by Sadie Allen
“He wanted to talk to you and explain. He definitely wanted to tell you good-bye … but it was me. I said some things to him and convinced him that you were better off without him … That it’d be best if he just left, a clean break.” She was sobbing now.
I wasn’t thrilled with her confession, but I had already guessed most of what she just told me. I got that she had been angry, and she had every right to be, but she shouldn’t have spoken for me.
I was still mad at him, too, though. He shouldn’t have listened to her. He knew it had been wrong to leave without talking to me, especially not telling me good-bye. And even more wrong for not contacting me in the past five months.
I jumped when I felt a hand smooth down my back, and I looked over to see my mom looking at me, face red, eyes swollen, tear tracks on her cheeks.
“Please forgive me, Judd. I’m so, so sorry,” she choked out.
I felt the wet hit my eyes, and I cleared my throat again before saying, “I forgive you.”
The funny thing was that I had already forgiven her for her role in my dad’s leaving. I still struggled with her drinking months of her and my life away, but I imagined if she stuck with AA and stayed sober, we could rebuild the relationship we once had.
Sunny told me that forgiveness was for me, not them, and she was right. I could feel some of what had been broken inside of me start to heal the moment she had apologized. It was going to take time, and that was something we had. Once I moved out, it would probably be easier to mend the rest.
I sat up and leaned toward my mom with my arm extended, hooking it around her shoulders and bringing her in for a hug. She cried some more, her tears soaking my shirt, and when she started sniffling, she leaned back and looked at me.
“Judd, honey, I hate to say this, but you really stink.”
I laughed. What else could I do? I was tired, both physically and emotionally, and the weight that had been on my shoulders had lightened in just a few short minutes.
Mom let loose her odd cackle, and we both sat there, enjoying the sound of each other’s laughter.
“I love you, Mom,” I said through dying chuckles.
“I love you, too, son,” she said on a sigh. Then, after a minute, she said, “Judd?”
“Yeah, Mom?”
“No more sex tapes, okay? I had to field a dozen calls from people all over town complaining about my exhibitionist of a son.”
I felt my face catch fire as I groaned, “Okay, Mom.”
“Good boy,” she said as she patted my back.
I just rolled my eyes.
Sunny
I HAD JUST FINISHED SEALING the last of the boxes I was taking with me. I stood and surveyed all the work we had done in the past few days.
I still couldn’t lift anything, but I was allowed out of bed, so I was able to mark and seal boxes. I couldn’t believe how fast a month had passed. It was July, and the trailer was like a sauna. I could feel the sweat at my hairline and dripping down the middle of my back. I was dressed in an old pair of cut-offs and a tank top, trying to beat the heat as we packed me up to move to Dallas.
The last month and a half had been eventful. I had to spend another week in the hospital to make sure the hole in my chest was mending. Then, when I had been released, Judd and his mother, Raina, had loaded me up and taken me to their home. Judd had gone to the trailer to pick me up some essentials and clothes while I had been in the hospital. He had packed a bag for the hospital, and then had packed a bag for me for his house. Him and his mom had seen to it that I rested and took my medicine.
Sally had come to visit me several times, both in the hospital and out, bringing food and her brand of moral support, which meant cooking magazines and a notebook. We had discussed menus and recipes like always, which had made me feel like I was getting back into the routine of my life.
Molly had stopped by as well, but she never stayed long. She still didn’t trust Judd, but that was okay. At least she was polite. Well, as polite as she got, which meant she hadn’t called him any ugly names.
Something was up with her, but I knew if I pushed, she would shut me out. Therefore, I would wait and bide my time until I thought she was in a place I could pry what was wrong with her out.
This was the last time I was going to be in my grana’s trailer, so I had asked everyone for some time alone. I had sold it for pennies since it was old, and after the beating it had taken this year, I was lucky I had sold it at all.
It had been torn up on the inside by my father, beaten on the outside by a bunch of psycho bimbos, and then I had almost bled out on the living room floor. I was lucky that someone had actually bought it.
I heard the door open and saw Judd walk in, wearing black athletic shorts and an old, ratty T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. He was tan and all kinds of sexy with his hair pulled up in a bun on the back of his head.
He sauntered over, face concerned, and took me in his arms. He was sweaty and smelled like outside, but I didn’t care.
I tilted my head back to look at his face and was again blown away by how handsome he was. I reached up and pulled the hair tie from his hair, hooking it around my wrist, and then drove my fingers through his shoulder-length blond hair.
He groaned then leaned down to touch his mouth to mine. It was then that I groaned.
He deepened the kiss, his tongue dancing with mine. Before it could get more heated, though, he pulled back.
“I came in here to tell you something, but you attacked me and made me forget.”
“Attacked you?” I asked with fake outrage.
“Yeah, you basically forced your tongue down my throat.” He smiled his heart stopping smile, and I could feel myself wanting to melt into a puddle at his feet.
“Did not!”
“Honey, you’re still distracting me by being cute.”
I clamped my lips shut and tried not to be cute.
“You’re still being cute.”
“Whatever.”
“Sheriff Lang is out front and wants to talk to you.”
