Good Wood (31 page)

Dan finally called me when I was at the airport waiting for the plane home. He was concerned for Molly. He claimed Draven was emotionally abusing her. He told me two or three stories about what he’d personally witnessed and he begged me to talk her into leaving him and coming home.”

“What did he say?’ I drank the rest of my beer in preparation for what I knew might keep me up all night plotting Draven’s demise.

“Two days before we got into town, Draven told Molly she couldn’t have the time off while we were there because her sous chef’s needed to be off instead.”

“The slut he was screwing on the side?” I interjected, feeling the tension build in my shoulders.

Robin gawked at me. “Molly found out who it was? I hadn’t heard.”

“Yeah. They just got married and had a baby.”

“What a bitch. I guess that makes a lot of sense. Anyway, Molly was livid. She’d been planning for us to come for six weeks. Dan said she snapped at Draven in front of the kitchen staff and threatened to quit. He lost it. He grabbed her by the throat and shoved her into the walk-in freezer. She stumbled and fell down. Draven told her to cool off and then he
locked her in
. The kitchen staff was in shock and Draven proceeded to rail at them for the next three minutes about how
no one
disrespects him and how lucky they all were to have a job. Then he stormed out with the sous chef trailing behind him trying to talk him down. Dan immediately went to let Molly out. Her teeth were chattering and she was holding her right arm. She’d sprained her wrist trying to block the fall. It turns out Draven had to give her the time off after all, because the doctor told her she couldn’t use it for a couple of weeks.”

I couldn’t even speak I was so pissed. The thought of that asshole laying hands on Molly had me seriously considering a quick trip to Seattle. Taking a breath I used one of Dr. Greene’s techniques to control and channel my anger. Succeeding only marginally, I cracked open my third beer with shaking hands.

“Dan went on to say that Draven constantly accused Molly of cheating on him. He insisted on handling all of their finances and went over the phone bills and credit cards with a fine tooth comb. If she stopped at Starbucks for a coffee, he wanted to know why. She said he’d keep her up into the wee hours of the morning questioning her about different charges. Then he’d want to keep her up for make-up sex afterward. She’d started taking medication for anxiety so that she could turn her brain off to get some sleep.”

I thought about how Molly was almost always up hours before me and wondered if something I did made her anxious. It was suddenly hard for me to breathe, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of the virus I was battling or the stories Robin was telling me.

“She rarely went out with friends or socialized at all. Not even with Dan, and he’s openly gay. If she did, the questions and accusations were so pervasive that it was easier just not to bother. She was always such a social girl. Can you imagine her sitting home alone while he was out fucking around on her! It makes me want to poison the son of a bitch.”

I nodded my agreement, barely containing my anger. I felt for a minute like the pizza in my stomach was going to come back up. I forced down my rage with slow breaths. What she was telling me was important and I needed to hear it.

“I’ve got another story for you. Molly told me this one herself when she first moved back home. When Draven first took her to meet his family, it was disastrous. His parents were rude to her. They weren’t thrilled that she wasn’t Italian…or Catholic. The whole family spoke Italian in front of her the entire time she was around. Draven did too…and he never bothered to translate for her. She could pick up about one word an hour. They had tickets to some Broadway show and Molly didn’t know what to wear. She asked Draven’s opinion and after he looked over what she’d packed, he told her she needed a new dress. On her way out to look for one she heard his brother speak English for the first time He called her ‘Texas White Trash’ and he and Draven both had a good laugh about it.”

My head was throbbing and my blood pressure had to have been through the roof.
What kind of man would treat his wife like that?

Robin continued with tears gleaming unshed in her eyes. “Sorry…I got off track with that one. It just makes my blood boil. Back to my original story after I got off the phone with Dan, I tried to call Molly but she didn’t pick up. We were back in Texas when she finally reached me. She laughed the whole thing off and claimed Dan was exaggerating. I didn’t know what to believe. She was really convincing, Joe. After talking to her, I decided not to say anything to anyone. Molly has always been so confident, so tough. If she said it wasn’t a problem, I figured she meant it.

I didn’t see her again until a few months later when Chet had his stroke. Molly came home as fast as she could but he died an hour before she walked in the door. Mac was under the impression she wasn’t going to come. That she thought she was too good for us. Mac treated Molly so badly at the hospital...I felt like I
had
to say something to him.

At first he didn’t want to believe me but after I offered to put him on the phone with Dan he realized I was serious. He tried to talk to her about it but she stonewalled him. In the end, the only way for him to make peace with her was to drop the subject. When I asked him about it later he said ‘Molly is too stubborn. She’ll never ask for help.”

