Brady held the small liquor bottles out to his son and waited for Sean’s explanation.
Laura held her breath, wishing she’d never gone to the toolshed that afternoon. When she and Brady had searched Sean’s room, they’d found…nothing. And they’d done a thorough search. She could tell Brady had been just as relieved as she’d been that they’d come up empty.
While Brady had driven Kat to Sandra’s, Laura had mulled over the best way to deal with this with Sean. She’d finally realized there was no best way. They simply had to confront him.
Sean had come home from Boyd’s with a grin on his face, his shirt damp over his swim trunks. Apparently Boyd’s parents had readied the pool for Memorial Day weekend.
But now Sean glanced from his father to his mother, his grin nowhere in evidence. “Yeah, they’re mine,” he said calmly.
To Laura’s surprise, his voice was noncombative.
Sean went on. “They’re nothing for you to get ripped up about. They’ve been in there since Christmas. One of the older guys got a bunch of them and handed them out. I knew if you saw them in my room you’d go berserk, so I stowed them out there. You can see they’re not even open.”
The seals were intact and Laura began to breathe a little easier.
But Brady was still wary. “How many of them were there to begin with?”
Sean hesitated only a moment. “That was it.”
“If you weren’t going to drink them, why didn’t you just toss them?” Brady kept his tone conversational.
It was obvious that he was trying hard not to put Sean on the defensive. But of course the boy was defensive just by the nature of the conversation.
With one of those teenage shrugs that frustrate parents, Sean admitted, “I thought I’d take them along to college. You know. Thought I’d be cool.”
Brady set the bottles on the counter, his expression worried. “Cool has nothing to do with drinking.”
“Yeah, I know that.”
“No, apparently you don’t.”
“They’re no big deal,” Sean repeated, getting a little heated now. “Certainly not as big a deal as me going to the school I want to go to. Did you look at that brochure I gave you?”
“Your mom and I both read it, but I want to check into the school’s accreditation before you even consider it.”
“You’re always—” Sean clamped his lips together. “Never mind.” He pointed to the liquor bottles. “So can I go to Gary’s cabin tonight, or are you going to ground me for something I picked up six months ago, stowed away and forgot I had?”
If he hadn’t added the “forgot I had,” Laura almost could have bought it. Still, she and Brady had no proof Sean was drinking. With Kat not confiding in them, either, they couldn’t condemn him without any evidence.
Brady must have come to the same conclusion. “Are you sure Gary’s father’s going to be there?”
“He said he would.”
“How many kids will be staying over?”
“Four…six. Not many. We’re going fishing tomorrow morning, so I’ll be back around noon.”
“All right,” Brady said finally, giving his permission.
Laura could see there were probably a thousand other things he wanted to say to Sean, too. But if he did, he’d be preaching. If he did, Sean would get defiant. If he did, they could lose their son before he left for school, no matter which college he chose.
“I just have to throw some gear in my duffel, then I’m out of here.” After a last glance at the bottles on the counter, he loped toward the stairs.
When Sean was out of earshot, Laura asked, “What do you think?”
Creases furrowed Brady’s brow. “I don’t know what to think. It’s possible these have been in the shed since Christmas. It’s also possible there were more to begin with and this is all that’s left.”
“I just feel bad that we don’t automatically believe him,” Laura said.
“Last summer Sean gave us reason to worry. I can always call Gary Laslow’s father tomorrow and ask him what went on.”
“Sean would hate that if he found out.”
“And probably hate me. But we have to figure out if he’s telling the truth.”
Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs as Sean jogged down with his duffel. He called from the living room, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have fun. Drive safe,” Laura called back.
The front door closing carried to the kitchen. When Laura’s gaze met Brady’s, he ruefully shook his head. “This doesn’t get any easier.”
He approached her then, and there was something different about the look in his eyes and the way he was studying her. Sex appeal had always emanated from Brady, had always drawn her to him, had always wrapped itself around him when they were together. It had been absent since his heart attack, as if he’d shut it down. But now it was there again and her stomach fluttered with excitement. He was standing close to her, very close.
