Mending Fences

by Sherryl Woods

  For an instant he looked taken aback by her attack, but then a strange little smirk crossed his lips. “You want to share in Evan’s defense? You want me to tell you what’s going on? Then let’s share this. Your very best friend in the entire world is over there tonight entertaining Detective Rodriguez. Did you know that?”

  Shock took the fight right out of her. Marcie sat down hard. Still, she managed to muster a weak argument. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Ken. Emily wouldn’t do that. He’s probably just over there asking more questions. You know he’s been talking to everybody in the neighborhood for weeks now.”

  “Has he been kissing everybody in the neighborhood?” he inquired, his expression smug. “Damn friendly for a cop, if you ask me. Then again, maybe it’s some newfangled interrogation technique. Probably pretty effective with a sex-starved divorcée like Emily.”

  “Don’t be vulgar,” she snapped. “Emily’s not like that.”

  “Are you sure you know her, Marcie? Has she mentioned anything about her little tête-à-têtes with the detective? This isn’t the first time he’s spent the evening over there. I’ve seen his car in the driveway before. And if it’s all about business, why isn’t that partner of his with him? And how long can it take to ask a couple of questions? Not the hours he’s been hanging around, I’ll tell you that.”

  She stared at her husband incredulously, not sure whether she was more stunned by his twisted take on what was going on or by the fact that he seemed to know so much about what was happening over at Emily’s house, in the first place. In the end it was the latter that she found most offensive. In her view, people didn’t go around spying on friends. She looked her husband directly in the eye.

  “Have you been watching Emily?” she asked, radiating indignation. “For God’s sake, Ken, have you no shame?”

  He didn’t even attempt to look apologetic. “Oh, get off your high horse. Let’s face it, who knows this family better than she does? I wanted to keep an eye on her, figure out whose side she’s on. I even tried to get her to tell me point-blank where she stood. Well, now I know, and it isn’t ours, Marcie. It isn’t ours.”

  “You don’t know that,” she insisted, needing desperately to believe it. Emily was the one person in the world she’d ever trusted enough to confide in. Emily knew more about her and about her family than anyone else, Ken included. Practically the only thing she hadn’t told her was how fearful she was that Lauren Brown had been telling the truth about Evan. She was barely able to stomach thinking such a thing, much less voicing it aloud.

  “I saw what I saw,” he said, looking thoroughly satisfied at having thrown her so completely.

  “You really hate that I have a good friend, while you have no one outside of this family you can really talk to,” she accused. “You want to drive a wedge between me and Emily. You always have. That’s what this attack is about.”

  He shrugged indifferently. “I could care less about Emily Dobbs, except when it comes to her ability to make things harder than they need to be for Evan. He’s my only concern right now. He should be your top priority, as well.”

  “Don’t you dare suggest that I don’t care what happens to our son,” she retorted. “But I have to worry about our daughter, too, or have you forgotten about the toll this is taking on her?”

  “Caitlyn will be fine,” he said dismissively. “This isn’t happening to her.”

  “It’s happening to all of us. Are you blind to everyone in this family except Evan? Nothing’s the same for any of us. I can’t even walk out the front door. You’re obsessed with trying to ruin that girl’s credibility. Caitlyn comes home from school looking shattered. She’s not even talking to her best friend anymore.”

  “And none of that compares with the possibility that Evan’s life could be ruined forever.”

  She sighed. “No, I don’t suppose it does, but that doesn’t mean we’re not all feeling the impact of this, and now you want me to distrust Emily, who’s stuck by me, who’s been there when I needed her for years now.”

  “All I’m saying is that you might want to consider that her loyalty is an illusion. Ask her about Rodriguez, Marcie. Confront her about that kiss I saw. See what she says. See if she lies. Because if she tells you it never happened, she will be lying. I know what I saw. Then you’ll need to ask yourself why she’d lie if you two are such good friends.”

