Page 129 of Family Bonds- Garrett & Justine

“And she will,” he said. “But if she pleads guilty there won’t be a trial and just sentencing. It will save you the heartache. You know she was drunk. There is no way she was fully aware of her actions just because she wasn’t slurring her words or staggering around.”

“Don’t make excuses for her,” she said sharply.

“Never,” he said gently. “But they are going to use all of that. You heard Roark. It’s what he’d do. It’s obvious Elise has a substance abuse problem. She’ll get cleaned up. All those things.”

“She’ll get clean in jail. I don’t care if I have to use every bit of my father’s money to make sure she ends up locked up.”

“You know she will,” he said. “Let the process work. It’s only a matter of time now.”

He watched as she sniffled some and the tears silently rolled down her cheeks.

“I know,” she said. “And my father’s name can be cleared now. But some of it won’t be. He will continue to be talked about because he didn’t leave her. Why didn’t he leave her?”

“Love does stupid shit to people,” he said. “He said he loved her still.”

“And that love got him killed,” she said, turning her head to look out the window. “I want to never forgive him for that.”

“Don’t do that to yourself,” he said firmly. “Don’t put more on your shoulders to deal with. No one knows how they are going to react in those situations.”

“My father obviously feared for his safety and life if he got a gun. And that bothers me. If he had to go to those extremes he should have kicked her out.”

“You don’t know that maybe he wasn’t going to do that,” he said. “You don’t know anything and you won’t now. So don’t try to put thoughts or actions in your head.”

“You’re right,” she said after a few seconds. “That pertains to you too.”

“What?” he asked.

She turned to look back at him as he drove through traffic toward his condo.

“I said, that pertains to you too. Don’t put thoughts or actions in your head that you have no control over or how they may or may not have turned out. You can’t do anything more than you are with your lawsuit right now.”

He sighed. “There is no reason to talk about that.”

When Justine was in the bathroom, Roark had told him that so far nothing new had come up. He felt Zach’s family was hoping for a quick payout, but Garrett was holding strong and so far his two colleagues were too.

But how much stronger they could all stand was yet to be determined.

He knew he’d be fine, but would the other two?

And if even one of them caved, the other two would be at risk.

“You can’t avoid it either,” she said.

“I’m not avoiding it,” he said. “There is a time and place and it’s not now. This is about what you just went through and me being there for you so that you can pull it out on the other end.”

“I can,” she said. “You know why?”

“Why?” he asked.

She reached for his hand. “Because you’re going to be with me.”

“I am,” he whispered. “Don’t forget it either.”

40

THE COURAGE TO SPEAK UP

“This place is beautiful,” Justine said two months later when she walked into The Retreat with Garrett for his cousin Grace Stone’s wedding.

---