A Silken Thread (30 page)

Blair seemed to be staring into space as if she was remembering. “I couldn’t take it anymore so I ran away. I was driving too fast and couldn’t slow down. I lost control. I—I…”

She placed her hands over her face and Erica reached out and gently pulled them back down. “It’s okay, Aunt Blair. It’s okay.”

Blair then looked at April. “Will you forgive me, Latonia? I should have stopped him, but no one can stop him when he gets that way.”

An hour later after taking turns reading nursery rhymes to Blair, April and Erica followed the men out the door. Brian pulled Erica gently to him. “Don’t worry. I have a feeling that between you and April she will continue to be taken care of.”

Erica nodded. Yes, between her and April, Blair Delbert would always be taken care of.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

E
rica knew everyone was watching her when she picked up the phone to call her mother. It was time to bring the lies and deceit to an end and it would start with this phone call.

What she was about to do had been Matt’s idea and it seemed like the perfect way to bring Karen Sanders’s years of manipulations, evil and control to an end. Erica had no qualms about what she was to do and felt it was totally justified. Her mother needed help and she would make sure she got it.

She had returned to the lake house with everyone to find her father there, waiting for her. In tears she had walked out of Brian’s arms into his and, just as she’d done when she was a child, she had cried on him. The main question that had been on her mind when she’d met her father’s gaze was how he had endured living with her mother all those years.

He had taken her outside to sit on the porch to explain it to her. “At first it didn’t matter. I never knew love, and you can’t miss what you never had. I knew just what kind of marriage I would have before I wedded your mother. I wasn’t looking for love and neither was she.”

He’d reached out and taken her hand in his. “Then you were born and any thoughts of getting a divorce dissolved from my mind. I just wanted to be the best dad I could be to you. To be there whenever you needed me.”

Erica had nodded. “And you were.” She hugged her dad, feeling sorry for ever doubting him.

“You’re ready to do it, Erica?” April asked softly, pulling her out of her reverie.

She nodded her head. “Yes, I’m ready.”

She glanced at her watch. It was close to eleven o’clock as she began dialing her mother’s phone number. Her mother was probably still up, working crossword puzzles or playing a game of solitaire.

“Hello.”

Erica swallowed. The sound of her mother’s voice sent cold chills through her body at the thought of all the things her mother had done, the lies she had told. The people she had hurt.

“Hi, Mom, this is Erica.”

“Erica, I’m glad you called. How was your date today with Griffin? You have to tell me all about it. How long have you been home?”

“I’m not home yet, Mom. In fact, Griffin and I are still together.” She glanced across the room at Griffin, who had his arm around April. “Griffin and I have made a few decisions about our lives.”

“Really? Have you?”

“Yes. And we’ve decided to fly to Vegas tonight and do something we should have done long ago.”

“Oh, my goodness!” Erica could hear the excitement in her mother’s voice. Since she was on speakerphone, everyone in the room could hear it.

“We’ll be there for a few days,” Erica added. “Don’t expect us back to town for a while.”

“Of course, I do understand,” Karen said, bubbling over. “It’s about time the two of you act responsibly and do the right thing.”

“Yes, we think so, too. I’ll contact you when we get back.”

“Okay, and don’t rush back. Have fun and don’t have any regrets.”

Erica couldn’t help but smile when she glanced over at Brian. “Trust me, Mom, I don’t plan on having any regrets. Good-bye.”

After Erica clicked off the phone she crossed the room and walked straight into Brian’s arms. He held her a minute before Matt spoke up. “Okay, everyone, it’s time to get to the airport. This is the first time I’ve ever coordinated a double wedding. Hell, this is the first time I’ve coordinated a wedding, period.”

Everyone, including Erica’s father, was ushered out of the lake house. Brian had called his mother and she had agreed to catch a flight and join them in Vegas. Erica couldn’t help but smile, thinking that this time her mother was right. She and Griffin were doing the right thing.

Less than twenty-four hours later, the two couples, surrounded by family and close friends, pledged their love for each other and committed their lives together.

Rita dabbed the tears from her eyes as she stood next to Lori and looked on. Once she’d heard of her godson’s wedding, Lori had packed her bag for Vegas, too. Rita couldn’t help glancing across the room every chance she got to meet Wilson’s gaze. She was glad the truth had come out but nothing between them had changed. He was still a married man. Although seeing him again made her realize just how much she loved him and missed him.

“He’s so good-looking,” Lori leaned over close to whisper. “If you don’t jump his bones tonight, I might be tempted to.”

