Dating the Best Man

by Gail Sattler

  In the same second Daphne lifted her hands and stepped back, not pushing him, but definitely moving away. Cory quickly raised his hands off her shoulders and rammed them into his pockets. He didn’t know what to say. He certainly couldn’t tell her that he loved her, so he said nothing.

  Her cheeks darkened as she stepped back, not looking up at him. “I need to go home.” She quickly turned around, opened her car door and slid in behind the wheel. The engine fired up as soon as the door closed and she drove away with one hand on the steering wheel, the other pulling at the seat belt.

  He stood, staring at the car, until he realized she was driving away without him. He turned and ran as fast as he could to his truck and roared off to catch up.

  Again, he was going to follow her home to make sure she got there safely. But now, the game had changed.

  If only he knew what to do about it.

  Chapter 7

  As Daphne began the sequence to shut down her computer, again she looked outside. When she first got the promotion she’d relished the thought of being in an office with an outside window. Now she wasn’t so sure.

  At the sight of the big black pickup truck with the picture of the moose on it, waiting for her in the parking lot, her stomach churned.

  Part of her was happy to see him, but part of her was terrified. Not because she was scared of him, but because she wasn’t.

  He’d been so gentle and understanding of her phobias she’d nearly cried in front of him, which was the last thing she wanted to happen. The first time he’d taken her out he’d helped her through a panic attack, and then he fended off another moment of panic in his truck. He couldn’t see her cry again.

  She’d managed to hold back her tears until she’d gotten into her car. So he wouldn’t see, she’d sped off. But it hadn’t taken him long, with that monster of a truck of his, to catch up to her.

  Fortunately he’d waited in the truck and just watched her run inside the house instead of trying to escort her to the door. Unfortunately, though, Rick had been waiting and he’d seen her streak past him with tears streaming down her cheeks. She’d called out that nothing happened on her way past, so at least Rick knew that Cory hadn’t done anything bad. But she was still shaken with everything that had happened.

  She hadn’t openly cried about it since the night Alex had attacked her, not even during the therapy sessions. She’d just felt numb. Last night, for the first time, everything blew to the surface. She didn’t know why. It just did. Her therapist said it could happen, and apparently, she was right.

  So she’d been driving, alone, bawling her eyes out, and it was the start of the release she’d needed. With Cory driving behind her, he couldn’t see her, just the back of the car, yet he was close enough if she needed him. She’d felt safe to let it all out, and it had all come out, in the security and safety of her car. With a little more work and a lot of prayer, this was going to be the start of being able to move on with her life.

  Yet, that was now something new that scared her.

  When she got her act together, and she would get it together, Cory would go back to wherever forest rangers went in their time off. Before the chamber dinner, she’d only see him when he’d had time to join her brother and his friends, which now wouldn’t be often enough.

  She didn’t know what favor Cory owed Rick that he would help her this way, but whatever it was, one day she would thank her brother for it.

  Now, Cory was out there, waiting for her.

  The second the computer finished shutting down, she locked up her office and went to the parking lot to join him.

  She patted her purse, maybe for the last time. “Are you ready?”

  “I guess so.”

  “I know where I want to go. It’s the same mall we were at last week.”

  “Fine.”

  “If you want, we can go to the hardware store first. That way you can get the duct tape you said you needed.”

  “Okay.”

  Some of her excitement waned. “What’s the matter?”

  His cheeks turned red and then the color spread to his ears. “I’ve never been to a store that sells purses before. But I guess it’s not as bad as a store that sells…uh…you know.” His cheeks turned even more red.

  “It’s not like you think. This store sells leather goods. That means they sell laptop cases and briefcases. Men shop there, too.”

  His blush faded. “I guess you can tell that I’ve never bought a laptop case. When I’m stuck in the office I use a desktop computer. Like at home. I don’t own a laptop computer. I’m really not into that kind of thing.”

  “It’s okay. I shouldn’t take long. I have a pretty good idea of what I want. Then I have a surprise for you.”

  At that, he perked up. “Really?”

  “My parents are away visiting some relatives, so it’s just Rick and me for a few days. Since we’ve got the house pretty much to ourselves, I want to invite you over for supper today. It’ll be just the three of us. I made lasagna for supper. Rick’s supposed to put it in the oven at the right time so it will be done by the time we get home.”

  “That sounds great. Do we need to stop by a bakery and pick up garlic bread on the way there?”

  “Already covered. I had some frozen dough. It’s going into the oven at the right time. I also made a salad this morning, so everything is ready. Rick will have everything in the oven when we get there.”

  “I’m impressed. Let’s just get that purse. I can get the duct tape another time.”

  He followed her to the mall, and once there, she didn’t feel the need to get a spot closest to the door. Instead, she parked near the end of the row, where she could park beside Cory’s truck. She didn’t know if that was better or worse, so she refused to think about it any more.

  They’d hadn’t even gone inside the leather and luggage store when she saw the perfect purse on display in the window. Not only was it the right size and shape with multiple outside pockets, it was also the right color and, best of all, it was on sale. It was bagged and paid for in less than four minutes, something she didn’t think she would ever do again.

