“Then I’d have to change your mind,” Bryce answered.
“And if I do love you, what happens next?”
“Then the usual progression, love equals marriage and then hopefully kids,” Bryce replied.
“What if I’m not ready for that?” Stasia detangled herself from his arms and sat up holding on to her knees. “Bryce, I didn’t get to go to college or work at a decent job. I barely got my bartending license because all you needed was three hundred dollars in cash and in two weeks you know how to mix some drinks. Where I worked no one wanted mixed fruity drinks. They wanted beer, whiskey or Red Bull and vodka.” She implored him with her eyes. “I want to go back to school. I want to get my business degree. Maybe I’m not ready for babies and being a housewife.”
“Whoa, who said you needed to be a housewife?” Bryce rolled over onto his side and propped up on his arm to look at her. “Stasia, I don’t want to marry my mother and have a woman who keeps house and makes pies. I want you to be independent and live your life to the fullest. I only ask to be allowed to share that with you. I want to be there in your triumphs and be proud of you when you succeed. Children will be a choice for when we’re ready. I’m not saying let’s go make them now, even though the practice is fun.”
Stasia laughed and snapped her fingers. “You deviated from the conversation. Focus, please.”
“I’m focused.” He winked at her and then added seriously. “Marry me.”
“When?”
“Now.”
“That may be impossible to plan,” Stasia pointed out.
“Kimberly will be home in eight weeks. That should be enough time to plan,” Bryce said.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Really?”
“Yes, so say you’ll marry me,” Bryce prodded. “I know you want to.”
She pointed at him. “You have an ego, mister.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. “Say you love me and that you’ll marry me and then we can get on with wedding plans before we move to our new locale.”
“Yes, Bryce, I will marry you.”
“And?”
“I love you, you big oaf of a man,” Stasia answered. “Can’t you tell every time I touch you or how I hold you at night? I love you.”
“It’s always good to hear it.” He kissed her gently. “Promise you’ll say it every once in a while to make me happy.”
She kissed him back. “If it makes you happy I’ll say it every day.”
“See, we’ve already learned how to compromise and we’re not even married yet.” He grinned.
“Goofball,” she teased.
He got up and held out his hand to her. “Come on.”
“Come on. Sit down. Tell me you love me. You’ve become very bossy in a short amount of time,” she grumbled good-naturedly and held out her hand for him to help her up. “Where are we going?”
“First to tell your mother our news and then to tell my mother,” Bryce said.
She had instant stomach cramps at his answer. “Can’t we skip that part? I still don’t know how I feel about this turn around in my mother and your mom hated me.”
“We’re starting out things the right way. To hell with them both if they don’t like it, but they’ll know and we’ll still be happy,” he answered.
“Can’t we just run off to Vegas?” she asked when they were settled in the car.
He laughed. “No, but we can honeymoon there.”
“I’d prefer Atlantis in the Bahamas,” Stasia said. “They have a waterslide and an underground aquarium.”
Bryce laughed. “So all of our vacations will be attractions where you can roller coast or slide down things?”
“Nah, we’ll throw in some stuff you like too,” she conceded.
“Gee, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Bryce grinned and started the car.
Even though it was early evening she found her mother and sister home with the children at the Ruby Houses. Boxes littered the floor as they were packing up to move. Still, when she announced that she and Bryce were getting married, wrapping paper and packing tape were tossed aside in favor of hugs and squeals of happiness. Her family was genuinely thrilled for her and wanted to be a part of the planning, especially since eight weeks was going to be there in no time.
By the time she left, her nieces were bridesmaids and her nephew, who was three, was a pageboy. The baby would just be pretty in her mother’s arms. They left her mother’s with the new address for both houses and a promise for a Sunday brunch for more planning. She wanted Kim to be maid of honor so the next call Kim made Stasia would ask her.
