Here in My Heart: A Novella (Echoes of the Heart)

by DeStefano, Anna

  He shook his head, needing to tell her again that she didn’t understand anything. Movement near the bank stopped him. Dru grabbed his arm, holding him in place when instinct told him to race toward the girls and the disaster that was clearly about to happen.

  “Wait,” she said urgently. They watched a full-grown man approach the girls. “Maybe it’s not what we think.”

  “Like hell.” Brad was going to kill the bastard. “And that guy could grab Lisa or Sally before we got to them.”

  They quietly moved together, watching Sally’s and Lisa’s eyes grow wider, fear blooming on their faces. The man stepped closer, talking to them in a deep voice. Brad couldn’t make out the words.

  The girls’ bodies grew rigid with caution, both of them assuming the balanced radKIDS stance of one foot in front, one slightly behind, ready to strike or run, hit or kick or battle, or whatever else they’d need to do to escape danger. With Sally’s hand on her shoulder in warning, it was Lisa who reacted first.

  “No!” Lisa yelled, the way Dru had taught her, the way Brad had helped her practice, punching up with the heel of her hand, jamming it into the man’s nose.

  He howled and grabbed her with meaty fists, cursing and calling her a bitch.

  She screamed “No!” again and stomped down on his instep.

  He bent forward in pain, holding on to Lisa while Sally tried to drag the smaller girl away.

  Lisa’s knee came up, jamming into his crotch. Sally shoved the screaming man back and yanked Lisa out of his grasp, shouting “No!” herself. Both girls took off running, finally seeing Dru and Brad there.

  “Keep going,” Brad ordered as he sprinted toward their attacker.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lisa run into Dru’s arms. Dru gathered Sally close, too, turning both girls away.

  Satisfied that the kids were safe, Brad went to work, tackling the pervert from behind, propelling him to the parking lot’s asphalt. He jammed his knee into the man’s back, putting all of his body weight into immobilizing the bastard.

  Only then did he fish his cell from his back pocket and make a quick call.

  “He said he was my friend,” Lisa cried.

  She was clinging to Dru, and Dru couldn’t stop shaking. She and Brad had come so close to not being there in time. If Sally hadn’t told them what Lisa was doing, the monster Brad had plastered to the ground might have hurt both girls, even though they’d tried to run.

  “He said he was like me,” Lisa said, “and no one at his school liked him either. ‘No one understands us,’ he said. Not like we understand each other, because he has ADHD, too. But he didn’t . . . it was all a lie. He wasn’t my friend. He just wanted to . . .”

  The misery in Lisa’s beautiful, tear-streaked face cut into the lonely place in Dru’s heart.

  “You have friends,” she insisted.

  Sally hugged Lisa tighter, nodding her head in agreement.

  “You have people who understand,” Dru said. “Look at how Sally knew to get us here, to make sure you were okay.”

  Brad looked over at them, murder in his eyes. He yanked out one of his shoelaces and tied it around the man’s wrists. The guy seemed to have given up trying to get away. He still looked terrifyingly large and creepy, wearing of all things a black hoodie and wrinkled, high-waisted jeans. His greasy hair was combed over a freckled bald spot that spanned the top of his head. At the very least, he was in his thirties, more like his forties.

  Dru held the girls tighter.

  “You were great, Lisa,” Sally said. “You fought back so great. I was too scared at first. But you . . . you did everything Dru said to. Just like at the radKIDS graduation. You fought back right away, even after he grabbed you. You screamed so loud, even if Dru and Officer Douglas weren’t here, someone would have heard you.” Footsteps were rushing toward them from a distance. “He’s just some loser. But you’re . . . you’re a hero. Wait until your friends at school hear about what you did.”

  Lisa wiped at her nose with the sleeve of the sweater she’d told Dru over Thanksgiving was her favorite. “I was stupid.”