While the late-spring breeze brought the scent of roses through the kitchen window, she examined her husband’s face, hoping to catch a glimpse of what he was thinking. She never expected the question that he asked.
“Did you and Dr. Gregano plan to meet at the bagel shop?”
“No! Of course not. Why would you think such a thing?”
After a long pause, he replied, “Because you’ve had a lot to deal with and might have wanted to escape…us. Because maybe you needed a man to give you attention I haven’t. And I said some things I shouldn’t have. I’ve been feeling raw and exposed and…powerless. After I got out of the service, I didn’t want to feel powerless again. I’ve worked damn hard to control my life. Suddenly I was in the hospital with no control. That wasn’t an easy place for me to be in.”
Apparently Brady hadn’t been immune to her feelings. Apparently he’d missed the loss of intimacy between them, too. “I know.”
After debating with herself for a moment, she went on. “You’ve got to tell me the truth about something, Brady. You said my forgiveness was a burden. Have you resented me all these years? Have you wanted to be with me? Or was our marriage just like a lane in traffic you found yourself in and couldn’t escape from?”
He stepped even closer. “Before I left for the army, I felt we were equals. When I came back, I never believed I was worthy of your love. I’ve always thought you got cheated because you fell in love with one man and ended up with another.”
A deep womanly pulse inside her began fluttering and then racing with hope and the possibility of closeness with her husband again. “When I met you, you were a good man. When you came back from Vietnam, you were still a good man. Yes, you were different—more withdrawn, less open. Your joy and hope had left you. But it came back. On our wedding day, I was the happiest woman alive.”
“And now?” His voice was husky.
“We’ve had a lot of bumps in the road and we’ve managed to ride over them together. But this time, after your heart attack, we weren’t working through the problems together. Since your surgery, you’ve closed me out. You wouldn’t even touch me…” Her voice broke and she saw the turmoil in his eyes because he’d caused her this pain.
His arms came around her. “Let me tell you a secret, Laura Martinelli Malone. You have always radically turned me on. That didn’t change after my heart attack.”
“Brady—”
“I do not blame you for it. Or for my nightmares. I just hated having them again…putting you through this…being afraid I’d hurt you. On top of that, I also knew I had to shut down my libido. I was afraid to let my heart race. I couldn’t even climb the stairs without getting short of breath, let alone think about making love to you. Can you imagine how absolutely frustrating that was?”
She pushed away from him and tilted her head up. “I didn’t care about the sex. I just wanted to touch you and have you touch me.”
He stroked her hair. “I couldn’t. Not without wanting a hell of a lot more. And every time I was near you, I was afraid of my body’s reaction.”
Brady was a proud man. He never did anything halfway.
“I saw you and Gregano together today.” His voice was tight. The nerve in his jaw worked. “I saw he was interested in you. I knew other men would be interested in you. You’re a vital, beautiful woman. I realized if I didn’t do something to bridge this gap growing between us, I could lose you. Tonight the planets must be lined up just right. I’m here, you’re here, the kids aren’t here. I think we need to get to know each other all over again and start a new phase in our lives.”
“What phase is that?” she asked a little shakily, concerned having sex wasn’t the fix-all he wanted it to be, yet hopeful because she felt the same way right now she’d felt when she’d first met Brady—excited, happy, desired.
“A phase where the two of us aren’t too busy to have dinner, aren’t too busy to sit and talk, aren’t too busy to take a few days and go away together. Maybe your idea about a second honeymoon is just what we need.”
Sliding his hands under her hair, he rubbed his thumbs along her neck. Then he bent his head to hers and kissed her.
Brady didn’t waste time on a relaxed meander into passion. He dived right into it. His tongue boldly pushed into her mouth and she gasped from the pleasure of kissing him like this again. It had been too long since she’d wanted to feel his possession. He was obviously a man on a mission and that mission was to make her desire him…the mission was to make her remember what heated desire between them felt like. His mission was to take her back to a time and a place when everything was new and exciting and open to possibilities.
But then she remembered his heart attack and she became afraid for him.
Apparently sensing the change, he ended the kiss and pulled away from her. “What?”
