AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her father reached for her, pulled her into a hug. “Don’t you worry about me and that no-good Ray Johnson. If I knew anything that would help you find answers, I would tell you.”
Finley hugged him back hard and then said good night. She watched him drive away. With every fiber of her being, she wanted to believe his words.
But he was still holding something back, and whatever it was ... it involved Lucy Cagle.
23
After the Murder
Thirteen Years Ago
Friday, November 24
O’Sullivan Residence
Jackson Boulevard, Belle Meade, 11:30 a.m.
Bart checked the steaks. Grinned. Almost done.
Ruth would be home in half an hour. It was the day after Thanksgiving, but she’d had to go into the office for a few hours this morning. Bart grinned. By the time she returned, he would have a celebratory lunch prepared. Finley was inside working on the rolls. Ruth didn’t know that he and Finley had been told she was getting a very special award. Her assistant had given Bart a heads-up. Ruth was the first woman to receive the Nashville Bar Association’s esteemed Jack Norman, Sr.Award. It was a tremendous honor. Bart was so very proud of her. The award was the reason she had been called in to her office today. She would be told the news before it was released to the press.
He carefully turned the steaks. The baked potatoes were in the warming drawer. He’d prepared a nice salad. The wine was waiting in the dining room. Ruth liked all manner of reds. Bart not so much, but he could live with it. This was her special moment, and he wanted every aspect of it to be perfect.
Finley had told him time and again that he never considered himself and he always put Ruth first. But that was what a man did when he truly loved a woman. Love and respect—they were the foundations of a good marriage. It was true that Ruth was far more outspoken than him. She had outshined him in most everything in their lives, but Bart was okay with that. It wasn’t necessary for him to be a star to be happy. He loved his life exactly as it was. No one was happier to bask in the light that was his wife’s.
Ruth O’Sullivan was an amazing person and brilliant legal mind. She had been as an attorney, and she really shined as a judge.
Finley was just like her mother. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was. She had that same brilliant mind. The same dogged determination. She would succeed in the legal field as well. He anticipated her climbing high, just as her mother had.
The work he did was important too. He helped many families, particularly children. He was proud of what he had accomplished as well.
“I hope one of those steaks is for me.”
Bart whipped around.
Hewas there ... standing in the yard as if he had been invited.
Bart glanced at the door leading to the kitchen. Finley was in the house. His heart swelled into his throat.
“What’re you doing here?” he demanded, struggling to keep his voice low.
Ray Johnson held up his hands. “Let’s just stay calm, Bart. No need to get excited.”
Was the man insane?
“My wife will be here any minute. My daughter is in the house. Do not tell me not to get excited!” Outrage blasted through him. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
“My car is parked on the street, and,” Johnson said, “I will make this quick.”
Bart reminded himself to breathe.
“I just want to make sure that we don’t have any problems,” the bastard said, stepping closer, eyeing the steaks.
Damn! The steaks! Bart ushered him out of the way and removed the steaks from the grill. Hell, he was shaken. He couldn’t even think straight.
“I hear a certain someone paid you a little visit.”
Bart faced him, more furious than he had ever been in his entire life. “What are you talking about?”