  “No,” Dru corrected. “You were trusting. You could have really been hurt, and I want you to promise you’ll never take that kind of chance again. You trusted the wrong person. But you’re not stupid, Lisa. Stop saying things like that about yourself. Stop believing them when other people say it about you.” Dru made sure Lisa was listening. “Be brave about that, too, the way you were just now. Believe in how strong you are, and expect others to treat you better. You have to learn how to trust the right people. That’s all. Trust the friends who want to take care of you. Give them a chance to—”

  “Love you the way you need to be loved,” Brad said, “even when it’s easier to believe that they can’t?”

  He’d dragged the man to his feet.

  He had a firm grip on the creep’s arm. The man’s wrists were tightly bound behind his back. He looked smaller next to Brad’s imposing height, powerless and afraid and not the least bit intimidating now. Meanwhile the residual anger in Brad’s expression while he talked about love was playing havoc with Dru’s commitment not to cling to him and beg for one more chance.

  “Sometimes being brave,” he said, “means not talking yourself into settling for less than you deserve.” He had eyes only for Dru. “I learned that the hard way, a long time ago, when I let go of what I should have fought for. I’ve regretted it ever since. It’s even harder to watch someone you love make the same mistake.” His attention shifted to Lisa. “Don’t do that to yourself, darlin’. Don’t give up on the people who’ll love you right, thinking that something else, something that won’t be as good for you, is the best you’ll ever get.”

  He tightened his grip on the creep’s arms.

  The man grunted.

  “What happened?” a feminine voice asked. It was Kristen Hemmings. She and Law Beaumont, Sally’s uncle, had run over. He and his fiancé were breathing heavily. Dressed in athletic gear, they looked like they’d been out for a jog.

  “Is everyone okay?” Law cupped the back of his niece’s head, directing his question to Brad. “We heard the girls yelling.”

  “Everything’s under control.” Brad had never sounded calmer or looked more lethal as he scowled at the Internet predator he’d all but hogtied. “A patrol car’s on its way.”

  “A patrol car?” Kristen took Sally’s hand. The eighth-grader was visibly shaking. “What happened?”

  “Nothing happened,” Dru assured them. “These girls knew exactly what to do in a threatening situation.”

  “Lisa knew what to do,” Sally insisted.

  “Because you helped me learn.” Lisa was half-hiding behind Dru, from her attacker and Law and Kristen, who’d last year become Chandler Elementary’s principal. “Because you were my friend, Sally, and you came with me, and I wasn’t alone when that guy . . .”

  “When that guy what?” Law’s hands fisted at his sides.

  They could hear sirens growing louder as a sheriff’s deputy raced to the scene. Lisa shrank tighter against Dru’s side. Unfortunately, there was no getting around the ten-year-old being the center of attention for the next little while. Dru patted her arm.

  “I’ve got you,” Dru said, remembering how wonderful she’d felt when Brad said that to her. “It’s going to be okay, sweetie. You can do this, I promise, and I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

  “Me, too,” Sally added.

  Law said, “I’m calling Dan.”

  Dru nodded. “Could you get in touch with Marsha and Joe, too?”

  “Ask them to meet us at the sheriff’s department,” Brad suggested. A patrol car pulled to the curb, its siren silenced but its lights flashing, a freaked-out, carnival-ride reminder of how much worse things could have turned out for the girls. “Lisa and Sally will have to make statements. It’ll be easier for them if we do that somewhere less public.”

  Chapt
er Thirteen

  Somewhere less public . . .

  Brad shook his head, watching over Dru as she sat beside Lisa, holding her hand. They were waiting in the Chandlerville Sheriff’s Department lobby for the Dixons to arrive.

  And the place was about as private as his and Dru’s kiss at the restaurant Friday night, or their arrival at the hospital yesterday morning, with half the town there to help them grieve Vivian’s passing. A growing crowd was forming in the lobby. Their community had a way of knowing when people needed support, whether they wanted it or not.

  “You don’t have to do this alone,” Dru said to Lisa. She hadn’t left the girl’s side since they’d arrived and taken a seat in the corner.

  “I don’t want to talk to the policeman again,” Lisa said.

