“So, where will she do prison time? Here, or in New York?” Lana asked curiously since she had no idea how the process worked.
“That would be up to the judge ultimately, but more than likely, since her crimes happened in Georgia, it’ll be somewhere in the state. I don’t see her going to New York. ” Heathcliff chimed in.
“That makes sense. I wish she had committed some crime there, though. Let her do some hard New York prison time,” Kayden added.
“I still can’t believe she did what she did. I hope one day she gets the help she needs. Something in her is broken.” Lana admitted out loud, staring at her plate of uneaten food.
Then everyone fell silent.
“I didn’t see it before either,” Maureen agreed, and took a long sip of her wine.
Maureen couldn’t see the real person Kim was until that afternoon, but now she believed Kim was capable of anything, and it rattled her to the core.
AFTER DINNER CONCLUDED,the staff cleared away the leftovers, Paula retired upstairs, and Maureen made her way down the hall with her luggage in tow to check in at the hotel. As Kayden and Maureen shared words on the front porch, Lana slowly made her way outside on the lanai with her crutches and stared down over the town. For a quick flash of a moment, she forgot about the constant pain in her leg and that Kayden looked as if he had just returned from a serious war zone.
She took a deep, soothing breath in and blew it out, calming her racing mind. The air was sweet and crisp, smelling of lilac as the sun disappeared below the treetops. The twinkling of lights beyond began to trickle as the street lamps flickered on, one by one, reminding her of the little snow globe towns trapped underglass domes. The slow opening of the French door behind her interrupted her thoughts, and Kayden wheeled himself outside next to her, with help from the ramp Paula had installed.
“Hey, you,” he spoke as he grabbed hold of her hand.
“Hey,” she replied.
“Is everything OK with you?” he asked.
She shrugged her shoulders at his question. Everything wasn’t OK. Her body hurt, she was still in shock from the last few weeks, and she was really starting to miss her family back home.
“I’m just tired.” Only partially a lie.
He pulled on her hand lightly and dragged her down to sit on his lap.
“Kayden, no,” she protested.
“I’m fine, here, sit on the good leg,” he patted his left knee. She smirked and lowered herself a little, but lost her balance, landing on his lap too hard.
“I’m so sorry,” she apologized, trying to get up, but he held her down.
“Stop it, you’re fine and I’m fine,” he replied.
She relaxed a little and let him hold her as they watched over the town below.
“I’m scared, Kayden,” she admitted after a few moments.
“Why, baby?”
“I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling.”
He turned her face to his and looked her square in the eyes.
“You have nothing to fear, you hear me? I will never let something or someone like that into our lives ever again.”
A tear sprang to her eye, and she believed him. It still didn’t shake the feeling she had in the pit of her stomach, though.
“I know,” she replied, then kissed his mouth.
“We’re a sight for sore eyes, huh?” he joked, wincing at his bruised lip.
“We sure are,” she smiled back, “But we’re gonna get through this better and stronger than before, right?”
“Damned right, Mrs. Capshaw,” he replied.
