Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 10-12

by Marie Force

  Whoa, Owen thought. Impugning his honorable service to the air force will make the old man mad as hell. Sure enough, he caught a glimpse of his father’s face and saw it was red and flushed. Good thing he and Tom weren’t squaring off in a bar rather than a courtroom. Otherwise, Tom might get an actual demonstration of what Mark Lawry was capable of after that statement.

  Sarah squeezed his hand, letting him know she was thinking the same thing. Her comical grimace nearly made Owen laugh out loud. He certainly hadn’t expected to laugh this morning, but he had to admit it felt pretty damned good to have most of the power for a change. He and his mother had the truth on their side, and there was comfort in that.

  Over the course of the morning, Tom called Slim, David and Blaine to the witness stand to testify to Sarah’s condition the night she arrived on Gansett Island bruised and battered.

  “Did Mrs. Lawry tell you how she came to be so egregiously injured?” Tom asked Blaine, who was the last to testify.

  “Yes, she said her husband beat her after she served undercooked chicken for dinner.” Blaine had worn his dress uniform to testify. “From what she said, a verbal altercation escalated into a physical confrontation that left Mrs. Lawry severely injured.”

  “The defense will ask how a woman so badly injured could’ve managed to travel hundreds of miles,” Tom said.

  “We all wondered that, too,” Blaine replied. “Personally, I think she was fueled by fear and a desire to get to her son, where she knew she’d be safe.”

  “Objection,” the defense attorney said. “Speculation.”

  “Withdrawn,” the prosecutor said. “Nothing further.”

  Blaine held up well under questioning from the defense attorney before he was dismissed from the witness stand. The judge then called a recess for lunch.

  As he watched the proceedings all morning, Owen’s nerves had been stretched nearly to the breaking point. Laura had held his hand the whole time, her support never wavering.

  “That went well,” Dan said of the morning’s testimony. “Slim, David and Blaine were very credible and held up well under cross.”

  Tom agreed when he joined them. “I’m feeling good about this. With Sarah’s testimony and Owen’s, we will paint a pretty good picture of what went on.”

  “We still don’t have anyone outside of our family who was aware that this had been happening for years,” Owen said.

  “I wish we did,” Tom said frankly. “It would definitely cement our case. But I think we’ll be okay without it.”

  The words “I think” didn’t do much for Owen’s nerves. He turned to leave the courtroom and thought he was seeing things when his grandparents appeared in the doorway. “Mom. Look.” He directed Sarah’s attention to the older couple waiting for them.

  Adele wore her white hair in a stylish bob and was dressed to the nines in a red suit and heels. Her husband was tanned from spending his days on the golf course in Florida, but his twinkling blue eyes lit up with delight at the sight of his eldest grandchild.

  “Oh… Oh wow.”

  “Who is it?” Laura asked.

  “Adele and Russ.” After working for them for close to a year, Laura certainly recognized those names.

  “Did you know they were coming?”

  “I had no idea, and neither did my mother.”

  Sarah was in tears as she hugged her parents. “What’re you doing here? You didn’t say you were coming.”

  “Of course we’re here,” Adele said. “We wouldn’t be anywhere else.” She hugged Owen tightly, surrounding him with the scent of Chanel No. 5 that took him right back to childhood summers on Gansett.

  They all moved into the corridor, where Owen had the pleasure of introducing his grandparents to Laura.

  “It’s so lovely to finally meet you in person,” Adele said as she hugged Laura.

  “I’m so happy to meet you, too,” Laura said.

  While she chatted with his grandparents, Owen shook hands with David and Blaine, who were leaving to go home. “Thank you again for this. I’ll never be able to tell you how much it means to us that you came.”

  “We’ll be hoping for a positive outcome,” David said.

  “Keep us posted,” Blaine added.

  “I will.”

  “Hopefully, you’ll be on your way home very soon,” David said.

  “Let’s hope so.”

  They said good-bye to Sarah and left for the airport, where they would catch a commercial flight back to Rhode Island.

  Frank came in pushing Holden’s stroller and met Owen’s grandparents, who made a huge fuss over the baby they’d heard so much about.

  “There’s a great diner across the street,” Frank said. “Holden and I had some coffee there earlier.”

  “I’m starving,” Sarah announced.

  Owen was glad to hear she felt hungry, because all he felt was sick. Then his father emerged from the courtroom, coming to a halt when he encountered the gathering in the hallway. The look he gave Sarah had her shrinking right before Owen’s eyes. Old habits died hard.

  “Move along,” Owen said to his father.

  “Watch yourself, boy.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a boy anymore, so you’d be wise to watch yourself and the way you talk to my mother.”

  “Still playing the role of the hero, huh?”

  “Still playing the role of the dickhead, huh?”

  “Move along, Mr. Lawry,” Tom said. “You’re under a restraining order that prevents you from contacting your ex-wife. This counts as contact.”

  “I’ll move along, but you should’ve taken the deal, Sarah. You’ve got nothing against me.”

  “Move,” Charlie said in a tone that forced Mark to take notice.

  “What’s it to you?”

  “Keep talking, and you’ll find out.”