“Are you ready for this? I mean—”
“I did two flights of stairs yesterday and didn’t get short of breath. So I passed the test. I’m ready to take the chance that my body’s healed enough. Are you?”
“You have to ask?” Her voice was wobbly, and then she was filled with so much anticipation and happiness she didn’t know how to express it. “What do you want to do first?”
“You mean besides kiss you again?”
She felt heat rushing through her at the prospect of making love with him once more.
He grinned at her. “I love it when your cheeks get red. Why don’t we go someplace for dinner—someplace quiet. Then we can come back, just take things slow and see where they go.”
She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his chest, feeling almost young again, loved again, special again. If only tonight would last forever.
Maybe it would.
From the dock, Sean glanced up at the floodlight above him as it went on in the enveloping dusk. On the hill, music blared from the cabin’s porch. There weren’t any neighbors for at least a mile in all directions. Located north of York, the cabin sat wedged between pines and oaks that were scattered all over the property. With gray light turning denser, Gary’s father was nowhere in sight.
Sitting on the rough boards near a pizza box, Sean picked up another slice. Two coolers with beer and ice Gary had provided sat haphazardly near the small dock. Tim and Boyd had arrived with three pizzas, hot wings and liters of Coke about an hour earlier. The six of them had devoured most of the pizza. James and Kent had taken one of the three canoes out onto the half-mile-long lake. The floodlight over the dock as well as the full moon illuminated their progress as they dipped their oars in and out, skimming the surface of the water.
Sean had swallowed swigs of a beer as he’d eaten pizza and wings, but he hadn’t gone near the fifths of whiskey James had contributed to the party. Although Sean was trying his best to concentrate on the conversation Boyd and Tim were having about the players on the Orioles team this year, his mind skittered all over the place. Mostly he was thinking about Valerie Johanssen and her long blond hair, her green eyes and fantastic smile. She was so…real. After his party, out on the patio, he’d found the courage to kiss her. When he had, the most ridiculous feeling had come over him that no matter what happened, everything was going to be all right. Because of a girl with silky hair and a smile that made his insides melt?
He didn’t know where they were going on their date tomorrow night. He’d much rather think about that than the scene with his parents in the kitchen. Daydreaming about Valerie was much more pleasant than admitting to himself that he’d lied again to his dad.
Hell, what was he supposed to say to him? Yeah, I drank the other ten of those bottles I had. Booze makes me feel better when nothing else can?
Wondering why Gary, who’d gone to the cabin to fetch a bag of chips, hadn’t returned, Sean pushed himself to his feet and hiked up the incline to the screened-in porch. The door slapped against the frame as he went inside—and stopped short. The smell told Sean that Gary was smoking, but not a cigarette…a joint. His friend was lounging on the indoor-outdoor carpet next to one of the speakers.
Sean lowered the volume on the CD player and crouched next to Gary. “What are you doing in here by yourself? The party’s out there.”
“I wasn’t having any fun. We need girls to have fun.” His friend’s words were slurred. Sean had noticed Gary drink at least three beers since he’d arrived, and he was sure his friend had started before that. Along with the pot, he soon wouldn’t remember his own name.
“Your dad said no girls allowed.”
“You don’t see him anywhere, do you? He called, said he got tied up, might be midnight till he gets here.”
“He’s in a meeting on a Friday night?” Gary’s dad was a lawyer and Sean supposed it was possible.
“He’s not in any meeting. He’s with his girlfriend.”
Sean was surprised by that news. As far as he knew, Gary’s parents hadn’t separated or anything. “What do you mean, he’s with his girlfriend?”
“He thinks I don’t know anything about it. I heard him talking to her on his cell phone one night. Mom was upstairs, so he wasn’t talking to her. Her name is Sheila something-or-other. She’s a paralegal in his office.”
“You can’t be sure.”
“Yeah, I can. He was laughing, talking about meeting her at a motel. I’m not stupid.” With a huge sigh, Gary levered himself to his feet. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. Let’s have some fun. If he’s not going to be here, we might as well get hammered.” He sucked another puff on the joint and offered it to Sean. “Want a drag?”
