Give Me a Reason (60 page)
Authors: Lyn Gardner
“Our partners were men. Yours is a woman, and that’s new and
different, and...
interesting
,” Dorothy said,
leaning closer.
“What’s interesting?” Toni asked as she came into the
kitchen.
“Nothing, sweetheart,” Laura said quickly. “Nothing at all.”
Dismissing Laura with a wave of her hand, Dorothy said, “We
were just asking Laura what it was like to be with you, and she won’t tell us.”
For a moment, Toni’s eyebrows knitted, but when she saw the
playful looks on the faces of Laura’s cousins, she held back her smile and
sauntered over to the table.
“Let me guess. You want to know the secrets of lesbian love,”
she said in the most provocative tone she could muster. Resting her hands on
Laura’s shoulders, she looked at the two very eager women sitting at the table,
and placing a soft kiss on the top of Laura’s head, Toni purred, “Darling, tell
them whatever you wish. I’m sure they’d be more than interested in knowing
about bathtubs and soap...and the like.”
Laura had neglected to use one word when describing her
cousins to Toni...and that word was tenacious. Watching as her partner
nonchalantly strolled back to the counter to refill her wine, Laura thought
about the implications of Toni’s statement, and her cheeks darkened to their
deepest. Refusing to look in her cousins’ direction, Laura kept her eyes on
Toni, hoping and praying that she would come to her rescue, but when Laura saw
the smirk Toni was wearing, she slouched in her chair. She was a goner.
After corking the bottle, Toni looked up, and it was all she
could do not to burst out laughing. Three slack-jawed faces were staring back
at her, one of which was now the darkest shade of red imaginable. Meandering
over to the table, she placed another light kiss on Laura’s head, winked at
Dorothy and Peggy and then left the room without saying a word.
Seconds later, Dorothy and Peggy turned to Laura and spoke as
one. “Bathtubs?”
Entering the lounge, Toni smiled at the life it held. Three
little boys were stretched out on the floor near the Christmas tree, playing
with their trains and toys as they chattered away. Bernard and Bill relaxed on
the sofa sipping their whisky while Neville slept between them, and Eleanor and
Nancy sat near the front windows, tittering at the children’s antics.
Near the fireplace stood Stephen, and watching as he tended
to the fire, Toni set her jaw, filled her lungs and strode across the room.
They had exchanged greetings an hour earlier when he had
arrived, so when Stephen turned around to find Toni standing behind him, he
grinned. “Hey there.”
Wincing at the sight of the bruises on his face, she asked,
“How you doing?”
“Me? I’m fine,” Stephen said, rubbing his bruised jaw. “This
will be gone in a few days and then all we’ll have left is the memory.”
“Well, I don’t remember much, but I do know you saved my
life. I’m...I’m not sure how I’ll ever be able to repay you for that, but...but
I want to thank you for doing it.”
“You’re welcome,” Stephen said, holding out his hand.
Toni paused for a moment as she stared at his outstretched
hand, and then raising her eyes, she said, “I’ve got problems.”
Smiling, Stephen shrugged. “Don’t we all.”
“A lot of them have to do with men.”
“Understandable. Some of us are pains in the arse.”
Grinning, Toni said, “You’re not.”
“I’m not so sure about that. After all, you really don’t know
me that well.”
“I think I know all I need to know.”
“Yeah?”
Toni’s eyes locked on Stephen’s, and taking a step closer,
she wrapped her arms around him. Kissing him lightly on the cheek, she
whispered, “I know I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for you. I know you risked
your own life to save mine, and I know...I know that the only reason you had
for doing what you did was because it’s who you are...and I thank God for
that.”
“Not switching sides, are you?” Peggy asked, waddling into
the lounge.
With a laugh, Toni released her hold on Stephen, and blinking
back her tears, she looked in Peggy’s direction. “Wouldn’t think of it.”
Peggy shuffled over, her face a wee bit rosier than it had
been earlier and her eyes sparkling with humor. “After what Laura just told me,
I don’t blame you.”
***
Gifts were exchanged and snacks were nibbled, and when the
snow began to fall again, children and adults alike, scrambled for their boots
and mittens.
Walking into the lounge, Nancy smiled at the disarray of
Christmas. Bows were scattered here and there, and bits of ribbon littered the floor.
Wads of wrapping paper having not yet met their demise in the hearth had been
crammed into boxes, and toys assembled by frazzled fathers, waited for their
owners to return.
“Here you go, sweetheart,” Nancy said, handing Peggy a cup of
tea. “Are the boys still outside?”
Amused that her mother had grouped the young and old under
one heading, Peggy chuckled. “Yes, but I’m not sure who was more excited about
building a snowman, Stephen, Bill or the kids.”
“Don’t forget about Bernard. He seemed to have a bit of pep
in his step also.”
