“Mom, why are we going over to their house in the middle of the night?” Caitlyn asked sleepily.
“Because Emily said she needs to see us.”
“Is somebody sick?”
“She didn’t say.”
Caitlyn followed her downstairs. “I’ll bet it’s about Evan,” she said direly. “These days everything’s about Evan.”
“She never once mentioned your brother,” Marcie said, though Caitlyn’s assessment startled her. Of course, this was about Evan. She should have guessed that herself. No wonder Emily had been so tight-lipped about her reason for wanting Marcie and Caitlyn to come over.
“Would you have gone if she’d said it was about Evan?” Caitlyn asked.
“No,” Marcie said at once, then hesitated. “I don’t know. Probably.” Even on the subjects about which they vehemently disagreed, she and Emily had always found some way to communicate.
Caitlyn fell silent as they went downstairs. When they were about to leave the house, she asked, “Mom, do you think Evan’s going to jail?”
Marcie froze. “No,” she said fiercely. “He’s not going to jail, because he’s not guilty.”
Caitlyn gave her an unreadable look.
“He’s not!” Marcie repeated emphatically. She simply couldn’t allow herself to think otherwise.
Switching on the light that lit the backyard and their way through the hedge to Emily’s, she stepped outside. The dew on the grass soaked through her thin slippers as she scurried between the two houses. Only as she skirted around the Dobbs’s pool did she notice that Emily wasn’t waiting in the kitchen alone. Derek was there, too. So were Dani and Josh.
At the sight of them, Marcie was struck by such a sense of impending doom that she almost turned and ran for home.
“Mom,” Caitlyn whispered, slipping her hand into Marcie’s. “Something’s really wrong, isn’t it?”
“We don’t know that,” Marcie said, forcing an upbeat note into her voice.
“Why would Mr. D be here in the middle of the night, if everything was okay?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. We’ll know soon enough.”
As if they’d been watching for her, Derek stood and Emily came to the back door and opened it.
“Thanks for coming,” Emily said, giving Marcie a fierce hug that caught her off guard.
Marcie blinked back sudden tears. “What’s wrong? Why are you all in the kitchen at this hour?”
“We need to talk to you,” Emily said. “There’s something you need to hear from us. It’s about Evan.”
Marcie halted where she was, just inside the door. “No,” she said. “I won’t have all of you ganging up on me. I won’t listen to one word said against my son. It’s bad enough what strangers say. I can’t listen to it from you.”
“I’m so sorry, Marcie, but you need to hear this,” Emily insisted. “Caitlyn, too.”
Marcie saw the look of utter dismay that flashed across Caitlyn’s face. Her daughter whirled on Dani.
“You told, didn’t you?” she shouted. “You told them everything! You said you’d never tell.”
Dani flushed, but she didn’t look away and she didn’t deny Caitlyn’s accusation.
And in that instant, Marcie knew that her world as she’d known it—already shaken to its foundation by the charges against her son—was about to come tumbling down around her.
Emily knew the exact second when Marcie grasped that Evan’s misdeeds were far worse than simply the charges leveled by Lauren Brown. She paled and reached for a chair. Though she looked as if she’d prefer to bolt, she sat down heavily.
“I’ll make you some tea,” Emily said, giving her shoulder a squeeze as she passed. Now that Marcie was out of her house, so she and Caitlyn wouldn’t have to witness Evan being arrested yet again, Emily could take her time telling her what he’d done. She glanced at Caitlyn, who was as pale as her mother, though patches of bright color darkened her cheeks whenever she glared at Dani.
“Sweetie, would you like some hot chocolate?” Emily asked Caitlyn. “That’s what Dani’s drinking.”
“No,” Caitlyn snapped, then winced at a warning glance from her mother. “I mean no, thank you.”
“It’s okay,” Emily said. “Let me know if you change your mind or if you’d like something else.” She turned to Derek and Josh. “Maybe you two could leave the rest of us to talk. It might make it easier.”