“Nah. I have a big date tomorrow night. I don’t want that stuff to affect anything that does or doesn’t happen.” He’d heard guys couldn’t get it up after they’d smoked weed. He wasn’t taking any chances. He doubted if Valerie was the kind of girl who dropped her clothes easily, but who knew. Whatever happened, he didn’t intend to dull any pleasure he might feel either by having the remnants of a hangover or anything else floating through him.
Gary gave him a lopsided grin. “It took you long enough to find a girl to your liking. Valerie is hot. I’m surprised she’s not attached.”
The screen door slapped behind them as they left the porch. Sean couldn’t wait to find out more about Valerie. He just hoped she’d give him a chance.
The night was filled with the sound of a local band’s demo CD, as Sean and Gary meandered toward the dock. Even in the encroaching darkness, Sean could sense Gary wasn’t steady on his feet.
The sound of a car coming down the lane stopped Sean. “I guess your dad got here earlier than he expected.”
“Nope. I called Paula Langston. I’m hoping she brought a couple of friends. This party’s about to get better.”
Sean wasn’t so sure. He’d been to parties with Paula and her friends.
What was wrong with him tonight that he couldn’t have a little fun? Or even a lot of fun? Was it the whole college thing? The confrontation with his parents? Jitteriness about his date with Valerie tomorrow night?
All of the above.
An hour later, Sean was back on the porch, sifting through the CDs and ignoring Kent and Nina Thompson, who were swapping saliva on a love seat in the corner. Not long after the girls had arrived, there had been a pairing off. That was always the way it was. He hadn’t been interested in pairing off with one of them. He and Valerie had talked about stuff that mattered—college, for one thing—and he couldn’t wait until he saw her again.
Boyd’s voice sailed through the screen door. “Sean! Come out here and talk sense into Gary, will you?”
Gary was beyond hearing sense. He was both stoned and drunk.
Leaving the stack of CDs, he pushed open the screen door and stood on the top step. “I’m surprised Gary’s still on his feet.”
Boyd motioned for him to follow. “That’s the problem. He’s in a canoe and he’s fooling around.”
James and Paula were sitting on the hood of her car, looking as if they were having a heart-to-heart. Sean and Boyd jogged past them, down to the lake. “Where are Tim and Jeanetta?”
“Got me. They’re probably in one of the bedrooms. Just look at that idiot.” Boyd pointed to Gary.
Under the circle of the floodlight dappling the lake water, Sean could make out the canoe about twenty yards out. Gary stood in it, dancing to the beat of the CD that echoed across the water. He was backlit by moonlight, and the canoe was tipping from side to side.
“Gary!” Sean called. “Sit down and bring the canoe back in.”
“Nah,” Gary yelled back. “I’m having too much fun.”
“How long has he been out there?” Sean asked Boyd.
“About fifteen minutes. He just paddled in circles for a while. But when that CD played, he stood up.”
“Gary,” Sean called again. But before he could repeat the command to bring the canoe in, the boat wobbled. Gary lost his balance. Sean watched in horror as the canoe capsized and Gary sailed into the water.
After a stunned moment, Sean kicked off his shoes and took a running leap off the dock. The water was cold, though that barely registered. He saw Gary splash a few times and suck in air, but then his friend disappeared under the surface. He heard Boyd shout he was calling 911.
The floodlight reflected off the surface of the black water. The moonlight trickled under it. Sean dived, estimating how fast Gary might sink. Adrenaline shot through him. He couldn’t see anything in the murkiness. He didn’t know how long he searched until he either sensed or spotted movement…something. His hand closed on material—Gary’s shirt?
Kicking wildly, he propelled them to the surface.
Sean’s arms and legs felt numb. He remembered the rescue hold he’d learned in the summer safety class he’d taken last year but actually executing it was much harder than he ever imagined it would be. After he maneuvered Gary into the long grass on the shore, Boyd and James and Kent were there, all of them looking panicked.
Quickly Sean hefted Gary over and felt for a pulse. There wasn’t one.
Boyd knelt beside their friend. “I can do chest compressions.”