Rita couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s flirty comment. “I told you what we had decided to do…or should I say not to do. He’s still married.”

“But he is separated from his wife. Didn’t you say he’d moved out and is in the process of getting a divorce?” At Rita’s nod, she said, “Well, then… And trust me, girl, you don’t owe anything to Karen Sanders anymore. That woman is as evil as evil could get. The thought of what she did to those two couples to keep them apart makes my blood boil.”

Rita thought it made her blood boil, as well.

“Besides,” Lori said, lowering her voice further still. “It’s okay to be naughty and break rules here. It’s Vegas. And what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. You might want to remember that.”

Rita glanced over at Wilson again. Judging by the look in his eyes, there was no way she could forget it. Just as she knew there was no way she was going to leave Vegas without sharing her bed with him.

Four days later, walking side by side, Griffin and Erica entered her mother’s home. They had called her from the airport to let her know they were on their way home.

Her mother was there waiting for them in the living room with a huge, expectant smile on her face. “Well, well,” she said, beaming even more when she saw the wedding rings on their fingers. “Welcome home!”

Erica had enjoyed her time away, spending all four days in Vegas wrapped in her husband’s arms. The moment the plane had landed in Cleveland, however, all that happiness had fled. She’d gotten depressed at the thought of what she and Griffin had to do. But there was no stopping it.

“Griffin and I need to make an announcement, Mom,” she said after taking a deep breath. “We got married.”

Karen glowed so bright it was almost blinding. “I know. And I am totally happy for you.”

“Are you really, Mom? That’s good to hear because there is one little glitch with us marrying.”

Karen looked confused. “I don’t understand. What kind of glitch can there be?”

It was Griffin who crossed his arms over his chest, smiled and said, “We didn’t marry each other. Erica married Brian and I married April. We did the one thing you never wanted to see happen. We both married the persons we love.”

Karen’s face became all but distorted. “How dare the two of you mess with the Delbert legacy?”

Griffin chuckled. “Excuse me, ma’am, but I don’t give a royal damn about any legacy. Erica and I have been telling you for years we weren’t in love but you wouldn’t listen. What you tried doing to April and Brian was unforgivable.”

“Unforgivable?” she snarled before bursting into tears. “Do you know what the two of you have done? That curse needed to be broken or else…”

“Or else what, Mom? Why are you so obsessed with that curse? Why does Aunt Blair think it’s linked to what Granddaddy did to April’s mother?”

At the shocked look on her mother’s face, Erica said, “Yes, I know all about Aunt Blair being alive and what she saw that day to make her get into a car accident. I also know about the lies you told April to keep her and Griffin apart and what you paid Jaye to do to Brian. He was set up by your orders and I doubt I can ever forgive you.”

“But do you realize what the two of you have done? I was trying to protect your daughters.”

“Protect our daughters how?”

Karen was rubbing her hands together. “Until that curse is broken any Delbert male that is born will have a hunger to lust after his daughter, his own flesh and blood. I know about it, trust me.”

Erica went speechless at the implications of her mother’s words. “Granddaddy abused you?” she asked her mom softly, hoping against hope that assumption was wrong.

“Yes. Both Blair and me. When I got older and realized what he was doing was wrong, he explained things to me. He said it was all because of that curse and until it was broken he couldn’t stop it. Blair was to marry Simon to stop it, but she didn’t. She freaked out when she walked in on what he was doing to Latonia. That caused her accident. Blair had threatened to tell Simon what he was doing to her so Dad turned his attentions to others like Latonia. Blair blamed herself for it happening.”

Erica thought she was going to be sick and dropped down in the armchair. How could her grandfather use the curse as an excuse for his demented behavior, and how could her mother have believed him?

“The curse had nothing to do with your father’s behavior, Mrs. Sanders,” Griffin told her. “He was a sick man to do that to you, Blair, Latonia or any other young girl that he touched. He lied to you to cover up his actions. He was nothing but a bona fide pedophile, who should have been locked up with the key thrown away.”

Karen turned on him, her eyes flashing fire. “How dare you! He was an outstanding member of this community. One of this town’s forefathers. I understood why he was coming into my room and so did Blair, until Latonia came into the picture working as the laundry girl. She messed up everything.”

Erica could only stare at her mother. She had been truly brainwashed by Omar Delbert. “Griffin is right, Mom. There is no excuse for what he did to you, Blair or Latonia, and no telling how many other young girls. He was a sick man and I’m glad I never got a chance to know him.”