Derek nodded. “I’ll be in the den if you need me.”
Josh stood up, too. “I’ll be in with Dad.”
Emily studied him with a worried frown. “Shouldn’t you get some sleep? You have classes in a few hours.”
“I can miss them for one day,” Josh said, his expression stubborn. “I’m not leaving. We’ve got a family crisis and I need to be here.”
Emily decided not to waste her breath trying to argue. She made the tea and brought a cup and the china teapot to the table.
“You need to tell me what’s going on,” Marcie said, her voice flat. “You’re scaring me.”
“I know,” Emily said. “But I don’t want to say it, because I know it’s going to break your heart.”
“Just say it,” Marcie snapped. “Whatever lies you plan to say, spit them out.”
Dani blinked at her tone, but she sat a little straighter in her chair. “I’ll tell her. She’ll believe me.”
Emily stared at her with dismay. “No, you don’t have to do that. I’ll tell her. You’ve been through enough tonight.”
Dani shook her head. “I think she needs to hear it from me,” she insisted. “I want her to hear it from me.”
Emily sighed and relented. “Go ahead, then.”
Feeling her child’s pain with each word Dani spoke, Emily listened as she once again described the night that Evan had taken advantage of her in Marcie’s home.
Looking more horrified with each word that Dani uttered, Marcie leaped to her feet. “And you’ve told the police this pack of lies? I can’t believe you would do such a thing, Dani. What have we ever done to you except treat you as part of our family?”
“You’ve never done anything but love me,” Dani said quietly. “And Caitlyn’s always been my best friend, but Evan raped me. He did!”
“You’re lying,” Marcie accused.
“I’m not lying,” Dani responded, her expression sad. “Ask Caitlyn.”
Marcie seemed to deflate a little as she turned to her daughter. “She’s told you about this?”
Caitlyn nodded, tears streaming down her face. “I didn’t want to believe her, either, Mom, but…” Her chin rose a notch. “But now I do. Evan’s practically admitted it to me. He’s been scared for a while now that she was going to tell. He wanted me to help convince her not to say anything.”
Marcie stared at both girls with an expression of pure hatred. “You’re lying. All of you. Evan would never hurt Dani. He’s always thought of her like a sister.”
“He did exactly what Dani said he did, Marcie,” Emily replied evenly. “You know Dani wouldn’t lie about something this important.”
Marcie’s attention went around the table, from Dani to her own daughter and then to Emily. “Why are you all turning against my son? Why?” she demanded, tears streaming down her cheeks. “All these years I’ve thought of you as family and now you’re conspiring to have my son locked away.”
“Oh, Marcie, it’s not a conspiracy. You know it isn’t,” Emily said. “Dani has been in anguish about this for months now. She didn’t want to get Evan in trouble. Until this whole business with Lauren Brown happened, she’d convinced herself that what happened was her fault, that she somehow invited Evan to take advantage of her.”
“Maybe she did,” Marcie said, clearly grasping at straws. “I’ll bet that’s exactly what happened, Emily. You know how young girls are with their first crush. They’ll do just about anything to get a boy’s attention. And Evan’s only human. He probably took what she was offering and then she had regrets and now she
’s blaming it all on him.”
Dani looked crushed by Marcie’s assessment, but before Emily could step in and defend her, Dani spoke up herself. “It wasn’t like that. I told him no, Mrs. Carter. I told him lots of times, but he wouldn’t stop.” Tears cascaded down her cheeks. “No matter what I said, he wouldn’t stop.”
Emily reached for her hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. She was so proud of her daughter, so impressed with her strength in the face of Marcie’s doubts and accusations.
Even now, Marcie was unwilling to accept the truth. “Evan’s not like that. My son was raised to know right from wrong. He’s incapable of treating any woman that way, much less a girl he’s always thought of as family. How could he do such a thing?”
“Because he’s just like Dad,” Caitlyn suddenly burst out, stunning them all. “Mom, how can you be so blind? They’re just alike. They’re both bullies.”
