Whispering Rock (Virgin River #3)(88)

“What about her?”

“Well, it’s no secret and you’ll hear about it sooner or later. Brie was a Sacramento ADA, an assistant district attorney. She put away a lot of dangerous criminals, but then she prosecuted a serial ra**st and lost the trial. The guy had brutally raped a bunch of women, and he walked. And then he raped and beat Brie.”

“Come on—are you shitting me?” Tommy asked, appalled.

“No, that’s what went on. Mike told me that they’ve found the guy and there will be a trial. Brie is determined she’s going to testify against him and put him away so he can’t do this to anyone else, ever.”

“Jesus,” Tommy said.

“Yeah,” Paul said.

“Right here. These stories. This little dinky place full of big trees and pretty rivers and good-looking deer, and people are performing heroic acts and living out these huge dramas. Every day.”

Paul laughed. “And I haven’t even told you about Preacher. And Paige.”

Christmas dinner at the Booth household was served at six—small and somber. Paul and the general cleaned up the kitchen and not long afterward Vanni just went to bed. Paul knew she wasn’t sleeping well, as he could often hear her in the night. But she continued to go to bed earlier and earlier. Paul suspected she wanted to be alone, to grieve, to cry without impacting the rest of the household.

When it was down to just the men, Paul excused himself to run into town to pay a call on Paige and Preacher, and Tom took his little red truck in the same direction, to visit Brenda.

When Tom got to Brenda’s house it was still all lit up, and it looked as if there were a lot of people inside. He knew he should’ve called, but he hadn’t been thinking straight lately. When he rang the bell, she answered. “Hey,” he said.

“Tommy! Hi! Wanna come in?”

“Um—I was wondering if you could come out. For a little while.”

“Let me ask my mom,” she said. “Here, step inside. Come on.” She pulled his hand and he let himself be drawn into their house.

The moment Brenda’s mom saw him, she stood up from her place at the table with Brenda’s dad, brothers and sister, grandma and grandpa and a couple of other people. She went straight to him and put her arms around him. “How are you, Tommy?” she asked, giving him a motherly hug. “You getting by?”

“I’m doing all right,” he said with a shrug. “Sorry. I should’ve called.”

“It’s okay, honey. How’s Vanessa doing?”

He hoped he wouldn’t get choked up. “Um. She’s having a pretty hard time. I think it’s going to be a while. You know?”

“Mom?” Brenda asked. “Okay if I go out with Tommy for a little while?”

“Sure, honey. Don’t be too late. Tommy—keep an eye on the time,” she said.

“Yeah, I will, Mrs. Carpenter.” He held Brenda’s coat for her. Then held her hand as he took her down the porch steps and out to his truck. Once they were in the truck, still sitting out in front of her house, still holding her hand, he said, “I’m sorry, Bren. I haven’t called. I haven’t given you any attention.”

“I didn’t really expect anything, Tommy. I understand—it’s a really rough time. You feeling any better?”

“Right this minute, with you, I feel a lot better. Can we drive out to the woods? Maybe Jack’s homesite? Brenda, I just have to hold someone.” He smiled at her. “You’re my first and only choice.”

She squeezed his hand. “Sure.”

He put the truck in gear and headed out of town. “You know—you’re about the best thing that’s happened to me since I got here. If I weren’t going with you, this year would be—it would be total crap.”

She laughed a little. “I feel the same way. My year didn’t start out real good, either. It wasn’t half as tough as yours, but it was still pretty crappy.”

“You’ve been so great to me,” he said.

“You’ve been pretty good to me, too.”

“I mean it. A lot of girls are real complicated. Ever since we started talking, going out, you’ve been awesome. You don’t worry about little shit, you don’t get all moody, you’re just so— Brenda, you’re the best girl I’ve ever known.”

“Thanks. You’re pretty much the best guy I’ve ever known. There’s only one thing wrong with you as far as I can tell.”

“Yeah?” he said, smiling in spite of himself. “What’s that?”

“You’re going away next year.”

“Yeah, there’s that. Could be a long year. But I’ll get leave—I’ll be back here to visit. And you can always pick a school not so far from West Point when it’s your turn. People do that, you know. Actually date for a long time. Go steady for a long time. Of course, that’s all up to you—I don’t expect anything.”

“It would be all right to ask, though,” she said.

“I wouldn’t tie you down your senior year,” he said.

“And maybe you don’t want to be tied down your freshman year?” she asked.

“Whew,” he said. “First of all, I don’t think they let the little guys out much at West Point the first year. And second, if I knew you were my girl, I wouldn’t even have to think about it. Being tied down to you—that would be worth my time, no kidding.” He pulled off the road up to the top of the hill where the house was being built. He stopped the truck, leaving it running, and put on the dome light. “I have something for you.” He opened the glove box and withdrew a small, wrapped box. “I bought this before… Before Matt… I had this big deal planned for giving it to you—a real nice night out, something special. For sure not sitting in my truck in the woods. Open it, go ahead.”