  Sarah took Charlie by the hand. “Don’t bother, Charlie. He’s not worth it. Let’s go have lunch.” Sarah led him and her mother to the door.

  As Laura and the others followed Sarah, Owen hung back. “Go away and leave us alone,” he said to his father when the others were out of earshot. “You’re nothing to us, and we like it that way.”

  “Your mother will come around,” Mark said confidently. “She always does.”

  The statement had Owen laughing out loud. “Keep telling yourself that.”

  Laura came back to look for him. “Are you coming?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m coming.” As he walked away from his father, he felt the weight of the world lift from his shoulders. Mark Lawry no longer had any power over him, his mother or his siblings. No matter how the trial worked out, he couldn’t hurt them anymore.

  He took Laura’s hand and smiled at her, feeling more like himself than he had in weeks.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked, her expression filled with concern.

  “Everything is just fine. It’s absolutely fine.”

  Chapter 26

  They returned from lunch to another surprise. His mother’s old friend Eva Lewis was waiting for them.

  “Eva?” Sarah let out a cry of surprise and delight as she hugged the other woman. “What’re you doing here?”

  “I read the story in the paper this morning. I told Bill I had to come.”

  “It’s so good to see you! How long has it been?”

  “At least five years, maybe more.”

  “You remember Owen, of course. This is his fiancée, Laura, and their son, Holden.”

  “Nice to see you again, Mrs. Lewis,” Owen said.

  “Look at you all grown up and so handsome.”

  “He is that,” Sarah said with a proud smile for her son.

  “I had to come,” Eva said. “I read the story this morning, and the defense attorney said you didn’t have anyone to testify that this had been going on for a long time. I can do that. I always knew. Bill knew, too. Everyone knew, Sarah.”

  Owen’s heart ached as his mother looked down at the floo
r, her face flooding with shame.

  “I’ve never had more arguments with my husband over anything than I did over what Mark was doing to you—and the kids. I wanted to report him, but Bill feared for his career. He regrets that now, and I wish I’d stood up to him and done the right thing. Let me do the right thing now. Please.”

  Sarah looked up at Owen, who felt a profound sense of relief at knowing the one thing they needed to shore up their case had just appeared in the form of his mother’s old friend.

  “I would appreciate that, Eva,” Sarah said.

  They introduced Eva to Tom, whose eyes lit up with pleasure at the news that Eva was willing to testify. “You’re certain about this, Mrs. Lewis?”

  “I’m absolutely positive.”

  “All right, then. Let’s see what the judge has to say.”

  Court reconvened a short time later, and Tom asked for permission to approach the bench. The defense attorney accompanied him, and the three men conferred in whispers for several minutes.

  The burger Owen had forced himself to eat at lunch sat in his stomach like a cinder block while he waited to hear what would happen. After what felt like an hour, the defense attorney returned to his seat to confer with Mark, who spun around to look at the gallery. When his gaze settled on Eva, he scowled, shook his head and said something else to his lawyer. Owen wished he could read lips. His father’s shoulders slowly but surely lost the stiffness Owen had always associated with his military bearing. He seemed to sag in on himself as the attorney watched and waited.

  The courtroom was completely silent. In the hallway, Owen heard the unmistakable sound of Holden’s laughter. The joyful noise was a balm on the ache inside him as he waited to see what would happen.

  After a fierce argument with his lawyer followed by an interminable period of silence, Mark nodded.

  His attorney stood. “Your Honor, my client wishes to change his plea.”

  “Approach,” the judge said.

  Both attorneys walked to the bench to confer again with the judge.

  Owen couldn’t seem to breathe.

  Laura gripped his hand.

  After the attorneys stepped back from the bench, the judge cleared his throat. “The defendant has agreed to plead guilty to all charges.”

  The group around Owen erupted into cheers as the judge banged his gavel and called for order.

  “The defendant will please rise.” One by one, he read the charges, and one by one, Mark pleaded guilty to each of them. The judge set sentencing for one month from today and advised Mark Lawry to use that time to get his affairs in order.

  His father had admitted his guilt and was going to jail. Owen leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t seem to breathe. He couldn’t make himself believe it was actually over and neither he nor his mother had had to testify.

  “O?” Laura said, her hand on his back. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded because that was all he was capable of at the moment.

  She gave him a little tug, encouraging him to lean on her, which he gladly did.

  “I don’t understand,” she said softly. “Why would he plead guilty?”

  “Because he’d rather go to jail than have the dirty laundry aired out in the press,” he said haltingly. “Eva Lewis cemented our case. We’ve known the Lewises for years. Her husband was one of my father’s subordinates.”

  “I’m so happy for you and your mom.”

  “So am I. I’m happy for all of us.”

  “Owen?” Sarah said.

  He raised his head to look at her.

  “Come here, son.” She held out her arms to him, and he rose to hug her. “I can’t believe this.”

  Owen didn’t think he’d ever heard her sound so euphoric. She hadn’t had much reason for euphoria during her dreadful marriage. As he held his mother, he locked eyes with his father, who watched them with a look of such abject hatred that Owen’s blood went cold. “Let’s get out of here, Mom. It’s time to go home.”

