It takes me a minute to calm my racing heart, to center myself, and to be able to look at the parole board.
“He will do this again,” I tell them in a calm voice. “Because that’s the type of man he is. He told me during my time with him that he’d tried it three times before and he’d never been lucky enough to get a girl. Just so happened, he was able to take me. He will without a doubt do this again. Please don’t give him a chance to. He’s sick, he’s perverted, and he’s a drain on society. We have enough of that out in the world without adding someone else.”
I have a seat and wait, my hand clasped in Tucker’s as I wait for what the board is going to say. It feels like an eternity until I hear the words I’ve been waiting for all day.
“Clarence Night, your parole is denied.”
I don’t make a sound. I just get up from my seat and walk to the door, but when I turn back, he’s looking at me and I get a feeling; this isn’t the last time I’ll see him.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Tucker
I watch Karsyn stand up to deliver her victim impact statement, proud as hell of her. I know how hard this was, could tell in the way she became quiet on me in the past few days. Withdrawing into herself is a coping mechanism and I allowed it, but after this I want her to be one thousand percent honest with me about what’s going through her head.
As her voice shakes, I reach over from where I sit beside her, rubbing my hand up and down her back. I don’t want to take anything away from what she’s doing, but I want her to know I’m here.
Anger is making it almost impossible for me to sit without making a sound, though, as she mentions things she’s never told me. Not that I ever expected her to tell me every bit of what happened to her while she was with him, but I’m angry. Angry enough I’d like five fucking minutes alone with this piece of shit.
She’s crying now, and it’s literally tearing me apart. I hate to hear that vulnerable lilt to her voice. It upsets me to know she’s upset. I have to keep reminding myself, this isn’t about me. This is about her and what she’s been through. This is Karsyn’s truth, and it doesn’t matter what I feel like I can take. She’s lived with it for longer than she’s known me, and the least I can do is be her strength when she needs it most.
My heart is pounding as I sit there, waiting to hear what the parole board will say. She’s sat back down, and I’ve put my arm around her shoulders, pulling her body into mine, taking her hand, silently telling her everything will be okay.
The words parole denied are my fucking favorite.
Together we stand, leaving the room, and that man behind.
When those doors close, I pull her up into my arms, holding her tightly. I can feel her tears against my flesh, and quite possibly there are tears slipping down my cheeks too.
“I love you,” I whisper to her, putting my hands on her cheeks. “You’re safe and I love you. Nothing is ever going to happen to you again.” I tilt her face so that I can kiss her.
It’s a small peck, nothing like what we normally have, but it’s enough to let her know how I’m feeling.
“I love you too,” she cries, holding tightly to me.
We stand there for seems like forever as emotions flow through both of us. Eventually, we start to get it together, and Shelby appears out of nowhere, offering me a tissue for Karsyn. I do something I’ve never done for her or any other woman. I clean her up.
Carefully, I sweep up the tears under her eyes, taking care to get the dark mascara that’s smudged. Then I get her cheeks and her jawline, fixing up her makeup as best I can. I don’t care how she looks, she’s beautiful any way I can get her, but I know she cares. More than anything I want her to be comfortable, want her to not have to worry.
When she’s done, she takes a heaving breath, before looking at me. “Can we go home?”
Those are the best words I’ve ever heard. I don’t even think I knew I needed to hear them. “Yeah.” I push her hair back from her face, hating to stop touching her. I’m afraid if I stop this will all disappear. “Yeah, we can go home.”
We leave, hand in hand, the way we came in, and as the prison gets smaller in my rearview mirror, I hope like hell I never have to see it again.
“Where are you going?” she asks as we pull into Laurel Springs. Typically to get to my house I’d turn left, to get to hers I’d turn right. I turned right, and she probably thinks I’m dropping her off.
I do the best I can to suppress my grin. “I have an errand to run.”
“Right now?” She looks around.
It’s well past time for me to be running errands. The sun having set an hour ago, but it’s all just part of the plan.
“Yeah, I mean you know I don’t have a normal schedule. Sometimes I have to do things when it’s convenient. Since I didn’t have to work today, I have extra time that I hadn’t counted on.”
She’s confused as hell, I can see it in the way she scrunches up her nose, causing a wrinkle in her forehead. I come to a stop at a stop sign.
“Don’t do that.” I reach over, smoothing out the wrinkle. “It’ll give you wrinkles.”
There she is. The spitfire I much prefer over the quiet, sullen woman riding back with me tonight.
“Seriously, Tuck? That’s a real shitty thing to say.”
She’s still laying into me as we pull onto Main Street, in front of where The Café sits.
“What’s going on here?” I interrupt her tirade.
Karsyn stops, taking in the amount of cars that are parked on the street. Typically our town would be rolling the carpet up at this time of night, instead of filling The Café to the brim.
“Tuuucckkkerrr? What is this?” She turns to me.
“I don’t know why you’re lookin’ at me. We’ve been together since yesterday.” I notice an empty spot has been left at the entrance. Parking there, I go over to open her door.