  “Fine,” Marcie said, throwing down the sponge she’d been clutching since Ken had walked into the kitchen. “I’ll ask her now.”

  “Go,” he said. “And don’t come crying to me when you find out what a traitor she is.”

  Though a part of her didn’t want to accept the challenge, she knew she had to. Casting a defiant look at Ken, she slid open the kitchen door with such force it almost jumped out of its track. He had to be wrong. Not just because she couldn’t bear the thought of losing her best friend, but, frankly, because the idea of listening to him gloat from now through eternity made her sick.

  Emily was still sitting at the kitchen table, her heart aching, when Marcie tapped on the back door, then walked inside, her cheeks red. Clearly upset about something, she looked as if she might burst into tears at any second.

  “Are you okay?” Emily asked, dragging herself out of her own misery to try to deal with whatever was going on with Marcie. “Has something else happened?”

  “I just had a huge fight with Ken,” she began, then waved it off. “Nothing new in that, unless you count the fact that I fought back for once.”

  Emily hid her surprise. “Sit down. Can I get you some tea? Something stronger?”

  “No, but I do need to ask you something.” She sat down, her hands reaching for a napkin and twisting it nervously.

  “Of course. You can ask me anything.”

  For several minutes, Marcie seemed to be struggling to work up her courage, but she finally blurted, “Was Detective Rodriguez here tonight?”

  Dismayed that Marcie knew about his visit, Emily didn’t even consider denying it. She merely nodded.

  Marcie looked strangely defeated, as if the response had taken something out of her. “I see.”

  “Marcie, it’s not what you’re thinking.”

  “You can’t possibly know what I’m thinking,” Marcie retorted in a tone Emily had never heard her use before. “It’s not the first time he’s been by, is it? Ken says he’s been here several times. Why?”

  So that’s what their fight had been about, Emily thought, resigned to answering more uncomfortable questions. “He’s just doing what cops do, asking questions,” she said.

  “And the kiss? He has kissed you, right?”

  Emily’s temper stirred. “How on earth do you know about that?”

  “Ken saw him kiss you.”

  “He was spying on us?” she asked indignantly. “You have to be kidding.” She stood and picked up the teakettle just to have something to do. She turned on the water so hard it splashed everywhere. She ignored the mess, filled the pot and slammed it down on the stove before facing Marcie again. “Look, I know you and Ken are under a lot of pressure right now. I understand that. I really do. But so help me, Marcie, if I ever catch him over here peeking in windows to see what I’m up to, I will call the cops on him.”

  “If Rodriguez is here as much as Ken says he is, you won’t have to wait long for help, will you?” Marcie said bitterly.

  Emily’s gaze narrowed. “I think maybe we should end this conversation before we both say some things we can’t take back.”

  “No,” Marcie said, surprising her. “I’m not leaving here until I get answers. I want to know why my best friend is chatting up a man who’s trying to put my son in jail. Are you so hard up for a man in your life that you’ll go to any length to have one?”

  Emily froze. “Excuse me?”

  Marcie flushed, but she didn’t back down. “There must be thousands of available men in Miami. Why would you choose to spend time with this one, when he could destroy us?
Obviously you don’t give a damn about me or my family.”

  Stung, Emily stared at her. “It’s not like that.”

  “Really? Ken said you’d turned on us, and you have. I can’t believe it. I thought, of all people, I could trust you to be on our side.”

  “Marcie, you know I love Evan and Caitlyn as if they were my own children, but this is a very serious accusation. The police have to get to the bottom of it. If Evan’s innocent—”

  “If? They’re destroying my son with this outrageous accusation,” Marcie said heatedly. “And now I find out that you’re helping them. Some friend!”

  “I’ve never said a single bad word about Evan to the police or anyone else,” Emily insisted. “I’ve kept an open mind from the beginning.”

  “Really? An open mind? Not ten seconds ago, you suggested you’re no longer convinced that Evan’s innocent.”

  Emily leveled a look at her. “Can you honestly tell me that you haven’t had a few doubts yourself?”