  * * *

  They were back on the island by sunset. While Laura took a shower, Owen brought Holden down to his favorite spot on the porch and chose a rocking chair that was separated from a livelier group at the other end of the porch. As he rocked the baby, he continued to process what had happened. His father had pleaded guilty. He’d been forced to take responsibility for the nightmare he’d inflicted upon his wife and children.

  Owen would never see him again. Of that he was certain. They wouldn’t attend the sentencing hearing because neither he nor his mother felt the need to be there when Mark learned his fate. He was going to prison. That was all that mattered to them.

  Holden snuggled in closer to Owen, his sweet breath warm against Owen’s neck. He and Laura could never believe how much heat that little body generated when he was sleeping. Owen rubbed Holden’s back as they rocked, and a feeling of peace and contentment unlike anything he’d ever experienced came over him as he looked out over the town he now called home while holding the baby he loved more than life itself.

  His emotions were raw and close to the surface tonight, threatening to spill over at any second. He’d managed to hold it together during the flight home during which everyone had been in high spirits—no one more so than Sarah. Owen had never seen his mother so happy.

  “There you are,” his grandmother said when she came onto the porch. She and her husband had hitched a ride home to Gansett with them and planned to stay until the wedding.

  “Hey,” Owen said. “Sorry. Were you looking for me?”

  “All over the place.”

  “If I’m not upstairs with Laura, you can usually find me and my little buddy right here.”

  “You always loved this porch,” Adele said as she took the chair next to his.

  “What’s not to love?”

  “Indeed. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it until we arrived earlier. And what you and Laura have done with the place! The pictures simply didn’t do it justice.”

  “I’m glad you’re happy with it. Laura must’ve asked me a thousand times during the renovation if Adele would be pleased with whatever decision we were making at the moment.”

  “Adele is very, very pleased—and not just with the hotel, which is spectacular. I’m also extremely thrilled to see you so happy and in love with such a wonderful young woman.”

  “She’s quite something, isn’t she?”

  “Oh, Owen… She’s incredible. I already loved her from all our phone conversations, but to spend time with her and to see how much she loves you…” Adele smiled and shook her head. “It does your old granny’s heart good to know you have that in your life—to know you allowed yourself to have it.”

  “I didn’t have much choice. She bowled me over from the first time I met her.”

  “I can see why.”

  “And PS, there’s nothing old about my granny.”

  She laughed at that. “Whatever you say, you charmer.” Adele zeroed in on the movement of his hand on Holden’s back. “He’s a sweetheart.”

  “He really is.”

  “I’m so glad you and Laura can focus on your wedding now and all the exciting things to come. The past is now officially where it belongs. Finally.”

  “It’s such a relief, but it’s also surreal. I never thought it would be resolved so easily.”

  “I’m not as surprised as I probably should be. Mark’s ego is as healthy as it ever was, and there was no way he was going to let you, your mother and Eva drag him through the mud in public.”

  “Thank God she showed up when she did.”

  “He could’ve fought back against the two of you, and I bet that was his intention. But he couldn’t do a thing about her, and he knew it. His goose was cooked the minute she walked into the courtroom.”

  “It’s amazing when you think about it. All those years, I thought no one knew. I thought people were oblivious.”

  “They weren’t oblivious. They were as intimidated by
your father as all of you were. He was a powerful man with a powerful temper. No one wanted to cross him.” She reached over to rest her hand on his arm. “I’m only sorry it took this long for someone to come forward on your behalf. It should’ve happened a long time ago.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that it happened when it needed to, and now it’s over.”

  Sarah came out to join them on the porch. She wore a pretty dress and had obviously spent time on her hair and makeup.

  “Going out, Mom?”

  “Charlie is taking me to dinner to celebrate.”

  “He’s a nice man, Sarah,” her mother said.

  “Yes, he is.”

  “Will we be seeing you in the morning, then?” Owen asked.

  Sarah blushed to the roots of her hair. “Honestly, Owen. Not in front of my mother.”

  Adele burst into laughter. “Oh for goodness sakes, Sarah. You’re almost sixty years old and have seven grown children and a grandchild. Go have some fun while you’re still young.”

  “In that case,” Sarah said with a saucy grin, “don’t wait up.” She leaned over to kiss Holden’s cheek and Owen’s forehead and then kissed her mother.

  Charlie arrived a few minutes later to pick up Sarah. They walked off arm in arm, his head tipped toward hers so he could hear what she was saying.

  “Well,” Adele said as she and Owen watched them walk away, “isn’t that a sight for sore eyes?”

  “You know it. They’re great together.”

  “Do you think they’ll get married?”

  “Eventually. Once her divorce is final.”

  “And you’d be okay with that?”

  “I’d be thrilled for them both. They’ve been to hell and back and made it through intact.”

  “As have you, my love. And now it’s time to leave hell behind and wallow in the joy.”

  Since that sounded like a fine idea, Owen decided to take his grandmother’s advice. It was definitely time for some joy around here.

  * * *

  The next two weeks flew by in a flurry of last-minute wedding details, while the bride and groom tried not to think about the fact that they’d yet to receive her divorce papers.