Tara’s eyes slowly blinked as she tried to focus. “Sorry. I didn’t know I was that tired.”
“You barely made it out of the parking lot.” He took her hand and helped her out of the car.
“I’m not sleeping very well.”
“Somehow I figured that.” He held out his hand for her house keys and opened the door.
“Why’d you leave?” Josh tried not to laugh at Tara’s one-track mind. Even not fully awake, she wasn’t dropping the subject. He followed her into the living room and waited until she was seated on the couch before retrieving her favorite blanket from the recliner and draping it over her legs. “I don’t need this.”
“You passed out on the witness stand. Just take it easy for a few minutes.” Josh walked into the kitchen and began to pour water in the teakettle. “I’m sorry you didn’t understand why I left.” He lit the burner and walked back into the living room. He leaned over the back of the couch and stroked her cheek. “I thought of something and I needed to follow up on it.”
“I thought … ” Tara rolled her eyes. “I thought you left because you didn’t believe me. You thought I must have let Wyatt in the house.”
“Oh, God, no.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “You know I believe you.” He looked into her eyes and saw that she didn’t know. When she’d been on the witness stand, all she knew was that he left the courtroom. Preston Miller’s threat must have been the first thing she thought of when the door closed behind him. He felt like a jerk. She’d grown up in a home where her father’s political aspirations were the top priority. She was still waiting for him to leave her.
Ignoring the hissing teapot, he walked back around the couch and knelt in front of her. “I need you to understand something.” He took one of her hands in his as he ran the opposite hand over her cheek. His voice became low as he willed her to understand the emotion behind his words. “Nothing anyone says in that courtroom will make me stop loving you.”
“What did you say?” Tara’s eyes locked on his.
“I.” He kissed her forehead. “Love.” His lips moved down as he placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. “You.” He couldn’t resist any longer. Pulling her close to him, he placed his lips on hers and kissed her tenderly. He kissed her deeper, and she quickly responded to his touch. Moaning softly, her tongue skimmed across his lower lip. Unsure how long they stayed together, the world stopped as he caressed her cheek and his hand drifted behind her lower back.
A taste of salt made him pull away. “You’re crying.”
“I kept waiting for you to change your mind. For everything to be too much.”
“I’m not going to change my mind. You’re the most important person in my life.”
Tara pulled him back to her but stopped as Rosie began baying at the whistling teapot from the kitchen. “I think we need to do something about that.”
“Probably, or she’s going to be really distracting in a few minutes.”
• • •
“That may not have been the best idea.” Josh brushed her sweat-dampened hair off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. Dark shadows were still visible beneath her eyes. Somehow he doubted having wild, passionate sex filled the paramedics’ description of take it easy when you get home.
“Oh no, I think it was a very good idea.” She flashed a minx-like grin and ran a fingertip down his bare chest. Tara was definitely ready for a second round, but despite a certain part of his anatomy ready to join her, she wasn’t going to get her wish quite that easily.
“You should probably take a nap or something.” He rolled off the bed and began the search for his hastily discarded pants.
“You don’t have to leave.” Tara protested, giving him a look that almost persuaded him to slide back beneath the sheets.
“I’m pretty sure I do.” Josh fastened the button of his waistband. “Or we’re going to end up doing something we regret.” He backed toward the door.
“I won’t regret it.” She actually batted her eyelashes at him.
“You will if you end up in the emergency room or something.” He paused with his hand on the doorknob. Rosie whined and pawed at the closed door. He opened it and the dog bounded through the room and jumped on to the bed, happily settling her head on Tara’s feet. “See, even Rosie agrees with me.”
Tara didn’t look convinced.
“I won’t leave. Take a nap, and then we’ll see how you’re feeling after dinner.”
“Dinner?” She spoke through a yawn.
“I can cook, remember? That is, if you have anything in the fridge.” He walked into the hall, giving one last glance at Tara before shutting the door. She was fighting a losing battle with her eyelids. “Go to sleep, and maybe we’ll have something special for dessert. You have any chocolate? Maybe whipped cream?”
She must have been more exhausted than he’d thought when his suggestions didn’t draw a response. He almost felt guilty about how they’d spent the afternoon, but he remembered the genuine look of pleasure on her face — the first time she’d relaxed in days — and he didn’t regret what they’d done.
• • •
“How much longer can he keep her on the stand?” Josh leaned over and held his head in his hands. Sterling had spent the first hour of the day’s testimony reviewing Tara’s comments from the day before. Now, they were finally ready to move past the review and onto, hopefully, new questions, bringing an end to Tara’s time on the witness stand. He turned and studied his father as he sat next to him.
Despite Josh and Tara’s protest, the station owner felt it necessary to lend his support to his favorite reporter. The heat blew mercilessly on those assembled in the courtroom, and his father’s brow was covered in sweat.
