Restore Me (17 page)

“So what was so urgent, huh? Is there a new
handyman that has you all hot and bothered?” I laugh but Grams
doesn’t. I pull a chair over from the dining table, concerned.
“What’s wrong?”

Grams starts shuffling through some papers on
her side table. She produces a letter and shoves it towards me.
“Read it for yourself,” she says, sounding exhausted.

Dear Mrs. Cole,

On behalf of Las Vegas Federal Credit Union,
we would like to extend our thanks to you for your longstanding
account with us. You are a valued customer and we are pleased that
you choose LVFCU for your banking needs. However, our Fraud
Prevention and Detection Department has recently noticed some
suspicious and potentially fraudulent activity on your account. We
would like to clear up this matter as quickly as possible. Please
call at your earliest convenience.

Best Regards,

David Herring

Manager, Fraud Prevention and Detection

I scrunch up my eyebrows and look up at Grams.
“What the hell is going on?”

“It looks like
someone
has been stealing
from my grandmother,” Elise says in a snarky tone. Her implication
is a resounding one that I caught right away.

I feel like she’s just slapped me in the face. I
narrow my eyes at that snobby bitch and advance towards her. “Don’t
you dare imply that I would do such a thing! I swear if you
dare—
”

“Stop! Now. I know it isn’t you.” Grams
interrupts the threat that was about to fly out of my mouth. “My
question is who would steal checks from my bill fold?”

Edward.
“Edward!” I blurt way too
loudly.

They look at each other, surprised, and then
turn to me.
Did they not consider him already?!
It’s not a
pleasant thought, but he’d obviously be my first suspect. Elise
already told us that he’s desperate for money and Damon has made it
clear that he’s not an option for his worthless father.

“I guess it’s possible. I checked my bill fold
and every check but one has been torn out. The whole damn book of
checks!” she cries.

It makes me angry to know that someone has taken
advantage of Grams. It’s one of the biggest reasons I think she
should be at home instead of here. I grit my teeth and fight to
stay calm and collected.

“Does Damon know about this?”

Grams shakes her head from side to side in
disgust. “No. I haven’t told him. Just you two.”

“Well, you know what? If Dad stole anything,
it’s because he’s desperate and Damon is a selfish jerk who refuses
to help his own father!” Elise hisses.

I lean toward her and spit the most venomous
words I can manage. “Elise, you poor, stupid, misinformed twat!”
Her mouth pops open and her nostrils flare.
I’ve got her
attention now.
“Number one, he could’ve
asked
Grams for
money, instead of stealing it! And most importantly, number two.
Your beloved daddy, the one you’ve been trying to guilt Damon into
helping? He’s also the same man that caused the accident that
killed my parents. He beat the shit out of Damon when he was
growing up.
That’s
why he won’t help the bastard. He abused
him verbally and physically his whole life.”

Elise is quiet, but I can tell she’s listening.
Grams is as quiet as I’ve ever seen her, tears flowing silently
down her wrinkled face.

“Don’t believe me? I’ll bring you the journals
that Damon wrote. They’re full of the gory details. One time, your
dad smashed a beer bottle on the floor, ground it up into tiny
shards with his boot, and then made Damon kneel in the glass for
hours. He heated wire coat hangers to whip Damon across his bare
back. He broke Damon’s toes once by smashing them with a fucking
hammer!”

“No!” Elise covers her mouth with her hand as
her eyes bulge and water.

“Yes!” I bark loudly. “Yes! That shit happened.
Your father did that to
his son
! So don’t you dare fucking
judge him. That monster doesn’t deserve a dime!”

“Oh, sweet Jesus,” Grams whispers. Her wrinkled
hands go to her head. “I should have known. I knew he was a bad
father but I never knew…Damon never told me. I should have known,”
Grams sniffles and her sympathetic tears turn into sobs of
guilt.

“No, Grams. This isn’t your fault. Damon did a
good job of concealing everything. I think everything happened
after they moved out of your house, anyway. This isn’t your
fault.”

“I’m calling him.” Elise wipes away her own
fresh tears and whips out her phone like it’s a loaded gun.

“Who?! Damon?” I ask.
Please don’t call him;
I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone!

“No!” she yells. “Our fucking father!” She
swipes the screen a few times then holds the phone up to her
ear.

“Dad, it’s me.” She pauses to let him speak.
“Did you hurt Damon?”

Silence.

“You heard me. Did you abuse him? Answer me!”
She’s getting angry now, pacing around the room, and I’m almost
proud.

He must’ve made some noise of admission, because
Elise sighed and broke down. After what seems like minutes of
crying, she finally speaks again.

“All those years, Dad?”

More silence.

“Don’t give me shit excuses!” she fumes.
“There’s no excuse for doing those things to anybody! Jo just told
me and Grams everything, so you can just go to hell!”

Damnit!
Why the hell do I feel guilty for
her now?

Elise hangs up, bows her head, and shuffles back
to Grams and I. “I’m so sorry I judged him, Jo. And you. Stupid
bastard! Why Damon? Why not me? Why didn’t I know?” She kicks off
her heels and curls into a ball on Grams’ bed.

Grams strokes Elise’s blonde hair and murmurs
comforting words. Part of me wants to join the hug party, but I’m
just not much of a hugger.

“Hey, you didn’t know. Neither of you knew what
was going on in that house.” I glance from Elise to Grams then back
to Elise. “What’s done is done. Damon might be angry with me for
telling you two, but I’m glad you know. Maybe now we can all
understand him a little better.”

Grams doesn’t say or do anything. Elise just
nods. I think they’re both in terrible shock and I can’t blame
them.

“Grams, I have to get to Damon and let him know
about the missing checks.” She nods. I lean in and hug her neck. “I
love you, Grams. I’m moving you out of here soon. You watch.”