  Cory stood near the entrance, smiling, with his arms crossed. “That’s the way to shop.”

  “Not really, but…” She paused to hug the shopping bag. “This purse is just so perfect.” She had a feeling she wasn’t even going to wait until she got home. Once she got to the car she would probably switch everything over.

  Cory pressed one hand over his stomach. “Are you ready to go? You don’t need anything else, do you? I think I hear that lasagna calling.”

  “I’m good to go.”

  There was never any guessing with Cory. If what he was thinking wasn’t obvious, he simply came out and said it. She liked that about him.

  He jerked one thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of her house. “Race you to your place?”

  “No way. We’ve got to obey the speed limit.” She lowered her voice, pretending to be sharing a secret. “My brother is a cop, you know.” At his grin, she smiled back. “Let’s just hope the traffic lights are in our favor.”

  They were. She’d never made it from the mall to home in such little time. Cory did miss one light that she caught green, so she beat him home by the amount of time it took to pick up the bag containing her new purse, and transfer the contents of her old purse into the new one, with the bear spray and her cell phone in the outside pockets.

  She was walking to the door just as Cory got out of his truck. As she reached to open the door, it swung wide before she touched the handle.

  She was about to tease Rick about being so fast, until she saw his face.

  “What’s wrong?” Fear ran through her in a cold wave. “Is something wrong with Mom and Dad? Did they have an accident?”

  Rick shook his head. “No. They’re fine. It’s something else.”

  Rick moved back to allow her access into the house, as Cory followed behind her. The second she stepped in, in addition
to the smell of the lasagna cooking, the aroma of flowers hit her.

  Rick pointed to the dining room table. “Some flowers came for you today.”

  “Flowers? I don’t…” Daphne let her voice trail off. A wave of dread worse than a few minutes ago coursed through her.

  Rick turned to Cory. “At first I thought they were from you, but then I looked at the writing on the envelope. I know you write like an eight-year-old, so they’re not from you.”

  If Daphne didn’t feel so sick, she would have scolded Rick for being rude to Cory. All she could do was stare at the dining room table, at a beautiful array of mixed flowers, which included two dark red roses.

  Rick turned to her. “They’re from Alex, aren’t they?”

  The second she looked at the handwriting on the envelope, she knew it was true.

  The significance of the date hit her like a clanging gong. She hadn’t thought about it at work, but looking at the flowers, she thought about it now.

  “Yes, they’re from Alex. Today is the two-year anniversary of our first date. He sent me flowers last year, one red rose surrounded by other smaller light-colored flowers. He said it was an important day that we’d celebrate for the rest of our lives, and that he’d give me a bouquet every year, with one more rose to celebrate each year. I don’t understand why he would send them to me now.”

  Rick walked ahead of her toward the arrangement. “Do you want me to throw them out?”

  “First I’m going to read the card.”

  With shaking hands, she plucked the small envelope from the holder then pulled a white note from the envelope.

  The two men waited while she read it, but she could have cut the silence with a knife.

  When she lowered the note and stared at the flowers once again, Rick piped up.

  “What did he say?”

  “He said he was sorry, and that he still loves me.”

  Cory cleared his throat then spoke so softly she could barely hear him. “Do you still love him?”

  Daphne answered without hesitation. “No.”

  Rick didn’t wait for her to say more. “Did he say where he was, or if he’s coming back?”

  “No. He did say that he took a promotion, and if I can forgive him, he’d like me to move there and still marry him, but he didn’t say where ‘there’ is. But I do know that his sister knows where he is, and she’s not saying, either. She made that clear the last time she spoke to me.”

  Rick stiffened and crossed his arms over his chest. “You can still press charges, and then ‘there’ will be jail.”

  She didn’t know what to think of that. Even though God said to forgive, the Bible didn’t say that there would be no punishment for wrongs. Even if she could forgive him, which she couldn’t right now, it wouldn’t be against God’s word to press charges and have him arrested to face the punishment for what he’d done.

  But she’d heard too many horror stories about rape trials. Alex could afford a better lawyer than she could, so she didn’t know if she could handle her day in court.

  “I can’t think about that now. Get rid of those flowers.” She pressed her hand to her stomach as what happened that day replayed in an endless loop in her head. “I’m sorry, I’m not hungry anymore. You two go ahead and eat without me. I think I need to be alone.”

  Before she broke down in front of them, she turned to go to her bedroom, but then stopped. That’s where she’d gone after Rick had brought her home from the hospital, and she didn’t want to go there now.

  The sanctity of her room as a haven was one more thing Alex had destroyed for her. It now came with too many memories of the night that had nearly destroyed her life.

  All she could do was stand and stare down the hall. She didn’t know where to go or what to do.

  Cory stepped forward. “Would you like to go for a walk? Just around the block. It might help clear your head. I remember driving past an ice-cream shop a couple of blocks away. We can go there, and you can tell me all about your favorite ice cream.”

