Chapter Seventeen
Tucker
Libby was shell-shocked, numb, and honestly, looked like she was ill, when we left the courtroom after Kristy Peele had begged the court to remove her from the complaint. I knew my girl. She saw herself in that younger woman. She had so much compassion, and even I was grateful to hear Kristy had spirited away as many pictures for Olivia as she could. Cynthia bubbled and cheered for us, but Libby just didn’t feel like she’d won, and it was obvious in every step she took as we walked out of the building.
“C’mon, guys. Why the long faces?” she finally asked.
“I can’t stop thinking about Kristy. I lived with that woman. I know she’s not doing well, and I’m worried.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, how about I check in on her tomorrow, and make sure she’s doing okay? If she needs help moving, I can even arrange that, if I have permission.” I nodded and hid my smile. It was obvious that Cynthia wanted to move into a position with the company, and I appreciated how far she was willing to go to get the approval she needed.
“Libby, Cynthia just produced crucial evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the opposing council, and she would really like us to go out, eat too much, and maybe get a little drunk.” Her shoulders dropped and she gave Cynthia a wry smile.
“Of course, we can go out. I’m sorry for being a stick in the mud. What’s your pleasure, Cynthia? You pick, since you won the day.”
“R&R barbeque, all the way! Please tell me you aren’t a vegan,” she pleaded.
“I don’t think those are allowed in Texas,” Libby laughed and put her arm through mine. We planned to meet up at the popular barbeque joint just after the happy hour rush, and Cynthia split from us to get ahead of some work from other partners at the office. I walked Libby to her car and she sagged against it and breathed deeply.
“Is it almost over?” she sounded incredulous, and exhaled hard again. “I feel so bad for Kristy. She looked so lost. Is that how I looked?”
“It was a little familiar once you drew my attention to it.”
“Whew. Okay, I feel so much worse about where I was, and so much better about where I am now,” she laughed shakily. I leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.
“I am so proud of you,” I said into her hair. “I can’t wait for you to find your place doing exactly what you want with your life.”
She slid her hands up my chest, and my heart sped up under her palm. My mouth was opening against hers before I could think, my tongue pushing into the wet cavern of her mouth to taste her. She moaned and I pressed her up against the car, pinning her with my hips as my pants got tight over my growing erection.
“God, what you do to me,” She sighed, scratching her fingernails down my chest over my shirt. “I know how I want to celebrate.” I laughed and held her while every cell in my body was screaming at me to tear her clothes off and pull her over me in the backseat of the car.’
“I will go take care of the cluster of paperwork that I’ve just been given, and I will meet you for dinner tonight,” I promised her.
“I might go and check on Kristy, make sure Veronica doesn’t stop her from taking her things. But yes, I’ll be there.”
“Tell Shaunte and Dale they should come, too. I’ll pay for a sitter for all the kids.” She gaped at me and I laughed.
“You deserve to have your friends with you. Besides. I like Dale,” I admitted. Libby grinned and kissed me one last time on the lips, a soft, sweet brush against my mouth that made my gut heat up. I helped her into her car and shut the door, smiling as she waved before taking off. I rolled my head on my neck and exhaled hard. Kristy had made Libby feel better, but she had opened a whole can of worms for us legally, and I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a celebration until we had waded through it all.
I walked back to the office, grateful for a few minutes of solitude before attacking the paperwork that I needed to complete in the next day or so. I stopped at the coffee cart and picked up extra lattes for my secretary and Cynthia, planning to use them to bribe the ladies for as much help as they were willing to give, so we could knock it out of the park for Libby and end her worries—permanently.
I read and dictated until my eyes burned, and glanced down at my watch. I had just enough time to pack my files to my condominium, and take Kennedy out for a walk before heading over to R&R. I called Libby, but had to leave a message when she didn’t answer, and headed down to my car.
Libby still hadn’t replied when I got back to the condominium, and I worried for a moment, that the stress had her hiding in a corner of her house. I fought the urge to call again, and let Kennedy do her thing so I could go. I filled her food and water bowls and secured the files I brought home; if my detective dog got curious about the smells of my work, she couldn’t mix anything up on me. I texted Libby that I was en route, and copied it to Cynthia as well. My stomach was empty and resentful of my skipped lunch and empty fridge at home, making the ten-minute drive feel like an hour, but when I arrived, Cynthia was out front, waiting with a smile.
I checked my phone again to no avail, and was putting it back in my pocket when a strange number appeared on it, as it began to ring. Fearing the worst, I picked up and Dale was on the other end. At the sound of his voice, my head started ringing, and I barely heard him say that Shaunte was on her way to the hospital to meet Libby.
“Why is Libby at the hospital?” I asked, and Cynthia looked at me alarm and immediately started pulling me towards her car, unlocking it as we approached. I slid in the passenger seat and Dale filled me in as best he could, that Libby had gone to check on Kristy like she’d said, and found Veronica standing over the unconscious girl.
She’d called 911 and the police had come for Veronica, who swore she’d found her daughter-in-law that way. Libby had ridden in the ambulance to the hospital with Kristy, and asked Dale to get the info to Tucker. Shaunte was picking up Libby to take her back to her car so she could get it home before Veronica was released and decided to do something to it. I called Libby again, and when she finally answered, I almost cried in relief at the sound of her voice.
“Cynthia and I are on our way. Stay at the hospital, and we’ll help Shaunte take care of your car, and gather some things for Kristy, if we can get in the house.” Libby started to argue, then changed her mind.
“You know what, that is the best plan I’ve heard. I have her purse, so I can give you her keys when you pick up mine.” My stomach growled loudly, and she heard it over the speaker phone. “Oh, God, Tucker, was that you? Stop and get yourself something to eat.”
