“I learned how to hide my bruises. Like a fool, I tried to protect my dignity and Sam Brantley’s by keeping silent, but it all came out in court. Those hospital records they mentioned will show that I was admitted time and again to recover from the beatings their precious son gave me. Now, Mr. Mason, are you prepared to print that, as well?”
She was leaning across his desk, staring into his wide eyes, watching the beads of perspiration form on his brow. “Well, Mr. Mason?”
He swallowed nervously. “I had no idea.”
“No, you didn’t, did you? Isn’t that your responsibility, though, Mr. Mason? Or were you afraid that the truth would ruin a sensational little tidbit for today’s paper?”
“Mrs. Brantley, please, I’m very sorry.”
“Sorry won’t do it, Mr. Mason. This is a small town and my reputation is at stake. I want a complete and accurate report in tomorrow’s paper or I will personally see to it that your lawyer spends every cent of your money defending a libel suit.”
Dana knew she was bluffing at the end, but the quaking Mr. Mason did not. Perhaps he even had some sense of justice buried in his soft folds of flesh.
“I’ll do whatever you like.”
Dana nodded in satisfaction. “Send a reporter in. I’ll do the rest.”
She spent the better part of the morning with the reporter, detailing step by step the agony she had survived in her marriage. The reporter, a young girl barely out of college, had tears in her eyes when they finished talking.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked. “How can you bear to tell everyone what you suffered?”
Dana thought about the question. Until that moment, she hadn’t been quite sure what her motivation was. Revenge? The salvaging of her own reputation? Or something more?
“I think maybe this is something I should have done a long time ago. Maybe by telling what I went through, it will help some other woman to avoid the tragedy of a wasted life. If just one woman reads this and finds the strength to ask for help, maybe it will give some meaning to those five years I spent in hell.”
A rueful smile touched her lips as she continued. “Or perhaps I just needed to get it out of my system for my own sake, so I can move on. Maybe there’s nothing honorable about my intentions at all.”
The girl was shaking her head. “I don’t think you can dismiss what you’re doing so lightly. I think you’re very brave.”
“I wish I had been five or six years ago,” Dana said with genuine regret. “Then perhaps Sam Brantley would still be alive.”
Dana drove to the library feeling as though a tremendous burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Whatever happened now, she could deal with it. She could move on with her life. If she had a life left.
By midday she had already heard there were efforts to see that she was removed as librarian. Betsy was the bearer of the bad news.
“Dana, they’ve been swarming all over town hall like bees. I tried to talk them out of it, but you know how quick some folks are to make judgments. They think you’re going to corrupt the young people and turn the whole town into some sort of Peyton Place. You’ve never heard such ridiculous carrying on.”
“I think I probably have,” Dana retorted mildly. “Maybe when they see the whole story in the paper tomorrow, they’ll stop and think about what they’re doing.”
“What if they don’t? Tomorrow may be too late, anyway. Some folks don’t give a hang about the truth. They’d just as soon run you out of town tonight.”
“What about you, Betsy? You’ve already jumped to my defense and you don’t even know what really happened.”
“Good grief, girl, I don’t have to ask. I know you about as well as I could ever know a daughter of my own. Whatever happened back then, you weren’t to blame. Harry believes that, too.”
Humbled by Betsy’s trust, Dana had tears glistening in her eyes. “How can I ever thank you?”
“You just stick around here and fight back. Don’t you go running anywhere.”
“I’m not running this time, Betsy. I have something to stay and fight for.”
“Nick?”
“Nick.”
“Oh, child, I couldn’t be happier.”
“Neither could I.”
But even that happiness was doomed to be short-lived. Betsy had no sooner left the ominously deserted library than Jessica Leahy came in. She circled Dana’s desk like a wary fighter assessing his opponent.
“I saw the paper,” she said at last.
“But you already knew, didn’t you?”
Jessica nodded. “I had heard something about it. Mildred Tanner’s son is a lawyer in New York. He told her, and she told me right after Tony’s birthday party.”
For a fraction of a second there was a look of regret in her eyes, then they were a cold, stormy gray again. “Despite what you think, I didn’t want to believe it.”
“I think perhaps you did.”
“No, Dana. I asked Nick to talk to you. I wanted you to tell him it was all lies. I didn’t want it to come to this. I didn’t want to be forced into a showdown with Nick.”
A twisting knot formed in Dana’s stomach. “What kind of a showdown?”
“If Nick persists in this craziness of his, this idea of marrying you, then I’m going to court tomorrow to ask for custody of Tony. I think after he hears this, after he sees what kind of a woman Nick plans to bring into my grandson’s life, I think the judge will grant my request.”
“No!” The word echoed through the room. “You can’t do that. It’s so unfair.”
“What you did was more than unfair. You took your husband’s life.”
“You’re wrong, Jessica.” Nick’s voice was icy with rage. Neither of them had heard him enter and they turned to stare at him.
“We’ll see who’s wrong, Nicholas,” Jessica said, undaunted by his fury and not waiting to hear more. “We’ll see about that.”
Then she turned and left, her back stiff, her chin held high.
