“This is going to change everything; we definitely need to strategize first thing in the morning.”
Part of me is surprised by Carter’s ability to focus on the case at hand and think about what this accident means for us. These thoughts are furthest from my mind.
The ride back to the hotel is quiet, shock will do that. At the hotel, Casey fills Mom in on what happened and I can tell her tears are of relief. I don’t blame her and I don’t think that makes her a bad person either.
“I think I’m going to call in tomorrow and keep the kids home. I know Casey has a lot to do so if you want to come hang out with us, we will be here all day.”
“Sounds good, sweetie, see you tomorrow.”
Emotionally drained, I collapse on the couch as soon as she’s out the door. Casey sits next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulders.
“I admit when I woke up this morning, this is not how I pictured this day would end.”
I laugh at his understatement of the year. “You and me both.”
Tilting my head back, I stare into his beautiful blue eyes, “Thank you for being so amazing today.”
The pull between us is almost unbearable. I can see the pain and longing in his eyes, they likely mirror mine. We move at the same time, our lips touch and I’m transported back to our last night together. Every feeling I had for him pours out of me and into that kiss. Desperation eats at both of us, I eagerly straddle his hips when he turns me toward him. Breathless minutes go by, my heart beating out of my chest. My god, I’ve missed this man.
“Take me to bed,” I whisper shyly against his neck.
Without a word, he stands up with me still straddling him. I wrap my legs around his hips and kiss him all the way to his bed. You would think sixteen years of yearning would make us explosive, instead there is a fragile, melding of hearts and bodies. My last thought as he lays on top of me is how much I love him.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Casey
I wake up with Brittany in my arms. For a fleeting moment I thought it was another dream. I could smell her, feel her, listen to her breathing deeply in sleep. I laid there for a long time, trying to absorb every detail. As the sun starts peeking through the blinds, I wake her with a kiss.
“Sorry to wake you, I thought you might want to be on the couch before the kids get up.”
“Can we have five more minutes before we break the spell and let the day start?”
Words aren’t needed, I wrap my arms around her and hold tight. Our bodies have changed over the years but she still feels perfect against me.
Her nails lightly stroking up and down my back threaten to put me back to sleep. If we don’t break the spell, as she says, we’ll be discovered because I won’t be letting her out of my bed.
“When I leave, do you want me to order room service?”
“No, I think we’ll eat by the pool and spend most of the day down there. We could use a few hours of mindless fun.”
“I’ll be jealous the whole time I’m gone.”
“Then you better hurry home and join us.”
The idea of rushing home to her after a day at work is exactly what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. Before we can worry about that, we have to keep her from going to jail.
“I’m guessing you don’t want to put the same clothes on. I have a couple of t-shirts in the drawer that I haven’t worn yet, maybe the kids won’t notice?”
“Kacee will definitely notice, she will probably be thrilled though. Austin is thankfully still innocent and wouldn’t put a thought to it.”
Picturing our daughter knowing we had sex freaks me out a little, but then again what part of any of that sentence doesn’t? The part where I say our daughter or the part where we had sex?
“Help yourself to a shirt, I’m going to jump in the shower.”
“I’d love to join you but we better not risk it.”
The picture she put in my head forces out every other thought. “I suggest you run out of here quickly if you don’t want me to lock you in for a while.”
She giggles and lunges for the dresser. Smart idea.
Lucky for me I’m dressed and ready to go before the kids have woken up. It allows me to give Brittany a kiss goodbye. Life has become surreal and I don’t want it to end.
I open the door to leave and see the daily newspaper on the ground. Most mornings I toss it on the counter for later but I can’t this time. A large picture of Dirk is splashed across the front page. Someone must have stayed up all night to get this story printed. I stuff the newspaper in my bag and head to Carter’s office. I’ll read the article when I get there, I’m curious to see what kind of spin the writer put on the story.
After a quick pit stop for donuts and coffee, I get to the office as Carter is pulling up. He takes the coffees from me so I can grab everything else.
With his free hand he holds up the newspaper tucked under his arm. “Did you see the paper yet this morning?”
“I brought it with me so I could read it. Have you read it?”
“Not yet, let’s get settled in and see what it says.”
I follow him into the small office building, it is dated but functional and clean. I grab a donut and start the article. Three pages are dedicated to this guy. They talk about both trials and the accident itself. I’m surprised to read a very impartial view of everything. I guess the Montgomery’s haven’t gotten to them yet.
“All things considered, it’s a pretty decent article.”
I nod my head at Carter’s opinion. As he reaches for a second donut, his desk phone rings.
“This is Carter Jepsen, how may I help you?”
I see him look up at me, surprised. He mumbles a couple of okays and yeses before finally hanging up. That one-sided conversation gave me no indication as to what that was all about.
“Well I’ll be damned, that was the Montgomery’s lawyer. He wants to know if we will bring Brittany here this afternoon. Mrs. Montgomery and her lawyer would like to meet with us.”
Utter confusion crosses my face, “What could she possibly want to talk about? I’m surprised she is still functioning.”