Chuck loosened his tie in the overcrowded courtroom. The prior day’s drama had been the talk of Dougie’s Doughnuts, Sarah’s House of Pies, and the Daily Grind — guaranteeing a standing-room-only crowd today. As Tara surveyed the increased number of spectators for day two of the trial, her grip tightened on Josh’s hand to such a degree that he lost all feeling in his fingers.
“She’s tougher than you think,” Chuck said as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
“So you were aware that Mr. Miller still had feelings for you?” Sterling was saying, as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the railing.
Tara nodded.
“Miss Sullivan,” he gave an exaggerated sigh. “Please speak your answer.”
“Yes, I knew he continued to have feelings for me.”
“Did you return those feelings?”
Tara shook her head. “No.”
“You testified yesterday that Wyatt frightened you.”
“He did.”
“And, yet, when he arrived at your house … you invited him in.” Sterling crossed the space at the front of the courtroom to stand next to his client.
“I didn’t invite him in. He was just — there. I have no idea how he got inside the house.” Tara turned to the bailiff.
The lawyer laughed loudly and shook his head. “He just appeared in your bedroom. That’s what you expect this court to believe?”
“Basically, yes. Is there any way I could have some water?” Her face had lost what little color it had left.
“If you’ll cooperate, we should be done here in just a minute.” Sterling shook his head. “Then how did he get in your house?”
Tara leaned forward and held her head in her hands. “I don’t know.”
“What did he say to you when you found him in your room?”
“I don’t remember.” Tara’s face had turned a faint shade of green.
Sterling cocked his head in her direction. “You don’t remember?”
“No.”
“Exactly what did you say to him? Did you warn him
that he needed to leave?”
Tara squeezed her eyes shut. So much of that night was a blur. She shrugged her shoulders as she shook her head. “I don’t remember.”
“You testified yesterday that he grabbed you, pulled your robe partially off, groped you, and knocked you to the ground. That seemed crystal clear. Now you can’t remember if you asked him to leave? You seem to have a bit of a selective memory.”
Josh clenched his teeth together. “I want her off the stand.” He looked at his father.
“There’s nothing we can do, Josh.”
“Let’s see if I can help jog your memory. Wyatt Miller didn’t force his way in. You let him inside. You were willingly engaging in intimate activities with him when Josh Owens returned to your house and broke in the front door. Caught in the act, you decided to pretend you were an unwilling participant. Isn’t that the truth?”
“No.”
“It’s not worth it.” Josh shook his head. His words caught his father’s attention. “She doesn’t need to do this any longer. He’s already going to be charged with tampering with evidence. Wyatt Miller can go to hell.” Josh turned and locked eyes with his father.
“You can’t interrupt the trial,” Chuck said.
“I want her off the witness stand. I don’t care what kind of scene I have to make.” At this moment, he had a single goal in mind — getting Tara off the witness stand. Josh turned his head as the doors at the back of the room opened.
Peter Vaughn’s eyes darted back and forth as his pale skin made his freckles stand out.
“Finally.”
Josh faked a cough from his seat in the front row until heads began to turn. First, members of the jury looked at him with suspicion, then members of the prosecution’s team stared over their shoulders. Just as he began to suspect that the judge was going to ask him to leave the proceedings, Wyatt Miller turned to glare in his direction.
Josh calmly dangled keys from his fingertips before he smirked and pointed at Peter. No words were necessary. Josh’s threat was clear enough.
Wyatt practically leapt out of his seat as he grabbed his attorney’s arm and tugged to whisper in his ear. The defense attorney’s eyebrows knitted together as his client gestured wildly as he spoke.
“Is there a problem, gentlemen?” Judge Bailey pushed his glasses down to the tip of his nose and glared at the interruption.
“I’d like to request a recess to confer with my client, your honor.”
Judge Bailey frowned, but looked down at Tara on the stand. She sat with her eyes closed and her head in her hand, clearly welcoming the break in questioning. He turned back to Wyatt’s legal team. “You have fifteen minutes.”
• • •
Tara reached for Josh’s hand as the jury filed into the room. After the fifteen-minute recess stretched into the majority of the afternoon, the participants in the trial were summoned back to the courtroom as the sky began to darken. The golden light from the sunset filtered in through the narrow windows and cast the room in an unearthly light. Josh squeezed Tara’s hand tightly as they waited for the room to slowly fill.
Excited murmuring from the youngest spectators echoed off the walls, drawing a glare from the older residents of the town.
“Miss Sullivan,” Mrs. Slaggle’s cold hand rested on Tara’s shoulder. “I saw the news last night. I just wanted to tell you not to listen to them. I’ve known you since you were born. I believe you.”
“Thank you.” Tara patted the back of the woman’s hand.
Finally, all twelve members of the jury panel were seated in their ancient wooden chairs. After almost ten years of covering trials, Josh truly understood the strain for everyone involved. He glanced through the windows lining the room at the crowd of reporters just waiting to descend as the participants in the trial walked through the heavy doors at the end of the exceptionally long day.