“Are you sure you don’t know what this is?” she asks, glancing inside, but the shades are drawn, so neither of us can see what we’re walking into.
“All I know is a lot of this town loves you, Syn, and you’re special to many people. Whatever this is, just let them do it.”
“Ha! I knew you knew something was going on.”
Grabbing her hand, I pull her behind me as we walk up to The Café door. “I’m starving,” I tell her.
“I just bet you are,” she laughs.
As soon as we step over then threshold, lights pop on and we hear a loud Congratulations!
Instead of watching the amount of people who have showed up, I watch Karsyn. Tears, this time ones of joy and happiness, pool in her eyes. She’s slapped her free hand over her mouth, and I can tell by the shaking of her shoulders she’s giggling.
“What is this?” she screams, looking at Kels and Stella.
Major barks from where he’s sitting with Ransom and Rambo. He makes a mad dash across the floor, almost tackling her with the excitement of seeing her, after us being gone all day.
Kels and Stella run across the room with him, each taking her up in their arms.
If I’m not mistaken, I see both of them wiping at tears under their eyes.
“We’re so happy for you,” Kels tells her. “And all of us,” she extends her arm around the room, “wanted to show you how happy we are that you chose us to be your home after everything that’s happened. This night is for you, my friend, please enjoy it.”
She’s crying again, but her friends take her up in their arms. I stand over to the side, shooting the shit with Nick while I watch her make the rounds. There are people I know, and ones I don’t. From what I was told, even patients who love her were invited.
There are two people she stops and talks to for a long time, an older couple, and I wonder if this is her parents. She and I, we never got to the point where we were going to meet each other’s families. At least not in our previous relationship.
“You gonna meet the parents tonight?” Nick asks, nudging me with his elbow.
“I didn’t even know they were invited.” I scrub at my chin with my hand. A nervous gesture I’ve picked up lately.
“I knew they were going to be invited.” He winks.
Throwing my head back, I cross my arms over my chest. “This? This is my fucking payback? You’re an asshole.”
“So are you,” he fires back at me. “I mean don’t act like you’re sitting there on a moral high horse. You interrupted what was supposed to be uninterrupted sex with me and my wife. This isn’t the last of your payback, my man. Not by a long shot.”
I groan deep in my throat, immediately feeling my palms get wet as I watch them walk over toward where we stand.
I have never met the parents before.
Not even once. In any relationship I’ve been in.
But as she gets closer and I look into her green eyes, I see how badly she wants me to meet them, how badly she wants this to work. I’d be lying if I said differently. More than anything, I want us to be happy with one another, to have the relationship we both deserved.
So when they get close enough that she can reach out and take my hand, I give it to her. There’s no hesitation on my part. I’m diving headfirst, completely fearless in what’s about to happen, because I’ve come to realize the only thing that can hold me back is fear.
I’ve let fear rule my life too long.
Happiness needs to be at the forefront now, and I know there’s one person who makes me happy above the rest of them.
Karsyn Fallaway, with the smile on her face and love in her eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Karsyn
Today must be the day for facing fears and coming out on the other side, because I’m doing something I never thought I’d do: I’m walking my parents over to where Tucker stands and I’m going to introduce them.
This reminds me of when we were first together. There was no way we would be in this situation. He wouldn’t have allowed it, and I’m not sure I would have subjected him to it, but now? After everything that’s happened today, I want him to meet them. I want them to know I’m in good hands, and what a great guy he is.
“Tucker.” I reach out, taking his hand in mine when I get close enough. “I’d like for you to meet my parents, Melinda and Pruitt Fallaway.”
My heart literally could burst out of my chest when I hear them exchange pleasantries.
“You’re a K-9 Officer?” my dad asks, his voice all tough and full of gravel in his throat.
“Yes, sir.” Tucker rocks back slightly on his feet. A habit I’ve noticed he does when he’s explaining his job. “I’m the K-9 trainer and also an officer with the Laurel Springs Police Department, and I’m also a member of the Laurel Springs Emergency Response Team.”
“We weren’t sure whether Karsyn would be a good fit for that.” Mom shows her worries, pushing her hair back from her face.
“Karsyn has done amazing with it. We’re actually having a bake sale and a car wash next week to raise money for a new K-9. She’s heading that up, even with everything that’s been going on.” He looks over at me. There’s no mistaking the pride in his eyes.
“You take on too much,” Dad reprimands like he always does.
Somehow he’s afraid if I overextend myself I’m going to have a relapse of some sort.
“I do not, but you’re welcome to come help us wash cars.” I give him a grin. “Tucker’s helping.”
“I’m sure he is.” Dad pats his stomach. “But let’s be honest. Most people will be there to see men like him, and not men like me.”
Those words turn out to be the ones that break the awkwardness between the four of us. That joke makes us all laugh, and later on as we have seats across from each other at a booth, I’m in awe this is my life.
