ALL THINGS PRETTY PART TWO (7 page)

“So, basically, they both get off with a slap on the wrist
rather than multiple felony charges.”

My stomach sinks like a stone.
 
The fact that he views it in such a way
can’t be good.
 
“No, sir.
 
They haven’t gotten off. They’ve paid a
hefty price.
 
Several
times over.
 
They’ve been
forced to live in a prison for years now.
 
 
Neither of them has been
free since their older brother died eight years ago.
 
And, to be honest, I think they’ve
suffered enough. They’ve been punished. Probably even past the extent of the
law, just in a different way.
 
Life
took care of that. But they’ve learned from it. Have no desire to be criminals.
They are both ready to let the past go and move on to better lives.”

“And how are you so sure of this?”
 

I know what he’s getting at.
 
“I’ve spent months with them.
 
They didn’t know me as a cop.
Had
no reason to show me anything other than what’s real,
what’s true.
 
I’m so convinced of this,
I’d be willing to bet my career on it.”

“Is that so?” he asks, raising one brow.

“I’ll testify as character witnesses for both of them if you
think it would help.
 
Which brings
me to another request.”

He laughs, but it’s not a joyful sound.
 
“There’s more?
 
Do tell.”

“I’d like to take care of the kid until something is decided
about his sister.
 
He needs to be in
familiar surroundings. And he knows me.
 
I think it’s what’s best for him.”

“So you want me to enter a guilty plea of misdemeanor
charges for both the kid and the sister. What if I can’t convince a judge to go
for it?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
 
I swallow.
 
Hard.
 
“Does that mean you’ll try?”

He says nothing for the longest time, during which I picture
myself leaping across the desk and choking the life out of him then running
away with Tommi and Travis.
 

“Let me talk to the girl.
 
And the boy.
 
I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not
making any promises.”

“Fine. Just let me know when.”

“It’s not necessary for you to be there.”

“No, but I’ll–”

“In fact, I’d prefer that you’re not.”

I clench my jaw.
 
I want to argue, but I know better.
 
It will only hurt my case for Tommi and Travis.
 
“Okay. If that’s what you need.”

He nods.
 
“Now,
if you’re done making requests…” He puts his hands flat on his desk as if to
rise.
 

I stand.
 
“Of
course. No, that’s it. I appreciate you seeing me.”

“You can thank your father for that.”

“Oh, he’ll get what he’s owed. Don’t you worry about that.
”

For the first time, I see a genuine smile appear on Lemmon’s
face.
 
“I imagine that’s true.”

I stick out my hand.
 
Lemmon takes it.
 

“I can see myself out.
 
Thanks again.”

And with that, I turn and walk back the way I came, feeling
a little more hopeful than when I got here.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE - TOMMI

It’s been over two hours since Sig left.
 
I’m freezing, my butt is numb, I haven’t
eaten since breakfast and I’ve been questioned so much my brain actually
hurts.
 
I’ve asked half a dozen
times when I can see my brother. All I ever get is
Soon.

When the handle rattles and the door pushes open again, I
glance up warily, afraid to hope for someone other than another inquisitor. My
throat constricts and my eyes sting when I see Sig fill the doorway, only to
step back and allow my brother to come inside.

I get up and rush to him. He just stands there and lets me
hug him, like a lump.
 
But it’s the
way he leans into me that tells me he’s as glad to see
me
as I am to see him.
 

I wait until I’m sure I can control my voice and my
expression before I pull away enough to look into his face.
 
“How
ya
holding up?”

He shrugs, casting his eyes down. “I’m okay.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Some lady brought me some snacks.”

I glance up at Sig.
 
He’s watching us with a sad smile.
 
“I’m going to take him home. I’ll make sure he eats.
 
And that your mom eats.”

Sweet Mary, I forgot all about my own mother. I’m so
distraught, so distressed, I forgot her.
 

But Sig didn’t.
 

