“Whenever the neighbors would call the police on him for us making too much noise, he’d tell me after they left how much he hated cops. I guess before meeting me, his desire was to be one, but somehow I messed that up for him.” Merce didn’t comment, but she could see her mind working. “He wasn’t always like he was. I mean, it wasn’t until he found out I was pregnant the first time that he seemed to have changed. Like he became so jealous of everything I did.”
“Men are like that. Women too, I guess. Men don’t hold the patent on being abusive. However, now that he’s gone, there are some things you need to be made aware of. Good things, I think.” Nodding, Judy watched as Merce pulled out her phone. “I had to write it down so I’d not fuck it up. You had an insurance policy on you and your husband from your employment with Del and David. That will be cashed in as soon as the autopsy is finished. It’s for five-hundred-thousand. Also, there was a rider on your house mortgage that says if either of you were to die, it would be paid off. The house is now yours free and clear.” She looked at her. “Del’s brother Peter has been working on things for you while you were resting. Your hospital bill is paid too. By Del. He said that since you had to work for him, you deserved a perk now and then. Let him do this. He and David both feel terrible that they never noticed you’d been hurt. All right?”
“Yes, all right.” She told her again that she’d be staying with Katie for a few days. “I don’t know her very well. Are you sure she doesn’t mind?”
“I have a feeling that if she minded, she’d let you know.” She put her phone away. “There is more, but I think that’s enough for now. Oh, you need to start taking some kind of vitamin for the kid. I don’t know a lot about that sort of thing, but Darrel, another brother of Del’s, has been in here a few times to see how you were doing. There is a warning stuck to the bottle that you need to take it with food. I guess it’s very nasty if you don’t.”
“I think you saved my life.” Merce said she’d only bullied her a little. “I know better. I would have kept going home to him and been beaten up. It’s the only place I could go. There isn’t a shelter around here. The ones in the other cities around here are full all the time.”
“That’s another topic I’d like to speak to you about. My grandda and dad need a project. They want you to help them get a shelter here so women and men can be safe when they need a place to hide out.” She said she didn’t know anything about helping them. “No, but you can help them in ways that only someone who has gone through this sort of thing can. Knowledge. Like on things they might need to put in. What sort of building do you think would help? They have it in their head that it would have to be a place no one would suspect of being a hidey-hole like a couple of condos that are close together. I think my dad has a couple of them. He’s retired now and left me the business.”
“That’s wonderful, right?” She said it was, but she was a little nervous about it. “I believe I would be as well. I just thought of something—you were to have a date with Del. Did I mess that up for you?”
“You didn’t mess up anything, my dear. We’ve been having food brought in here and getting to know one another over subs and pizza.” Merce laughed. “I’m really falling for the man, Judy. Like, I need him in my life more than I need to breathe.”
“I would imagine he feels the same about you. You two are perfect for each other.” The two of them talked for a little while longer. The pain was starting to make itself known to her, and Merce noticed it. “I don’t want to hurt my child, Merce. I’ve lost so many babies that I need to do everything in my power to make sure it makes it into this world.”
“I’m going to give Darrel a call and see what he says.” She did call him, and after putting him on speaker phone so Judy could hear him too, he told her that being in too much pain was far worse on the child than her taking a little bit of pain medication. “All right. I’ll take it, but I really need to think about this baby.”
“As do I, Judy. I want the best for the two of you. I understand what you’ve been through and how much this baby will mean to you. I swear to you, Judy, I’m thinking of you both every time I put something on your chart.” Nodding, emotional again, she thanked him. “No need for that. I’m glad I could help you out.”
When she got the medication, it didn’t take her under as it had before. Instead, it only took the pain down to a more manageable level for her. She was able to talk to Merce and even made plans about going shopping after she was able to get around. It felt good to have someone to talk to and not have to worry about how badly she was going to be hurt afterwards.
“You’ve never talked about Mark.” Judy told her she wasn’t sure what to say about him. “No, I can see that. He is still at the county morgue and will be released from there in a few days, I guess. We couldn’t find where he had any family other than you in his life. Is that right?”
“His mother died some time ago. That’s all I’ve ever—he has a sister. Her name is…let me think a moment. Heather. Heather Grey. I don’t think I would have named her that, but then I don’t know the family. She’s not been a part of our lives since we were married, so I don’t think I could even tell you where she lives. There might be some information in Mark’s phone. I never had one, so I couldn’t even tell you how it worked to find out.” She said the police had it. “Oh. I guess they would. You don’t think badly of me because I’m not concerned about his death, are you?”
“No. Not at all. I’ve learned that people have different ways of dealing with grief. You might not even feel that at all right now. But it might hit you some other time. I want you to know, all you have to do is call me and I’ll talk to you. Even in the middle of the night, Judy. I want to be there for you.” Emotional again, she squeezed her hand. “One more thing I want you to know is that when you are ready to go home, you don’t have to live in the house of horrors. The police went over the place and found blood, yours, all over it. We’re of the opinion that you should just let it be sold. Me? I’d burn the fucker with him on a spit in the middle of it. But then that’s me.”