  “That’s not the point. I’m not the one sleeping with the investigating officer.”

  “Neither am I, dammit!”

  “Oh, pardon me. It hasn’t gone that far, yet. Fine. Then you’re only making out with him not a hundred yards from my house, filling his head with who knows what nonsense about Evan, giving him added ammunition to make him look guilty. For that matter, just letting him visit you puts him in a position to keep a close eye on what’s going on over at my house.”

  “Grady is not the one who’s been spying on a neighbor,” she retorted angrily, then clamped her mouth shut. She recognized that there was no way to get through to Marcie when she was this worked up. She hated that Marcie had found out about Grady’s visits from Ken, who’d obviously given her the news in the most biased way possible.

  “I would have told you myself that I was seeing Grady, but honestly, Marcie, it’s not that big a deal. He’s a really nice guy. We’ve seen each other a few times, but the situation is complicated. Far more complicated than you can possibly imagine, in fact.”

  At a loss for how to continue, she fell silent. When she finally looked up at Marcie, she saw the anguish in her tear-filled eyes.

  “God, I hate this,” Marcie said. “I hate fighting with you. I hate what’s happening to my son, to my whole family.”

  Distraught for her friend, Emily put aside her anger and wrapped her arms around her. “I know. I’m sorry about everything you’re going through, and I’m doubly sorry if I’ve made it worse.”

  Marcie jerked away and swiped at her tears. “I need to go. I can’t talk to you right now.”

  She whirled around and left before Emily could think of a single thing to say that wouldn’t destroy all their years of friendship. She certainly couldn’t tell Marcie that Grady wasn’t just here because of whatever attraction was simmering between them. She couldn’t tell her that he’d been asking questions about Evan’s behavior over the years, though Marcie undoubtedly had guessed that much. And there was no way she could possibly admit that Grady believed Marcie’s son had raped her daughter.

  Of course, if that turned out to be true, their friendship was doomed anyway. She honestly couldn’t imagine any way to salvage it.

  An hour after Marcie had left, Emily was still reeling from the heated confrontation. She’d had two cups of herbal tea, but all of the chamomile in the universe couldn’t calm her rampaging emotions. Worse, there was something she could no longer put off doing.

  Filled with dread, she slowly climbed the stairs and knocked on Dani’s door. Doubting that she could be heard over the music her daughter was playing at top volume now that she had her CD player back, Emily walked in without waiting for a response and found Dani lying facedown on the bed, her shoulders heaving with sobs.

  Emily immediately dropped down beside her and gathered her close. “What is it, baby? What’s wrong? Please tell me. Whatever’s going on, you can’t keep it bottled up inside forever. You’ll make yourself sick.”

  After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Dani finally opened tear-filled eyes. “Everything’s such a mess. Evan’s going to jail. Caitlyn and I aren’t even speaking anymore. Mrs. Carter hates us. I heard what she said to you. I wasn’t eavesdropping. I promise. She was really, really loud.”

  Emily couldn’t contradict any of that, so she settled for a platitude. “Things will settle down eventually,” she said, though she was no longer nearly as sure of that as she’d once been. “Everyone’s very tense right now.”

  “It won’t get better,” Dani argued with certainty.

  “Time—”

  “No,” Dani said, her chin thrust out stubbornly. “Don’t even try to make me feel better, Mom. It won’t get better, because of me.”

  Emily’s pulse seemed to stop. “What do you mean?”

  Dani’s watery but unwavering gaze met hers. “I want to talk to Detective Rodriguez, Mom. I have to.”

  So, Grady had been right, Emily thought, her heart sinking. She fought back tears and the desire to stop Dani from saying another word. Once she spoke, there would be no going back.

  She knew, though, that silence wasn’t an option. If Dani was brave enough to talk—if she had something to say—then Emily had to back her. She couldn’t fall apart herself. She owed Dani her strength and her unconditional support.

