Riven (44 page)

Brady slowed enough to let the bike lean, then rammed the throttle, making the back tire sink into the sod and dig its way out, throwing grass and dirt all over the house.

“Katie!” her father screamed. “What do you two think you’re doing?”

Brady motored to the end of the street as Mr. North marched up and down the porch, looking as if he wanted to explode, while at the same time apparently hoping against hope that none of his neighbors had seen this.

“Time to meet Daddy,” Katie said.

“I’m not going back there.”

“Oh yes you are. This is the payoff, darlin’. If I don’t get to see the full reaction, this has been a waste.”

Brady had been less scared dealing with the cops.

“Go, Brady. I’ll take the brunt of it.”

“I don’t like it,” he said.

“For me.”

“Here goes nothin’.”

Brady slowly cruised up the block and into the driveway, shutting down in front of one of the garage doors. Mr. North approached slowly, as if fearing Brady was armed. Brady couldn’t look at him.

“Hi, Daddy! Meet my new boyfriend. We were thinking of getting married tonight. Want to come?”

Brady looked up.

Mr. North, shaking, glared at his daughter. “You want me to call your parole officer, don’t you, Katie? You want to be back in that ankle bracelet. I could have you behind bars again inside ten minutes.”

“So you won’t give me away tonight?”

“Who’s this lowlife anyway? Whoever you are, I hope you know she’s just using you to push my buttons. You’re going to pay for my lawn and cleaning up my house.”

“Actually, you know him, Daddy. You met in another life. Remember Brady Darby?”

“Should I?”

“Think Conrad Birdie.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, you’ve come a long way from that failure. Didn’t Alex have to take the role because you bombed out or something? Nice to see you’ve grown up and made something of yourself.”

“Actually, sir, I need to tell you—”

“You need to tell me nothing. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave Katie here so I can drive her back to her car. And you’d better never so much as show your face here again, let alone that motorcycle.”

Brady turned to plead with Katie to help defend him, but she had a look he hadn’t seen before. It was plain she was loving every second of this. “Brady can take me back to my car. Now you’re sure you don’t want to come to the wedding?”

“You’re going to regret this, Katie.”

“Sir, I—”

“Don’t you talk to me. Don’t even look at me. I ever see or even hear you again in this neighborhood, I’m calling the cops.”

“Sorry,” Brady said, letting the Harley roll down into the street before starting it again.

As he rode off as quietly as possible, Brady felt Katie’s arms around him, her hands clasped over his stomach, her head pressed against his neck. “Hope you’re happy!” he called over his shoulder.

“It was everything I dreamed,” she said. But her enthusiasm was gone.

Brady stopped a couple of blocks from the dealership. “We’re going to have to get this thing cleaned up before we take it back,” he said.

“No way. I can’t wait to see the look on the guy’s face when he sees all that mud. He’ll be all cool about it, thinking I’m about to drop a bundle on one of these. Then I’ll just tell him I’ve changed my mind and might get back to him.”

“You’re not really going to do that.”

“Watch me.”

“I’d rather not.”

“What? You don’t want to be there? Don’t tell me you’re a wuss, Brady.”

“C’mon, nobody deserves that.”

“Fine, I’ll do it without you. Pick you up in a few minutes. Anyway, I owe you one, right?”

“Sorry?”

“I said I’d make you glad you did what I asked.”

“You did, didn’t you?”

“Be right back.”

She roared off, leaving Brady at the side of the road. He felt conspicuous.

What could he make of this woman? He thought he had a mean and bitter streak, but she beat all. What could have made her so spiteful toward her dad?

Whatever. Brady had only half an hour before he had to be back at Serenity, so whatever she was planning as his payoff was going to have to be quick.

Ten minutes later he spotted the Benz and stepped into the street. But as Katie passed, she flashed him a beautiful smile and gave him the finger.

Funny.
She’d be back. He knew it. He hoped. He wondered as she disappeared from sight.