The constriction in my throat gets tighter.

Oh God, don’t make me
love you!

I bite my lip at the thought, willing my chin to stop
trembling, but I know it’s too late.
 
To stop the trembling
and
to stop loving Sig.
I think
I’ve loved him for a while now. No matter how much I fought it, I think it was
inevitable.
 

I give him a smile that is shaky at best.
 
“Thank you.”

His answering gesture is a lopsided grin, the one that turns
my stomach inside out.
 
“No
problem.
 
My sister’s coming over to
help.”

A little thread of alarm weaves its way down my spine.
 
“
Uhhh
, I’m not
sure that’s a good idea.
 
Travis–”

“Will love her.
 
Trust me.
 
And I think he’s
looking forward to it.
 
I told him
most guys think she’s hot, but that I’d kick his ass if he flirted with her.
 
He’s a daring soul.”

I hear a muffled snort come from Travis.
 
“Asshole.”

It’s a derogatory term, of course, but from my brother, the
way he says it,
it
sounds more like a friendly
nickname.

“Just in case your mother needs something that I can’t…that
I shouldn’t…well, you know.”

I didn’t even think of that.
 
God help me, my mind is just…elsewhere. “Thank
you for thinking of her.
 
I…I don’t
know what I would’ve done. I hadn’t even thought…”

My voice breaks.
 
Life seems to be determined to reiterate what a terrible person I am.

Sig takes a step closer, looming behind Travis like a giant
shadow.
 
“Stop it.
 
Don’t even go there.”

He stares hard at me.
 

I jack up my chin and ignore the burn of tears behind my
eyes.
 
“Thank you. That’s all I
meant to say.”

His fierce expression softens.
 
“You’re welcome.
 
I told you not to worry.
 
I’ll take care of everything.
 
I promise.”

I look down at Travis to find that he has finally raised his
eyes to mine.
 
His lips crook to one
side.
 
A smile.
 
He nods once, as if to say that he’s
fine, that he’ll be all right.
 
That
we both will.
 
And something in my
heart sags in relief.
 
As long as he’s
okay, I can get through this.

Before anything else can be said, a woman shows up behind
Sig.
 
“Taking her down to process
her,” the tiny black lady says in a clipped, no-nonsense way, nodding at me.
 

She stands back until Sig and Travis recede into the hall
and then she takes me by the arm and guides me past them.
 
I do the unwise, unthinkable thing and I
look back, back to where my brother is standing with the man I love, back to
where my brother is standing with the man who betrayed me. They will be going
home together tonight, home to familiar comfort and freedom. I will be going to
a cell.
 

My heart breaks a little bit more.

CHAPTER THIRTY- TWO- SIG

Travis and I are eating fried chicken at the tiny kitchen
table when I hear a knock at the door.
 
I glance at Travis before I get up and go answer it.
 
He shrinks down into his chair and looks
excitedly at me. I just shake my head.
 
Teenaged boys
and their fascination with older women.

I open the door to find my sister, back to her trim self,
standing on the stoop.
 
She gives me
a broad smile.

“What the hell’s so funny?”

“Dad told me everything.
 
You thought I wouldn’t laugh?
 
Do you
know me?”

“Evidently not,” I mutter as she passes me.
 
I close the door and show her into the
kitchen.
 
“Sloane, this is Travis.
Travis, this is my baby sister, Sloane.”

For a minute, I’m afraid Travis might swallow his
tongue.
 
He’s trying to hide his
face by tucking his chin, but he’s also trying to ogle my sister. It makes for
an interesting and extremely uncomfortable few seconds.

“Nice to meet you, Travis.
 
How’d you get stuck with Barney here?”
she asks, nodding at me.
 

Travis grins.
 
“Shitty luck, I guess.”

“I’d say.
 
Did he
tell you I have a baby?”

“No.”

“Well, I do.
 
I
change her and feed her, clean her up.
 