I tensed. Usually when I saw Sheriff Lang, something bad was happening to me. No offense to him as a person, but I could go without seeing Sheriff Lang for about twenty years or more.
Judd tightened his arms around me, reading the look on my face, and probably the fact that I had gone stiff at the mention of the sheriff.
“Do you know what he wants?”
The last time I had seen him was in the hospital, when I had given him my statement. Needless to say, it hadn’t taken long to find my father after he had shot me. He had been arrested outside of Oasis where he had passed out in the parking lot.
“No, and I asked. He just said that he needed to speak with you, and if you wanted me there, then that was okay, but he wouldn’t talk to me without you.”
Sighing, I let go of Judd and slipped the hair tie off my wrist, handing it back. He immediately pulled his hair back and folded it into a man bun. So hot.
We walked toward the door, his hand against my lower back, and out the front door.
Sheriff Lang was standing by the trailer, talking to Sally and Molly, hands on his hips, shaking his head. When the door banged behind us, Sheriff Lang looked our way, his sunglasses covered eyes watching us walk his way. He ended whatever he was discussing with them and met us halfway.
“Sunny,” he said brusquely.
“Sheriff Lang.”
“I wanted to catch you before you left town,” he said, and by the tone, I could tell I was definitely not going to enjoy what he had to tell me.
“Okay.”
When I straightened my shoulders, I felt Judd take my hand, giving me his strength and squeezing tight. I took a deep breath and exhaled, counting to ten, waiting for him to lower the boom.
“You know we arrested your father back in May?”
I wasn’t sure if that was a statement or a question, but I answered it like he had asked me a question. “Yes.”
“Well, it’s taken us this
long to get him to crack about what he did that night and why.”
I sucked back another breath and held it.
“Turns out, your father isn’t just a drunk. He picked up a habit after Wanda, your grandma, passed away back in the fall.”
My breath whooshed out on an exhale. “What habit?” I asked, my voice shrill to my own ears.
“Crack. He was smoking crack, and smoking so much that he got in deep with his dealer.”
I knew it. I had known he was on something that night he had come to the trailer and started beating on me. And I had known it the night he had come to kill me.
“The dealer was putting pressure on him to collect, and that meant collect, as in, breaking bones if he didn’t pay up the money he owed. So, that’s why he ransacked your home and was caught breaking and entering those houses this spring.”
“Oh.”
“He had to detox from the drugs and alcohol so that’s why it took so long. We also had an unexpected development in this whole mess.”
Judd squeezed my hand again, and I braced myself when Sheriff Lang’s mouth grew taut. The vibes, while not happy, deteriorated to downright hostile.
“We wondered how a drunk with no job, a crack habit, and no equity got the money for bail and a firearm.”
I had a really bad feeling about this.
“We looked up the bond that was placed, finding it was done anonymously in cash and sent over by a courier service. That service said they had found the envelope and money in their mailbox with instructions and the payment, which was odd that someone would go through that much subterfuge to bail a man like Lonny Blackfox out of jail—no offense.”
It was odd. It made no sense. Then I remembered …
“That night … He said that he had some friends in ‘high places.’ I forgot he said that.”
Sheriff Lang grimaced, but he didn’t say anything. I figured he wasn’t happy that I hadn’t remembered before now. He wasn’t going to say anything, though. I did get shot in the chest after all, and who could blame me for not remembering every single little detail of that night.
“Well, we eventually figured out who his friend in ‘high places’ was … The gun used to shoot you was registered to Stanley Klein.”
I felt Judd go still beside me, and the atmosphere that was already hostile got downright scary.
I heard Molly gasp at the mention of Stanley Klein and knew that both her and Sally were probably listening.
“Didn’t know how Lonny got ahold of Klein’s gun. They never reported a break-in, and the houses that he was arrested for breaking into were nowhere near the Klein’s mansion.”
“I hope what you say next isn’t what I think you’ll say next,” Judd said in a voice that was so quiet and controlled that it was frightening.
“If what you’re thinking is that Klein’s son, Asher, stole his father’s gun from the safe and gave it to a crackhead to carry out his plans of inheriting Sunny’s money and property, then I’m sorry.”
Judd’s face closed down, his jaw hard, and his eyes burned with fury. “Did you arrest Asher?” he asked on a growl.
“Yes, and it’s good thing I did, because I have a feeling that he’s safer in jail than out right at this moment.”
“You got that right.”
I felt my eyes grow wide and prayed that Asher wasn’t granted bail.
“But … why? Why would Asher do that?” I asked incredulously.
“You can’t guess?” was Judd’s caustic reply.
“Judd, him giving that gun to my father was not your fault. Let’s not travel down this road again. Asher’s actions were his decisions, not yours. You can’t take the blame for it.”
“She’s right,” Sheriff Lane put in firmly.
“He probably wanted to get back at me for nailing him in the balls,” I continued. “Guys like Asher don’t take getting beaten by a girl too well. And I got his sister arrested when she vandalized my trailer.”
Judd shook his head. “No, it started with me. He only went after you because I was interested in you.”