“I think that had something to do with the fact that Myles
can’t run very fast in the snow.”
“Yes, you’re probably right,” Nancy said with laugh.
Breathing in deep the aroma of turkey wafting through the
house, Peggy said, “Dinner smells delicious.”
“Yes, it does,” Nancy said quietly.
“Do they need any help?”
“No, between Eleanor, Laura, Toni and Dorothy, they’ve got it
all under control. Trust me.”
Staring at her mother for a moment, Peggy leaned a little
closer. “You know you need to tell them.”
“Yes, but I don’t need to tell them today.”
“You were amazing yesterday,” Peggy said softly.
“Was I?”
“Yes. When they demanded to question everyone, and you picked
up the phone and called the Chief Constable, I thought I was going to die.”
“Gordon was your father’s best friend, and after being
married to a policeman for so many years, I know their procedures. I wasn’t
pressing charges against Ron for the damage to my home. All I was doing was
providing them with possible evidence, and until they get the test results and
find Ron, this is all speculative anyway. There was no need to bring anyone
else into this yet, and Gordon agreed. This isn’t about what Ron did to Toni.
It’s about what that bastard did to all those poor women. So, if the blood
evidence on the belt ties Ron to the victims, everything else is moot.”
“I hope so for Toni’s sake.”
“Me, too, sweetheart,” Nancy said with a nod. “Me, too.”
***
Late in the afternoon, they feasted on Christmas dinner, and
while there was barely elbow room around the table, no one seemed to care. Over
the years, Bill had spent many a Christmas dinner at his sister’s house,
watching as his brother-in-law or his nieces’ husbands had served the Christmas
turkey, so when Eleanor put the carving set in his hand, Bill couldn’t contain
his smile. Proudly, he placed thick slices on plates as Eleanor spooned on
piles of stuffing and passed around homemade cranberry relish. Glasses were
filled and refilled with wines of both red and white as laughter filled the
room, and the sounds of a family rejoicing in their new-found love for one
another grew loud as they spoke of Christmases long since gone.
After one quick glance at Eleanor, Bill stood up and tapped
his knife on a glass. “I’d like to propose a toast.”
The room went quiet, and while everyone reached for their
goblets, Bill sorted out his thoughts. Looking around the table, his eyes
stopped when they met Eleanor’s, and clearing his throat, he said, “I stand
amongst you a man enlightened. Never in my dreams had I allowed myself to
believe that I’d ever have my Eleanor’s love again, but I do…and I thank God
for it. She has forgiven me for my blunders, my youthful arrogance, and most of
all, for my stupidity.” Raising his glass, he said, “To the woman I love with
all my heart, my dearest, Eleanor.”
Taking a sip, he waited until everybody else did the same,
and then gazing at his daughter, he said, “To my Laura...” Stopping abruptly,
Bill hung his head as he tried to choke back his tears. “Okay, this one is going
to be a bit tougher, I think,” he murmured.
No one moved or said a word, but around the table, eyes grew
moist.
Taking a deep breath, Bill looked up and gazed at the woman
sitting at the other end of the table. “To my daughter, Laura,” he said, holding
up his glass. “It’s so hard for me to believe that I had anything to do with
you being in this world, because in my eyes, you are perfect...and I am most
assuredly not. You are more than any father could ever hope for, and I love you
with all my heart. I thank you for allowing me to become your father again, and
I promise to never give you a reason to regret it.”
Bill smiled softly as his daughter wiped away a tear, and
after taking a sip of wine, his eyes shifted to the woman flanked by Eleanor
and Laura.
“Now we come to you, lass,” he said, his voice betraying him
as it dropped into a shaky whisper. “As a man, I think myself strong, but I am
weak compared to you. And not to speak out of turn, but I’m sure we all wonder
how you survived...and I’m sure we all thank God it wasn’t us.
“At times, we complain about our lives, about our hard days
at work or at home, but we have no idea what
hard
is...do we? Well, at least we didn’t until we met you.
“You’ve given us all a reason to cherish those we love. You’ve
given us all a reason to complain a wee bit less about life’s troubles, and
you’ve given us all a reason to raise our glasses to you...and to thank God for
bringing you into our lives.”
Raising his glass, in a tear-filled breath, Bill said, “To
Toni…for giving us a reason.”
Six months later, standing near a boulder atop a hill
overlooking a field of heather, they were married.
One, in simple black trousers with a peasant shirt of white
waited nervously for her bride to arrive. Fidgeting with the sleeves of her
blouse, it wasn’t until Toni saw the steely glare of her best man that she
stilled and waited like all the others for Laura to appear.