At the McDowell house, she looked up at the white colonial that stood in the twilight. Some of the windows in the house were lit up with a sinister orange glow. The house still gave her the creeps. The horror that went on inside those walls seemed to echo even to the outside.
“You ready for this?” Bryce asked.
“No, but I’m doing it anyway,” Stasia answered.
They walked up to the porch together and Bryce pressed the doorbell and then dotted a kiss on her lips. Just as their lips met Jackie opened the door.
“Necking on the doorstep, I see. Things don’t change.” Jackie opened the door wider with a smile. “Look at you two. Come on in. She’s in the parlor as usual watching those annoying home renovation shows.”
“We’re getting married, Jackie,” Bryce said. “I finally caught and reeled her in.”
“I’m a person, not a trout,” Stasia grumbled but her heart still fluttered with delight. She was in love and getting married. Who knew that would happen in her life? She certainly didn’t.
“I’m so happy for you both. Come on in and tell her. Maybe it will give her something to look forward to,” Jackie said.
But it was the exact opposite. Instead of being happy for her son and his engagement, Mrs. McDowell stood slowly from her chair and gathered herself to her full height and her lips formed into a thin, disapproving line.
“This will not happen. I will not allow it,” she said.
“Brenda McDowell!” Jackie said in a reproachful voice.
“It’s not like you have a choice, Mother,” Bryce said coldly. “I’m giving you notification so you don’t hear it at church from your busy body friends first.”
“You won’t bring this shame on our family name, marrying this girl from Ruby Houses,” Mrs. McDowell snapped. “I forbid it.”
“More than the shame your husband brought?” Bryce asked.
“Bryce, let’s just go,” Stasia said gently. He could see the anger and hurt in his face and how tense his body had become.
“No, I won’t. I’m tired of this crap, pretending that we’re still some pillar of the community,” Bryce snapped. “Your husband is a pedophile and still you visit him and take him desserts like he’s an innocent man sitting on death row. He raped your daughter incessantly and you cling to him. But marrying Stasia brings shame on the family name?”
“Kimberly lied and continues to lie about what happened,” Mrs. McDowell said. “She was taken advantage of by some of those black boys that lived in the Ruby Houses. The little ni—”
“Don’t you dare use a racist comment around Stasia,” Bryce warned.
“Or me for that matter or you’ll find yourself very much alone here,” Jackie said.
Mrs. McDowell was past caring. She waved her hand angrily. “I told you I didn’t need help here, Jackie. You’re here to live off my charity, not to take care of me. You’re no better than this little black girl he brought here to suck us dry.”
“And with that I shall pack my things,” Jackie said without any emotions. “Bryce, you can send my final check and severance to my home that I own and worked to pay off by myself and not on her charity. I hope you live a long and happy life knowing you killed whatever relationship you had with your son and destroyed your daughter’s life.”
Bryce watched Jackie leave before facing his mother.
“You got what you wanted. Now you’ll be all alone in this house. Don’t bother looking for an invitation. There won’t be one. Stay up here in the house on the hill and wander the hallways alone. I hope the myth of your perfect family keeps you company. I will not bring my children and neither will Kim bring hers to visit this house of horrors.”
He took Stasia’s hand and they left. She could feel his body shaking as they went out the door. She stopped him on the step and pulled him into her arms. Bryce wrapped his arms around her tight and buried his face in her neck.
“It’s okay,” she said. “We’ll be happy. I promise you we will be happy.”
He took a deep breath and pulled away to look down at her. “I already am. Let’s go home.”
Stasia knew he would never step foot in that house again. That was Mrs. McDowell’s doing. She picked her husband over her children and that was a sad, piteous shame because she wasn’t the first or the last that would do it. Even though the scene at the McDowell house had been horrifying, it was then that she made her decision that she wanted to do something besides going into business. She’d become a child therapist and help kids who are less fortunate. She wanted to heal families and help when a parent refused to believe that another family member or even a friend was abusing their child. She would work and build the victim up and look to Kim to see how she survived and, maybe, if she was comfortable, she could speak to the victims one-on-one. There could never be a loud enough voice to speak against child abuse and she would add hers to the massive outcry.
