Until Then Read online

  “Wanna go up to my room?”

  He did. He would never turn her down. Graham nodded and held her hand all the way back to her room. When they entered, her desk light was on. “Where’s Kim?”

  “With her boyfriend.”

  Graham kicked his shoes off and crawled into Rennie’s twin bed. He was tired and needed sleep. Rennie snuggled into him and laid her head on his chest. “Do you like me?” she asked him.

  He inhaled deeply and let his breath out slowly. “You have no idea how much, Rennie.”

  “You’re the one guy that’ll never leave me, Graham.”

  She spoke the truth.

  Rennie lifted her head and kissed a path from Graham’s neck to his lips, and then Graham took over. He made love to Rennie that night and the following and continued to do so until he crossed paths with Monica Watson, the one woman to turn his eyes away from Rennie.

  For most of their friendship, at least through college, he had been by her side when she needed him. “You don’t have to stay, Ren. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here with my mom.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Graham.”

  He finally accepted her offer and nodded. He was grateful for her and their friendship and had missed her over the years.

  When George stood and declared it was time to head home, the four of them walked back up the stairs and out the main entrance of the hospital.

  “Dad, I really think you should stay. If Grady wakes—”

  “Grady’s fine,” his father said gruffly. “All this nonsense about an overdose. My boy doesn’t even do drugs.” He stormed past Graham and right to Bowie’s car. Graham stared, unsure of what to think.

  Bowie’s hand came down on Graham’s shoulder and squeezed. “He’ll come around.”

  “I doubt it. His son is upstairs, dying, and he wants to go home.”

  “Are we ever going to go back to normal?” Bowie said as he walked toward his car. Graham didn’t have an answer for him, because he knew nothing in Cape Harbor, or at least his family, had ever been the same since the accident. It was like his father believed Grady was still a carefree twenty-two-year-old with his life ahead of him and not a middle-aged man known as the town drunk.

  Rennie and Graham waved as Bowie honked on his way out of the parking lot. Graham reached for Rennie’s hand, and she gave it willingly. They passed by the security guard, who commented, “Happy to see you found your husband.”

  “Husband, huh?” he said to Rennie after the guard was out of earshot.

  “Visiting hours were over, and I had to be quick on my feet. Bowie’s your cousin. The guard said we could stay as long as we waited in the general waiting room.”

  “Gotcha. Well, we’re going upstairs. I want to be there for my mom if and when she comes out of Grady’s room.” Graham let go of Rennie’s hand when they entered the elevator. She followed him toward the ICU and leaned her head against his shoulder while they waited for the doors to open. Inside, one other couple was sitting—actually, sleeping—in the chairs.

  “They look so uncomfortable,” Rennie said quietly.

  “There’s nothing comfortable about hospitals.” Graham could count on one hand how many times he had been in one.

  They sat down, and within seconds, Rennie opened her bag and pulled a myriad of items out. She handed Graham a thriller. “This might interest you,” she said. “I can’t read it at night, because it’ll give me nightmares.”

  Graham took the book from her and flipped it over to read the back. He chuckled. “Why would you buy something like this?”

  She shrugged. “I’m trying to broaden my reading palate.”

  “With reading something that induces nightmares?” Graham looked over at Rennie, and she looked away. “You’re crazy, Ren. What else do you have in that bag of yours?”

  Rennie held it on her lap and looked inside. “Let’s see. I have some protein bars, a pair of yoga pants, my laptop, a couple of cases I’m working on. Pens, pencils, notepads.” She looked up at Graham. “Want to play tic-tac-toe or hangman?”

  “Not really,” he said with a smile. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For being here. For coming even though you didn’t have to.”

  Rennie set her bag on the floor, turned in the chair, brought her leg up, and hooked it under her knee. “When Bowie told us why you called, there wasn’t any question of where I needed to be—or wanted to be, for that matter.”

  “I’m sure at the inn, tucked nicely in a warm cozy bed, instead of sitting in these uncomfortable chairs.”

  She nodded. “Or I’m sitting next to my friend because he needs me more than I need a feather-filled pillow.”

  Graham smiled. He loved that she was there, waiting with him. He leaned his head against the wall and watched her. There was a time in his life when he wanted to marry her but never dared to say anything. Now, she was back in his life and with someone else—such was his luck.

