address. Braden Fredrick lived in Macon, Georgia with her husband Kent.
I called the number that Josiah had given me and I got the voice mail twice.
I dialed Josiah again. “Get me a number for Kent Fredrick. He has to work somewhere. There has to be a work number.”
“Okay. Give me a second,” Josiah replied without question. I heard the tapping of keys. “Ah, here it is. He’s a lawyer. Fredrick and Fredrick. It looks like his father is the other Fredrick. 478- 555-5515”
I wrote the number down. “Thanks,” I said and hung up to dial the new number.
“Fredrick and Fredrick attorneys at law. How can I direct your call?”
“I need to speak with Kent Fredrick,” I replied.
“Hold on just a second. I believe his line is busy. Oh, wait. It’s free. Just a moment and I’ll transfer you.”
I waited while classical music played over the line. I couldn’t stand still. I paced back and forth across my back porch. I was close.
“Kent Fredrick,” a man’s voice said.
“Kent. This is Woods Kerrington—”
“It’s about time Mr. Kerrington. I don’t like seeing my wife upset and when Della is upset so is my wife.”
He knew where she was. I stopped, almost afraid to hope. “Do you know where Della is?”
“Yeah, she’s at our house. Arrived yesterday in a complete mess. Your father needs his ass kicked. And the jury is still out on you.”
She was there. I began to move. I started walking around the porch and then broke into a run as I hit the steps and went to my truck.
“She’s okay? Is she hurt?” Josiah may have gotten me this number but if he hurt her I wouldn’t give a fuck.
“Wrists are raw because they left handcuffs on her for five hours while she rode in a car. But other than that it’s just her heart. She’s broken. But then Della has always been a little broken.”
Della and broken in the same sentence made me anxious. I needed to get her. “I’m on my way. Don’t let her leave.”
“You coming here to get her?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Well, I’m not so sure I’m okay with you taking her anywhere near that sorry ass father of yours. Who says he won’t hurt her again? Della hasn’t got any family. Braden is it for her. And when I married Braden I got Della too. I knew that going in. Those two are tight. I protect what’s mine.”
I gripped the steering wheel. “Della is mine. Make no mistake about that. I’ll be there in five hours.” I hung up the phone and plugged the Fredricks’ address into the GPS.
***
Three hours
into the drive my phone rang and my father’s name lit up the screen. I thought of sending him to voicemail and changed my mind. It was time I dealt with the man. I wouldn’t be bringing Della back there. I couldn’t. He wasn’t going to accept her and I wasn’t going to live without her so there was no future for me with Kerrington Club.
“What,” I said, deciding he didn’t deserve a proper greeting. I’d let him talk then I would tell him what I’d decided.
“Where are you? I got a call from the club saying you didn’t show up this morning. They’re having issues with being understaffed in the dining room and two of the carts aren’t working”
“Then fix it. It’s your club. I don’t care what happens to the place. You made sure to turn me completely against you when you sent Della away. They hurt her you dumb ass motherfucker. And now you’ve lost me. I want nothing to do with you, my mother who helped you pull this shit off, or that club. You can’t control me. I won’t let you. I’m walking away from it all. I have my grandfather’s blood in my veins and I can make something of myself. I don’t need you. I never did.” I didn’t wait for his response. I pressed end and smiled at the open road in front of me. I was going to get the one person who made me want to live and build a life for us. It wouldn’t be the pampered and privileged one I had been raised in but it would be one full of love and until Della that was something I’d missed.
My phone started ringing again and the area code for Macon, Georgia appeared but it was a new number. Not the two I had saved in my phone.
“Hello.”
“Is this Woods Kerrington?” a female voice asked over the other end of the phone.
“Yes it is,” I replied.
“This is Braden Fredrick. I need to ask you a few questions before I allow you to come barreling back into Della’s life. I’m not as convinced as my husband that your coming here is a good thing.”