But for the moment, she would go home and have dinner with her soon-to-be husband and then make love to him until he forgot his pain. Bryce would be loved and he’d never have to wonder if she meant it. He was going to get his wish. She planned on telling him every day for the rest of their lives.
Chapter Eight
The massive gates of Stateville loomed ahead and everyone in the car grew silent. Bryce, Kim, Stasia and Cole were ready to face the monster together. Stasia knew that they all had different reasons to be there, yet the common thought was the same. Bryce’s father was the sick person who put them in the place they were in life now. Bryce was angry and disgusted because his father used his daughter in abhorrent ways. Stasia was there to support him and to be his rock and also to stop Bryce from reaching over the table and snapping his father’s neck.
Kim was there because this was part of her healing process. As the victim, she needed to confront the nightmare that was hers for so long. Cole was her support and he also needed to hear what she went through. As Kim explained, he can’t be the Band-Aid on a wound he didn’t see. For them to work, he had to know it all, everything.
Bryce drove through the gates and parked. They walked silently up to the building and through the doors. Stasia felt the cold clamminess of Kim’s hand as she grabbed hers. Stasia squeezed it in support. They went through the process of signing in and being checked for contraband. Bryce and Cole had to leave their weapons at the front desk and she breathed a sigh of relief. The procedure was to make sure no prisoners could get a weapon and create a hostage situation. Truthfully, she was more worried about Cole or Bryce not being able to control their anger and killing the old bastard. Then their lives and the futures they were creating would be ruined. They were shown into a private room and told to wait until Mr. McDowell was brought in.
“Are you ready for this?” Stasia asked Kim who sat with her hands clenched in her lap.
Kim gave a brisk nod and tried to smile.
“You don’t have to go through with it. If you’re not ready we can leave right now. No one will blame you,” Stasia said.
“I’m ready.” Kim took a deep breath. “I can do this.”
“Then we’re here for you.” Stasia looked around. Cole was leaning against the wall with murder on his face and Bryce stood by the door with his hands clenched by his sides. “All of us, so you two come sit down and we’ll be a united front against the asshole that caused this.”
“There’s one good thing that came from all of this,” Kim said quietly.
“What’s that?” Stasia asked.
“We’re all together now. You’re home and getting married, and I have Cole.” Kim’s smile was genuine this time. “We’re a family and better than the one that he destroyed long ago.”
Just then the buzzer sounded and the prison guard walked Mr. McDowell in. He’d gotten older, his hair was snow white, his face gaunt, and he looked frailer, but Stasia could still see the wickedness in his eyes. He flicked a glance over at Bryce, then Cole and then her. Finally, when he saw Kim, his eyes lit up. Stasia knew he was picturing her in his sick twisted way and she wanted to kill him for it.
“Kim, you came to see me,” he said, ignoring the rest of them. “I’ve missed you, sweet pea.”
“Don’t call me that,” she said.
“Why? It was your special name, you liked it.” He licked his lips and Stasia’s stomach rolled in revulsion.
“You stop that right now, you bastard. This is your daughter,” Stasia snapped.
“You’re back. You should be in this prison instead of me,” Mr. McDowell said. “I did nothing wrong.”
“You raped me, that’s why you’re here,” Kim said softly but her voice was strong.
“It’s not rape when it’s consensual,” Mr. McDowell pointed out.
“Was it consensual at ten when you first touched me?” Kim asked. “Or when I was twelve and you pinned me or every year since then until Bryce stopped you?”
“Your brother convinced you—”
“Why don’t you admit your damn crime? You sick bastard!” Stasia snapped.
“This is between me and my daughter,” Mr. McDowell said.
“It’s between all of us, old man,” Bryce said furiously. “We’re here to support her and what she has to say to you, and then we’ll be gone.”