“Are you always this outspoken? If so, I think I could learn a few things from you.” Again with the grinning, like she was very proud of her way of saying things. “I guess I’m sort of jealous of you being outspoken. I’ve never been able to do that. I might learn how now, but before, it wasn’t safe.”
“You’re safe now.” Merce stood up. “As much as I’d like to hang out here with you, I have a couple of things I have to do. It’s tough being in charge, but I love it. You call if you need me. I’ll bring food by later.”
After she was gone, Judy watched the television, something she’d not done in a very long time. Not that she thought she’d missed all that much, but she did enjoy it. When her lunch was brought to her, she had to make herself calm down so she could eat. The joy of eating, a simple thing for most, was almost too much for her.
Judy was used to eating her meal from the floor or the wall after Mark had thrown it there. Sometimes she’d find herself contemplating eating from a trash can or stealing from a grocery store. Even if it was a single candy bar, it would go a long way in keeping her from being so hungry all the time.
Crying a little at that thought, Judy vowed that her child would never know the meaning of hunger. It would never know what it was like to be slapped around so terribly that you would wish for death. And she had, on more than on one occasion. Lying there feeling sorry for herself, Judy made a few more promises to her unborn child. One of them was that she would love it forever, no matter what it did or how it turned out. Touching her belly, something she felt free to do now, she whispered to her son or daughter all the things she wanted for them. The way they were going to live.
It was then that she made a decision about the house. It was a house of horrors for her. She might not tear it down or even burn it down with Mark in it. But perhaps someday, she’d sell it to someone that could make i
t a happy place. Yes, that’s what she would do.
The next time she woke up, not understanding how she could be sleeping so much since she wasn’t doing anything, Mr. Lowery, Merce’s grandda, was sitting there with a pencil in one hand, the other holding what appeared to be a page out of a newspaper. He appeared to be talking to himself too.
“What is a three-letter word for spade? Well, if they’re not going to even try making it hard, why am I trying to solve it? Dig.” She told him what she thought it might be. “Hoe, huh? Well, that does fit with four across better. Thought I was going to have to shove some piece together like they do puzzles sometimes. How you feeling, honey?”
“Should I be trying to stay awake some?” He told her his missus would take a power nap, she called it, when she was expecting. “I guess this is a little longer than a power nap. What time is it, anyway?”
“Just after five.” She told him she’d been powering up for four hours. “I would imagine your body is plum wore out some. It’s taking advantage of you being laid up to catch up on some beauty sleep. Not that you need it. Nosirree bob. You’re as pretty as sunshine in the morning.”
“You really are a charmer, aren’t you? You and Merce must get along very well. The two of you are about as opposite as it gets.” He told her that Merce was just like her grandma. “That’s wonderful for you two then. I don’t remember my parents all that much. I was just a little girl when I had to go and live with my grandma. She was nice, but not the mother I needed.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your mom and dad?” She didn’t know. Not a single reason came to her. “No one told you why you had to go live with your grannie? That doesn’t seem all that right.”
“They were forever in trouble for one thing or another. I just never thought of looking into it. I always thought that whatever they’d done, it was because they weren’t the best of citizens. Much less parents. I’d be left for days on end when I was just a kid. But it was all right. I did learn a great deal about keeping myself out of trouble.” She took his hand when he offered it to her. “Grandma let me read her books so long as I was careful with them. And when she passed away, she…. Goodness, Mr. Harlin, I have a house around here that she left me. I never thought about it until just his minute. I could live there with my baby.”
“You sure could. And if it’s around here close, I could be his granddaddy too. Well, great-granddaddy. I might enjoy that a lot, I tell you.”
The two of them laughed and talked about what he was going to be teaching her unborn child. How he was going to be the best babysitter she’d ever found. When Merce showed up, she not only had enough food for the three of them, but Del showed up for food too.
“I don’t know when I’ve ever had such a wonderful meal.” They agreed with her, and she was surprised when there was a large cake to share as well. The rest of the Archer family showed up then, and she enjoyed that too. They were the best family to share a meal with, and know that you’d never have to worry about them having your back when you needed it. They’d be right there.
That night she was able to go to sleep without any drugs. Peter was going to look into getting her house opened up, and whatever had to be done to it. There was a trust with the house that would pay the taxes, as well as any upkeep it might need. It wasn’t much, she remembered, but it would be all hers without the taint of Mark around it.
Chapter 4
Brock was glad he was able to go and have a little coming to Jesus meeting with his sister. There had been too much shit going on, and now she’d made it so Harley was in the hospital. He was stressed to the point he thought he was having a heart attack. The doctor told him the way his lifestyle was. It was a small surprise he’d not had one before now.