All the things I’ll do for your mom, if that’s okay.
 
I mean, after living with Sig for most
of my life, taking care of a baby… or
anybody
else
for that matter, is easy as pie.”

I reach underneath the thick fall of my sister’s dark hair
and pinch her ear, hard enough to make her yelp. “What was that you said? I
couldn’t quite hear you.”

“See what I mean?” she quips.

Travis is still grinning.
 
I feel like I’ve worked a miracle.

“You want to take her and introduce her to your mom, Travis?
 
I don’t want the poor woman to think the
crypt keeper has come to take her away.”

Sloane punches me on the arm.
 
“Hey, watch your mouth!
 
You’re
older
than I am.”

“I know, you just
look
worse.”

Sloane’s mouth falls open and she looks to Travis.
 
“Are you just
gonna
let him talk to me like that?”

Travis shrugs. I think he’s a little uncertain of how to
take our banter.
 
“I don’t
know.
 
Want me to kick his ass?”

“I’d love to see that, actually, but maybe just in
Grand Theft Auto
for now.”

“Done.”

“That’s fine. Gang up on Sig.
 
It’ll just make it sweeter when I
win.
 
Which I will.”

“Dream on,” Travis says, getting more into the spirit of
things.

“We’ll see,
lil
man. We’ll
see.”
 
I glance back down at
Travis’s plate.
 
“Finish eating.
 
I’ll help Sloane get the food ready.”

Travis sits down to pick at his chicken, all the while
watching Sloane from the corner of his eye.
 
She follows me to the counter where the
bag of food rests.

“I got a chicken pot pie. I figured that
shit’s
nearly mush anyway. Might be easy to feed her.”

Sloane takes it out of the bag and pokes through the crust
with a fork, checking the consistency of the goop inside.
 
“Yeah, this will be good.
Nutritious, too.
 
Chicken, vegetables, some carbs.”

“And she keeps protein drinks in the fridge.”
 
I get her one, along with a bottle of
water.

Sloane nods.
 
“Okay, show me toward the bathroom.”
 
I do and she gathers a towel and
washcloth, along with a basin full of hygiene stuff that looks like the one
I’ve seen Tommi carry in there before.

Before we can get out, Travis appears in the doorway.
 
“I’m done.”

Sloane smiles at him. The kid’s cheeks flush and I roll my
eyes.
 
God help me, Sloane will
gloat for a year.
 
“Then let’s go
meet Mom.”

The rest of the evening goes surprisingly well.
 
Sloane takes care of Tommi’s mom with no
problems.
 
Travis seems as relaxed
as he’s likely to get, all things considered.
 
But I’m okay with that. I know it would
make Tommi happy.
 
And what makes
Tommi happy makes me happy.
 
As much
as I wanted to avoid getting into a place like this–my happiness tied up
in someone else’s–here I am.
 
Truthfully, it’s not as bad as I expected it to be.

Sloane sticks around much longer than I expected. She washes
and dries a load of laundry, cleans up the kitchen and makes Travis a lunch for
tomorrow.
 

“You mean I
gotta
go to school
tomorrow?”

“Yeah.
 
We don’t
need to push anything right now. You get that, right?
 
You see why you need to be a model
citizen and student?”

I can tell he doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t argue.
 
“Why don’t you brush your teeth and
stuff while I walk Sloane out?”

He grunts something and pushes past me, obviously
displeased. But at least he’s not fighting me at every turn.

I help Sloane with the last of the dishes and then go back
to check on Travis.
 
He’s lying,
fully clothed, diagonal across his bed, crashed.

I pull the door up so that we don’t wake him and I walk
Sloane out.

She stops on the stoop.
 
“So, this girl…”

I turn to face my sister.
 
“What about her?”

“You love her.”
 
She’s not grinning or teasing me.
 
She’s not gloating or goading me.
 
She’s genuine and serious.
 