Kim took a breath and her eyes met his. “You took my childhood. You took my life until I was twenty-two. I don’t think there was ever a time I was not scared and I forgot how to be happy. Every time you walked by my door I was terrified and disgusted. Mama didn’t help. I remember asking her to help me and she told me we all have our lots in life to bear and this was mine. That she couldn’t please you in the bedroom and it was me who had to take care of you now, for the family. At least she let me get birth control, so I couldn’t get pregnant. That would have killed me to bear your spawn. But I’m here to tell you that I’m alive and I’m moving forward and I will forget you.”
He shook his head. “You don’t mean that.”
Kim smiled. “Yes, I do. Cole loves me, and Stasia and Bryce are getting married. We will all forget you. I will have children and I will raise them with the man I love. I will babysit my nieces and nephews when my brother wants to take his wife away for vacation and I will have a bed and breakfast on the lake. I’m going to do all the things I enjoy. I am going to garden and let the sun touch my face. I’m going to live and enjoy every moment of it. In doing so, I will forget you. My children will never see your picture or ask about you. You will be dead to me and while you waste away in here, I will be living and breathing, running, dancing, playing and being blessed.” This time her smile practically beamed. “I’m free of you, Dad, I’m free.”
Mr. McDowell’s face fell and became dark with rage. “Don’t you dare speak to me—”
Bryce leaned forward on the table and his face was wicked. “Take that, old man. I hope you know that while you’re in here dying, the world is going on outside this place without you.”
Kim stood and held out her hand to Cole. “Let’s go, honey, we’ve got a bed and breakfast to renovate and a wedding to attend and our own to plan.”
“Kimmie, sweet pea,” her father’s voice was pleading.
Cole moved forward but Bryce caught him before he could touch Mr. McDowell.
“Don’t say her name ever again,” Cole snarled.
Kim put her hand on his shoulder. “Cole, he’s not worth it
and, besides, that isn’t my name. It never was.”
Take that, you sick freak, Stasia thought gleefully and watched the light in his eyes die as Kim stepped out the door. It was the end of a cycle that almost took her friend’s life, and to watch her as the victim confront her attacker was icing on the cake. He wasn’t a man. He was a beast from hell who preyed on an innocent little girl. God knows what would have happened if Bryce hadn’t caught him. Kim’s life would have been ruined forever.
Outside, the air was fresh and warm. They all took a deep breath to clear the stale air of being around Mr. McDowell from their lungs.
“What’s on the agenda now?” Stasia asked.
Kim pulled her into a hug. “Lunch and a wedding to finish planning.”
“Oh, great,” Stasia grumbled good-naturedly.
They drove away from the prison, no longer tense anger or fear within any of them. They were free. All of them had fought their demons and came out on top.
Later that night in bed Stasia laid her head on Bryce’s chest and listened to him breathe. She’d come to know his breathing pattern and knew he wasn’t asleep. She raised her head and looked at him. Bryce was staring up at the ceiling.
“I thought I did better to relax you,” she teased softly.
His arm tightened around her and his next words shocked her. “What if I’m just like him? What if the sickness that was inside him is in me, in my genes? Others in our family did it. Jackie didn’t have to say the words, but I knew what she meant. What if it’s in me and my children will be unsafe around me?”
“Bryce, you are nothing like your father.” She cupped his face and turned him so she could see his eyes. They were filled with fear. “You stood up for your sister. We are all disgusted by his actions. You put her healing above family pride or lineage. You faced him in court and faced the community without shame. Your only worry was about Kim and her suffering. Your mother refused to help and enabled the sick fool while you stayed true to your beliefs. Bryce, I love you and I swear to you, it will die with him. I have no doubt you’ll be an amazing father and an even better husband. I will go to sleep next to you knowing that there is nothing our family has to fear. You’re a good, kind, honorable man and I love you. Let it die with him because he is not you and you are not him.”
Mistaken Identities Page 23