Marcie stared at her daughter in shock, but Caitlyn didn’t back down. Displaying a strength equal to Dani’s, she faced her mother. Eventually Marcie’s shoulders sagged in defeat and she finally sat back down.
“Oh, God, what is wrong with me?” she whispered. “How did I let things get so out of control? All I ever wanted was to be a good wife, a good mother.”
“Then be one,” Caitlyn said, her tone unyielding. She sounded older and far wearier than a fifteen-year-old. “Face the truth about Evan. We both know Dani’s not lying about this.”
Marcie looked completely at sea. She finally addressed Emily. “I am so sorry.” Then she reached for Dani’s hand. “Baby, I wish this had never happened to you. I really do. That a boy I’ve raised could do such a thing…I just can’t wrap my mind around that.”
“It’s not your fault,” Dani told her, standing up to move into her embrace. “It’s not. Evan did this to me, not you.”
“But he’s my son. It happened in my house, someplace you should have been safe always. I should have seen…” Her voice trailed off and once more she covered her face. “My God, surely I should have seen something.”
“You’ve always been blind about Evan’s behavior and about Dad’s,” Caitlyn accused.
“Your father—”
“Don’t you dare try to excuse him,” Caitlin shouted. “I am so sick of listening to you defend the way he bullies you. It’s disgusting.”
Emily took pity on Marcie, who looked as if one more word would cause her to unravel completely.
“Let’s all calm down and take a deep breath,” she encouraged. “I know this is extremely upsetting, but now that everything’s out in the open, we can start dealing with what’s happened. All of it.”
Suddenly Marcie was on her feet, all the color draining from her face. “You said you told the police about this, didn’t you? How did I let that slip my mind? Are they at my house now? Is that why you insisted that Caitlyn and I come over? Emily, how could you?”
“I wanted to protect you and Caitlyn,” Emily told her. “I didn’t want you to have to see him being taken into custody again. And I owed it to you to tell you all of this before anything happened.”
“But you kept me from being there for my son,” Marcie screamed, her fragile grasp on serenity snapping. “How could you do that?”
“Mom, there’s nothing you can do for Evan now,” Caitlyn said. “Besides, he has Dad there to fight his battles for him.”
“I’m his mother, dammit! I should be there.”
“When was the last time Evan gave two hoots about you?” Caitlyn said angrily. Years of pent-up frustration were evident in her voice. “Mom, he treats you the same way Dad does and you just roll over and take it. The worse they are to you, the harder you try. Can’t you see how wrong that is?”
“He’s still my son and your brother,” Marcie said, her expression stubborn. “We need to stick together.”
“No, what you need to do is to stop letting Dad and Evan push you around and treat you like dirt.”
“They don’t…” Marcie began, but stopped as Caitlyn stared at her incredulously. “They don’t mean to be disrespectful.”
“You are so delusional,” Caitlyn retorted.
“Caitlyn!” Emily chided, because she couldn’t bear the expression of disbelief and hurt on Marcie’s face at being attacked by her own daughter.
“I’m not sorry I said that,” Caitlyn said. “Mom, wake up. Get a divorce. Maybe then we’ll finally have a life.”
As Caitlyn’s harsh words sank in, Emily saw the fear in Marcie’s eyes. Divorce represented everything she’d always dreaded. It was admitting failure. It would force her to stand up for herself and her daughter. It would throw her financial situation into turmoil. It was probably too late to influence Evan, but there was still hope for Marcie and Caitlyn.
Emily was about to comment, when Marcie spoke up.
“Don’t scold her, Emily. Caitlyn’s right,” she said, a hitch in her voice. “I’ve made so many mistakes, I can’t even begin to count them. I convinced myself I was showing my kids that marriage was meant to be forever, but all I was really doing was showing them that it was okay for a man to bulldoze right over his wife and treat her with a total lack of respect.”
“No man will ever get away with that with me,” Caitlyn said. “If I ever get involved with a guy, forget being equal partners, he’s going to treat me like a queen.”