And maybe even a little worried.

“So what if I do?”

She nods, holding her tongue for a few seconds.
 
“I just…I wish that…”

When her pause doesn’t end, I prompt her.
 
“What the hell, woman?
 
Spit it out.”

“I know how you are, Sig. I know you’ve never really wanted
to love somebody, not in the permanent kind of way.”

“I love you idiots that I’m related to,” I say jokingly.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it. It’s just that…
God, I just hate that when you finally found someone to give your heart to, she
turns out to be a felon. One that comes with enough baggage to–”

“Stop right there,” I interrupt, my temper flaring.
 
“She’s not a felon.
 
And she has less baggage than I do.
A sick mother and a brother.
That’s all, but it’s enough to
break most people.”
 
I take a deep
breath to calm down.
 
“Look, you
don’t even know her and I’d appreciate you keeping comments like this to
yourself until you at least meet her.
 
She’s not who you think she is.”

Her eyebrows are raised, her eyes wide, and she’s
backtracking. “Okay, okay. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just thought…”

“Well don’t.
 
Don’t think. You don’t know half of what’s going on.
 
Dad only knows what I told him.”

This time she does smile.
 
“Maybe Dad knows more than what you
think.”

“Like what?”

“He thinks you love her.”

“So what if I do?”

“Nothing.
 
Not…well, not really. We all want that for you.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need your permission.”

“I know you don’t.
 
Look, don’t get
all defensive
. I’m just worried
about you.”

“Well, don’t be. I know what I’m doing.”

“Sig, you’ve never wanted…this.
This kind
of relationship.
 
Love.
 
And I’m just concerned that now that you’re jumping in…”

“I’m not jumping in.”

“Okay, okay. I just…Just forget it.”
 
She raises her hands in surrender.

Now I feel bad. I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “I
appreciate the concern, but I know what I’m doing.
 
Just trust me.”

“I do trust you, Sig.
 
I just worry about what will happen if this doesn’t work out like you
think.
 
You never wanted to fall in love,
to risk losing someone like we lost Mom. And now that you’re taking the chance,
it’s on a woman who…”

“It’ll all work out.
One way or the other.
 
I promised her I’d fix this and I have
every intention of keeping that promise.”

After a few seconds of mulling over my words, Sloane narrows
her eyes on me.
 
“You-you
aren’t
considering doing something stupid, are you?”

“Like what?”

She leans in closer, like if looks hard enough she might be
able to find an answer.
 
“Like something
stupid.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.
 
I’ve talked to the DA. It’ll all work
out.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“It will.”

“But if it doesn’t?”
 
Her voice is getting louder, more frantic.
 
“Sig, promise me that you won’t do
something crazy like throw your life away for this girl.”

“I’m not going to–”

“Sig, promise me.”

I stare down into my sister’s knowing eyes, so much wiser
than what I ever gave her credit for.
 
Maybe living with a tattoo artist has given her a lot of life experience
in a short amount of time.

“I can’t promise you anything,” I confess evenly.
 

Sloane gasps.
 
She knows what this means for someone like me.
 
For someone like the people in our
family, who bleed blue and never bend when it comes to the law.
 
“You’d do that? For
her?”

She’s asking if I’d give up my career for Tommi.
If I’d give up my family for her.
If I’d give up my life,
all that I’ve worked for and all that I know for her.
 

And the answer is yes.
 
Because my entire existence would be shit without her.

I cross my arms over my chest. “I’d do anything for
her.
 
I just hope I won’t have to.”

Mouth hanging open, Sloane stares at me for a couple of
minutes before she says anything else.
 
And even then, she’s brief.
 
“I
hope she’s worth it.”

“She is.
 
She
already is.”

My sister leans in, rising up on her toes to kiss my
cheek.
 
“I love you, big brother.”

“I love you, too, little troublemaker.”

Her smile is hardly visible as she turns and walks off down
the driveway.