“If he wants to live like a hermit, I think we should honor his privacy.”
That was a feeble excuse. Even if their expressions hadn’t told her so, she would have known it. The truth was that she and Dillon were together a great deal each day. He was so competent that she found herself asking for his opinion or advice on a number of decisions. They were friendly, but strictly professional in their treatment of each other, and that’s the way it would have to stay.
“You still haven’t said whether I could ride my bike out there,” Graham reminded her. “Please, Mom. Palmetto’s not like New York. Nothing bad happens here.”
Unsteadily, Jade returned her cup and saucer to the tray.
Cathy quickly interceded. “Give her a day or two to think about it, Graham. Since you’ve demolished that plate of cookies, you can help me clean up the kitchen. Take the tray in, please. I’ll be there in a minute. Now scoot.”
Graham reluctantly came to his feet and carried the tray from the room. Once he was out of earshot, Cathy covered Jade’s hands which were tightly clenched on her knees. “He didn’t know any better than to say something like that, Jade.”
“Of course he didn’t. Until I was gang-raped, I never would have believed that anything bad could happen here, either.”
Cathy chose her next words carefully. “I know you’ve never wanted Graham to know how he was conceived.”
“I haven’t changed my mind.”
“But what if he finds out from someone else?” Cathy asked worriedly. “What if someone comes right out and asks him which of the three men was his father?”
“The people who know about the rape aren’t going to tell about it. And even they don’t know that Graham was conceived that night.”
“Your enemies are the most important men in town—the Patchetts and Sheriff Jolly. When they hear about Graham, they’re bound to put two and two together.”
“And then what? Confess to rape? Hardly.”
Cathy searched her young friend’s face. “Jade, I’ve never interfered in your personal life. If I had, I would have had you married to Hank Arnett years ago. I’ve never presumed to tell you what you should do.”
“Why do I feel that’s about to change?”
The older woman ignored her sarcasm and, in an urgent whisper, said, “Let it go.”
“Let what go?”
“I’m not stupid, Jade. You didn’t whimsically select Palmetto as the site of the TexTile plant. Why would you return to a place of such unpleasant memories if not to get revenge?”
She squeezed Jade’s hands tighter. “Your achievements should be revenge enough. You’ve overcome every obstacle put in your path. You’ve got Graham, and he loves you dearly. What more do you need? Let it go.”
“I can’t, Cathy.” She didn’t even attempt to deny Cathy’s charge. “I’ve waited years for this. I won’t back down now.”
“I’m afraid for you. This thing is consumptive. It might destroy you before you can destroy them.”
“I don’t want to destroy them. If I had, I would have killed them fifteen years ago. I thought about it.” She shook her head. “But killing them would have been the easy way out. No, I want them to lose something that they cherish, the way I lost my innocence and the boy I loved. I want to see them stripped of their dreams just as I was stripped of mine.
“More than that, I want Gary’s death avenged. They killed him, Cathy, just as surely as if they had put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. I won’t rest until they’ve paid dearly for his life.”
Her tone softened, became wistful. “He was such an idealist. We dreamed of someday dethroning the Patchetts, to stop their economic tyranny over Palmetto. They prey on victims who have no wealth, no strength or influence, just as I was fifteen years ago. They’
re lawless and unconscionable, and they’ll continue to hurt people and suppress this town until somebody stops them.” Her expression hardened again with resolve. “I worked for fifteen years toward having this opportunity. I can’t squander it.”
Cathy said nothing for a moment, then lifted imploring eyes to Jade. “Tell Graham what happened to you. If these men are as villainous as you say, they’ll fight back. They could try and get to you through him. Tell him, Jade, before someone else does.”
She recognized the wisdom in what Cathy was telling her, but she could also recall Velta laying the responsibility of her father’s suicide on her. If she told Graham about the rape, he might wrongly assume the blame for his conception. She refused to burden him with a guilt that would last a lifetime.
“No, Cathy. He must never know.”
* * *
The question of whether Graham had permission to bicycle to and from the construction site was temporarily shelved when Dillon went out of town to interview several concrete contractors.