by Melody Anne
“I’m a retired man, and there’s nothing I love more than a good wedding, like my ornery nephew said. I’d be honored to help you make a perfect one for these two kids,” Sherman said, beaming at Bobbi as if he’d just won the lottery.
“If you really don’t mind, I wouldn’t say no to a little help,” Bobbi said.
Carl winked at Avery when Sherman and Bobbi looked at each other. They stepped away as the two of them began discussing wedding ideas.
“You’re quite the little matchmaker, aren’t you?” Carl asked.
“They’re absolutely perfect for each other,” Avery said. “But my mom is scared. They just need a bit of a push. And even though I love you to the moon and back, I don’t need a big wedding to prove that, so I don’t mind my mother planning it all. She loves to do things like that, and I honestly don’t care how I marry you, I just care that I do.”
“I can’t believe I nearly lost you. That would’ve been the biggest mistake of my life,” Carl said, pulling her farther away from the people in the hangar, and taking her into his arms.
“I agree,” she said. He kissed her again, this time like he meant it. By the time he released her, they were both panting.
“Okay you two, you’re making all of these young men in here all sweaty,” Sherman said with a laugh as he interrupted them. Sometimes Avery forgot they were in public when she was in Carl’s arms. It was her time to blush as she turned and looked out at the hangar where several young men instantly looked at the ground.
“Then I’d better get Avery out of here ASAP. You guys have the ball now. I look forward to being surprised at our wedding,” Carl said as he took Avery’s hand and began backing toward the door.
“You’re leaving so soon?” Bobbi asked. “We should get some ideas from you.”
“We have total faith in your planning abilities,” Avery said, not slowing down as Carl dragged her away. She’d been achy since watching him running that morning. She wanted nothing more than to get back home and have some uninterrupted time. She was very aware he could be called to work at any minute of the day. They had to take advantage of every second they had together.
“Let’s have lunch at the vineyard. It’s a great view and will inspire us,” Sherman said to Bobbi as they drew further away from the pair. Avery was sure they had a love story brewing.
“I do love a great bottle of wine,” Bobbi said, her cheeks flushing again. “But I need that wedding planner I bought for Avery. I guess we’ll be the ones using it now.”
“Thanks, Mom, thanks Sherman. We love and appreciate you both,” Avery called as they neared their vehicle.
“Love you, too,” Bobbi called back right before Carl practically threw her in the car.
The two of them barely made the drive home, and they certainly didn’t make it past the living room door before their clothes were ripped off. She was more in love with him each new day, and she had no doubt that love would continue to grow and grow and grow.
And maybe, just maybe, her mother would be having a wedding of her own before too much time passed. Avery wouldn’t mind that one little bit.
Chapter Seven
Joseph sat in his office with his head in his hands. The past few days had taken some of his life away. He was always the protector. He was the head of his family, the one who was supposed to keep harm from those he loved — and he’d failed. He’d tried to give his wife a beautiful day out, and instead he’d brought her face to face with the nightmare she couldn’t stop. He didn’t like feeling inadequate, it wasn’t something he was used to. He needed to find a way to fix all of this. The steps he’d taken so far were moving too slow. He wanted results — and he wanted them yesterday.
Just as Joseph felt one problem in his life was being solved, another issue arose. Why couldn’t time stand still or even go back ten years where everything had seemed to fall into place instantly? Joseph didn’t like having regrets, knowing that every decision in life shaped him into who he was today and tomorrow. But he found himself with more regrets now. His wife was ill, his nephew was being investigated for horrendous crimes — the evidence wasn’t looking good for him — and things seemed to be falling apart.
How much could a man take before it broke him? Joseph prayed he didn’t find out.
The ringing phone broke Joseph out of his thoughts. He picked up his private line on the second ring. “Joseph Anderson.” His voice was clipped and to the point. He didn’t have the energy to talk to people on this day of all days.
“Joseph, it’s Sheriff McCormack. We’ve been hand-delivered who we believe attacked Katherine.” Joseph appreciated speaking to Sheriff McCormack as he always got straight to the point.
It took all Joseph had not to say he knew the suspect had been apprehended. He knew exactly who’d gotten the piece of scum. He hadn’t spoken to Chad since the confrontation, and he wanted to know what the team had gotten out of the man. They were obviously done with their own interrogation if they’d handed him over.
“That’s wonderful, Sheriff. What comes next?” Joseph asked.
“We need Katherine to identify him first off, but as he came gift wrapped with a big note on his chest and a picture of the surveillance tape of him at the facility, I think identifying him is just a formality.”
“Gift wrapped?” Joseph asked. What had the men done?
“Yep,” McCormack said with a chuckle. “He was tied up nice and pretty with a big red bow on him. That’s my kind of birthday present.” Joseph hadn’t thought it possible to laugh so soon after the incident, but he found himself chuckling with the sheriff. Chad’s boys had one hell of a sense of humor. He’d really love to spend some time with them.