Marcie managed a faint smile. “At least I managed to get one lesson right, albeit in the most misguided way possible.”
“Look, whatever you decide to do about your marriage, the two of you will be fine,” Emily told her. “I’ll do anything I can to help you get through this.”
“Even after what Evan’s done?” Marcie asked, her disbelief plain.
“Evan’s accountable for that,” Emily said. “Not you. We’ve been friends for years and I can’t bring myself to throw that away.”
Marcie nodded slowly, then turned to Caitlyn. “If I do this…if I divorce your dad when all this is over—” she regarded Caitlyn with concern “—we’ll have to move, live in a smaller house.”
“Do you think I care about that?” Caitlyn scoffed. “Come on, Mom. We’ll finally be able to do what we want, be whoever we want to be.”
“I’m not sure I know what that is,” Marcie said.
“But you’ll figure it out,” Emily assured her. “I did.”
“You have a career you care about,” Marcie argued. “What do I have?”
“You have a daughter who needs you, a dozen talents that are the envy of all your friends, and you have us. You can lean on us while you figure things out.”
Marcie rose to her feet. “Right now, I’m still a mom whose son is in trouble. I need to go home.” She leaned down and gave Emily a fierce hug. “This time, though, my eyes will be wide-open.”
As she stood, so did Dani. “I’m sorry,” Dani whispered.
Marcie blinked back tears and drew her into her arms. “Oh, baby, I’m the one who’s sorry about everything, about what Evan did, about doubting you.” She touched Dani’s cheek. “You’re a strong girl and you’ve got a family who loves you to pieces. And one day I hope you’ll be able to forgive me and remember that I love you, too.”
“I’ve always known that,” Dani said. “That’s one reason this was so hard. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Emily faced Marcie. “Caitlyn can stay here, if you want her to.”
Marcie nodded. “Thank you for trying to make it seem as if nothing’s changed between us.”
“It hasn’t,” Emily said firmly. “Not if you don’t want it to. This has been a terrible ordeal for all of us, but we’ll get through it. I know we will.”
Marcie nodded slowly, her relief plain. “We’ll talk later, then. I’ll call as soon as I know what’s happening at the police station.”
“Mom, don’t go back home later, no matter what,” Caitlyn pleaded. “Make the break now. Come here, if it’s okay with Mrs. D.” She turned to Emily. “Would it be okay?”
; “Of course, if it’s what your mom wants.”
Marcie gave her a rueful smile. “Sweetie, no matter how messed up things are, I can’t abandon your father in the midst of this crisis, but if you don’t want to come home and Emily agrees, you can stay over here till everything is sorted out.”
Caitlyn regarded Emily intently. “Then is it okay if I stay? Please.”
“Of course, you can stay for as long as you need to.”
Dani reached for her hand and started to drag her from the room. “It’ll be like having a sister. You can help me clean out some drawers and make room in my closet.”
After they’d left the room, Marcie gave Emily a grateful look. “Thank you for not turning against her against us.”
“Never,” Marcie said.
“But what Evan did—”
“Was unconscionable and he’ll pay for it,” Emily insisted. “Not you and not Caitlyn.”
“How did you convince Rodriguez to let you tell me what was going on? I’m sure he objected.”
Emily smiled. “He’s a reasonable man.”
“And he’s trying to keep you happy,” Marcie guessed.
Emily hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, I suppose he is.”
“I’m glad for you. I truly am. You’ll have to tell me all about him once things settle down.”
“You’ll like him once you get to know him under different circumstances,” Emily told her.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Marcie said. “But for your sake, I’ll try.”
“That’s all we can ever ask of each other, isn’t it? Now go, be with your son. He needs you more than ever, whether he admits it or not.”
“His father’s the one who’ll help him fight these charges,” Marcie said.
“But you’re the one who may be able to make him see that what he did was wrong. Ken won’t do that.”
Marcie sighed. “No, he won’t. How sad is that?”
Mending Fences Page 30
