First to Die (21 page)
“I know, I’m just sorry that I didn’t see it.” I saw a shadow move across his face.
“Nobody could.” I reached over and touched his arm. “If I hadn’t kept that key, Bobby Hayes would still be slithering through those tunnels.” I felt a chill in my veins. “I kept it because I thought it was pretty, Jason. I had no idea that it opened the gates to hell.” I looked over at him and silence filled the gap between us.
“I’m glad that you and Ben are friends again.” I pushed through the tension.
“I don’t know if I’d call it that, but I’m willing to try. He was at the hospital, sitting with me every day. He’s not as bad as he thinks he is. I have to give him a few points for that.”
The driveway and front lawn was packed with cars. The barbecue smoke drifted in the air and I could smell a feast. Laughter lifted and spread out over the trees and the house looked alive again. I heard Stella ripping on Neville’s cooking skills and I her voice lifted above the crowd. “Here she is.”
“I’m home,” I yelled. “This is amazing.”
I felt my eyes well when Ben circled his arms around me. “It’s about time.”
“Can we do it now?” Stella danced around Jason. “I just can’t take it any longer.” She put her hand to her chest.
“Yeah, I think it’s safe.” He squeezed my arm and headed up the stairs of the deck and through the back door.
“Okay, everybody spread out and make some room,” Stella yelled. “Ivy, Ben, get over here, just in case she goes down.”
“You guys are crazy.” I shook my head at them. “You’re all nuts.”
Jason opened the sliding door and I waited. I blinked my eyes to make sure that it wasn’t a dream. I felt a stream of water run down my face. Stella was always right. I was close to hitting the ground. I stared at the door as Max came stumbling out with a white bandage on her front leg. She looked as bad as I did, and I saw her ears stand up when she heard me making a ruckus. I was doing the ugly cry, the one that you never want anyone to see. I wiped my face as the water poured down in buckets and I walked toward my baby.
“Max!” I cried, and managed to pull myself out of the little convulsion that I was having before I stumbled over to her.
I sat on the stairs, put her over my lap, and cradled her face. “What happened to you?” I bent down and kissed her head. “Jason, what happened? Where was she?” I looked up at him.
“She fine now. Let’s talk about it later.” His face was red and he was holding back the tears.
“Tell me. I want to know now, please,” I pleaded.
Jason took a long breath. “Hayes had her chained in his basement. She took a pretty bad beating. Could barely walk when Ward carried her out and broke every law getting her to the vet.” He swallowed a gulp of his beer. “The vet said it was a miracle that she survived it.”
I wrapped my arms around her as best as I could. “I love you so much,” I said, kissing every inch of her. “Poor girl, you’re safe now.” I thought back to the night at Hayes’ when I’d heard the noises. It was her.
Stella bounced around and sat down next to me. “Can you believe that stinker, Ward?” she said. “All this time, we thought he was the bad guy and he got you suspended to get you as far away from the station as possible. Said he had a bad feeling.” She slapped her knee. “Started nosing around and he didn’t want you ending up like those poor girls.” She took a breath. “That heathen, Neville, was in on it, too.” Her eyes wandered out toward our party chef and she tossed her nose in the air.
“I know. I was shocked when Jason told me. I told them all, no more secrets.”
Neville finished his cooking duties and we all sat down at a long table nestled under the trees, decorated with wildflowers. I couldn’t remember ever enjoying a meal this much. The jokes. The laughter and the tears. I had a feeling running through my body that I didn’t recognize, but it felt good.
I stood up to make a toast with my favorite sweet tea. “I want to thank all of you for being here today. I can’t tell you how much it truly means to me.” My happy tears were on a roll again.
“I love you, Sammy,” Ivy shouted from the other end of the table.
They all stood up and raised their glasses when I started to speak again. “For years, I thought I was alone. I wasn’t. Each of you were always here for me. I had so much loss that I never realized how much love surrounded me.” I looked around at the table at each of them. I had Ben at home and a family that I never knew I had. “I shut every one of you out, and you continued to hammer at my walls.” I smiled. “Thank you.” I paused and took a breath. “All I had to do was reach out. I love all of you, including Ward.” I laughed. He smiled at me and raised his glass in the air. “I’m going to get a fresh glass of sweet tea,” I said. “Does anyone need anything?”
Jason was on his feet walking toward me. “I’ll get it for you. Sit and relax.”
“Thank you, but I’ll feel better if I do a little walking. We’ve been sitting out here for hours.”
“Okay, but yell if you need anything.
“I’ll go with you, honey.” Mrs. Schultz stood up.
“That’s okay,” I reached out and pulled her close to me. “You stay out here and enjoy the party. I’ll be right back.”
I poured myself a fresh glass of tea and turned, leaning against the counter, facing the living room. I looked around and was grateful for this day. I was happy to be home and nothing could take the smile from my face. I was free of the past. No more lies. No more sadness. I smiled and walked into the living room. I stood looking out the window and saw him strolling up the front walk. My hands trembled. The glass slipped out of my fingers and crashed to the floor into a million pieces. The doorbell rang. My heart twisted in a knot. I opened the door. “What are you doing here?”
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