“Well, I guess that makes it a pretty cut-and-dry case,” Joseph said. Then he sobered. “I don’t want to put Katherine through anything more right now. She’s been through enough already. But we can do a stream over the computer so she can identify him that way.”
“Let’s give it a few days,” McCormack said, chuckling once more. “The man currently looks as if he was run over by a semi, his face is so bruised and swollen. And it’s not a huge worry as he confessed and begged the officers to keep him in jail, saying if he got out again, they’d kill him.”
Joseph smiled . . . big. “Who’d kill him?” Joseph asked, hoping the guy had no clue who’d taken him.
“He didn’t know, but he kept saying there were five giants who’d tortured him, demanded confessions, and made him sit in his own crap. Apparently, it’s true that you can literally have the shit scared right out of you.” McCormack burst into laughter again, and Joseph found it refreshing to feel a smile on his lips.
“They must be guardian angels or something,” Joseph said.
The sheriff went quiet for a moment. “I don’t want to know. I’m not condoning vigilante justice, but in this case I’m going to open a case file and then watch the dust grow on the cover. If there’s a group out there scaring criminals into confessions, I’m not going to put taxpayer funds into hunting them down. It sounds as if they’re on the right side of the law.”
“Maybe it’s the Arrow,” Joseph said, referring to the superhero show he’d found himself caught up in a couple of years earlier.
“Ha, maybe,” McCormack replied.
“What time was the man delivered?” Joseph asked.
It sounded as if some papers were being shuffled. “It was about two hours ago. The cops couldn’t get him to stop talking. He was willing to confess every sin he’s ever committed from the time he was two years old. These men who had him weren’t messing around.”
A quick look at his watch, some calculations, and Joseph noted the men on Chad’s team had held the perp for approximately six hours. There was a reason Joseph had wanted Chad to run this team. While violence wasn’t the cure for violence, Joseph knew sometimes that’s what it took. Besides that, Joseph had zero mercy for a person who dared harm his wife.
Joseph and the sheriff wrapped up their call, and then Joseph rose, his
body tired, his mind exhausted. He moved to his crystal decanter filled with some of the finest alcohol in the world, held it in his hand for a moment admiring the deep caramel-colored scotch sparkling in the light, then poured himself three fingers worth, adding only a splash of water. He swirled the liquids together, then inhaled the rich bouquet. Letting out a sigh, he forced the pent-up stress of the day to leave his body. He had to pull himself together before he went back to Katherine.
He moved over to his favorite chair and practically fell into it, all without spilling a drop of the fine liquor in his hand. Before he took a sip, he pulled out an AJ Fernandez Viva La Vida Jester from the tabletop humidor, cut the cap off, and took his time heating the other end before drawing the cigar to life.
On most nights after the house had quieted, Joseph took time to reflect on his day. He always did this with his favorite drink and a fine cigar. But on this night, he could’ve been drinking battery acid and he wouldn’t have noticed. He was fighting the darkness wanting to consume him. He took a few puffs from his cigar, then drained his glass. He rose and poured a second. He was barely holding it together.
He’d just drawn in a mouthful of flavor from the cigar, letting the smoke slowly release from his cheeks, feeling his nerves starting to unwind, when a familiar sound moved down the hallway — he was busted. Guilt settled over his face as Katherine stepped through the doors to his office and gave a pointed look to his cigar with her hands on her hips.
“Is everything okay, my love?” he asked, shifting in his seat. He’d been caught red-handed. She’d been lying down when he’d come to his office, so he’d thought he was safe to light up a stogie. Not that he needed permission, he just kept this vice out of her face as much as possible.
“I woke up cold without you at my side,” Katherine said as she moved forward.
“I’m so sorry, love, I should’ve been there with you.”
He moved to the couch and she sat next to him, then shocked him when she took the glass from his hand and drained the contents. Katherine rarely drank anything, but when she did, it was always a sweet, crisp wine.
He moved to put out his cigar, but she shook her head as she rose and refilled his glass just the way he’d do it. She’d watched him often enough, he wasn’t surprised she knew exactly what to do. “Go ahead and have your cigar. I think we’ve both earned a bit of gluttony today,” she told him. He never smoked in front of her, and found it made him uncomfortable, but he wouldn’t argue with her about anything right then.
She sat again, handing his glass back after she took one small sip. He gripped it in his hand while practically crushing his cigar with his other.
“Joseph, I want to talk about today.” She sounded so tired it broke his heart. Contrary to what she’d said about the cigar, he put it out and turned so he could hold her hand.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through—”
“Just wait,” Katherine said, interrupting him with more strength in her voice. He waited. “Today was difficult. On many levels, it flooded my head with terrible memories. Worse than that was seeing you face off with the man who caused me so much pain. I was afraid for both of us.” Her voice was barely a whisper at the end of her words. He squeezed her hand, encouraging her to continue.
