CHAPTER FORTY-TWO #2
“Right,” she chuckled. “Sorry. I’m still not okay, I swear.
Knowing you were missing, that you were hurt, and the danger that you were in did a number on all of us.
” She paused. “Anyway, they were in jail. A judge set very high bail, that of course they could pay, and put them under house arrest. Both Monty and Nora are claiming not guilty by reason of insanity, so they’re going to be mentally evaluated.
Garrison is trying to claim that his children acted without his knowledge but considering how many witnesses there were…
he doesn’t stand a chance. I think they’ll all confess in order to get lighter sentences.
That’s what I hope anyway, so that none of us, especially you, has to testify. ” She squeezed my good hand.
Edward spoke up. “It turns out that the worst of them all was Nora. But we had figured that out before this all happened. Monty and Garrison were game with trying to force you to get married. But it was Nora who wanted to hurt you. And she didn’t care who else she hurt in the process, like Kelisha, of course. ”
“And did the police search Wambaw Swamp? Did they find the master electrician’s… body?”
“They did,” Declan said, “thanks to you. And they found Sara MacAllister, too. She was unharmed and drinking margaritas on the balcony of a hotel in Folly Beach. She had no clue they were going to kill her. In fact, she was planning on helping them frame Edward as revenge for him dumping her all those years ago.” He made a face.
“She played dumb until police told her they were going to charge her with fabricating her disappearance. Then she turned on the Harts instantly. Her statements, along with those of the flight attendant and the nurses the Harts were going to pay off, are going to help convict them I’m sure. ”
“Who shattered my kneecap?” I asked.
“You don’t know?” Livy was surprised. “It was Eric Hightower. He was their puppet, apparently. Garrison had been in business with his father and had information that the police could use to put him in jail. Both Garrison and Nora made him jump through a lot of hoops with the promise that if he did what they asked, Garrison would destroy the damning evidence on Eric’s father.
But it turns out the police knew about his dad’s illegal activities anyway.
He was arrested not long after the Harts and Eric were. ”
“But why?” I couldn’t understand why anyone would do that to me.
“Nora knew I was leaving. I know she thought I was the reason she hadn’t been chosen for principal dancer.
It’s not true, but that’s what she believed.
But if I was leaving, I’d be out of her way.
She could have what she wanted, theoretically. ”
Olivia looked uncomfortable, which was rare. “Nora’s been jealous of you for years, it turns out. That jealousy festered, grew, and turned into something ugly. She wasn’t satisfied with you leaving Charleston or being forced to marry Monty. She wanted you dead.”
I shook my head, overwhelmed at the amount of hate Nora must have felt for me.
I wondered if she’d ever been my friend at all; were those first fun years as roommates at College of Charleston all a sham?
Had I made them into something in my head that they weren’t?
Sadly, I knew I’d never know the answers to those questions.
Even if I could, or wanted, to ask Nora those questions, I wouldn’t trust a word that came out of her mouth.
“There’s a lot more,” Livy said, “but I’m not sure you’re up to hearing it all.
I guess you get the gist of it. Just know that they had a plan in place to make it look as if Edward had killed you and Sara MacAllister.
They had a pretty convincing scenario all ready to take to the police so they could frame him. ”
I caught Edward’s eye. I could tell he was eager for everyone to leave. I was, too, but I also needed to know more about what went down.
“What?” I was having a hard time following.
Edward spoke up. “They knew I wanted you to come home. To Wixby. They were going to frame it like I was the one who wanted to end your career so I could have you all to myself. They didn’t realize that I had encouraged you to apply and audition closer to home.
The police found many documents that they were working on to make it look like I paid someone to do that to your knee.
” He looked sick at the thought. “Of course, some of the police were more interested in helping the Harts than finding out the truth. That’s why I was kept at the station so long for questioning. ”
Olivia made a noise. “If you’d just asked for a lawyer immediately, there wouldn’t have been anything they could have done…”
“Yes, we’ve been over this. I thought I would look guilty if I asked for a lawyer…” Edward started.
“Enough,” Dad interrupted them and ran a hand through his hair. “Y’all are driving me crazy with that whole thing. Let it go and let the boy get through.” He gently moved a few family members out of the way to make a path for Edward.
I held out my hand, and he came to me. Even with the path, he had to practically push my family away to get to me. He grabbed hold of my hand, bending down to kiss it.
He sat down on my bed, then lurched back up. “Does that hurt your leg?”
I shook my head. “No, go ahead and sit.” I didn’t want to let go of his hand.
He held my eyes with his. “I’m just so thankful you’re okay. What they did to you was… horrific. But I’m going to help you get through this.” He squeezed my hand.
