Chapter 15
Charlie walked Stephanie out to her car and gave her another hug before he sent her on her way with a wave.
He was so damned proud of her. She’d been a bright, happy, joyful kid growing up in the midst of a nightmare with an abusive, neglectful, drug-addicted mother.
After her mother had accused him of kidnapping and abusing her, they’d walked together through the fires of hell and made it to the other side, somehow still whole and healthy despite their ordeal.
He hadn’t thought about Renee in a long time.
In fact, he went out of his way to never think about the day he’d walked in on her beating the hell out of the girl he’d come to love as a daughter.
He’d done what anyone would do in that situation—he’d gotten Stephanie out of there and had paid for that decision with fourteen years of his life behind bars.
Seeing her now, grown up, beautiful, glowing with happiness and in love with a great guy, Charlie knew he’d do it all over again if he had to.
She was worth every minute he’d spent locked up.
As he was about to resume his yard work, another car pulled into the driveway, this one a low-slung black Porsche that made Charlie want to drool with envy every time he laid eyes on it. He’d always appreciated cars, and Dan Torrington’s car was one of his favorites. It suited the LA lawyer to a T.
Charlie had learned the hard way to be wary and cautious around lawyers, who were often out to protect their own interests over those of their clients.
Dan was a notable exception. Charlie owed him everything.
With one phone call from the notoriously successful attorney, Charlie had suddenly been granted the hearing he’d been denied for years, at which Dan had successfully argued for his release.
“Hey, Charlie,” Dan said when he unfolded himself from the car. He’d once told Charlie the car had originally belonged to his brother Dylan, who’d been killed in Afghanistan. Charlie had seen the depths of Dan’s grief and the pain of his loss that day when he talked about his only brother.
Charlie shook the hand he offered. “Counselor. What brings you out this way?”
“A rather intriguing phone call from a friend of mine in the state attorney general’s office.”
“On a Sunday? You all never take a day off, huh?”
Dan was another one Charlie had found to be a bit fancy, until he got to know him better and came to appreciate the man beneath the urbane veneer. “We’re both off today, but he wanted to give me a heads-up that the state is preparing to offer a settlement in your unlawful imprisonment claim.”
Charlie had resisted filing that claim until Dan, Stephanie and even Grant had compelled him to consider it.
After all, the original proceedings had completely disregarded the testimony of the girl he’d supposedly abused, who’d pleaded with someone, anyone, to hear her assertions that he’d actually saved her, that her mother had been the abuser, not her stepfather.
Renee had died a short time after he was charged without ever admitting she’d lied about what happened that day in their home. She’d condemned him to hell without an ounce of remorse, as if she’d never professed to love him when she was clean and sober.
“What kind of offer?” Charlie asked hesitantly. He’d told himself over and over that it didn’t matter if anyone ever paid for what he’d been forced to endure. He had his freedom, and his daughter was back in his everyday life. What else mattered?
“This is strictly off the record because it’s not an official offer yet, but he heard they’re going to come back with half a million for every year you spent in jail.”
Seven million. Holy shit.
“I still think we could get more,” Dan said. “This is just their preliminary offer, and they’ll expect us to come back with a higher number.”
“No,” Charlie said.
“Um, no? What do you mean?”
“No higher numbers. That’s more than enough. How much of that do you get?”
“None of it. I don’t want it, and I don’t need it.”
“I don’t get you. Why aren’t you like all the other hucksters out there who’d have their hands so deep into a settlement like this, I’d be lucky to be able to buy a hamburger when they were done?”
Dan tipped his head back and laughed. “Don’t think too much of my profession, do you?”
“Can you blame me?”
“Not one bit. You and most of the people I work with these days have seen the worst of us. I like to show you the best. I made a fortune as a corporate lawyer before I started the innocence project. I’m not in it for the money, but if you want to donate to the project so we can help others who’ve been unjustly convicted, I won’t say no to that. ”
“Done.”
“I wish all my clients were as easy to please as you are, Charlie.”