“I’ve watched her grow up, she’s a tough lady. She was a sweet kid till Julius Montgomery got his hands on her. You could actually see her change over the years and not exactly for the better. I agreed to have her here at three p.m. If she doesn’t want to, I’ll call back and cancel.”
“I’ll call Brit and let her know, I’m sure she’ll agree.”
I grab my coffee and head outside. I click the picture of Brittany’s smiling face and wait for her to pick up.
“You miss me this soon?”
“You sound even sexier than you did last night, you have a great phone voice.” Her laughter is music to my ears.
“Maybe if you are good, I’ll show you how sexy I can be.”
“I am definitely going to take you up on that offer but first, I have some business to discuss.”
“Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound good.” She sighed.
“I can’t really say if it’s good or bad but Mrs. Montgomery and her lawyer would like to meet with you at three here at Carter’s. Are you good with that?”
“What do you think she wants?”
“I can’t say for sure. I’ll see if Officer Freeman is available to hang nearby in case there is an incident but Carter says she isn’t bad so I think we’ll be okay. Plus, you have me there to protect you.”
“As sexy as that sounds, I think I can take her if necessary.” We both laugh, imagining Brittany grabbing Mrs. Montgomery in a headlock is quite the picture.
“I’m not happy about this but I’ll meet with her. Mom is already here; I’ll ask her to watch the kids.”
“Sounds good, oh and don’t have too much fun there without me.”
“I promise to keep our fun level to a minimum. See you in a few hours.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Brittany
Driving to Carter’s of
fice, I can’t help biting my nails. I have no idea what Dirk’s mom could want, why she’s meeting without her husband, and if she is even in her right mind given she lost her son last night.
I managed to still have fun today, I tried to put it out of mind as much as possible and just enjoy being with my family. After being with Casey every day for the last couple of weeks, it is actually odd to be doing something without him. I miss him and I can tell the kids feel his absence as well. When he leaves, we’re all going to be devastated.
I pull into Carter’s and put aside my melancholy thoughts. I find the boys huddled over their note pads throwing ideas out at each other. It’s kind of cute to see them so absorbed they don’t even realize I’ve walked in.
“You two look like you are hard at work.”
“Holy cow, is it time already? Man this day flew by.” Carter leans back and rubs his eyes.
My stomach does a little flip as Casey walks toward me and kisses me on the cheek. “How was your day?”
“It was terrible, we did nothing fun and pined for you all day.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t have any fun, I said keep it to a minimum.”
“Darn, I guess I missed that part.” I wink and head toward the conference table leaving him in my wake. A girl doesn’t want to appear too eager.
“Are you ready for this?” Carter’s seemingly innocent questions makes me take a deep breath.
“Of course I am ready to meet with the mother of my daughter’s tormentor who we just had arrested and now he’s dead. This should be a lovely tea party.” He stares at me, eyebrows half way up his forehead. I don’t think he knows how to take that. “I mean, yep, ready as I’ll ever be.”
As we settle in, the door opens. Our guests walk in, Mrs. Montgomery has large sunglasses on and isn’t smiling. Her lawyer is a silver-haired man in his fifties, and unlike Carter he is dressed in a fancy suit and exudes power. He holds the chair out for his client as she takes her glasses off and stares straight at me. Her eyes are red and swollen. Large bags are drooping below her eyes; this is a broken woman.
“Mrs. Montgomery, we are sorry for your loss.” Her eyes flash to Casey and she gives him a small nod before returning her attention to me.
“I know you think my son was a monster, and until a few days ago I would have vehemently denied that. I can see now I was blind to his true character. There are people in my family who can be, let’s just say, bad influences.” She pauses to clear her throat; I can hear her struggling to keep her emotions in check. “Dirk was a good boy, I had hoped I could keep him from following in his father and brothers’ footsteps. When he turned fourteen, I figured out that I couldn’t save him either but I promise you, I had no idea how bad he had gotten.”
A single tear rolls down her cheek. She pulls a tissue from her purse and wipes it away while staring off to the side. I have no idea how to respond so I keep quiet. We all do.
“When I found out about your case, I begged him to tell me the truth and he swore up and down that he hadn’t touched your daughter. I’m his mother, what could I do but believe him? When the police showed up to arrest him, my husband was completely unfazed but I was shocked. I couldn’t believe the allegations. There had never been any whispers as to what he was doing.” Moving suddenly, she scares me when she leans forward and grabs my hand. “I swear to you, if I had known, I would have put a stop to it. Even if he was my son, I never would have let that continue on. Please, tell me you believe me?”
Her pleading eyes full of unshed tears break my heart. This poor woman is nothing like what I expected and I believe every word she says. “We all have a blind spot when it comes to the people we love. It’s natural to think the best of them. I appreciate your candor and I do believe you.”
She turns to her lawyer and nods her head. He clears his throat and gets everyone’s attention. “Mrs. Montgomery has convinced her husband to drop the case against you. In addition, he has signed a contract that each victim named in the suit against their son will be paid a onetime fee of fifty thousand dollars for emotional damages caused.”
