Page 34 of The Banned Books Club

When Brindley finally spoke, he did so quietly.

MR. BRINDLEY:How did it end?

GIA ROSSI:I did what I could to straighten my clothes and ran out.

MR. BRINDLEY:Did he come after you?

GIA ROSSI:No.

MR. BRINDLEY:What was he like the next time you saw him?

GIA ROSSI:When I got to class the next day, he acted as if it never happened—except he did change the grade on my paper to a B. My friend pointed it out to me almost as soon as I walked in. Our grades were posted on a chart on the wall.

MR. BRINDLEY:But you still went to the principal.

GIA ROSSI:I was torn about it, but I didn’t want to be in his class any longer, so, yes, I went to Mr. Applegate, and he put me in Mrs. Summerfield’s class instead. The funny thing is that they were a week behind us. People were just turning in their research papers, so I turned mine in right along with everyone else.

MR. BRINDLEY:You didn’t change it in any way?

GIA ROSSI:Not one sentence.

MR. BRINDLEY:What kind of grade did you get from Mrs. Summerfield?

GIA ROSSI:An A minus.

There’d been another collective murmur in the gallery then, after which Mr. Brindley had said, “No more questions, Your Honor.”

Cormac set the transcript aside. After that, the defense attorney had had a chance to cross-examine Gia and got her to admit, once again, that she’d been drinking that night, which meant she might not remember it clearly. He’d pointed out that grading a research paper was often subjective, so getting two vastly different grades could happen even when there was no impropriety involved. And then his father had taken the stand and done an excellent job of presenting his side of the argument, which had made Gia look bad.

Bottom line, the whole thing had been a fucking nightmare.

Leaving the transcript on his nightstand again, Cormac got up and leaned against the wall of his bedroom as he went back to staring down at Gia. Although she had her phone in her hand, she wasn’t using it. The fact that she’d come out so quietly, without turning on any lights, suggested her parents were asleep and she was enjoying a peaceful moment alone, just sitting in the lounger and staring up at the stars.

He wondered why the cold hadn’t driven her back inside. But then he reminded himself that she’d spent considerable time in Alaska. Maybe the cold didn’t bother her. Maybe she missed the wide-open spaces she’d enjoyed during those years enough that it was worth the chill. Wakefield wasn’t exactly crowded—there were only five thousand people—but that was probably big compared with some of the places she’d lived since moving away from home.

After she’d first left, he’d been tempted to track her down. His world had been crumbling around him, and he’d thought if only she’d listen to what was happening as a consequence of her lies and have some compassion, she might be willing to come forward with the truth, which could restore his father’s reputation and save his job—as well as his parents’ marriage. Cormac believed if she had a conscience, she’d have to right this wrong. But his father had villainized her to the family and anyone who’d listen to the point that he hadn’t believed he could reach her no matter what.

And now, seventeen years later, she was becoming human to him again. Should he talk to her? If so, what would he say?

He’d be a lot less accusatory than he’d been before; he knew that. Judging by the way his father had lived his life—and what she’d accomplished since—shewas the one who seemed more reliable these days. Even though Cormac wanted to blame what his father had become on her—and in all fairness that was still a possibility; there were men who couldn’t get over the false accusations they’d endured—there was a small voice inside Cormac that said if his father’s character had been what it was supposed to be, he would’ve figured out a way to live a life of integrity, nonetheless. A man like he’d once thought his father was would not want to be a liability to his family and friends...

He rubbed his temples as he tried to figure out a way to contact Gia that wouldn’t involve anyone else and wouldn’t become the subject of gossip around town.

They definitely couldn’t be seen together...

Fortunately, their houses backed up to each other. There was even a gate between them. And she came out alone almost every night despite the cold. He could walk over there right now and interrupt her solitude, but he knew that wouldn’t be a welcome surprise. She had to be willing to meet with him; he felt that was the only way they might have a civil conversation. And that meant he needed to give her the choice and hope she’d agree.

So he wrote a note asking her to come to his house tomorrow night—or suggest another private meeting spot if she wasn’t comfortable doing that—and waited until she’d gone inside to leave it on the chaise under a rock so the wind couldn’t blow it away.

10

Sunday had been torturous. Sheldon had been acting suspicious of every comment or expression, and he’d insisted they spend every moment together. When Margot had told him she was supposed to go to brunch with her parents and sister, he’d said they had things to do as a family.

While they drove to the sporting goods store in Sioux City, she’d wanted to ask if it meant he was going hunting, after all. She needed that reassurance. Thankfully, the cooler purchase signified he hadn’t entirely ruled it out.

She redoubled her efforts to be the cowed, obedient wife—to act as though nothing had changed. But the arrival of her sister, together with the brief flash of defiance she’d shown in the kitchen on Friday night, seemed to have put him on high alert. He knew if she ever told Gia she was unhappy, he’d have a real fight on his hands. Margot finally had the possibility of some support—beyond two parents who tried not to get involved and couldn’t now that they were dealing with the last stages of cancer.

She was folding the laundry on the couch after dinner on Monday night while the boys were playing in their room and Sheldon watched golf on TV when she heard a knock at the door.

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