Gary wasn’t breathing and Sean remembered his mother working on his dad. He began giving Gary mouth-to-mouth. Boyd did his part.
Over and over again, Sean puffed two times, mindful of Gary’s chest rising and falling. Then he waited for Boyd, gave Gary his breath again, feeling light-headed, hearing buzzing in his ears. But he kept on, knowing he had to.
When Gary didn’t start breathing, panic clamped a hold on Sean’s chest. His eyes blurred. Tears ran down his cheeks as he heard the wail of a siren.
He was terrified help was too late.
The house was dark when Laura and Brady returned home from dinner. The giddy feeling in Laura’s stomach had remained all evening. She almost felt as if she were on her first date with Brady. It was a wonderful feeling.
He unlocked the door and disengaged the security alarm. Then he gazed down at her with the crooked grin that had first curled her toes. “We could watch a movie…or we could go upstairs.”
Was he as eager as she was to just hop into bed? To feel skin against skin, lips against lips and bodies against bodies?
“Let’s go upstairs.”
Depending on how this went, maybe they’d lie there all night, talking, holding, sharing. She told herself not to anticipate too much, but she was so hopeful, she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.
Brady made certain the green light was glowing on the security panel once again, then he took her hand and led her to the stairs.
In their bedroom, they glanced at each other like two newlyweds, uncertain of the protocol. Brady undid his tie and tugged it off. “I missed the chocolate cheesecake.”
It was a habit of theirs to share a piece of chocolate cheesecake for dessert. That night, they’d both had fresh fruit. Sensing Brady wasn’t just making idle conversation, she waited.
After he shrugged out of his suit jacket and hung it around the wooden valet, he crossed to her. “I don’t know how this is going to go.”
“Do you want to wait?”
Taking her face between his palms, he shook his head. “No. The first time is going to be an experiment no matter when we do it. I just don’t want you to be disappointed.”
“I won’t be,” she whispered.
With a smile and a tender look, he stroked her hair, then he wound her in an embrace and pulled her close to his chest. There was comfort and familiarity in being held in Brady’s arms, yet a newness, too, and excitement and a yearning to be so much more than they’d ever been to each other.
When his lips covered hers, they were hungry, devouring, arousing. His tongue played with hers…explored…promised. The kiss seemed endless, and she wanted to drown in it…drown in him.
Reaching up, she wound her arms around his neck. “Make love to me, Brady Malone.”
As he undressed her and she undressed him, they were eager to be rid of their clothes, but neither of them hurried. After Brady lifted her dress over her head, he placed slow tantalizing kisses along her temple. After she unbuttoned his shirt, she slid her hands across his broad shoulders, reveled in his male scent, then kissed his chest and his scar, running her hand down to his navel. His blue eyes darkened as he settled his hands on her waist, lowered his head and teased the nipple of one breast with his tongue. She gasped from the pleasure of it, and she realized exactly what they were doing—they were enjoying the journey. The main event might or might not happen, but getting there was going to be as pleasurable as both of them could make it.
“A chair might be the best place to do this,” he growled into her neck.
The workshop they’d attended advised not putting pressure on his chest.
He took her hand and lifted it to his lips. His gaze found hers as he kissed down her index finger to the hollow at her thumb. As his tongue erotically tasted her, her knees felt weak.
“Come on,” he suggested roughly and led her to the armless, high-backed, velvet-covered chair at her vanity. After he sat, he drew her to him.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“Positive,” he murmured as his hands played over her buttocks and she climbed onto his lap.
When she slid forward, his forehead tilted against hers. “I feel like I’ve waited forever for this.”
“You’ll tell me if…?”
“I’ll tell you.” His gaze raked over her. “You’re as beautiful as you were the first night I made love to you.”
Brady had never fed her a line and she believed he meant the compliment. She melted around him as she slid onto him.
Their arms went around each other and they kissed in that coming-home way lovers greet each other after a separation. Brady possessively devoured her mouth and she fervently responded, kissing him back just as fiercely, stroking her hands everywhere she could reach, wanting to be as close as she possibly could be. Her heart beat rapidly as desire built.
