Chapter 22
Gabrielle
Brodie and I took down all of the decorations and piled all the dirty glassware and dishes into the crates the rental company had supplied.
We sat in the shade of a large oak tree on two teak Adirondack rocking chairs, sipping lemonade and watching as the two men from the rental company took the wooden planks of the dance floor apart and loaded them onto a truck with all of the tables and chairs.
I was glad to see the dance floor go. Even though Brodie and I had shared our first dance there, it also held some rather unpleasant memories since I’d danced with Jeff there, too.
I’d like to forget I ever thought he was attractive.
Brodie handed one of the guys an envelope that I knew held a sizable tip.
One thing I’d learned about Brodie over the past couple of weeks was that he never skimped on tips.
I guess running a bar and relying on those every day elevated the importance of them.
I’d always considered myself a generous tipper until I’d met Brodie and Jackson.
Even after the men had finished loading up the truck and were long gone, I stayed outside on the chair while Brodie went inside to fill our glasses with more lemonade.
Rufus lay by my feet, content to be in the shade.
It turned out to be a fairly warm day, much like yesterday and the day before.
The weather didn’t show much variation this time of year.
It was either hot or extremely hot. I watched Brodie stroll out from the kitchen door, tray balanced on one hand, guitar case dangling from the other.
We stayed outside in the shade of the tree most of the afternoon while Brodie strummed softly on Jackson’s guitar.
He gave me a shhhh, holding his finger to his lips and said, “Don’t tell Jackson I played his guitar.
He’s kinda OCD about other people touching it. ”
I grinned. “Okay. Mums the words.” I closed my eyes and listened to the soft tunes Brodie played.
I’m almost certain I fell asleep. Maybe.
Not completely, because the sudden silence jarred me awake and I sat up straight.
Brodie still sat in the chair beside me, the guitar perched against the tree on his other side, his eyes closed.
I sank back again and closed my eyes. We were both exhausted from all the work, not to mention the fact that we’d both slept on the couch last night.
It was nice having him there. I wondered why he stayed with me.
Up until last night, he never really seemed to pay much attention to me.
There was also the fact that he hadn’t been out with any of the women Lena claimed he spent so much time with; at least not since I’d been there.
A week and a half after the wedding, I was still staying in Brodie’s spare room, and to my surprise, Brodie still stayed home every night.
We ate dinner together when he wasn’t working at the bar, and even then, I’d go to the bar with him, mostly because I didn’t want to stay at the house alone.
I had lugged the laptop along with me a couple of times to work on the second book, but I did manage to have a few beers while I hung out and listened to the band.
I even sang a few songs with them since Lena and Jackson weren’t there.
Tonight would be one of those stay at home nights. It was late afternoon. Brodie had taken the day shift at the bar and wasn’t home yet. I didn’t mind staying alone during the day. It was mostly at night, when the shadows lurked outside in between the trees and in my mind that bothered me.
I opened the freezer to pull out some chicken to defrost. I’d said I would cook dinner. I was going to make chicken parmesan, an old family recipe.
Music from my cell phone sang out the generic ringtone I’d programmed for unknown callers. I didn’t recognize the number but slid the answer switch across the screen.
“Hello?”
“Gabrielle Demeres?” It was a man’s voice. My back stiffened. The police had said they’d be in touch about testifying against Jeff.
“Yes?”
“You called about a room for rent. Are you still looking?”
My shoulders relaxed as if someone had removed the weight of a fifty-pound bag of potatoes from them. “Oh. Yes.”
“The room you called about last week just became available again. The other person didn’t work out. So, if you want, you can come by and take a look.”
“Yes. Yes, I’d like that.”
“Can you come by in about an hour?” I glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall above the window. It was four. Brodie had said he’d be home around five. I didn’t have a car, so I’d need to wait.
“Um … can we make that about an hour and a half?”
“That’ll be fine.”
“Can I get the address?”
He rattled off the house number and street as I jotted them down.
I hoped Brodie knew where this was, and I hoped he came home in time.
The prospect of getting my own place was exciting.
A room in a house where other people lived, but still my own room.
I fished in the freezer for the chicken and placed it in a pot with hot tap water to speed up the defrosting.
Satisfied with the way it sat covered in the water, I took off for my room to change into some jeans and a tank top.
My shorts vibrated before the music from my cell phone sang out again.
I reached in my pocket and pulled out my phone.
I grimaced at yet another unfamiliar number. “Hello?” My voice sounded too shaky.
“Gabrielle Demeres, please.” It was a female voice, but very austere sounding.
“Yes.”
“Hi, Gabrielle. This is the county police department. We wanted to let you know that the case you have against Jeffrey Adams has been dismissed. There will be no need for you to come in to testify.”
“What?”
I listened to her repeat the sentence, but my mind escaped to a place a million miles away. “How … how is that possible?”
“I’m sorry. He had a witness come forward …
a Miss Kate Bradley. She said that she was with the two of you the entire time and that you were all out there having some fun.
She said she left when you told her you wanted to be alone with Mr. Adams, and that you intended to …
let’s see, her exact words were, ‘fuck him silly.’”
“That can’t be. There was no one there but us.
There wasn’t anyone else there when the cops came.
They saw. How do you explain the bruises on my face?
The cut lip? They saw what he had done to me!
” My voice raised an octave on that last sentence and I had to calm myself before I started shouting at the woman on the phone. Before I flat out called her a liar.
“That’s all I know, ma’am. Would you like the number of the district attorney’s office?”
“No. I have it. Thank you.”
I went to my room and picked up the card that the cop had given me from the top of the dresser. I decided to wait until Brodie came home before calling. I was too upset to even get the number entered into the phone correctly.
“They’d never believe you Gabby girl. You know that,” Thomas whispered in my ear.
I shook my head. This couldn’t be possible.
“Gabrielle?” I looked up to see Brodie standing in the doorway.
“What’s wrong? Why didn’t you answer me?
I’ve been calling you for about five minutes.
I saw the chicken in the sink. It’s all defrosted.
I put it in the fridge for now until we’re ready to cook it.
” I didn’t say anything. My lips wouldn’t work.
I could only stare at him. “Gabrielle? What’s wrong?
” Brodie stepped into the room and came up to stand in front of me.
He took the card from my fingers. “What happened?”
“They… she… um, a lady called from the police. She said Jeff has been released.”
“What?”
“They dismissed all the charges.”
“How? Why?” Brodie’s hands were on my shoulders. He led me to the edge of the bed and sat me down. Then he sat beside me.
I shook my head. I didn’t know how to explain what she had said. I didn’t know if I could explain what she had said.
“Gabrielle, tell me what happened.” His hands were back on my shoulders and he was staring at me. I stared back into his green eyes. Did those eyes really care about me? Would those eyes be any different than the ones who’d betrayed me before?
“She said he had a witness. Another female that claimed to have been with us the entire night, and who said that we were all just having fun. She told them that I said I wanted to be alone with him. That I wanted to have sex with him.”
“How the hell can they believe that when there was no one else there that night when they questioned us? And who is this girl?”
I shook my head. Still too shocked to do anything more than that.