“As I was lying in bed, I focused on all that happened through the day. We were free and happy with people and sunshine around us. The energy of the market, my beautiful new necklace, those sweet children, the women and the vases. It was all wonderful.”
“Yes, it was,” Joseph told her.
“In our many years together, we’ve always focused on the good in our lives, we’ve always chosen to make our next day together better than the day before. We taught our sons to be men of valor and honor, and how to be trustworthy. Yes, we’re fortunate enough to have heaps of money, but it’s not money that teaches values, it’s love, understanding, and time.” She was gaining strength in her voice as she continued.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Joseph told her.
“A lot of the people around us chose to hire nannies and staff to raise their children, but I knew how much I loved you when you agreed to be at my side so we’d be the ones raising our boys. They got to know us, and we got to know them. We didn’t just love them because they were biologically ours, we loved them because we spent time with them and knew who they were. We still love them because we make them a priority in our lives.”
“You always did so much more than I did. I have a lot of regrets about the many hours I worked when they were young. You, on the other hand, have always been a phenomenal wife and mother,” Joseph said with a bit of shame and a lot of sincerity.
“Oh darling, you gave more than you realize. You took them to the office, you played ball in the backyard, took them fishing, and had campout weekends. Yes, you worked, and you taught them how important it is to take care of a family, but you always put a priority on being a husband and father. I think you were quite balanced,” she said with a genuine smile. “But enough of that, I’m trying to make a point here.” She sighed as she looked out the window of his office into their backyard that was filled with so many beautiful memories for all of them.
“My point is that while we worked hard to have a loving family, we were blessed with a life that so many never come close to having. And again, I know it’s not only financial, but money does matter. There are so many out there who don’t have a home, who don’t have security. So many children face horrific situations with terrible families, where they don’t have clothing, proper beds, or even guaranteed meals. We all make choices in life, but if we’ve never been taught right and wrong, how accountable are we for those choices?”
“Yes, my dear, that’s true. We have to be taught to understand how to act and behave,” Joseph said.
“Here I am with so much to think and worry about with my own life and my own health, but so many others are going through the same without the same resources we have. Why are we allowing this? Why are we focused on the bad when we have so much good?” She wasn’t actually looking for an answer so he waited for her to go on.
“Joseph, I love the man you are, and how you protect not only me, but our entire family. It’s the reason I fell in love with you, and it’s your most beautiful quality. You’ll try to fight me on this, but you’ll lose, so you might as well agree now. I forgive the man who attacked me. I’m not going to press charges. In fact, I’m going to try to get him a room at a place where I think he’ll get a chance to change his life.”
Joseph was speechless for several seconds. That rarely happened to him. When he spoke again, he found himself stammering, his normally booming voice very quiet and breathy. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “No. What? How? Katherine . . . no.” Joseph stopped. He couldn’t even form a sentence.
“We’ve always risen as a family. Always. We’re too good to hold a grudge, to seek revenge. This isn’t about you, and it’s not even about me. It’s about a broken society of forgotten people. Maybe if we help them instead of condemning them, we can truly make a difference in this world. What better way is there to tell the story of our lives, than to show a story of redemption?”
Joseph clamped his lips together. She’d told him not to argue, but he firmly disagreed with her on this matter. This man had attacked her, had put her in a coma. This man was irredeemable. How could she think anything different?
“You know I’ll always support you, but I think this is wrong,” he said after a minute. She looked disappointed with his words. He continued. “But whether you press charges or not, he’s confessed to attacking you, and so much more. You might not have a choice in his charges,” he told her. “I’m not saying that to be mean, I’m just letting you know that without law and order in this world it would be utter chaos. I do love your kind heart. I love the woman you are, and how forgiving you are. I also respect the law. I’ll stand by your side no matter what you do, but I won’t interfere or ask the cops to stand down. I believe thi
s man is dangerous. If he can be redeemed, then that makes me happy because I know it makes you happy. But if he’s a true danger, and the judge feels he needs some time behind bars, then I hope you can still feel peace.”
Katherine stood and took his drink from his hand, then sat in his lap, wrapping her arms around him. She laid her head against his chest where he was sure his thundering heart was loud and clear against her ear. He automatically cradled her close, finding himself calming with her right next to him. She had a way of doing that where no one and nothing else could.
“Joseph, it’s possible that tonight could be our last one together. Maybe next week is our last. Maybe next month. I hope not. I hope there are many years to come. But we should live each day as if it’s our last day together. We don’t want to spend these days full of hate. We want to spend them with love. I’m not going to stop what you have going with Chad. I think it’s bigger than one man attacking me, and I have faith that it’s for a good cause. But this man did attack me, and therefore it’s my choice what to do going forward. I want to see him. I want to look him in the eyes, and I want to tell him he’s forgiven — even if I don’t have a choice on the law side of things. I can forgive him, and I can offer help if or when he gets out of jail.”