Shock runs through my body. There is elation, of course, hearing my case is being dropped but to hear that they are going to help out the girls is more than I could have ever hoped for. Tears freely roll down my face. Casey rubs my back and I know he’s trying to comfort me without it looking to personal.
“My husband has admitted he knew about Dirk’s actions. I have filed for a divorce and I am leaving town. I always knew a day like this might come when I have to leave quickly so I spent years building up my own account. In lieu of alimony, I made him promise to give the girls their restitution and you have his promise that no one in this town will bother you or your family again. I know this in no way makes up for the harm my family has done but I hope it is a step in the right direction.”
“What about you, are you going to be okay?” This poor woman has just told us she is losing her entire family.
“My sister and her family live out in California. I’m going to stay with them while I get settled in. My other children are all fully grown, it’s time I take care of myself.”
“I wish you all the luck, I truly do.”
Her lawyer hands a large stack of papers to Carter. “If you can, have each of the families sign these we’ll get everything taken care of quickly. If you’ll excuse us, Mrs. Montgomery has a lot to do, as I’m sure you can imagine.”
At first I think he is meaning her upcoming move, then I realize he means planning her son’s funeral. A wave of nausea hits me along with even more sorrow for this woman.
“Thank you for doing this, I will make sure the families all know what you have done.”
She smiles and leaves as gracefully as she had entered. As soon as the door closes, Casey swings me into a hug and kisses me deeply. For a few seconds we forget Carter is in the room until I hear him clear his throat.
“That is a really interesting way to celebrate a win with your client. I hope you don’t expect me to do the same.” He looks back and forth between us, “I’ve known from the beginning that you have some serious history but I minded my business as long as it didn’t interfere with the case.”
“We haven’t seen each other in a very long time, thank you for not prying and giving us time to work this out.”
“Why don’t you two go home and tell your daughter the good news. I will notify the rest of the families that we need them to come here tomorrow.”
Carter holds out his hand but I step right past it and give him a hug. “Thank you for sticking by me. I know this was a risk and I appreciate everything you have done for me.”
“I said I wanted to go out with a bang, this was definitely worth it. My wife will be happy to hear I’m ready to retire now.”
“I wish you both the best of luck, send me a postcard sometime from sunny Florida.”
“Will do, and you two better get your stuff worked out and get together. I’ve never seen two people more perfect for each other, and I have met a lot of couples over the years.”
Casey lays his arm across my shoulder and squeezes tight. “Come on, let’s tell everyone the good news.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Casey
It’s over, it’s well and truly over. I had hoped that meeting would be about Brittany’s case but it was so much more than I imagined. That woman has done an amazing thing for these girls and most people won’t even know.
We share the good news with Maria and the kids as soon as we are in the door. I have never been surrounded by so many crying women in my life. They take turns passing me between them hugging and crying. Austin, clearly unimpressed with their emotions, salutes me and heads back to the T.V. He has obviously seen this many times and isn’t surprised by it.
With my shirt drenched in tears and desperate for a break from being the human tissue, I throw out an idea. “How about we go downstairs and celebrate with a huge feast?”
Cheers all around, at least the
tears have started drying up. “If you would like I can pick up your grandmother. I think the family should be together.”
“She will love that, I’ll call and let her know you are coming.” Maria heads to the couch to get her cell phone.
Brittany reaches up on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek, “Thank you for being here, we owe everything to you.”
“I will always be here for you and the kids.” I pull away and see Kacee standing near us with a huge, goofy grin on her face. I wink before turning back to Brittany. “Can you call downstairs to get us a table for six-thirty and we’ll meet you down there?”
Maria hangs up and says Louise will be ready when I get there. She gives Brittany another hug and they all squeal again. “Um, Austin, want to come with me to get Great-Grandma?” A good soldier never leaves a man behind. He jumps up and runs for the door, I guess that’s a yes.
“See you guys in a bit.” As I close the door, I hear more screeching. I had no idea they were that worried Brittany was going to jail. How did they manage to cope all this time with that much stress?
“Are they always like that?” I look at Austin who gives me the most exasperated look a seven-year-old can muster.
“Sometimes Grandma comes over and they all watch shows together. Whenever people kiss, they get like this.”
“Sounds like you’ve had it rough.”
“Yeah but it’s okay cuz you’re here, now I won’t be alone.”
I’ll give this kid credit, from the beginning he’s been told I’m going home and even though I know I’m changing my plans, they don’t, but he has never given up on me staying here with them.
As we’re pulling into Louise’s driveway, I realize I am pretty brilliant. Surely with Austin around she won’t ask me all kinds of questions about Brittany.
“Lucky me to have two of the city’s finest looking gentlemen picking me up for a date.”
“You are looking beautiful yourself, Louise.” I help her in the passenger seat and climb back in my side. “I hope you are hungry; we are going to eat like royalty tonight.”
Forever Yours, Casey Page 12