Her mother ignored her words as she continued to rant and rave. “It will be your fault, mark my word,” she screamed, pointing at them. “You should have married each other. Now it will take another generation for the curse to be broken.”

“No, it won’t,” Griffin said angrily. “If you really believe in the curse then you know it officially ended four days ago when a Hayes married a Delbert. April has just as much Delbert blood running through her veins as you and Erica.”

He then turned and walked out of the house. Erica glanced back at her mother. “He’s right, so your curse is now broken.”

She turned to leave and her mother called out, “Erica, don’t go. My heart. You know what the doctor said about my heart.”

Erica rolled her eyes as she turned around. “Then I suggest you take your sugar pills and yes, I know about that lie, too.” She didn’t wait to hear her mother’s denial. “Oh, and over the next couple of weeks, I’m putting my house on the market and moving to Dallas to be with my husband.”

She had thought about taking her aunt Blair and putting her in a facility close to her in Dallas but decided her mother would need her sister more now than ever. She doubted her mother knew just how alone she would be.

“Good-bye, Mom.” She walked out the door, only glancing up when she’d closed it behind her. Griffin was waiting and together they walked toward the car that pulled up at that moment.

April got out of the car and ran into her husband’s arms, while Erica went to Brian. It didn’t seem to bother him that he’d left his mother and her father together in Vegas. The two weren’t quite ready to leave Sin City and no one had to wonder why.

“Ready to go?” Brian asked, taking her hand in his.

“Yes, with you always.” She glanced back at the huge house that had always been her home, a house she’d loved. But she was ready to move on. She had been ready.

On their wedding night Brian had told her about his surprise, the money his father had placed in trust for him. He’d known with her it had never been about money, but he had talked his godmother into selling them the house in Myrtle Beach. Lori had said she couldn’t think of a couple who deserved it more.

Moments later as they drove down Wellington Road she knew in her heart that despite all the emotional drama, everything had ended well for her and April.

Epilogue

Six months later

E
rica looked up from the book she was reading when she heard her name called. She smiled as she glanced out at the pier and waved. Seeing Brian sitting out there with a fishing rod in his hand reminded her of the day they first met.

She glanced down at her ring and smiled. She was truly happy. When Brian called her name again she looked up and saw him coming toward her. That morning she had awakened to a red rose and a white rose tied together with a silken thread on her nightstand. It had been a reminder of the love they had almost lost. And he had sat on the edge of the bed and whispered to her the same words he had spoken that day he had surprised her with dinner on this very same pier.

“Together, these roses represent unity and love, and the silken thread holding them together represents the strong bond between us that can never be broken.”

The last six months had been special, even with her mother’s refusal to acknowledge her marriage to Brian. Karen lived in the big house alone, shut away from family and friends. Her parents’ divorce had become final last month, and she knew that her father and Rita were now an item, a very hot one. He was thinking about selling his company and moving to Dallas. But then she heard he and Rita might decide to move to Florida. They weren’t making any final decisions about anything. Erica knew the older couple was enjoying their time together and she could truly say she was happy for them.

“Is that book any good?” Brian asked when he’d finally reached her.

“I wouldn’t be reading it if it wasn’t,” she said, and grinned when he pulled her hair. “I talked to April today. She’s happy being back in Hattersville and kicking off Griffin’s mayoral campaign.”

Of course some of the snobbish citizens were taken aback by Griffin’s surprise marriage to April, but surprisingly there were others who were genuinely happy for them.

She kept in close contact with her aunt and flew to Cleveland to see her at least three times a month. She enjoyed reading the nursery rhymes to Blair, and on a few occasions April had gone with her.

It was during one of those times she had run into her mother while she was there. When Karen had seen her and April, she’d acted like she didn’t know them. It was Erica’s hope that one day her mother would come to realize all the wrongs she had done and all the people her actions had hurt.

“Whoa!” Before she’d realized what he was doing Brian had swept her off her feet, making the book fall from her hand.

“What do you think you’re doing, Brian Lawson?”

He smiled down at her. “Taking you inside the house. I need a shower.”

“So, what does that have to do with me?”

“You get to take one, too.”

She smiled, thinking she had no complaints. She loved taking showers with him. She loved doing everything with him, even making babies. They wanted a lot of them and she couldn’t wait to tell him tonight the first of the Lawson babies was on its way. The pregnancy test she had taken that morning had confirmed it.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you,” she whispered.

“And I love you back,” was his automatic response.

She smiled, knowing he did and that just like he’d said that morning, their bond could never be broken.