  Dru had been quietly comforting her. Sally and her uncle and his fiancé sat close by. Travis would be back soon for the girl’s official statement. After that, later today or tomorrow, Lisa and Sally would have to handle a lineup to visually identify the bastard who’d preyed on Lisa’s innocence over the Internet.

  “That man can’t hurt you now,” Dru reassured the girl, her voice tight with the same anger still riding Brad. “And even if he could, we wouldn’t let him.” Dru glanced up to see Brad’s nod of agreement. “You and Sally wouldn’t let him at the bank. And now you have the rest of us to help. You’re not his victim, Lisa. Don’t let him make you feel like one.”

  “I don’t want to talk about him,” Lisa said. “I don’t want to see him again. He’ll—”

  “He won’t hear what you say.” Brad knelt beside her, completing a circle of support. “Your interview will be between you and your older brother, Travis. Tomorrow, at the lineup, the man who grabbed you won’t know it’s you watching from the other side of a mirrored window. He won’t know you’re there to identify him. And your foster parents will be with you the entire time—”

  “Dru, too?”

  “Me, too,” Dru promised, “if you want me to be.”

  Lisa clung to Dru’s hand. “Please . . .”

  “Then I’ve got you,” Dru reassured her, “for as long as you need me here.”

  She held Brad’s gaze. It was exactly what he’d promised her when he’d first come back to town, and the other night at the Dream Whip.

  Brad’s face was so close. He’d been so strong and focused and protective at the bank. He’d taken care of everything, making sure the girls were safe. And he was still there now, helping Dru talk Lisa through making sure the man who’d tried to hurt her didn’t get the chance to hurt other kids.

  Dru felt the rationalizations she’d told herself, so she’d be okay with watching him leave town again, evaporate.

  He was focused on her now. He wanted to kiss her. She could tell. She could already feel how good it would be to have his arms around her and to lose herself in his wanting her.

  She looked around at the friends and neighbors filling the sheriff’s department lobby. It was a marvelous thing, everyone rallying around Lisa and Sally the way they had Dru and Brad yesterday, making sure they knew they weren’t alone.

  She blinked back to Brad, her attention dropping to his lips, her head shaking.

  “Can’t we . . .” She cleared her throat.

  She’d almost asked if they could go back, as far back as they needed to, to the very beginning, and erase all the confusion and fear and doubts.

  Lisa snuggled against her side, placing her head in the crook of Dru’s shoulder, tempting her to imagine her own daughter’s head there one day—her and Brad’s daughter, cuddling and trusting and knowing the same way Lisa did that everything was okay as long as Dru and Brad were there to protect her. As long as they were always there, no matter how hard things got.

  “Can we let Sally give her statement first?” Dru finally said. “I think it would be easier for Lisa, seeing Sally be okay after talking about what happened.”

  “That’s going to be up to the sheriff.” Brad cupped Dru’s cheek, her chin cradled perfectly in his palm. He ran his thumb across her bottom lip. “But I’ll do everything I can to make this right.”

  His words were for Lisa, who’d looked up to hear his answer. But his attention stayed on Dru.

  “Mom!” Lisa burst from Dru’s grasp, running across the lobby to where Marsha and Joe Dixon had just rushed in. “Dad!”

  Dru’s foster parents snatched the girl close, hugging her and making a fuss over her. Lisa clung tightly, allowing herself to be loved. The crowd of spectators in the lobby smiled at the touching scene.

  “Look at that.” Brad smiled, too.

  “Oh, thank God.” Dru raised her hand to her mouth. Mom and Dad. “They’re a family.”

  Brad pulled her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “You’ve done a miraculous thing, helping her. She’s okay because of your radKIDS classes, and because you helped her make friends with Sally. She trusts you and the Dixons. Her life is opening up. She’s learned to feel safe. Now, what are we going to do about you?”

  Dru scanned the lobby. For once, no one was paying any attention to them.

  “I don’t want to talk about this here, in front of every—”

  “You didn’t want to talk about it first thing this morning, either, when we were alone at the Whip.” Brad wouldn’t release her hand. “If you think I’m going to let you out of my sight again without making my case, making you listen while I tell you I love you, you’re underestimating how much I’m willing to put on the line for you.”