I nodded at that.

“So the twins have a lot of guilt when it comes to Molly. They both feel like they should have pushed harder, pressed her more, invited Draven to Vegas and buried him in the desert.”

I snorted at her comment, because I could hear Mason saying it.

“The one time the Hildebrandts met Draven, the twins both hated his guts. He didn’t do or say anything…I know…I was there. Mac said he just ‘had a bad feeling’. That was long before my visit to Seattle.” Robin settled back as if her story had come to an end.

“Okay.” I exhaled, laying my head back on the couch and staring at the tin panels on the ceiling. “It’s all pretty horrific, but I’m glad you told me. It explains a lot.”

“I know you’ve been through the ringer, Joseph. But as your friend, I thought you ought to know she has been too. It complicates things, but having the information might give the two of you an edge.”

She left soon after, assuring me the twins were both sorry even if they didn’t know it yet. Wired from the anger still surging in my system, I cleaned up my dinner mess and put the remaining pizza in the fridge. Minutes later when I crawled into bed with Molly, I tossed and turned restlessly. Finally, I pulled her to me, spooning her in an overprotective manner. Though it meant lying on the side of my wounded jaw, I had to feel her against me…to know that she was safe. I immediately felt more relaxed and most of my agitation melted away. Molly sighed softly and rolled over, squirming against me.

“You’re so warm.”

I kissed her forehead. She didn’t feel feverish, but maybe I was. “Shhh…go back to sleep, little one.”

She muttered something unintelligible and nuzzled into my chest. As I drifted off to sleep a single thought kept rolling around inside my congested and addled brain.

Rest easy, baby. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.

AFTER A GOOD night’s sleep and a healthy dose of cough medicine, I felt human again. This was a decidedly good thing, as it was mid-December and I was running out of shopping days. My nieces and nephews would have my head if I came to the family Christmas empty-handed.

Joe was crashed out, and as much as I wanted to take him shopping with me, I was afraid to wake him if he was half as sick as I’d been the night before. I took a quick shower and ravenous, I went in search for left over pizza for breakfast.

I was warming some up in his microwave when his croaking voice made me jump.

“Someone must be feeling better.”

“Dayquil. Orange gold in a bottle.” I turned around and gasped, dropping the pizza box on the floor. Joe looked like he’d been hit by a truck. “Oh my god, what happened?”

He tried to talk again, but his voice cracked so badly that nothing came out. He blinked tiredly at me as I stepped over the pizza to inspect his injury. There was a small cut, but he didn’t flinch when I turned his head for a better look

“Mason.” He squawked on his second try. My eyes shot to his and then my shoulders fell.

“Charlie. That little fucking weasel. The next time he buys lunch from us I’m spitting in his food.”

I busied myself making Joe tea with honey and we hung out on the couch playing unintentional twenty questions. No, his throat didn’t hurt. Yes, his face did hurt. No, he didn’t get in trouble for the fight. I kept firing questions at him more rapidly. Frustrated, Joe pulled out his phone and texted me the story of what happened with my brothers. I fumed as I read the explanation on my phone. I felt my temper flare not just at their bungling interference, but at the fact they hadn’t even resolved the issue.

“I’m going to kick both their asses.” I reached for my shoes and Joe pulled me back onto the coach. He fixed me with a stern look and shook his head. He held up a finger and then started texting again.

Robin came to apologize for him. She brought us cheesecake.

“I’ve tasted her cheesecake…
that
hardly makes up for anything.” I made a disgusted face and he laughed. It was a horrendous sounding squawk and it caused me to chuckle in return. “Gee. What a
lovely
singing voice you must have, Joe.”

He smirked and I kissed him gently, trying hard not to injure him further. He accepted my clumsy attention graciously. When I pulled away, he studied me and his face darkened a bit. He picked up his phone again.

She had a lot to say about Draven.

Stricken, I lifted my gaze from the phone to his eyes. Hunting Joe’s face for hints, I was convinced he and Robin’s chat had been far too long for my taste.

“I really wish she hadn’t done that.” I whispered, looking down at my hands in my lap. Swallowing hard past the enormous lump in my throat, I felt like my face was an inferno. Humiliation consumed me and I had the overwhelming desire to leave. As if he read my mind, Joe reached out and pulled me into his arms. I realized I was shaking and couldn’t decide of it was due to the anger or the embarrassment. He tilted my chin up and I could see a thousand questions in his eyes.