I got in front of him and lifted myself up on my tippy toes to get in his face. He looked down his nose at me, face hard, with his mouth in a firm straight line.
“Let it go,” I said softly.
He averted his eyes from mine and looked somewhere over my shoulder.
I hit him in the shoulder and drew his eyes back to mine.
“I said, let it go.”
When he didn’t say anything and just stood there like a statue with a scowl on his face, I lost it.
“Judd Nathanial Jackson! I am not going to let you carry all this guilt over something that was beyond your control. Asher Klein is an asshole. Straight up douche canoe. A pimple on the butt of humanity.”
Judd’s lips twitched, but I was too far gone to see his face starting to melt.
“We won! Asher Klein is in jail, and his sister is still on probation. They both have criminal records. They have to live the rest of their lives knowing they didn’t get the best of us. That we’re out living life and chasing our dreams, despite the evil they did to us. The best revenge we can ever get is being happy and together.”
By the time I was finished, my breath was short and my feet hurt from being on my toes so long. I dropped down to my heels and faced the silent people all around.
“Again, she’s not wrong,” was Sally’s add on.
“Okay, Sunny, I’ll let it go,” Judd said.
I looked up at his face, which had lost its hardness. He was now looking at me with warm eyes and a soft mouth. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“So, is that it?” I asked Sheriff Lang.
He took off his tan cowboy hat and scratched the top of his head before saying, “Not quite.”
Oh, great. What else? I didn’t think I would be able to talk Judd back from the ledge again.
“After we arrested Asher at his parents’ country club, his dad disowned him.”
Another gasp, and this time it came from me.
“So, no fancy attorney?”
“Nope, no fancy attorney. But …”
Oh, boy.
“Mr. Klein’s attorney did come to the station, and he wanted me to tell you that since he figured you probably didn’t want to speak with the Kleins or their attorney—”
“You got that right,” was Sally’s scratchy reply.
Sheriff Lang coughed before continuing, “He went to the hospital and paid all your medical bills on behalf of the Klein family, and said if there’s anything else you need, he’d be happy to help. And that Mr. Klein was sorry that his children—and this is a direct quote—‘made some poor decisions that affected your wellbeing’.”
By the time he finished, I was pretty sure my jaw was touching the dirt of my front yard. Mr. Klein paid my medical bills? My medical bills weren’t cheap since I didn’t have insurance. The ambulance, the emergency surgery, and the two-week stay at the hospital had cost me a small fortune that I would have been paying on until I collected Social Security.
Someone whistled, and I heard Sally say, “Lordy be.”
“You can say that again,” Sheriff Lang quipped.
“It’s probably because he’s afraid you’ll sue him,” Molly said scornfully.
“I don’t know what to do with that information,” I admitted.
I really didn’t. I didn’t feel really great about a man who had spawned Asher and Ashley Klein doing anything for me, but it wasn’t like I could go up to the hospital and ask them to give the money back. Money was money to them.
“Nothing to do with it. I wouldn’t send Stanley Klein a thank you note about it, though. If he hadn’t spoiled those kids to the point where they turned into nutcases, you and Judd wouldn’t have had nearly as bad a time of it in school this year.”
“True,” I conceded.
There was a stretch of silence, and I guessed the others were like me and didn’t know wh
at else to say, or there was just too much to say on that subject.
“Well, I need to get back to the station.”
“Thank you for coming out here to let me know what’s going on.”
Sheriff Lang was looking at his boots. Then he looked up at me, his eyes intent as he said, “I’m glad you’re here for me to give updates to. Afraid you wouldn’t be when I got that call over the radio. You and Wanda … good people. The world is a sorrier place without your grandma, and would’ve been even sorrier if you’d been taken, as well.”
Judd gave me a squeeze.
“Don’t let the actions of Lonny Blackfox and those Klein brats define you. You either, Judd.” Then he turned on his heel and headed for the patrol car that was parked behind Sally’s Caddy. When he opened the door, he stood there for minute, looking back at us, and yelled, “I’ll call you when I know the date of your father’s trial. You’re coming back to testify, right?” The last wasn’t really a question. He expected me to come back.
“You give me the date and time, and I’ll be there.”
He gave me a nod before climbing in and closing the door.
Judd pulled me closer, and I felt his lips in my hair as we watched Sheriff Lang back out and drive away.
I looked up at Judd to find him looking back down at me with a small smile on his face.
“I think Sheriff Lang likes you, honey,” he said softly.
I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against his chest.
“All right, you two, stop canoodling so Judd and the rest of us can start loading everything up. Sunny!” Sally barked.
“I know, I know. No lifting, no tugging, no sliding, no breathing, yadda, yadda.” I rolled my eyes at her bossiness as I released Judd so he could start loading boxes into the trailer we had rented to haul our stuff to Dallas. He was going to stay with me until the dorms opened in August.
I turned and followed Judd into the trailer to do a final walk-through of my childhood home, with Sally and Molly right behind me.
We had loaded everything into the U-Haul and were now standing by my truck, with Raina waiting to follow us. All that was left to do was leave the trailer keys with Sally to give to the new owners and to say good-bye.