“He seems really nice,” Mom says after Tucker and Dad get up to go get us food to eat.
“He is.” I smile as I watch him talking with my dad. I should have known he would be fine with him, with the profession he has he talks to people every day, but there’s something about watching the man I love talk to my dad. “He’s the best. I can’t believe everyone planned this without me knowing.”
“I have to say,” she chuckles. “It was scary when a Laurel Springs Police Department patrol car pulled up in our driveway, but Nick was super sweet to invite us.”
When she says Nick, I know exactly why they were invited. It was payback. I cough, trying to hide the laugh. “Nick is super sweet. He’s married to my co-worker Kels.”
“They have the baby, right?” She takes a sip of her drink.
“They have a baby and so do Stella and Ransom. Stella worked with me too, until she went full-time at the hospital,” I explain, relaxing against the booth. “Ransom’s family owns The Café.”
“Babies seem to be in the water.” She winks at me.
“They are,” I answer. “For the ladies with rings on their fingers and husbands.”
“Do you have something to tell me?”
“No.” I shake my head, looking back over at Tucker and Dad. “When I do have something to tell you, I’ll let you know. Right now we’re just trying to make it through life, ya know?”
She reaches over, grabbing my hand in hers. “I get that, Karsyn, but I do wish you had told me and your dad about what happened today. We would have loved to be there for you.”
It’s hard to explain to her what I’m feeling, but I do my best. “I didn’t want you to go back to those forty-eight hours,” I explain.
“But you would allow yourself to?”
“You and Dad had to uproot your entire life. You may not think I realize it, but I know how badly we struggled because the house wouldn’t sell, and we had to get one here. I heard the two of you talking about how bad it was sometimes, when you thought I was asleep. There was no reason for me to bring you back to that.”
She clears her throat. “Things were hard, Karsyn. Because that’s life. Something else could have possibly made us have to move. It might not have had anything to do with you. We never once blamed you.”
“I know.” I squeeze her hand. “And I thank you so much for that, I blamed myself enough. I know it wasn’t cheap to put me in counseling and to make sure we had an alarm system. I’m aware of all the sacrifices you made.”
“I’d make them again,” she assures me. “Any day of the week I’d make them again just to make sure you felt safe. For a long time we blamed ourselves. We shouldn’t have left you home.”
“I was thirteen,” I argue.
“But still a child. It was our job as parents to protect you and we felt like we failed so acutely. When the two of us finally got into counseling, after you talked about how much it helped you, we were able to learn all the parts of grieving. The loss of your innocence and ours too, really. Before that afternoon we assumed we lived in a safe place, we thought we could leave you there unattended.”
“I remember how long it took for me to feel safe to stay by myself again.”
“Years,” she sighs. “And we only went one street over,” she admits. “We were supposed to go to dinner and a movie. That’s what we’d planned and promised to do, but neither of us could stand to be that far away from you. Not after what happened. We went one street over and parked there until it was supposedly time for us to come home.”
I laugh loudly as I think about that night. “I sat in front of the door with a baseball bat in my hand. For those three hours, I silently dared anyone who was on the outside to come and get me. I was scared to death, like, shaking so badly.”
“I never would have known; when we got home you acted like it hadn’t been any big deal.”
Thinking back, I remember how much I’d wanted to be normal, how I’d wanted them not to worry about me anymore. How I’d wanted to not worry about myself. “It was hard.” I can admit that now. “But I wanted to be normal. I was done letting fear control my life.”
“Looks like you’ve done the same thing with Tucker.” She nods over to him.
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br /> “I have.” I grin. “Things are good with him, and I’m so glad you got to meet him.”
“Me too.”
Dad and Tucker come back over, carrying our plates. A little spot in my stomach warms as I look at what he’s gotten me. All my favorite foods, except for the small piece of cake he has on his plate.
“What the crap, Tuck? No cake for me?”
He taps my nose. “I know you better than you think I do. Had I brought you the cake now, you would have eaten it first. Neither one of us have eaten today, so you don’t need sugar, you need real food. Eat the real food and we’ll split the sugar.”
“Oh my God, you have been paying attention.”
“More often than you think I do, but you just keep thinking I’m not, babe. Maybe I’ll be able to surprise you a bit more.”
“Maybe you will,” I agree.
He leans over, whispering in my ear. “But maybe you should eat most of the cake. I gotta watch my figure for that car wash next week.”
I pinch his waist. “You are so full of it!”
His arm goes around my neck, pulling me into him, and as I sit in the booth, hip to hip with him, I can’t think of any other place I’d rather be.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tucker
“You’re lying,” I laugh so loudly I have to hold my side.
“Hand to God.” Ransom holds up the hand he’s talking about. “First fuckin’ time it’s ever happened.”
“You’re lucky, then.” I wipe at my eyes.
We’re in one of the meeting rooms the Laurel Springs PD uses, and we’re waiting for everyone else to get here. He’s telling me about the night he had with Stella.
Enigma Page 14