  Struggling to keep her voice calm, she asked, “Sweetie, what is it you want to tell Grady? Can you tell me?”

  Dani looked at her. Though she would always be Emily’s little girl, there was a new maturity in her eyes. “You know, Mom. I know you don’t want to believe it, but you know.”

  “Evan hurt you,” Emily said flatly, nearly choking on the words.

  Dani nodded.

  Though her anger immediately heated to a boil, she tried to keep her expression neutral. “Tell me what happened.”

  “I don’t want to say the words,” Dani said, shuddering in her embrace.

  “I know you don’t, sweetie, but you need to talk about it,” Emily said with conviction. She’d seen too many teenagers let their emotional wounds fester. It was a dangerous age for not dealing with things. She’d already allowed Dani to avoid facing the truth for too long because of her own misgivings about hearing it. “You’ll feel better when you’re not in this all alone. Pain is always easier when it’s shared with people who love you.”

  “It’s just that it will bring it all back,” Dani whispered. “I’ve tried so hard to forget. For a long time, I thought it was all behind me. I mean I stopped having nightmares. I actually started talking to some of the guys at school again without freaking if they touched me.”

  Imagining her daughter so fearful that she could overreact to an innocent touch made Emily want to storm over to the Carters’ and break every bone in Evan’s body herself. He deserved to know what fear was like. Even now, with charges pending against him, it was plain to her that he still didn’t get the damage he’d inflicted.

  Forcing her vengeful thoughts aside, she asked quietly, “How long ago did it happen?”

  Dani didn’t answer immediately. She kept her face buried in Emily’s shoulder, her tears soaking through the cotton of her blouse. “It was last year,” she finally began in a voice that could be barely heard.

  She fell silent, her tears unchecked. Emily waited for her to go on.

  “I was over there one night when he was the only one home,” Dani recounted at last. “It wasn’t any different from any other time I’d been over there. We were just watching a video, joking around, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “And then he started saying all this stuff about how pretty I was, how he’d always had a thing for me.”

  Emily knew how much that would have meant to Dani at the time. “And you’d had a crush on him for years, so it was everything you’d been wanting him to say,” she said.

  Dani nodded. “When he kissed me, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven, Mom. It was amazing. It was everything I imagined it woul
d be. No guy had ever kissed me like that before. We kissed for a long time,” she said, then swallowed hard. “Then…then he wanted more. He…he grabbed me.” She gestured toward her breast. “It really hurt, Mom. And then he was putting his hand, you know, down here.” Her voice faltered.

  A fresh batch of tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks. “I told him no, Mom,” she said earnestly. “I said it over and over, but he wouldn’t listen. I tried to fight him off, but he just laughed and said he knew it was what I wanted, what I’d always wanted.” Sobs shook her shoulders. “I didn’t want it, Mom. Not then. Not like that.”

  Emily held her. “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. Your first time shouldn’t have been like that.”

  “I was so afraid to tell you, so afraid you wouldn’t believe that I hadn’t asked for it the way he said I did. And I was so scared I’d get pregnant.”

  It was yet another jolt. Emily had to clutch a fistful of comforter to keep from reaching out to break something. “He didn’t use protection?”

  Dani shook her head. “So, for weeks, I was worried about that and about getting an STD, because I know he fools around with a lot of girls. I wanted to go to a doctor, but I didn’t want to ask, because I knew you’d want to know why and I couldn’t think of what to tell you except the truth, and I knew I couldn’t do that.”

  “Oh, sweetie, you could have,” Emily insisted, heart-broken that Dani had felt she had to face this whole awful experience all alone. “You can always tell me the truth, no matter what. I would have believed you. I know you. So does your dad. We both would have believed you.”

  Dani stared at her with dismay. “You can’t tell Dad,” she pleaded. “You can’t.”

  “You know I have to,” Emily said firmly. “Josh needs to know, too. They’re both going to be on your side, you know that. They’re not going to blame you for any of this. It was not your fault.”