“It doesn’t take much to make me happy these days.”
“I bet it doesn’t. I’m happy for you. A thousand times more wouldn’t fully compensate you for what was lost.”
“Maybe not, but seven million will keep me pretty well for the rest of my life and give me something to leave my daughter someday, too.”
“Good enough. I’ll let you know when I receive the official offer.”
“You’re going to Virginia with Sarah and Owen, right?”
“I am. Are you?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll see you Tuesday morning, then.”
“I’ll be there. You’ll be looking out for her, won’t you?” Judging by the fierce expression on Dan’s face, Charlie didn’t need to elaborate any further.
“You bet your ass I will. That’s why I’m going. I’ve been overseeing the divorce, and that husband of hers is a real piece of work. I’m not taking any chances that he’s going to pull anything on her. I’ll be right there the whole time.”
“Makes me feel better to know you’re on her side.”
“Always.” Dan offered his hand again.
Charlie grasped it with both hands. “I’ll never be able to properly thank you for all you’ve done for me—and for Stephanie. We’ll always be grateful.”
“Believe me when I tell you, Charlie, it was indeed my pleasure. See you at the party later?”
“We’ll be there. Wouldn’t miss it.”
Charlie waved to Dan when he drove off, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
Seven million dollars.
While part of him wanted to say fuck them and their money, the other part of him—the part that had once been an intellectual, a teacher and a fairly decent human being before life ripped the rug out from under him—would never say that.
He could do a lot of good with that kind of money, for himself and the people he loved.
He could buy Sarah any house she wanted, he thought, imagining her reaction to hearing that she could have her pick of anything she’d ever wanted. That thought brought a smile to his face and had him once again thinking about the night they’d spent together.
She’d surprised the hell out of him when she asked him for more, and though he burned with the desire to do everything with her, he hadn’t given in completely to those desires, as he was still afraid of scaring her or moving too fast after all she’d been through.
They’d still managed to have one hell of a good time together, and sleeping with her in his arms had been one of the best experiences of his life—even if they hadn’t actually had sex. They’d come awfully close to that, and he had every reason to believe it would happen soon. At least he hoped so.
As much as he’d once loved Renee, this was different. With her, the slope had always been slippery. Even before he discovered her addiction issues, she’d been unpredictable, prone to irrational bouts of anger that kept him—and Stephanie—constantly off balance, waiting for the next explosion.
Sarah had her own experiences with waiting for the anger and living on the edge.
Other than an occasional flinch when she was touched, you’d never know it to be around her.
She was serene and peaceful and delighted with the simple things in life.
Like him, she was grateful to be free of a past that had kept her every bit as imprisoned as he had once been.
Now that he’d been able to tell her—and show her—how much he loved her, he was hoping they’d get to spend the rest of their lives together.
Once she got past the trial and her divorce was final, it would be time to make some plans.
Charlie couldn’t wait for that day. It was nice to have something to look forward to again.
After sending his wife a text asking her to meet him at home, Big Mac went to the house to wait for her.
His mind raced with questions and implications and worries.
He was deeply concerned about how Linda would react to hearing he’d fathered a child with another woman.
Granted, it had happened before he met her, but still…
He knew his wife and was worried the news would upset her.
Though it was only ten thirty, he thought about having a drink to calm his nerves but decided against it.
He wanted to be at his best for this conversation.
His thoughts kept wandering back to the beautiful young woman who’d appeared out of nowhere bearing life-changing news for him and everyone he loved.
Had he been foolish not to agree to her wishes to let her go without anyone the wiser that she even existed?
“No,” he said out loud. He’d never have a minute’s peace if a child of his were walking around alone in the world when she could’ve been part of his large and loving family.
Blowing out a deep breath, he ran his fingers through thick, wiry gray hair as he thought about the time he’d spent with her mother.
Theirs had been a brief fling, spanning most of the winter before he met Linda, the day before he closed on the marina. Neither he nor Diana had taken their relationship all that seriously, and when it came time to move on, they’d done so with no ill will or hard feelings.