She says nothing, obviously still processing
what I’ve told her. She nods and strokes my cheek and that’s enough
communication for me.

When I near the door, Elise jumps from the bed
and follows me. “Jo, I’m sorry. I—” She’s still crying, so the
words come out hiccupped and wet-sounding.
“I’m-hic-so-hic-sorry-hic, Jo.”

I shake my head and she shuts up. “Don’t. You
didn’t know. It’s not your fault, either.” I touch her arm
companionably and leave the room. It’s time to go face my Big
Man.

I sit in my car for a long time and try to
process all this shit. Telling them about Edward and Damon was
painful and I’ll need to give Damon the heads up in case they get
up the nerve to talk to him about it, but what’s happened with
Grams’ checking account is at the top of my list. Damon needs to
know about that ASAP; I think I’ll have Brian call and get some
info from the home about their employees. Who else would be in
Grams’ room for long enough to take her checks? It’s not like she
goes anywhere…

Grams’ situation is a big distraction, but I
refuse to forget about trying to look up the name that was listed
on Damon’s birth certificate. Beverly Wynona Davis.

My gut tells me this is the right thing to do,
so I can’t just walk away from it. At least not until I get some
information to go to Damon with. I know he’ll be pissed at me, but
I’m hoping that maybe, one day, he’ll thank me.

***

Damon isn’t home
when I get back from Grams’, but by the time I’ve returned from
taking Hemingway for a walk, he’s the one waiting for me. He seems
to be in a great mood and I hate that I’m about to ruin his day,
but if I don’t tell him about what happened with Grams and her
bank, and with Grams and Elise, he’ll be pissed.

“Hey, baby,” I purr as I wrap my arms around his
middle. The smell of him is the perfect medicine to soothe my
stressed mind. I close my eyes and breathe him in deeply.

“Just the woman I’ve been dying to see.” He
wraps his powerful arms around me then lowers his mouth to mine for
a soft kiss. “I’ve missed you today,” he says softly.

“I’ve missed you, too.” I draw in another deep
breath and open my eyes. It’s amazing how far he’s come in the last
month. Dr. Versan must be so proud of us.

I really don’t want to ruin this.

“Let’s go to dinner,” he suggests, brushing the
pad of his thumb across my bottom lip like he always does. I
shiver, like I always do.

I don’t really want to tell him because he’s
going to be angry, but if I don’t tell him what’s happened, he’ll
be furious. “Okay, but first let me tell you about my visit with
Grams.”
The quicker, the better.
“Someone is stealing from
her. I don’t think she belongs in that place, Damon. She’s not sick
or anything and being there makes her vulnerable to people who
could hurt her.”

“What?!” Damon face turns bright red and his
veins bulge under his skin.

“Someone has been stealing checks from Grams’
checkbook. We think it could be your dad.” I watch as his level of
frustration goes from moderate to severe in a matter of seconds. He
clenches his jaw. His nostrils flare as he shakes his head side to
side in complete disgust.

“I’m going to take care of this. That
motherfucker!”

I shrink away from his bluster. He’s already
angry, but I’ve gotta tell him the rest. “And I burst your sister’s
bubble about Edward. She knows what he did. Grams heard, too,” I
say in a rush.

He stares me down. “Why would you do that?” he
asks softly.

I feel like I’m in the spotlight and the heat
beating down has sweat misting the skin along my hairline.I’m going
to need to reapply my deodorant before we go out, I’m sweating
bullets from all this anxiety.

“I had to!” I cry. “She was being a bitch and
defending him at every turn. She basically said it’s your fault if
he’s the one who’s been taking the checks from Grams’
checkbook.”

His arms fall to his sides. He turns from me and
runs his hands through his dark hair. “You should have called me.
You shouldn’t have told them. They don’t need to deal with
that.”

“And you do?” I put my hands on my hips.

“Yeah. I’ve been the one dealing with him all my
life.”

It’s just like him, not to want to burden anyone
else with his problems.

“And how’s that worked out for you so far?” I
fire back.

Damon narrows his eyes at me but he knows full
well that I’m right.

“You know what? You don’t know how lucky you
are! I’ve dealt with almost everything on my own because I didn’t
have a choice. I didn’t have a sister or a grandmother who adored
me that I could talk to. You
do!
They love you. Give them a
chance to support you. Talk to them.”

He turns to face me and I can see the turmoil
written all over his face. He’s such a protector, and I know he’d
never want or allow Grams and Elise to do the protecting, but
they’re both strong, bold women and if there is anyone for the job,
they’re it.

“You underestimate them, Damon. I don’t know if
you realize this, but you have three irritatingly brash women in
your life who love you unconditionally.”

He scoffs at my statement of the obvious. “Yeah,
I’m well aware. Trust me.”

I slip my fingers into his waistband and tug him
towards me. “I’m sorry I told them, Damon. I couldn’t listen to
Elise say one more thing about you not supporting Edward. I just
couldn’t stand it.”

He touches his forehead to mine. “I know,
Josephine.” He strokes my hair behind my ear and my chest feels a
little less heavy. “I know you only want to help. And I love you
for it. If you do something like this again, though…”

“Hey! Watch yourself, Big Man.” A smile tilts
the edge of my mouth as I toss out the idle threat.

Damon’s eyes have a naughty glint to them and
its obvious where this evening is going.

“Uh-uh.” I back up slowly while shaking my head
side to side. “Eat dinner first.”

“You are my dinner,” he says as he prowls
closer.

I squeal and run for the stairs with Damon hot
on my heels. I’m no match for his speed and he catches me easily. I
can’t say I’m mad, though. Being caught by Damon is how this whole
relationship started. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to
me.