Chapter Twenty-Eight ROWAN
Chapter Twenty-Eight
ROWAN
“How's it going with Colbie?” Lucas asked.
“Well, she's pissy. But Larry’s not talking to her, so she's mad at me, she's mad at my parents, and she's probably mad at you,” I replied.
Lucas's startlingly beautiful wife, Valentina, smiled warmly, brushing a red curl off her shoulder. “She’ll be all right. Nobody likes to be told who they should or shouldn't see. Eventually, she’ll realize he’s a jerk.”
“I know, but she should have already realized that,” I countered.
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I'm not your sister, and I didn't date some guy who was a controlling asshole when I was in high school, but I do have super religious parents. They had opinions about everything I should do, and I hated it. Just be patient with her.”
Lucas, besotted husband that he was, smiled at her before looking back at me. “She's usually right.”
My laugh was dry. “I know she's right. I just hope Colbie eases up on my parents.”
Valentina was distracted by their daughter calling her from the kitchen, and she hurried over, leaving me alone with Lucas.
“It's good to see you,” he offered a moment later.
“Good to be here.”
“You like living in Alaska?”
“Love it.”
“Remy does too,” he offered with a nod.
“I know. He’ll be staying put since he’s married now.”
“When do you go back?” Valentina asked as she returned to the room.
At that moment, my sister came in and flounced down on the couch beside me. She smiled over at Valentina. “Hi, how's it going?” She pointedly ignored Lucas.
“Doing well. How are you?” Valentina asked politely as she perched on the armrest of Lucas’s chair.
Colbie shrugged. “I’m fine. Did Rowan tell you he has a girlfriend?”
Valentina shook her head. I figured my sister had a point to this, but I decided to wait and see. I didn’t have to wait long.
“Yeah, nobody's about to tell him who he can and can't see,” Colbie offered with a dramatic eye roll.
Lucas chuckled. “I know you're pissed at us, but I really don't think you want to date a meth dealer.”
My sister rolled her eyes. I slid my arm around her shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze. “Ask me before you start seeing someone else.”
Colbie’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, my god!”
Valentina’s words crossed over hers. “You can't do that, Rowan.”
“I know, I know,” I grumbled. “I just worry about you.”
Colbie nudged me with her elbow, and I knew we were on the way to being okay. After my sister departed, I chatted a little more with Lucas and Valentina.
“You met my friend Mae at UNC, right?”
He nodded. “Oh, yeah, y’all were like besties.”
“Yup. We went on a few dates. She’s from Alaska. I have to admit, that was maybe more than half the reason I took the job out there.”
Valentina’s blue eyes held mine. I already knew my cousin's wife was not one to be underestimated, but damn, her gaze was so assessing. I felt as if she peeled back the layers of my soul. “I think you're in love,” she announced.
Lucas glanced sideways at her and then back at me, his brows hitching.
“I am,” I said simply.
“Are you going to bring her back to visit sometime?” Valentina asked next.
“I hope so,” I finally said.
The next day, after brunch with my parents, I called up Darryl again.
After we got through the initial pleasantries, I dived in. “You happen to know how to reach Chet?”
“Dude, I don't think that’s a smart idea.”
“Why?” I retorted.
“Does Mae know you're trying to reach him? Since you called, Stephanie scouted out a little more info. Mae didn't want to pursue charges back then. One of their friends went with her to talk to the college about it.”
“I know but—”
“Come on, Rowan. What are you going to do?”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Call Chet and, I don't know, make sure he knows I know, and I’ll make things difficult for him.”
“I get it. I can imagine you want to rip that guy's balls off. He’s such a skeevy guy, such a dick, but he's also the kind of guy who would press charges.”
“I'm not going to assault him or some dumb shit like that. I'm just gonna call him and let him know he’d better watch his back if I hear that he's done anything like that again.”
I could imagine Darryl’s eyes rolling, hard. “We can track him down, but I think you should leave it alone unless Mae wants you to do something.”
“I'm not going to be stupid, I promise.”
An hour later, my phone was practically burning a hole in my hand.
As promised, Darryl had texted me a phone number and an email.
Chet was living in Raleigh now. He’d transferred to another college and graduated.
He worked at some law office. Darryl had sent another text following with the name and phone number of the practice where he worked, suggesting maybe I could just let them know what I knew about Chet.
I stared at the number, but I remembered his warning. I searched out my father in his study. “Dad, you got a minute?”
He only worked part-time now, but he was a lawyer. Years back, he worked for the North Carolina Bar Association.
“You okay?” he asked as I sat down in the chair across from his desk. He closed his laptop and leaned back.
“I'm fine, but I have a question. Hypothetically, suppose someone had a habit of spiking girls’ drinks in college and raping them, and went on to become a lawyer. What are the chances the bar association would do anything about that?”
My dad's eyes narrowed. “Is this actually a hypothetical?”
I ran a hand through my hair, letting out a bitter laugh. “No. Remember Mae?”
My dad nodded quickly. “Yeah, your friend from college. I thought y’all might date someday.”
“We are now.”
His lips started to curve into a smile before his gaze sobered. “Oh, no. Is that what happened to Mae?”
“Yeah, and she's not the only one.”
My chest ached and cold anger knotted in my gut every time I thought about what happened to Mae.
“Look, I'm sure you know charges in cases like that are difficult to prove. If enough women come forward, there might be a stronger case. Criminally, the standard is hard to meet unless there’s physical evidence. Civil cases are much easier to move forward. I can connect you with a friend of mine who can give you some feedback. Have you talked to Mae about this?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. I was actually going to call the guy who did it and confront him, but I thought better of it and came to talk to you.”
My dad stared at me for a long moment, pinching the bridge of his nose before his hand fell to his desk.
“I understand why you'd want to call him, but don't do anything stupid. I’m assuming you asked about the bar association because he’s a lawyer.” At my nod, my father continued, “Unfortunately, people like that are the ones who make a mockery of the legal profession. They misuse and abuse their knowledge.”
I swallowed. “I know. I won’t do anything stupid, but I'd love to talk to your friend for some feedback about options.”
Before I got on my flight that afternoon, I had a long talk with his friend.
Jill clearly reiterated what I already knew.
Those cases were difficult to charge under the best of circumstances.
With the time elapsed, it would be even more challenging.
She also suggested approaching it from the civil side.
As I flew back to Alaska, my mind was churning. I wanted to persuade Mae to do something, anything, about this.