  NINE

  The overhead lights illuminated, which caused Rennie to stir. She moved slightly, and her eyes shot open from the ache she felt in her neck and back. She sat alone in a small room, surrounded by orange pleather chairs, a table stacked with magazines and day-old coffee cups, and a muted television. The whoosh of the double doors reminded her of where she was—the hospital with Graham.

  Her hand found the back of her neck, and she applied pressure to the kink and moved her head back and forth to loosen the muscles. Memories from last night—or more like hours ago, it seemed—replayed in her mind. Graham and Rennie played games, challenging each other in trivia and working together to solve brainteaser puzzles. The last thing she remembered was giving him an earbud and resting her head on his shoulder so they could watch a movie together. At some point, she acquired one of those white hospital blankets, which now pooled around her waist as she sat up straight. Her phone sat precariously on the armrest of the chair next to her. Someone had plugged it in for her. No, not someone, but Graham. Rennie bent forward and reached under her chair to feel for her bag. If Graham had thought to charge her phone, he would’ve hidden her bag as well. A sense of relief washed over her when she felt the leather straps.

  Where had Graham gone?

  Rennie stood and gathered the blanket into a fold and set it on the chair near her phone. She bent at the waist and touched her toes, stretching her back, and then stood upright and reached her hands above her head, elongating her torso. She repeated this until she felt the stiffness start to dissipate.

  With great reluctance, she reached for her phone. After she arrived at the hospital the previous night, she put everyone and everything out of her mind, except for Graham. She tapped the screen and groaned at the number of text messages. She opened the app and expected to find at least one from Theo, but there was none. Graham, Brooklyn, Brystol, Ester, and a couple other coworkers. She opened Graham’s first and read it: in Grady’s room with my mom, text me when you’re awake. Rennie did. She opened Brooklyn’s next, expecting to read a long rant about missing their shopping trip: Let me know if you need anything. Even though Brooklyn hadn’t put her feelings into the text, Rennie knew she was upset, and rightfully so. They’d had plans, and she had pushed them aside. Rennie replied: Thank you. I’ll call you soon. She opened Brystol’s next: OMG! I’m working at the bar today! Rennie was confused because her niece wasn’t old enough to be in a bar, let alone work in one. However, she let it go because she didn’t want to bother Brystol at work or whatever she was out doing.

  The double doors swung open, and Graham walked out. “Good morning,” he said to her as he walked toward her. He stopped shy of giving her a hug, which Rennie desperately wanted but couldn’t bring herself to initiate either.

  “Morning. Any update on Grady?”

  Graham shook his head slightly. “No, still in the coma.”

  “Well, I suppose that’s for the best. His body needs time to heal. How’s your mom?”

  “All things consi
dered, she’s okay. They gave her a cot to sleep on, and one of the nurses brought her breakfast.”

  “That’s sweet of them. Want to go grab some coffee?”

  Graham motioned for Rennie to lead the way. She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. When they were out in the hall, away from the ICU, the hospital seemed livelier. People milled about. Patients walked up and down the hall with their IV carts, there was an orderly singing as he came toward Graham and Rennie, and an expectant mother was waddling her way toward the maternity ward, yelling at her husband because he was doing tricks in a wheelchair.

  “I’m going to use the restroom,” Rennie told Graham as they approached the door. She went inside, used the facilities, changed out of her jeans and into her yoga pants, which she should’ve done hours ago. At the sink, she washed up, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair. Rennie glanced in the mirror and recoiled. She looked tired, with dark bags under her eyes. She pinched her cheeks to bring some pinkness to them and smoothed tinted moisturizer all over her face to give her pallor some color. When she opened the door, Graham was resting against the wall with his phone in his hand.

  “Hey, what’s this about Brystol working in a bar? I’m assuming it’s the Whale Spout?”

  Graham pushed away from the wall and met Rennie in stride as they headed toward the elevators. “Krista called this morning to tell me the busboy called out sick.” Graham paused and rolled his eyes. “Brystol likes to come down and help out occasionally, so I asked Bowie if she could work today.”

  “You’re paying her, right?” As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Rennie regretted them. She knew Graham would do right by Brystol and pay her.

  “Of course.” He laughed. “I would never expect her to work for free.”

  “I know. I don’t know why I said anything.”