  “Is . . .” I love you . . . “Is that what you were doing when you gave up the Dream Whip, so you’d never have to come back to Chandlerville again?”

  “I want the Whip to be yours outright,” he said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, “so when I stay in Chandlerville, you’ll know it’s for you, Dru, and only you.”

  “What?” Every dream she’d ever had warred with the parts of her that had been so careful for so long.

  She slipped free of his grip. Her fingers clutched against her heart. He loved her. He wanted to stay for her. But how could he be so sure, after everything, now that there was no Vivian, no Dream Whip, nothing connecting them if something went wrong?

  You have to be there to care about her, even when things are completely messed up.

  “I used my ties to Vivian for years,” Brad said, “to keep up with you and help you, without making a real commitment. Vi knew that, and she knew exactly what she was doing when she manipulated me home and showed me what I’ve been missing. You, Dru. I’ve been missing you, all these years. I’ve been a fool not fighting for a life with you, just because it would have been a complicated mess at first. I won’t make that mistake again.”

  Dru shook her head, still confused, beginning to hope. “We do fight really well together.”

  “And we make up even better.” He winked and took her hand. “I want you, Dru—for us, not for Vivian or the restaurant. And I’m a patient man. I’ll wait for as long as it takes. I’ll go back to Savannah for a while, if you need some space. But I’ll be back this time. I’m here, for you, forever. You’re my home. I’ll never stop fighting for you.”

  Lisa was still scared, but she felt safer than she had her whole life, with the Dixons hugging her and with Dru and Sally still close, after they’d helped her fight the scary man Officer Douglas had tackled and made sure the police locked away.

  All because Lisa had done something really stupid. She’d broken a bigger rule than ever before . . . But everyone was still there with her, telling her she’d been so brave. And her foster parents still wanted her, like they’d said they always would. And for the first time, she believed them.

  So why didn’t Dru look like she believed Officer Douglas when he’d just said the same thing to her?

  “M-Mom?” Lisa asked, worried about her big sister.

  “It’s going to be okay,” her mom promised.

  But both her parents looked worried, too.
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br />   “Fight for me one more time,” Officer Douglas said to Dru. “I don’t want to leave after the funeral. But I don’t want to keep hurting you, not like this. We’re good together. Not just the other night . . .” He kissed her, and Dru’s cheeks grew rosy, the way Lisa’s got hot when she was embarrassed. “We’re even good when we’re at each other’s throats the way we are sometimes at the Dream Whip. We’re good because we’re . . . right together.” He took her hand and placed it on his chest. “No matter what, you’ve always been right here in my heart, Dru. And you always will be.”

  He looked around at everyone who was listening. Sally and her uncle were there, just across the lobby, and Ms. Hemmings from school, and lots of other families Lisa knew. Other officers. The lady in uniform at the front desk. They were all waiting to hear what Dru said.

  Officer Douglas looked like he wanted to kiss Dru again and keep kissing her for always, the way the cute guys in the movies kissed the girls they liked.

  “I love you,” he said. “Let yourself love me back, no matter how much trouble we make next. You’ve fought for everything else in your life. We’ll find our way. I just need you to be—”

  “Brave.” Lisa let go of the Dixons and walked halfway to Dru before she stopped.

  People were watching her again. She swallowed hard, waiting for them to start laughing. But Dru had always been there for her. And now Lisa’s sister was the one who needed help.

  “You have to be brave,” Lisa said, “like you showed me. Say what you need to. Yell it if you need to. Don’t stop just because you’re scared.”

  Lisa didn’t feel alone anymore, and she didn’t know why, exactly. She just knew she didn’t want Dru to feel the way Lisa used to. And her sister looked so sad, staring at Officer Douglas and not answering him.

  Travis stepped into the lobby.

  “We’re ready to take both your statements,” he said to Lisa and Sally. “I’ll talk with you, Lisa. And Officer Wilson is ready for Sally. It’s important that we take care of it as soon as possible. We need every detail you can give us about what happened.”