“I’m fine, Libby. I can get something at the hospital. Let’s just get Kristy taken care of.” I wanted to be shocked, but it came as no surprise to me that we were now responsible for the woman who had sat across the aisle from us and let her lawyer try to ruin Libby’s reputation. Libby talked about being weak, but repeatedly, she proved that she had more resilience and strength than anyone else I knew.
Libby met us at the front entrance to the hospital and updated us on Kristy’s condition. It seemed that she had taken a severe overdose of her husband’s medication, after leaving a note that explained that she couldn’t live with the loneliness and shame of being kicked out of her own home by her husband’s mother, after losing everything her crooked lawyer had tried to steal from a little girl, just so he could claim his cut.
She was red-nosed and sniffling when she repeated what the doctors and police had told her. I was amazed that she was in the information loop at all.
“I gave them her name, I gave them my name, and they assumed we’re sisters,” she explained. “I have no reason to tell them they’re wrong. Kristy needs someone right now.”
“Well, you do look like you could be related. I won’t say anything, and I’ll give Cynthia the heads up. Do you want to come with me, or stay with Libby and have Cynthia come with?”
“I’d love to be anywhere you are, right now. But I need to stay here. I’m the only ‘family’ she has in this joint.” I kissed her on the forehead and pulled her into a hug, wishing I could take away every bad thing she’d ever been forced to witness, but especially Kristy lying on a floor. I knew—and Libby knew it, too—it could very easily have been her that gave up on life after being beaten down for so long.
“If you didn’t have Olivia, what do you think would’ve happened to you?” I asked, following her gaze back into the hospital.
“If I didn’t have Olivia, and Andrew had made me feel as helpless as she did when she took those pills? I don’t know, Tucker. Honestly, I have been thinking that very same thing, all afternoon.” She kissed me on the cheek and brushed my hair out of my face. “I am so glad I had Olivia, and you,” she added, before stepping back onto the curb. “Thanks for helping me. I’ll have food for you if want, when you get back.”
“No,” I countered. “The food here is awful, honestly. I’ll bring back some R&R. Make the doctors jealous.” She grinned and waved as Cynthia and I traded places so I could drive to the house I knew so well. On the outside, as we walked up to the door, nothing had changed, and memories of all the time I’d spent here washed over me. Air whooshed out of my lungs, and Cynthia touched my arm.
“Are you okay to go in there?” She asked, and I scoffed.
“Yes, I’m okay. My best friend used to live here, with his wife and his little girl. I guess I’m just not sure which I want to see less, everything the same as when this was Libby’s house, or everything different, like she was never there at all.” Cynthia nodded, and with a deep breath, I pushed the door open and stepped into the dim interior.
There wasn’t any overt sign of the tragedy that had occurred earlier in the day, and it made me feel worse about being there, like the house itself kept erasing the bad things that happened within its walls. I took the stairs two at a time, and headed straight for the upstairs master, where Cynthia handed me appropriate clothing and hygiene items, and I packed them to take back to the hospital. Lights shone in the window as we finished, and we hurried to collect the last of it and get it downstairs before whoever had pulled up, got inside.
We made it to the walkway before running into Veronica, who, it appeared, was back from the police station, having been cleared of any wrongdoing in the suicide attempt. She looked at the luggage in my hand and threatened to call the police, but Cynthia stepped between us.
“Your daughter-in-law is in the hospital, Mrs. Peele. We’re taking her clothes and a toothbrush, but you go ahead and tell the police that she doesn’t have a right to her things, since she gave us her key in the first place.” Cynthia held up the keys, and even unlocked the car with the fob so the lights flashed.
“We’ll see you at the hospital, I’m sure.” I said as we sidestepped the vicious-tempered woman and strode to the Prius parked at the curb.
It was a quiet ride back to the hospital, even after stopping for enough barbeque to feed a Little League team. Cynthia had few questions about how a simple will dispute had ended in the ICU, and I had even fewer good answers. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude, that Libby had been stronger, and if nothing else, such a good mother, that she simply had never given up.
“Kristy’s lucky that the person whose life she was ruining was Libby,” Cynthia mused quietly as she cruised the parking lot, looking for an open space. I shot her a glance and she held up a hand. “I’m not saying anyone should try to ruin Libby’s life, I’m just saying, a lot of people out there wouldn’t be sitting at the bedside of the person who has caused them so much worry and pain.”
“You’ve met Libby. Were you even surprised that this is where we ended up tonight?” She chuckled and shook her head.
“You have a pretty amazing woman, there. I wish I could meet a girl like that.” I laughed, and flicked her in the shoulder with my fingers.
“You just leave my woman alone. I bought you ribs.” She laughed and I felt the tension in the car dissipate with an almost audible pop. Libby still had a long road ahead of her, and I didn’t want to get in her way. But I was going to be there, just as I promised. No matter how long it took to earn her trust. Libby was my future. Olivia was as much a part of my heart as if I had brought her into being myself. Carl Jameson had hurt my family—and he’d done it on purpose, for profit. One way or another, he was going to pay for putting us all in the position we were in. I had so many ideas for how to make him suffer, it occurred to me I might need to hire Cynthia right away, to keep track of those ideas and to execute them, one at a time.
Once upon a time we’d been colleagues, never friends. But this was the last time he was going to come after anyone I considered family. I texted my brothers and informed them of my intentions, and my phone blew up with responses. I pocketed the phone and set my focus on the immediate need inside the building in front of me. One way or another, I’d find a way for Libby to relax and enjoy the moment. I’d just have to create one later she could enjoy.