Chapter 27 #2
Snuggled into his embrace, breathing in the earthy, woodsy scent of him that’s become so familiar, I almost can’t recall why I thought it was a good idea to go.
But then I remember the feeling that came over me when I saw him standing in the yard, fully exposed to anyone who’d want to do him harm to hurt me.
“It’s not fair to you. I brought this madness to your peaceful home. ”
He tips my chin up to kiss me. “That’s not all you’ve brought.
Do you know how lonely I was before you showed up?
I didn’t even realize how bad it had gotten until you were here to make it all better.
And don’t go thinking any random guest could’ve done that for me.
I’ve had tons of people stay in the cottages since I opened them last year.
It was you who changed everything for me. ”
“You’ve done the same for me. I had no idea how lonely I’ve been, either, until I met you.”
“So then why in the world would we ever let them drive us apart when we’ve waited so long to find each other?”
“I don’t want you or Fenway to get hurt or your property attacked again.”
“The only thing Fenway and I truly care about is keeping you safe. If you want to leave here, we’ll go together, but there’s no way we’re letting you leave alone, unless you want to.”
“Of course I don’t.”
“Then let’s pack up and take off somewhere together until this is over.”
“But your work is here and—”
“I can work anywhere. Let’s get in the truck and just go.”
“I have one thing I have to do tomorrow.”
“Then we’ll go after that. The place is crawling with cops and firefighters. No one will come near us tonight.”
For the first time in hours, I release the deep breath that’s been stuck in my chest from the second I understood what was happening outside.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. None of this is okay.”
“Keep reminding yourself it’s temporary. Once you testify, it’ll be over.”
“Not if they somehow get to you or Fenway. It would never be over if that happened.”
“We’ll be fine, and so will you. We’ll make sure of it, right Fenway?”
The dog barks and then sits with a smile on her goofy face and her tongue hanging out as usual.
“See? It’s unanimous.”
I want so badly to tell him how I feel, but not right after his property was damaged because of me. I’ve never come close to telling a man I love him, so I’m not at all sure of the proper timing for such a thing. But I know this isn’t it. I want it to be special and not done out of duress.
He makes dinner for us—delicious pasta with chicken and broccoli—that he serves with crusty bread and the crisp rosé he introduced me to.
“This is delicious. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” Taking his wine glass off the table, he sits back in his seat. “Where should we go to escape this nonsense?”
“I don’t know. What do you suggest?”
“A friend of mine from RISD runs a seasonal place on the Cape that goes dormant this time of year. You want to check that out?”
“That sounds amazing. I’d love to.”
He puts down the glass, reaches for his phone and sends a text.
My phone rings with a call from Providence, which gives me a pit in my stomach. “Hello?”
“Hi, Blaise, this is Josh Spurling from the AG’s office.”
“Hi, Josh.”
“I wanted to give you a couple of updates. First, Ryder Elliott was interested in a plea agreement that would’ve had him pleading guilty and serving five years with three years of probation and lifetime registry as a sex offender.
However, Denise expressed her displeasure with the deal, so we’re going forward with a trial. ”
My first thought on hearing that is wow, good for her.
“A preliminary hearing will be held next Friday at Superior Court in Newport. I’m not sure of the time yet, but I’ll need you to testify.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Excellent. Thank you.”
“I should let you know what’s happened here.”
“What’s up?”
I tell him about Sienna’s text, the dead animal on the stoop, Mary Elliott’s visit and the apparent firebombing of Jack’s property.
“Houston has informed me of the earlier incidents, and they’re completely unacceptable. We’ve made clear to Mr. Elliott and his family.”
“What if it’s not them doing it?”
“Who else would it be?”
“A number of men are implicated in the cover-up that was part of the original case. They might think getting rid of me would simplify things for them.”
“We’re investigating that aspect of the case and will put them on notice as well. If anything else happens, I want you to call me immediately. In the meantime, I’m asking the State Police to keep an eye on the place where you’re staying.”
“My friend and I are planning to leave tomorrow for the Cape for a few days.”
“Please text me the address where you’ll be, and I’ll ask Mass State Police to increase patrols in the area.”
“You really think that’s necessary?”
“I don’t want to take any chances with your safety.”
“Okay, well… Thank you.”
“Thank you for putting yourself through this.”
“It’s no problem.” That’s not true, but I’m not interested in discussing the psychology of this situation with him. “Are the men who signed the original affidavit in trouble?”
“We’ll require each of them to issue a public statement that what they said then about Denise was false. Because they were minors at the time, they won’t be charged.”
“That seems ridiculously unfair to me, even though one of them is my own brother.”
“I understand and I agree, but our hands are tied by the law. There’s nothing stopping her from suing them in civil court.”
“I hope she does.”
“I guess we’ll see what happens. I’ll be in touch next week to confirm the time.”
After we say our goodbyes, I’m left with unsettled feelings.
I update Jack on what Josh had to say. “I should feel bad for hoping Denise sues my brother and the other guys who made up outrageous lies about her to protect Ryder, but I don’t feel bad at all.
They deserve it. They might’ve been minors, but they were old enough to know better. We all were.”
“They certainly knew exactly what they were doing when they lied about her, and I don’t think you should feel bad for hoping they get their comeuppance. Their lies probably influenced the judge.”
“No doubt they did. Ryder might’ve already served his time by now, and all of this would be a bad memory for the people involved. But they risked everything to protect him because they thought there was no way he could’ve done such a thing.”
“Small towns are like that. They close ranks around people they’ve known all their lives and make assumptions based on what they think they know.”
“I remember something my mom said that summer, after Ryder was charged. Arlo was furious about it and wanted us to be as well. He said we knew Ryder because he’d practically grown up in our house, which was true.
But my mom said we would have no idea how he behaved when the parents weren’t looking.
Arlo didn’t appreciate that. He expected blind loyalty from us, because he thought he knew how Ryder would behave in any situation. ”
“No one knows how someone is one-on-one except for the other person they’re with.”
“Exactly.”
“It must’ve been so hard for you to hear him defending Ryder when you knew what’d happened.”
“It was torturous. I felt sick twenty-four hours a day for months. I couldn’t eat or sleep or think about anything other than what I saw and what I’d failed to do.”
He reaches for my hand across the table.
I link my fingers with his.
“It’s almost over,” he says.
“Sometimes I wonder if it’ll ever be over.”