He had been the man who had saved her life, and now he
protected in his hand bands of gold that would be exchanged in only a few
minutes. Giving Toni a quick wink, Stephen looked to the family and friends
seated in white folding chairs a few feet away. Locking eyes with his wife, he
mouthed the words “I love you” and then glanced at their infant son, Anthony,
cradled in her arms. The child began to whimper as if on cue, and Stephen
rolled his eyes, chuckling under his breath as he turned back to the woman
standing next to him. Seeing the look in Toni’s eyes, Stephen followed her
gaze, and he couldn’t stop himself from uttering, “Wow.”
Wearing a flowing white dress and holding a bouquet of roses
and thistle close to her bosom, arm-in-arm with her father, Laura slowly made
her way up the hill. In her shoe was a sixpence, put there by her father as was
the Scottish tradition, and over her shoulder was a sash of MacLeod tartan. She
kept her eyes on Toni, never once looking to make sure her footing was sound,
and without one stumble, Laura came to a stop a few feet away from the woman
she loved.
Bill gazed at his daughter for a moment before leaning over
to kiss her on the cheek. Breathing deep, he took Laura’s hand and placed it in
Toni’s. “I give to you my daughter’s hand, and she gives to you her heart.”
Taking the sash from Laura, he said, “These are our colors...our tartan, and
now, they are yours.”
Draping it over Toni’s shoulder, Bill placed a soft kiss on
her cheek, and taking a ragged breath, he stepped back.
They had agreed upon a simple service, and after the pastor
had spoken his words, it was time for them to speak their own. Smiling softly
at the nervousness she saw in Toni’s eyes, Laura gave her hand a squeeze,
silently asking permission to go against plan and speak first, and seeing Toni
nod, Laura took a ring from Stephen’s open hand and placed it on Toni’s finger.
“With this ring, I pledge to you my love…forever and always.
I promise to be your wife, your lover and your friend. I promise to be there
for you in sickness and in health, through steps forward and backward, through
nerves and nightmares, through insecurities and fears. I will never falter in
my love for you, for you complete me, Antoinette…and you are the reason I
breathe.”
Toni blinked back her tears as Laura slipped the ring on her
finger. She knew her knees were trembling badly, and even though she had
practiced a hundred times the words she wanted to say, when Toni looked into
Laura’s eyes, her mind went blank.
Toni took a deep breath and quickly followed it by another as
her heart began to race, but when she glanced at the wedding ring on her
finger, her anxieties disappeared. Even though most of the words still escaped
her, she smiled at Stephen, and when he opened his hand, Toni plucked the ring
from his palm. Slipping it on Laura’s finger, she said, “With this ring, I give
you my love, my heart and my soul…for as long as we both shall live. I promise
to be your wife, your lover, your friend, and the mother to your children no
matter how many you decide we should have.” Toni paused for a moment, and
offering Laura a weak grin, she said, “I had a lot of things I wanted to say
here today, but it seems that I’ve forgotten most of them.”
“That’s okay, sweet—”
“Darling...I’m not through,” Toni said softly.
Laura blushed hearing a titter roll through the guests like a
wave. Biting her lip, she silently apologized to her soon-to-be wife with a
roll of her eyes.
After giving Laura’s hand a reassuring squeeze, Toni said,
“No one really knows the reasons why things happen, but if I were asked to go
back and repeat my past, I would do it in a heartbeat because it led me here to
you. Like I said, I’ve forgotten most of what I wanted to say, but there’s one
thing I need you to know. A few months ago, I lay dead in the snow...and
you
are the reason I came back.”
Tears flowed freely from family and friends alike as the two
women kissed. Although protocol dictated that their first kiss be chaste, Laura
couldn’t resist taking it one step further. When they finally came up for air,
they were greeted by loud whistles and applause, and joining hands, they walked
toward their guests, both wearing smiles that bested the brilliance of the sun.
***
Running his finger down his face, he traced the scars again.
It was now a habit for they were a reminder of his one mistake. He had been so
careful, or so he thought, but a heavyset woman with a penchant for bright
colors and tabloid newspapers had been his undoing, and he was now paying the
price.
Preferring to draw the attention of their readers to economy
woes, politicians caught with their pants down and the latest celebrity to
overdose on drugs, most publishers had buried the articles about murdered
prostitutes in the bowels of their newspapers. Crimes against the dregs of
society, as far as they were concerned, were a waste of good ink...but the
editors of
The Weekly Sun
felt differently.
Built on sensationalism and gossip, their pages were filled
with out-of-focus photographs of celebrities at their worst, reports of aliens,
and articles about unsolved mysteries, both new and old. The murders of prostitutes
were still not worthy of headlines, but the gory details of the crimes had been
enough to warrant a column or two not far from the front page. With their
no-holds-barred approach and a plethora of anonymous tipsters, even though
photographs of the corpses were never released, their writers had managed with
mere words to keep more than one reader from falling asleep at night. From the
horrific conditions of the bodies, to the way the murder weapon had left three
almost identical marks across the skin of the victims, no detail, no matter how
horrid, had been left out. Quotes from experts stating that the victims
appeared to have been brutally raped before and after their demise had been
printed in bold and italics, and it was suggested to the women who worked the
streets in and around Glasgow that they dye their hair blonde…for he liked it
dark.