Tara breathed heavily beside him, waiting to be called back to the stand. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Josh turned to his right and studied the crowd, seeking out Peter. The thin young man’s freckles stood out in sharp relief against his unusually pale skin.
Peter gave him a thumbs up and Josh whispered his thanks. Based on Wyatt’s reaction when Peter walked into the room, he didn’t want to risk the valet taking the stand. If he guessed correctly, that meant Tara’s summons to step back into the witness box would never come.
“All rise.” The bailiff stood at the base of the judge’s bench. He clasped his hands in front of his waist as he surveyed the spectators in the room. “Order in the court.” He glared at the continued conversation among the assembled crowd. “I said order!” The bald man rocked onto the balls of his feet to make himself more intimidating.
“The court will come to order.” Judge Bailey took his seat and adjusted his glasses. He smoothed his robes, leaned forward, and rested his hands on the wooden ledge around his seat. “I’ve been advised the defense has reached an agreement with the prosecution.”
“We have, Your Honor.” Bryant Sterling stood and approached the judge. “The accused is willing to plead guilty to aggravated assault with a sentence of seven years.”
The courtroom exploded with cries of surprise and alarm. All around Tara, those gathered in the room exclaimed in celebration while an equal number had tears trickling down their cheeks.
“He didn’t do it!” The outspoken woman from the bachelor auction sprang to her feet from the second row of the galley.
“Sounds like he just admitted he did.” Josh turned his head and smirked in her direction.
“Order!” The judge banged the gavel repeatedly on his stand. “One more outburst and I’ll clear the courtroom.” He waited for the buzz of conversation to die down before he continued with his line of questions. “And is the prosecution agreeable?”
“We are, Your Honor.”
Judge Bailey nodded and tapped his gavel again. “Then this case is adjourned. Final sentencing will occur next week.”
Stunned, Tara turned to Josh. “Did he just say … ?”
“It’s over.” Josh tilted her chin up to his and brushed a kiss on her lips. “We won.”
Epilogue
Lainey pressed her earpiece tighter against her ear. “I’ll let her know.” She hummed to herself as she stepped away from the camera during the evening news’ main commercial break. “Boss wants to see you.” She leaned over the newsroom desk and pointed at Tara.
Tara grimaced as she looked at the timer indicating the minutes remaining before she had to be back in her seat. “In his office? He’s got to be kidding. I’ll never make it there and back in time.”
“He says he wants to see you now.” Lainey laughed as the additional instructions came through her earpiece. “Todd can handle this segment if you don’t make it back in time. You might want to hurry, though. He sounded a little impatient.”
“Hurry, she said.” Tara mumbled to herself as she made her way down the long hallway. She reached behind her back and snapped off her mic pack. No need for everyone else in the studio to be privy to whatever emergency summoned her away from the news desk. “You needed to see me — now? Really? It couldn’t wait fifteen more minutes?”
She rounded the hallway corner. Her throat tightening, just like it had every time she’d approached Josh’s new office the past few weeks. But the room was empty.
He must be in her office. Great. She’d never make it back in time for the next segment. She broke into a jog as she flew to the end of the hallway.
There he was. Leaning back in her chair with his feet propped on her desk like he owned it, Josh was smiling like a kid who hadn’t just stolen one cookie from the cookie jar; he’d eaten the whole dozen. His smile slowly turned into a smirk … her favorite smirk.
“What is it?” She fought hard
to hold onto the anger she felt when he summoned her from the broadcast.
“Your mic off?”
“Of course.”
“I always have to ask. There was that time in the storage closet … ” Josh stopped mid-sentence. He didn’t have to continue. She felt her cheeks reddening with just the beginning of the story. She still wasn’t sure if they’d lived that moment down. It had been days before she’d been able to make eye contact with Lainey again.
“My mic’s off. What’s the emergency?” She looked up at the clock, watching the last minutes of the broadcast tick past.
“You might want to lock the door too.”
“Why?”
He slid an envelope facedown across the desk and gave a pointed look at the open doorway.
Tara picked up the envelope. Heavy. Parchment? She flipped the envelope over to see who it was from. It couldn’t be. But it was. “The Peabody Awards?”
Josh motioned in the direction of the door. “You might want to shut that door now.” He stood up, loosening his tie. “Because we’re going to want to celebrate.”
Tara pushed the door closed behind her, twisting the lock until it gave a soft click. She turned her attention back to the envelope in her hand She tore the envelope open and pulled a single page from inside. He stood behind her and she could feel his heartbeat as his chest pressed against her back.
“You’re distracting me.” She had trouble focusing on the words, but she wasn’t sure if it was from the shock of receiving the letter or his warm breath on her neck. She read the paper in her hands, but it didn’t make sense. “I didn’t enter anything.”
“You may not have entered a story, but as the station owner, I did.” He placed his hands on her hips, inching her skirt up beneath his fingers. He was definitely in the mood to celebrate.
Small Town Secrets Page 18