C’mon.
No longer funny. If she wasn’t back soon, he’d have to hitch a ride. And what if he was late? That would spoil everything he’d accomplished.

But this was part of what he liked so much about Katie. You could never tell what she was going to do next. On the other hand, he didn’t want to be played. Wouldn’t be.

Brady hurried to a pay phone and called Bill, telling him Katie had car trouble and that he would hitchhike. “I didn’t want you or Jan to wonder or worry if I was a little late getting back.”

“You need me to come get you?”

“No thanks. I’ll call if I run into any snags.”

And just as he was hanging up, here she came.

“Hilarious,” he said, climbing in. “Better let me off a block away. I told Bill you had car trouble.”

“Brilliant. With a Benz.”

“It happens.”

“Hey, Brady, I gotta borrow that phone and charger till I see you next, all right?”

“Sure. It’s yours. What’s up?”

“A girlfriend and I are going on a little trip, and she doesn’t have a phone. It’s just a few days.”

“You still coming for group therapy Thursday?”

“Of course.”

She pulled up to the center right on time, and Bill looked confused as he opened the gate.

“Mercedes responded right away,” Brady said. “Took care of it just like that. I’ll be right back down. I got to give her something.”

Brady wrapped the phone and charger in a shirt and slipped past Bill. “She’s gonna have this cleaned for me at some special shop.” It was lame, but what was he supposed to say?

Brady had a bad feeling as he approached the car. What had this all been about anyway? Did he and Katie not have what he thought they had?

Bill was standing there holding the gate open and watching. Brady opened the passenger-side door and put the stuff on the seat.

“Come around to my side, sweetie,” she said.

He looked at Bill, then back at her. “What?”

“Come on. Just a taste of what’s to come.”

He moved to her window, and she reached for him. He bent, and she grabbed him around the neck with both arms, nearly pulling herself out of the car. She planted a deep, passionate kiss on him and smiled. “I don’t care who’s watching,” she said. “You ought to know that by now.”

50

Adamsville

As much as Thomas longed to see Grace at the end of every day, lately it seemed a weight settled on his shoulders and grew only heavier as he neared home. He had come to know well the six or so women who rotated tending to Grace, which one was her favorite, which she merely tolerated. Both he and she were deeply grateful for all of them, of course, and Thomas wondered how other people in their economic situation coped at all.

Today the caregiver informed Thomas that she had had to call the doctor late in the morning when Grace’s blood pressure dipped alarmingly. “He actually came to the house. And he said something about her blood sugar too.”

“When was this?” Thomas said.

“A little before noon.”

“Did you try to reach me?”

“I mentioned it, but Grace forbade me to interrupt you at work.”

Thomas sighed. He wanted to overrule his wife and set a policy with the caregivers that he was always to be informed of any change in her condition, but how would that look? There was no sense putting these volunteers in the middle of his frustration with his wife. Gracie was only thinking of him, but still he very much wanted to be informed of everything.

Later he said, “Grace, do I have to check in here by phone every few hours?”

“You need to trust me, Thomas. I know my own body and whether I’m really in trouble. The doctor has said for ages that our goal is to get me to at least a temporary state of remission. He thought we were making progress. The blood pressure thing was a setback, and he tested my sugar level just as an afterthought since he was here anyway.”

“Tell me you’re not diabetic or even prediabetic.”

“He doesn’t think so, but he’s asked me to test for a while so he can put me on oral meds if necessary.”

Thomas didn’t like the sound of that. Already it seemed he had to fight with his insurance company over anything new.

“Don’t look so glum. I feel better now. And don’t worry about the house call either. The doctor said it was gratis because he knew our insurance didn’t cover it.”

“Something free from a doctor? Will wonders never cease?”

“Oh, I think he does fine and would even if I were his only patient.”

Not wanting Ravinia to feel as left out of the loop as he did, Thomas called her and brought her up to date.

“How do you explain this, Dad? Why does something like this happen to someone like her?”

“We are not promised tomorrow.”