I tried to fight back the tears that threatened to spill over, but I couldn’t.
“I had already decided I didn’t want to dance anymore, that I wanted to take over Mrs. Cason’s dance school.
But still, it was my choice to make. If a couple of months down the road I had decided I’d rather keep dancing for a while, I could have.
But now?” I held up my hands in hopeless disbelief.
“I just can’t believe that’s been taken away from me.
And in such a brutal, life-altering way, too. ”
Everyone in the room tried to comfort me all at once, and I couldn’t help but laugh through my tears as they fought and jockeyed for positions near me.
Yes, my career as I knew it was over. But I was alive, I was safe, and I was loved, and those were the things that mattered the most. I knew I’d have to deal with my anger and hurt over what happened, but for now I wanted to focus on what was right in front of me.
“I love you all so much. Thank you for being here for me.”
“You’re pretty badass,” Willa said, smiling through her own tears. “I thought Livy was the only one of us who could handle herself like that. The way you took out Nora? With only one good leg? That was spectacular! You were like some sort of ballet warrior or something.”
“Thanks,” I laughed. “There was no way I was going to let her push me down those stairs. I was determined to live.” I looked around at all of them. “Because I have so much to live for.”
I had a thought.
“Hey—what happened to Nora? If she’s in jail, then I know she didn’t die. I’m glad about that. Even with everything that went down, I wouldn’t want her dead. But I need to know what happened.”
Olivia exchanged glances with Edward. “Nora broke several bones in the fall and shattered her ankle. Doctors have told her that her dance career would be over even if she wasn’t going to spend a hell of a lot of time in jail.”
So, Nora’s career was ruined, too, for more than one reason. I wasn’t happy about it, necessarily, but I could definitely see the poetic justice of it. I just nodded.
“Karma,” Willa said.
“Maybe,” I tried to stifle a yawn.
Edward frowned. “I think she’s had enough everyone…”
A male voice came from the door. “Excuse me, please. Is this Cara Hargrave’s room?”
Everyone moved aside while Olivia said that it was. Standing there was one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen. He was tall and very muscular, with smooth brown skin and deep brown eyes.
“Hi,” he said, grinning at me and flashing a dimple. “I’m Keith. I’m your physical therapist.”
My mouth dropped open. Willa and Olivia looked as shell-shocked as I was.
Edward spoke up first, frowning. “I think we’ll be moving her to a hospital closer to Wixby.” He shot Keith an assessing look and moved closer to me.
Lufton put a possessive arm around Olivia, who didn’t seem able to look away from Keith.
“Hi, Keith,” Willa said walking towards him, “I’m Willa.” She flipped her long, curly blonde hair over her shoulder and beamed up at him.
“Hello, Willa,” Keith said slowly, eyes scanning over her body.
Declan leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, seemingly unperturbed. The only sign he wasn’t as calm as he looked was a muscle flexing along his sharp jaw line. “Willa, you have toilet paper stuck to your shoe from when you were in the bathroom having explosive diarrhea,” he said.
Keith took a large step away from Willa.
Willa looked down, horrified. Of course, there was no toilet paper.
Everyone laughed, except Willa, who gave Declan a drop-dead look. “What is wrong with you?” she hissed at him.
He shrugged and grinned at her. “I can’t help it that you have a nervous stomach, babe.”
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “I did not have… explosive diarrhea,” she whispered the last words, not even wanting to say them out loud.
“I’ll coordinate with the doctor and a rehab center closer to your home, but I’ll also be handling Ms. Hargrave’s initial physical therapy sessions while she’s here with us.
I’ll just wait for you in the hallway,” Keith said with a wide grin on his handsome face. He seemed to love all the attention.
I started getting up, and everyone realized they needed to go out so that I’d have room to maneuver my walker.
“I’ll help you,” Edward brought the walker over. I couldn’t stand that I had to start out on a walker, but I knew I needed it… for now. I’d be moving to crutches as soon as possible.
“Oh, I think I’ve got it,” I said, making my way over to Keith.
“I’ll be coming with you,” Edward whispered, planting a brief kiss behind my ear. “I don’t like the way he’s looking at you, like he’d like to eat you for lunch.”
I just shook my head, smiling. “No one comes close to being as handsome as you. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Good,” Edward said, planting a quick kiss on my lips.
I hobbled off after Keith but laughed when I heard Declan behind me asking how quickly I could be transferred to another hospital. I knew he hadn’t been as unaffected by the way Keith checked Willa out as he’d tried to pretend.
Edward and I followed Keith. I had a long road ahead of me, but I knew I’d face it one step at a time with Edward by my side.