When the first body was found, swollen and misshapen in an
abandoned building, the police had labeled it a random killing. Four months
later, the skeletal remains of another woman were discovered in a deserted
warehouse, and the same conclusion was reached. Unnamed, unclaimed and
unidentifiable, both had been buried in pauper’s graves on the edge of town,
but when Jane Doe number three turned up, the police realized the killings were
not random...they were serial.
A small task force was formed to work the case, but all the
murders had taken place in sections of the city where people made it a habit of
looking the other way. With no witnesses or clues, other than the strange,
triple-track wounds on the victims’ bodies, after months of investigation the
police reached a dead end. But a few days before Christmas, in the wee hours of
the morning, a call came into the London Road police station in Glasgow from a
woman stating she knew the identity of the man
The
Weekly Sun
had labeled “The Red Light Slasher.”
Believing that the woman had consumed a bit too much
Christmas cheer, at first the police simply jotted down a few notes. Ever so
politely, they smiled into the phone and listened to her story, but when she
made mention of a belt, its buckle fashioned with three prongs on the
back...the police stopped smiling.
Undaunted by the weather, even though it took the two
Detective Inspectors nearly four hours to travel to Nancy Shaw’s home, it was
time well spent. Lying on the floor in her lounge was a weapon covered in the
blood of a man who more than once had left his DNA on a brutalized victim.
It took nearly two weeks to find him, but when they did, he
wasn’t what they had expected. Courteous and polite, Cameron went with them
willingly. He was smart enough to know the beast could not be seen, so keeping
it hidden behind compliance and a gentlemanly air, he moved through the months
of remand, trial and imprisonment with not so much as a harsh word entered into
his file.
It was the way it had to be. He was smart. Bide his time and
conduct himself properly and his sentence could be reduced, and so far time had
been on his side. There had been ten, but only four had been discovered before
the ravages of exposure and rodents had erased the scars of a buckle and the
semen of a monster.
Sentenced to life, all believed he would live out his days
behind stone and steel, listening to men bellow about their aches, their pains
and their victims, but he had other plans. Yes, he would spend years behind
bars, but that would give him the time he needed to control the beast...and to
think about her.
Black hair and eyes of cinnamon were not easily forgotten,
and if he had his way, he would see those eyes again.
The End
***
Thank you for reading
Give Me A
Reason.
As an Independent author, I have no publicity department to
depend on to spread the word about my books, so if you liked
Give Me A Reason
, I hope you can find a few minutes in
your busy day to return to where you purchased it and leave a comment or a
review. If you want to contact me personally, please drop me a line at
[email protected]
Lyn
If you’ve finished GMAR, then you know it’s not
exactly
a short story, so a tremendously large
“Thank You” goes out to those who spent their days, nights
and
weekends reading my words. Some may label them
editors and others may label them betas, but they are so much more than that.
They are my friends. So, to Susan, Marian, Mike, Joyce, Bron and Candice...I
simply could not have done this without you. You kept me true. You kept me
sane. You guys rock!
Ice begins when a boy is kidnapped from a London park and
Detective Inspectors Alex Blake and Maggie Campbell are brought together to work
on the case. While their goal is the same, their work ethics are not.
Intelligent, perceptive and at times disobedient, Alex Blake does what she
believes it takes to do her job. Maggie Campbell has a slightly different
approach. She believes that rule books were written for a reason.
Unexpectedly, their dynamics mesh, but when her feelings for
Alex become stronger than she wants to admit, Maggie provokes the worst in Alex
to ensure that they will never be partners again.
Three years later, fate brings them together again. Their
assignment is simple, but a plane crash gets in their way. Now, in the middle
of a blizzard, they have to try to survive...and fight the feelings that refuse
to die.
Four-year-old Diana Clarke sends her wish to Santa Claus, but
lost in the lining of a sack, it isn't discovered for thirty years. Now, Santa
has a problem. No child's wish has ever gone unanswered, but the child isn't a
child anymore.
Believing there is nothing in Santa's Village to satisfy the
little girl's wish now that she's an adult, he calls on a Higher Power and is
given a suggestion. Although most of Santa's workshops contain only toys for boys
and girls, there is one that holds a possible solution to his problem. Learning
that Diana will be attending three upcoming Christmas parties, Santa calls on
his lead elf to deliver three sprigs of mistletoe, hoping that under one, Diana
Clarke will find what she asked for thirty years before.