In her wake, she left a terrible, gut-wrenching fear.
Chapter 15
Nick slammed his fist against the wall. “Damn her for this! I warned her to stay out of it.”
“You knew she was considering this?” Dana said, horrified by what Jessica Leahy was threatening and equally astonished that Nick had apparently been aware of it. “You knew she was going to fight you for custody?”
“I thought she’d come to her senses.”
“Nick, you have to go after her. You have to stop it.”
Nick just stood there, obviously torn between offering support to her and going after his former mother-in-law.
“Go,” Dana urged. “You can’t let her go into court over this. You mustn’t let Tony get caught in the middle because of me. Dear God, Nick, you could lose your son.”
“It won’t come to that,” Nick said, his teeth clenched. “I won’t allow it to come to that.”
“The only way to stop it is to talk to her.”
Troubled eyes surveyed her. “Will you be all right?”
“I’ll be fine as soon as I know you’ve been able to resolve this with Jessica.”
Nick nodded and left, leaving Dana’s emotions whirling. What if he couldn’t make Jessica back down? What if she insisted on going through with the custody battle?
Then she would have to leave River Glen after all. There would be no alternative. Dana wouldn’t allow herself to come between Nick and his son.
It was one of the longest afternoons of Dana’s life. Not one person came into the library. No one called. By six o’clock her nerves were stretched to the limit and her stomach was churning. On the short drive home, she almost ran her car off the road because she wasn’t concentrating and missed a curve.
At home she was no better. She put the unused breakfast dishes away—in the refrigerator—and washed the pots and pans with laundry detergent. Then she scrubbed the kitchen floor, trying to work out her fears and anger with each swipe of the mop. She fixed a
sandwich, then threw it in the trash after taking one bite.
When the phone rang, she knocked over her glass of tea in her haste to get to it, then skidded on the pool of liquid and nearly lost her balance.
“Yes. Hello,” she said breathlessly.
“Dana, it’s Betsy.”
Disappointment flooded through her. “Oh.”
“Were you expecting someone else?”
“I was hoping Nick would call.”
Her comment was greeted with a silence that went on far too long. “Betsy, what is it? Is it about Nick?”
“Nick’s at town hall. They called a special meeting to decide what to do about you and your job. It starts in a half hour.”
Dana sank down in a kitchen chair and rubbed her hand across her eyes. The dull pounding in her head picked up in speed and intensity.
“Should I come down there?”
“Nick told me not to call. He said you’d already been through too much today, but I think perhaps you should be here. After all, it’s your fate they’re deciding. You should have a chance to speak up for yourself.”
“Thanks, Betsy. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
When Dana got to town hall, she could hardly find a place to park. She didn’t consider it a good sign that most of the town had turned out for this impromptu meeting. It had all the characteristics of a lynch mob. The phone lines must have been buzzing all afternoon. She could hear the shouts through the building’s opened windows.
Reluctantly she climbed the front steps and went down the hall to the auditorium, trying her best to ignore the occasional stares in her direction. The doors had been propped open to allow for the overflow of people who were milling around in the corridor before the meeting officially got under way. Most were so busy spreading their own versions of the gossip they took little note of Dana’s arrival. She slipped inside the room and stood by the back wall.
Moments later the mayor gaveled the meeting to order. It took some time for everyone to calm down. Dana saw Nick and Betsy at the front, along with the council members. Jessica Leahy was only two rows from the front, her expression grim and very determined.
Suddenly Dana felt a tug on her arm and looked around to see Tony at her side, his eyes bright with unshed tears.
“Tony! What are you doing here?”
“I was supposed to be with Grandpa, but I snuck out. I heard they were going to try to get rid of you.”
Dana was stumped over what to tell him other than the truth. “That’s what some people would like to do.”
“But why? You can’t go away, Ms. Brantley. Dad and me need you.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his head against her side. She could feel the hot dampness of his tears through her blouse.
Dana tried to swallow the lump in her throat and blinked back her own tears. “Let’s go outside.”
“No,” he said, clinging harder. “I want to stay.”
“No. I think we’d better talk.”
She took Tony’s hand and led him outside. At the moment, as frightened as she was about her own future, nothing was more important than trying to explain to him what was happening.
“Let’s sit over here,” she said, drawing him toward the wide concrete railing alongside the steps. He sat as close to her as he could, his thin shoulders shaking. Dana put an arm around him and sighed. “How much do you know?”
“Only what Grandma said. She told Grandpa they were going to run you out of town on a rail.”
“Did she say why?”
“I couldn’t hear everything. Grandpa kept telling her to keep her voice down.”
Dana took a deep breath. “Okay. Let me try to explain what’s happening so you can understand it.”
She paused, trying to figure out how on earth she was going to do that. How did you tell a ten-year-old boy that you were responsible for your husband’s death? If adults found it inexplicable, what on earth would Tony think?
“You know that I was married before?” she began at last.
He nodded. “Dad told me. He said you weren’t anymore, though.”