She couldn’t help but wonder and worry about what Brady was feeling. Was he okay? Was his heart ready for this?
Breaking away, he gazed into her eyes. They were both breathing hard. She saw a wildness in his expression, maybe a recklessness. It was as if he was facing his mortality again but had decided making love with her was worth whatever happened. That scared her and thrilled her, until there was such love expanding in her heart she knew she’d never be able to express it all.
She took him in deeper, rocking with him. He didn’t move inside her right away. As their gazes held, Laura felt the union between them that she hadn’t experienced in years. When Brady began pushing in farther, she rocked with him, climaxing first into exhilarating and bone-melting ecstasy. As Brady groaned his release, she felt his heart pounding against her breast. She prayed it was whole and healthy and would last at least another thirty years.
He shuddered and she held on, wanting the moment never to end.
He was so still afterward that she began to worry. But then he passed his hand down her back and kissed her cheek.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “Just a little breathless, but that’s probably normal.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he buried his face in her hair. After a few moments, he leaned away slightly, his jaw tensed and he said, “It took a heart attack and seeing another man’s interest in you to make me realize what I could lose. I told you there wasn’t a bright light when I had the heart attack, but over the past weeks, I had this gut knowledge that I hadn’t been grateful enough for what I’d been given. I just didn’t know what to do about it.”
“Do you know now?”
“No, but I’m going to figure it out. Selling my business might be one way to do that.”
“You spent years putting all your energy into your designs, growing your company.”
“I can still design. Maybe I’ll consult.”
When the phone rang, it startled them both.
“We can let the machine get it, but it might be one of the kids,” Brady murmured.
Laura nodded. “Maybe Kat and Sandra had another tiff and she wants to come home.”
After Laura slid off Brady, he went to the nightstand to answer the phone.
Laura headed for the bathroom, but when she glanced at Brady, she noticed his face had gone pale. His lips were a tight line. She stood immobile, watching him.
Finally he said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Take a couple of deep breaths and just try to hold it together. Tell them the truth if they interview you before I get there.”
With a stricken expression, he set the cordless phone on its base. “It’s Sean.”
“Is he hurt?”
“No, not physically. But he’s at the police station. Something happened at Gary’s cabin and Gary…drowned. The kids were taken in for questioning. Legally, since Sean’s eighteen, I don’t have a right to be there, but the investigating officer said if he wanted to call a parent, one of us could sit in.”
Laura’s body went cold. Her head swam. Gary…fun-loving Gary…dead. Dead.
Sean needed them. He shouldn’t be there alone. She started for the bathroom. “I have to get dressed.”
“No. You’re not coming with me.”
The vehemence in her husband’s voice immobilized her. “Brady…”
“No, Laura. It will be easier for Sean if he has only one of us to deal with. Just grab some clothes for him while I get dressed. He went into the lake after Gary capsized the canoe and—”
Brady stopped abruptly, went to Laura and wrapped his arms around her. After a few moments, he released her, hurried to the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans. But he didn’t say anymore.
She wanted him to tell her everything would be all right, but he couldn’t. As she ran to Sean’s room, her throat tightened against emotion. She prayed they’d all have the strength to deal with whatever happened next.
Laura sat at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of tea, waiting for Brady and Sean to walk through the door from the garage.
When they did so at 3:00 a.m., they both looked wrung out. Her husband was pale, with dark circles under his eyes. His face was almost gaunt. Worry lines etched the skin around his brows and mouth. Sean’s hair was disheveled, his face was starkly pale, his eyes too bright, too dark, too desolate.
She stood, went to her son and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so sorry, Sean. I know Gary was a good friend and he meant a lot to you.”
Sean was stiff in her arms, unyielding, almost rigid. He was still holding his duffel and he didn’t even drop it to the floor. He just stood there, clutching it.
She didn’t want to let go of him. She wanted to somehow absorb his pain and erase tonight from his life history.
Although she didn’t know the full story yet, from his face she saw he was changed, that he’d never see life the same way again. When she gazed up at him, she had a feeling he was still in shock and was in too much pain to let tears come.