“I just don’t like it, that’s all. Well, let me talk to Mom when we’re done. Are we done?”

“In a minute. I wanted to thank you for recommending Dirk. He’s been amazing.”

“That’s no surprise. He’s gifted and thorough.”

“I’ll say. He misses you, Rav.”

“He said that? Unsolicited?”

“I didn’t put any words in his mouth. Have you asked his forgiveness, hon?”

“For?”

“Don’t be coy, Rav.”

She fell silent. Thomas waited her out.

“He needs to ask my forgiveness too, Dad.”

“That’s not going to happen unless you two make it happen.”

“I’m not ready.”

“You don’t miss him?”

“I don’t want to talk about this right now. Let me talk to Mom.”

Thomas busied himself preparing dinner and bringing it to Grace, catching snippets of her side of the conversation with Ravinia. As usual, Grace was assuring her daughter that she was not bitter, did not feel she deserved to be spared anything God allowed in her life, and she finally asked her daughter if she could sing to her.

“Just listen to this,” Grace said. “May I?”

Thomas could imagine Ravinia rolling her eyes, but she would not be so rude as to deny her mother’s request. And so Grace sang softly.

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide!

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, O abide with me!

I fear no foe, with You at hand to bless;

Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.

Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, your victory?

I triumph still, if You abide with me.

Serenity Halfway House

Brady found himself distracted, waiting for Thursday. He still went about all his activities and responsibilities with enthusiasm, but it seemed something was wrong with him.

He was on a group outing when he missed a call from his aunt Lois, and the message Jan had scribbled for him and left on the desk in his room read simply, “Says she and your uncle are praying.”

He knew he should call her, but he didn’t need all the church mumbo jumbo just then. Something was happening to him, something he couldn’t describe. Brady had pulled a lot of stunts in his thirty years, most much worse than tearing up a lawn with a motorcycle. Yet he couldn’t seem to get past this. Every time it crossed his mind, he felt worse.

Brady loved Katie and hoped he had impressed her and convinced her he would do anything for her. But whatever was between her and her father had nothing to do with him—at least until now. He’d been able to explain away every other crime he had ever committed, but this one made him feel like a juvenile—and he was hardly a kid anymore. It had been stupid, senseless. He felt he owed Mr. North for the damage, just as the man had said.

Brady also felt as if he wanted to come clean and tell the whole story to Bill. Oh, he wouldn’t. Couldn’t. He would lose every step he had gained and would get his beloved in trouble too. Maybe the best he could do would be to talk to her about it and see if she didn’t agree that he should somehow make it right.

Thursday couldn’t come soon enough. He had not heard from Katie for several days, not even on the house phone. She had said she was going on some sort of a trip, but couldn’t she have called and at least left a message?

Unable to clear his mind, Brady noodled a letter to Mr. North. He would ask Katie to deliver it personally. But even as he got into it, he couldn’t find it in himself to simply take responsibility for what he had done. He would not blame it on Katie, even though she had put him up to it. How would that look?

No, he would offer to pay, but he would have to creatively explain the incident.

Dear Mr. North,

I want to say I’m sorry for what happened to your lawn and to tell you to send me the bill for fixing it. I didn’t realize how loud the bike was going to be, and I sure didn’t plan to tear up your yard. That was an accident.

Please send me the bill and forgive me.

Your friend,

Brady Wayne Darby

Brady found sleep next to impossible Wednesday night. He hadn’t realized until he was out of daily contact with her that Katie had become a lifeline for him, a purpose, the reason for everything he was doing. He wanted to succeed for her.

In the morning he rushed through every activity, then found the clock crawling as he watched out the window for her car. She didn’t have to take the van anymore, unless her father had followed through on his threats. He certainly had enough on her to get her in real trouble.

Too much time on his hands made Brady shift from longing for Katie to dreading his own fate. What was he going to do if Mr. North reported him and everything came crashing down? Katie would have to agree that his letter and his offer to make amends to her father was the right thing to do, end of story.