“Well, that’s true. When I was married, it wasn’t like it was for your mother and father. They loved each other very much. Sam and I loved each other, but we weren’t very happy. Sometimes we got really angry and we fought.”
“Lots of grown-ups do that.”
“That’s right. One night Sam and I argued and he…he fell down some stairs.”
“Was he hurt bad?”
“Yes, Tony. He was hurt very badly. He died.”
Tony seemed more perplexed than ever. “And that’s why they want you to go away? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Some people don’t understand what really happened that night. They think I made Sam fall on purpose. They don’t think a person who did something like that should be around kids.”
“But you didn’t mean to do it.”
Dana hugged him. A tear spilled over and ran down her cheek. “No. I didn’t mean to do it.”
“Then go tell them, so it’ll be okay.” He wrapped his arms tight around her. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“She won’t have to, son.”
Dana and Tony both looked up to find Nick towering over them. She tried to read his expression, afraid to hope that his words meant what she thought.
“It’s over?” she whispered, suddenly very, very scared.
He sat down next to her and took her hand. “It’s over.”
“And?”
“They want you to stay on.”
Relief and confusion warred for her emotions. “But how? What happened? Did you convince them of what really went on that last night with Sam?”
“I didn’t have to. Cyrus Mason came and brought his reporter with him. She read the story she’d written for tomorrow’s paper. It was an eloquent defense.”
“And they believed me?”
“They believed you.”
Nick’s gaze caught hers and held, and time stood still for the two of them.
“Let’s go home,” he said at last, getting to his feet. He put an arm around each of them and steered them through the crowd.
When they reached Dana’s car, Nick touched her cheek. “I have to take Tony home.”
“I know.”
“I’ll see you in the morning. We have a lot to talk about.”
Dana nodded and watched them walk away. They hadn’t gone far when Tony turned around and ran back to throw his arms around her. “I’m glad you’re staying, Ms. Brantley.”
She smiled at him and ruffled his hair. “Me, too, kiddo.”
It was only after he’d run back to his father that she noticed Jessica Leahy watching them from the shadows. Suddenly those fleeting moments of relief and happiness were spoiled by the memory of what Jessica had sworn to do. Even after what she’d heard tonight, would Jessica still condemn her? She took a step toward the older woman, hoping to make peace or, at the very least, get some answers, but Jessica turned away.
Dana was awake all night thinking about the expression she’d seen on the older woman’s face and about the threat she’d never retracted. Last night’s revelations should have paved the way for her to have a future with Nick in River Glen, but now that future seemed in doubt. If, despite all the evidence, Jessica still condemned her and went on with her custody fight, then her own life here would mean very little. She wouldn’t be able to bear seeing Nick and Tony parted. Nor would she be able to stay if she was forced to give up Nick so that he could keep his son.
There was only one thing to do. She had to be the one to see Jessica. She had to make at least one last attempt to make peace between the two of them.
As soon as she’d eaten breakfast the next morning, she drove out to the farm. She found Joshua on his way to the barn. He walked over to greet her, his expression every bit as warm as it had been the first time they met.
“Congratulations, Dana. I’m glad things worked out for you last night.”
“Thank you.” She regarded him closely. “I suppose you know why I’m here.”
He nodded. “She’s inside. I think you’ll find her in the kitchen. She’s making bread. It’s what she always does when she’s got some thinking to do.”
Dana could feel Joshua’s eyes on her as she slowly crossed the lawn to the back door. The feeling that she had his blessing gave her the strength to go on. She hesitated on the threshold, watching as Jessica kneaded the dough, pounding it with her fists. Her anger was evident with each blow.
At last, Dana took a deep breath and rapped sharply. Jessica looked up and the two women stared at each other, tension radiating between them.
“Come in,” she said at last.
Dana moved to the kitchen table and sat down, linking her hands in front of her. Now that she was here, she was unsure how to begin.
“Joshua says you bake bread when you have some thinking to do,” she said finally.
“I do.” The lump of dough hit the counter with a crash and flour rose like a fine mist.
“I hope you’re thinking about the custody suit.”
“I am.” Slam went the dough again.
“Have you decided anything?”
“Not yet.”
“Would it help for me to tell you that I love Nick and Tony very much? They are very special, thanks in large measure to the gift of love your daughter gave them. I envy the time they shared. I…my marriage wasn’t like that. I wish to God it had been.”
When she looked up, there were tears shining in Jessica’s eyes. “Oh, my dear, can you ever forgive me? All I wanted to do was protect my family.”
Dana got up and went over to Jessica. She put her hand on hers, oblivious to the flour and dough that covered it. She could feel the trembling and knew something of Jessica’s fear.
“Don’t you think I know that?” she said gently. “I can see how much you care about them, how much they love you. I just want to be a part of that, not take it away from you.”
The room crackled with silent tension.
“I won’t fight you,” Jessica said finally.
“Thank you. That’s all I can ask.”
Dana was hardly aware of how long she’d spent at the farm or how late it was as she drove back to town. When she arrived at the library both Nick and Betsy were pacing the front steps, Betsy’s strides only half as long as Nick’s.
Edge of Forever Page 18