“I can’t talk about it now, Mom. I just can’t.” His voice was low and hoarse and hardly his.
Brady said, “I’ll fill your mother in. Go on upstairs and try to get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”
Sean shook his head. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
Laura was aching to understand exactly what had happened so she could comfort her son in some way, but she didn’t want to ask questions he didn’t want to answer. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
Numbly Sean met her eyes and shook his head. Without another word, he left her with Brady in the kitchen and went upstairs.
“Let’s go into the living room,” Brady said to her.
A few minutes later, on the sofa beside Brady, she watched him prop his elbows on his knees, drop his head into his hands, rub his face, then sit up straight. “What I wouldn’t give for a cup of coffee laced with caffeine.”
“I can make a pot of decaf,” she offered.
He caught her wrist when she would have gotten up. “No. Just let me tell you what happened and then maybe we can get some sleep before we have to make decisions in the morning.”
“What kind of decisions?”
“Whether we should hire a lawyer for Sean.”
Panic gripped her. “A lawyer? Why?”
“He cooperated tonight. He told the detective everything that happened at least four times. I was there for three of them. But there will be an investigation.”
“Into Gary’s death?”
Brady nodded. “They’re not accepting Sean’s word for anything—or at least, that’s the impression I got. Sean is scared out of his wits and I don’t blame him. He saw his friend die.” Brady stopped abruptly, and Laura knew what he was envisioning—his own buddies dying.
She moved nearer to him, laid her hand on his jean-lad thigh and waited for him to return to her.
When he did, his pain was shut off again. “Gary was gone when the medics arrived. So they called the coroner. I think Sean went on automatic at that point.”
“How did Gary drown? I mean, what was going on? Was Sean in the canoe with him?”
Brady sighed. “No, Sean was on the dock. Apparently Gary was drunk, went out in a canoe, stood up and was acting foolish. The canoe capsized. Sean dived in after him, then brought him to shore. Boyd worked on him, too.”
“So there was alcohol there?”
“Yeah, in plain view. All the kids got citations for possession and consumption of alcohol by a minor. The police treated the whole area like a crime scene, shot pictures, confiscated the canoe as evidence—I guess to check for any damage. I heard one of the kids say an officer asked over and over again if Sean was in the canoe with Gary. I guess they thought it was possible he pushed him overboard.”
“Oh my God! You’re not serious.”
“They’re just trying to get to the truth. Sean’s story didn’t waver. I talked to Boyd for a few minutes and he told them the same thing.”
“I keep thinking about Gary’s parents. His father wasn’t there?”
“Nope. He’d called Gary to tell him he was going to be late. I overheard two officers and there’s going to be an autopsy. I asked the detective how long the investigation would last and he said it could be a week or two. I’ll tell you, when we were in that interview room, I wondered if I should just get a lawyer for Sean and he should keep quiet. But he wanted to tell what happened. He didn’t seem to have anything to hide.”
Laura raised a question that had been troubling her. “Besides the alcohol, were there drugs?”
“I don’t think they found any.”
“Did you ask Sean?”
“I asked. He wouldn’t say. But after the autopsy’s done, the police will know from the tox screen.”
Brady was being so matter-of-fact. Every once in a while his voice went gruff and Laura knew he was more affected than he was letting on. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He wasn’t, but as always, he was acting strong, not letting anything show, probably for her and definitely for Sean. “I don’t know the best way to help him through this,” Laura admitted.
“All we can do is be here for him.”
“I want to call Gary’s parents.”
“Did you want to talk to anyone after Jason died?”
She glimpsed the knowledge in Brady’s eyes, the understanding and compassion and anguish parents suffer when they lose a child. All of it came rushing back, and Laura felt tears burning her eyes, felt the tightness in her throat, remembered too much of what she’d felt so many years ago.
Finally she whispered, “No, I didn’t want to talk to anyone.”
Although they rarely spoke about Jason, their first son was always there, a bond and a wound between them.
When Brady wrapped an arm around her shoulders, she leaned into him. They had to hold on to each other. They had to. If they didn’t, they’d lose each other…and their marriage would break into pieces. She was sure of it.