40. The Courage To Speak Up
40
THE COURAGE TO SPEAK UP
“T his place is beautiful,” Justine said two months later when she walked into The Retreat with Garrett for his cousin Grace Stone’s wedding.
She’d been told Grace was the head chef here and her line founded the first resort on the island. The biggest and most grand and sought out wedding destination that Grace helped put on the map even more by being on a cooking competition over a year ago.
“It is,” Garrett said. “Maybe not as beautiful as you.”
She laughed. “The part about you needing CPR every time I come out in a dress is getting old. I’m thinking every other time I look frumpy.”
Garrett was in a black suit and tie. She was more formal than she’d ever been before and even went to Boston to get a long gown for this wedding.
“Never that,” he said. “You take my breath away every morning I get to wake up next to you.”
And since they were spending more nights together, it was kind of funny for him to say that.
There were only two more months left before she had to return to Boston unless she decided to stay on the island.
It was ranking up there on her list of things she wanted to do. Especially since everyone said winter on the island was at least calmer than in Boston.
Made sense in a way. There were fewer people on the island during the winter. At that point, it was mainly residents or weekend tourists.
There was part of her that wanted to experience it before she made a decision but then told herself she picked up and moved to Boston without knowing either.
But Garrett hadn’t been pushing her and she appreciated that.
He’d been giving her some space to come to terms with everything she’d been through but being by her side just as equally.
“And I haven’t had to give you CPR yet,” she said, grinning.
“Justine,” Selena said, moving toward them in the lobby. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good,” she said. She knew it was just a friendly greeting and not checking up on her. Though that had happened a lot early on.
“That’s wonderful to hear,” Selena said. “Oh, I’ll be back. I know we are sitting together.”
“Bye, Mom,” Garrett said. “She’s hovering.”
“I guess I know where you get it from,” she said, smiling. She heard her name called and turned to see Roark coming toward her.
“Hi, Roark,” she said.
“It’s good to see you,” Roark said. “Things are going well?”
She tried to hold the snort back. He’d been so helpful to her, but she was getting tired of the question. “They are. I’m sure you know we are still waiting for the sentencing, but Elise did plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Not that she had much of a choice when it was all on video.”
“I have been following up on this,” he said. “And this is my wife, Chelsea.”
Chelsea had been turned talking to someone else. Justine knew she was going to be introduced to many people today, but she was happy to know enough of them.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, shaking the tall blonde’s hand. Only in her dreams was she that tall. Being the shortest in the room always made people feel as if she had to be protected.
Maybe her actions played a part in it, but she was trying so hard to move beyond that.
“I heard Emma might track you down later. Just giving you a heads up.”
She smiled. “I love talking to your sister,” she said to Roark. “But I’m positive she’s a little busy today.”
She’d been told Emma was the maid of honor, being first cousins with Grace. Hailey, who was also a first cousin, was a bridesmaid, along with Kayla Bond, married to Hunter who was Grace’s boss and first cousin.
Garrett had told her Egan Bond, Lincoln’s boss and best friend, was the best man. Grace’s brother, Skyler, and Hunter Bond made up the rest of the wedding party.
“She’s never too busy when she’s got a story stuck in her teeth,” Roark said.
“I’m finding that out when I get emails in the middle of the night,” she said, laughing. Justine was enjoying it too. “I wanted to tell you what we did to honor my father, though you might know.”
“I’m not aware of anything,” Roark said.
Rex Knight, Hailey’s husband, was handling it for her, so she wasn’t sure if he might have said anything, then she reminded herself, he really couldn’t.
“Jordan and I took Elise’s share of what she would have gotten from my father’s will and put it in a trust for scholarships for students who are victims of domestic abuse. Male or female. We’d like it to be more toward students in the medical field, any medical field. We are working on that.”
“I think that’s a beautiful gesture,” Roark said. “I bet your father would be proud.”
She wasn’t so sure about it and grappled with the decision.
When the truth came out, Jordan said there was a lot of talk about her father being an idiot for putting up with what he had, but just as many had been supportive.
Deep down she knew there was a stigma to it for a man and she was hoping what her father went through might give others the courage to speak up. Domestic violence wasn’t always in one form.
“I think he would be,” she said.
“Why don’t we go in?” Garrett said. “There are a lot of people coming in and trying to move around.”
She nodded and they moved forward but were stopped several times to be introduced to others.
She knew that would happen and tried to be prepared, but trying meant nothing by the sheer number of family members here.
“Phew,” she said. “I can’t wait for the ceremony to start so I can stop trying to remember who everyone is.”
Garrett laughed. “Good thing you’ve met so many already. It’s overwhelming. Even I have a hard time now with people’s spouses. Some of them I’ve only met at weddings and they normally look different dressed up than every day.”
She laughed. “Like me.”
He leaned down. “If you want me to be honest, I’ll say that I like you best with nothing on at all.”
She winked and kissed him on the cheek. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Two hours later, they were sitting at their tables and the first course was being brought out. The ceremony had been quick, then there was an hour of hors d'oeuvres while wedding pictures were taken and the guests mingled.
“Is the island living getting to you?” Gabriela asked.
She saw Garrett frown, but she didn’t care.
Maybe the two of them weren’t talking about it much, but she would not shy away from it.
“Only in a good way,” she said. “Or I wouldn’t have extended it to the end of the year. Hard to believe I’ve been here seven months now. Almost.”
“One more week it’s seven months,” he said. “The best seven months of my life.”
She squinted one eye at him. “I’m not sure I’d go that far.”
There was a lot of laughter around the table. “Geez, thanks.”
Her face flushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. Just that I doubt dating me is the best seven months of your life.”
“Fine,” he said. “It contributed to it. But it’s been a great period of time. I didn’t know how I’d feel living here either, but it’s nicer than I thought. Not that I couldn’t go back.”
“Relax,” she said, putting her hand on his thigh under the table. “I know how you feel. You know how I feel right now. I’ll decide soon enough, but I’m leaning a certain way.”
“You are?” Gabriela said.
“Maybe let us talk about this,” he said. “And not be so nosy.”
Garrett’s father laughed. “My daughter doesn’t know how to not be nosy,” Richard said.
“It’s fine,” Justine said. “I think we stayed out of everyone’s business in my family. Maybe I wish I’d been a bit nosier with my father.”
“What did we say?” Garrett asked. “That we weren’t going to try to think of things we had no idea about or put thoughts and ideas in our heads that we couldn’t control.”
“That’s right,” she said. “Just like you.”
“You tell him,” Selena said.
“I’m trying to. We are getting there. At our pace.”
“Which is code for no one to bring it up again,” Garrett said.
She smiled and looked into his eyes.
What she saw was that he was the one who wanted the answers but was afraid to ask.