  Automatically she turned her head in the direction of the ice-cream shop, even though she was inside the house. A specific destination sounded good right now and a topic of distraction even better.

  “That sounds like a great idea. Let’s do that, and then we can come here and I’ll probably be okay to eat that lasagna. We’re adults. We’re allowed to have dessert first.”

  Walking was the therapy she needed. Cory stayed with her in silence while she rambled on. By the time they got back to the house she was hungry, even after a cone.

  The two men talked more than she did, catching up from the last time they were together before Brad and Kayla’s wedding.

  It felt comforting listening to them argue about sports teams she knew nothing about, and then they had an interesting discussion about electric versus hybrid cars.

  By the time their evening was over it was late and way past her bed time. When they realized the time, Cory didn’t linger. He said a quick goodbye and left.

  After the door closed behind Cory, Rick turned to her. “How are you? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I am. Better than I thought. I’m not even going to throw out the flowers. On the way to work I’m going to donate them to the senior’s center. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Rick looked toward the door, then back to her. “Are you seeing Cory again tomorrow?”

  “Yes. He’s going to take me to a woman’s self-defense class. That should be interesting. I know what they say we’re going to learn, but I can’t imagine doing it.”

  Rick stared at her as though she’d lost her mind. Maybe she had.

  Tomorrow she’d find out for sure.

  * * *

  Cory stared at the door to the aerobics center, not sure what he should do.

  She’d missed the first class, but she’d been okay to still join because the previous week they’d only had a demonstration and hadn’t physically done anything.

  Before Daphne had gone inside they’d sat in the truck and watched other ladies arrive. When Daphne finally got out of the truck, the women who were in the parking lot had turned to watch. If it wasn’t his imagination, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t, every women who had seen him cast him a dirty look, as if he was the enemy. Of course at a woman’s self-defense class, he probably was.

  He wasn’t used to that. In uniform, at work, he was the good guy, the one people came to when they had questions or a problem. Especially little kids who always often looked at him with stars in their eyes, as though he was Superman or something. Except of course when he got stuck with the late camping shift on weekends and had to tell the rowdy campers to quiet down or put out a campfire when the risk was high. Then he was the bad guy. Yet still everyone listened.

  Now, he didn’t know what to do. In a normal situation, he would have simply dropped her off and gone to do what he had planned, which was go to the hardware store and finally buy that roll of duct tape he needed. Except she hadn’t looked entirely confident when she’d gone inside. So, just in case she changed her mind about the class and wanted to go back home, he decided he’d better stay.

  Fortunately he’d brought a copy of the new camper’s handbook that he gave out to people who requested it. Not much would have changed from the previous version, but it was still a good idea to skim through it for changes. After all, he was supposed to be the expert.

  He started reading, but didn’t get very far when the door to the studio opened.

  A woman stood in the doorway.

  Daphne.

  He tossed the book onto the seat and was out of the truck running toward her before she stepped out from beneath the awning.

  Her eyes widened as he stopped in front of her. Strangely, she didn’t look as he’d thought she would. She didn’t seem scared or even nervous. “I had a feeling you would be still out there. Allie said their volunteer didn’t show up. Would you like to do it?”

  “Do what?”

  Daphne looked up at him,
right into his eyes. “Be an attacker.”

  Almost as though it was happening all over again, the moment that changed his life roared through his head in fast-forward. That day, it had been like someone flipped a switch in his head and he’d lost it. He didn’t have many regrets in his life, but this one was big. Even now, he still had repercussions.

  Losing control had changed his life, and many lives, forever. God had pulled him out of the mire, but he couldn’t test God again.

  Cory cleared his throat, trying to sound calm, when he felt anything but. “I’m not so sure that would be a good idea.”

  Daphne’s cheeks turned red. “It’s okay. They have, uh, protection for you.”

  As her meaning dawned on him, he wondered if he could crawl into a hole somewhere. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  “It won’t be like that. Allie said all that happens is that you try to grab us and we try to defend ourselves. You pretty much only have to stand there.”

  “And let the ladies strategically hit me.”

  “Something like that.”

  Cory looked down at her, not speaking while his mind raced. This situation wasn’t the same. He didn’t have to worry about someone getting the better of him, and none of them would fight dirty. All they wanted to do was to defend themselves so they could flee.

  Not only that, every one of the women he’d seen go in couldn’t be much more than half his weight. There would be no need to defend himself or attack back. Literally, all he really had to do was stand there wearing protective equipment and a face mask, and let them have a go at him. Maybe he might have to try to defend himself, but there was probably little point. It sounded as if the plan for today was simply for him to be a live target.

  There was no possibility of anyone here doing anything to make him angry.

  This class had to be effective for Daphne—or she wouldn’t go back.

  “Just let me get this straight. All I need to do is stand there and let the ladies try to get at my, uh, weak points, right?”

  “Pretty much. You’re supposed to make a grab for everyone, and then we try to defend ourselves against you.”