Not that he thought either of them were in bad shape, but he’d been told he not only needed to lose some weight—fifty plus pounds, he’d been told—but he needed to stop eating so much in the way of fast food. Like he had time to fix himself a meal at the end of his day.
Obviously, his very wealthy doctor had all kinds of resources that would cater to his every whim. Gyms, surgery. Brock and his brother were working men, and they didn’t have time for cooking in the kitchen like other people.
He’d been trying for the last couple of days to get in touch with his father. The first couple of times, it had gone straight to voicemail. Not that he’d stoop to leaving a message. He was his son, after all, and figured his father would just simply answer. But then after that, it said that the number was no longer in service. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Calling the cell phone company had gotten him nowhere quickly. All they could tell him was that the number he had wasn’t working. Like he fucking didn’t already know that. Nor would they give him a working number, not even when Brock told them their customer’s son had suffered a major setback, and he needed to get in touch with him.
Going to his father’s home first, he pounded on the door for several minutes before the lady that had lived next to them for years opened her door. He was wondering why she wasn’t in a nursing home herself when she told him that no one lived there anymore.
“What do you mean, no one lives here anymore? This is my father’s home, and I know for a fact that he’d be living here still.” She told him he was wrong about that. His father had moved out several days ago. “That’s ridiculous. Where has he gone if he no longer is living here?”
“You’re the same little snot you used to be as a child. Even if I did know, I’d not tell you. If you were any kind of son to him, you’d know that now wouldn’t you?” She started back into her home when he whistled to get her attention. “I’m not a damned dog, you moron. I’m going into the house to avoid saying something to you that the good Lord would frown upon. Now get yourself out of here, and if you were smart, which you’ve never been, you’d just leave those men alone and let them get on with their lives.”
He stomped all the way to his car. Sitting in it with the air blowing over his face to cool his temper, all Brock could think about was how the world was going to hell, and he and his brother were going to be the only ones left with a nickel’s worth of sense. He decided to head to his father’s plant—if it was still in business. The thing had to be about defunct by now. All they did was pour driveways or some such thing. How many driveways could a city need? he wondered as he drove there.
Pissed off because he had had to park on the street because the lot was so full, he was rolling with a full head of steam when he realized two of the people that had worked for him were now sitting in a nice office with crap surrounding them. When his father finally passed on, he was going to make sure that shit was gone. Brock was stopped by a man he’d met before.
“Del Archer. You’re not going in there. Your sister is in a meeting.” Brock told him he wasn’t looking for his sister but his dad. “Oh well, I think he and his dad are going to garage sales today. Something I guess your grandda enjoys.”
“Why isn’t he at work where he should be? Why he is still working is beyond me. He should be in a retirement home someplace out of the way.” Del told him he was retired. “Not my grandfather, you moron, but my father. I asked you where he was, and I won’t do that again.”
“Well, that’s good to know since I already told you. He’s out looking at garage sales with your grandda.” Brock rolled his eyes in such a way that there wasn’t any way the man could not understand it was meant for him. “You really are a piece of shit, aren’t you? But as I said to you twice now, your sister is in a meeting, and you’re not going to interrupt her.”
“What the hell is she doing ‘in a meeting’?” He used his fingers to indicate to the man that he didn’t believe she was in a meeting than he did this man was related to Katherine Archer. “I’m sure you might not know this about my sister, but she’s nothing more than a slut.”
Brock didn’t have any idea how he
ended up in the emergency room, but there he was when he woke up. Not only was he there, but there was a police officer with him sitting there reading something on her phone. When he tried to sit up, his head felt like something exploded behind his eyes, and he quickly laid back down.
“Mr. Lowery?” Brock nodded but decided that was a terrible idea too. “I’m Officer Jacobson. I’m here to inform you that you are in the hospital and that there is a restraining order against you from Del Archer, as well as Merce Lowery. Do you understand what I’ve just—?”
“She can’t do that. I’m her guardian. Where is she anyway?” The police officer told him he wasn’t his sister’s anything and that she was still pressing charges. “You. Did. Not. Answer. My. Question. Is everyone fucking deaf today? Why am I in the hospital? You can at least answer me that, can’t you?”
“Sure. Del hit you in the face with his fist. Is there anything else I can do for you? I’m on overtime here waiting for you to—” He asked again where his sister was. “Now, how would I know? I’m an officer of the law. So far as I know, Miss Merce hasn’t broken any laws. She’s a nice person.”
“And you’re saying I’m not? Like I care what your opinion of me is. How can I get out of here? I have to talk to my dad and my sister. And I do too have her as my ward. My father has fucked up enough to make it, so my brother and I had to step in and take care that she was raised right. Fat lot of good that’s done us. She’s blown her chance for an education, as well as anything else she might have.” The officer laughed. “I suppose you don’t believe me? Not that I care, but I’ve seen her in action. She’s just a kid, and she’s stupid too.”
Delmar (Archer's Dynasty Book 1) Page 6