  They stepped into the empty elevator, and Graham pressed the button for the basement. He continued to look at his phone while Rennie watched the floor indicators light up quickly and then dim. When B lit up and stayed, she clutched the strap of her bag and waited for the doors to open.

  They stepped out and got right in line with the rest of the people. The smell of eggs, bacon, freshly baked pies, and coffee made Rennie’s stomach growl. She placed her hand over her midsection and looked around to see if anyone had heard the loud rumblings.

  Judging by the look on Graham’s face, he had. “We might as whale eat while we are down here.”

  “Did you say whale, or do I hear things?”

  “Nope, I said it.” He shrugged.

  Rennie laughed. “You’re a nut,” she told him. Once it was their turn in line, they each took a tray and set it on the tubular tray slide. Each station she came to, Rennie wanted whatever was cooked there. Hash browns, pancakes or french toast, fruit, yogurt, and oatmeal. With so many options, she had a hard time choosing, so she took one of everything. By the time she reached the cashier, her tray was nearly overflowing. Rennie looked down at her food and started to question her decisions.

  She found a table with a view of the snowcapped mountains. Graham sat across from her with nothing on his tray. “Where’s your food?” she asked.

  He tilted his head slightly toward her tray, and her eyes followed. She had heaps of food, most of which she wouldn’t eat. “I figured you had enough for the both of us and knew you would be mad at yourself for being wasteful.”

  Graham was right. Rennie slid her tray to the middle of the table. “Everything looked so good. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “No worries,” he told her as he pierced a piece of sausage with his fork.

  “How was Thanksgiving? I meant to ask earlier.”

  “Fine, given the circumstances of Grady not being there.”

  “How’s your mom? I mean, how has she been? I’ve been meaning to stop by when I visit.”

  Graham stilled. His fork lingered between food and nothingness. “She’s probably the strongest person I know. Do you remember the night we left to drive to Cape Harbor?”

  Rennie nodded. She would never forget that night or the drive back to Washington. For hours upon hours, silence filled the car. They only spoke when it was time to stop or eat or when Graham suddenly slammed his hand against the steering wheel and screamed out “Why?” over and over again.

  “We didn’t know all the details on the drive home. We didn’t know that my brother had been pulled from the water by a rescue boat and given CPR. The medics revived him, and once they were back to the dock, instead of getting into the ambulance, Grady dove back into the water. Friends, people who were there because word spread fast that there was something wrong, went in after him. He fought people, screaming at them to let him go. It was only then that he mentioned Austin.” Graham used the fork to move eggs around on the plate. It was as if he was trying to avoid making eye contact with Rennie.

  “Why didn’t Grady tell them about Austin as soon as he was conscious?” Rennie leaned closer to Graham. “Why didn’t the rescue crew know about Austin?”

  Graham looked up and set his utensil down. “I don’t know. I’ve asked Grady over the years about that night. He’s never come clean about what happened.”

  “I feel like there’s something you’re trying to say here.”

  He shrugged. “We know Austin left Brooklyn that night, broke up with her. We know he called Bowie and told him to go to Brooklyn. Grady has said it was Austin’s idea to take the boat out, but what if it wasn’t? What if it was Grady’s idea? We’ve had many accidents with our fishermen before, but none of them have turned out like Grady. Ren, he’s so far gone. What if this is guilt eating away at him?”

  Rennie sat there, stunned. For the past fifteen years, she had known the story about Austin being the one to take the boat out on the raining night. She hated what-ifs, but Graham’s made sense. Of course, both thoughts were plausible, and only two people knew the truth. One was slowly killing himself, and the other was still missing and presumed dead.

  She reached her hand out and took ahold of his. She wanted him to know she was there for him. So much of their lives had changed the night the call came in. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind if the accident hadn’t happened, she and Graham would still be in California. With him there, it gave her an excuse to stay. Once he left and never returned, she was alone.

  Graham tossed his napkin on the table, and Rennie followed suit. He carried their trayful of dishes and half-eaten foods to the other side of the cafeteria and obeyed the instructions for composting, sorting, and where to put everything else.

  On their way back to the ICU, Graham’s phone dinged with a new message. He glanced at the screen and frowned. “What’s wrong?” Rennie asked. Tempted as she was to look over his shoulder, she refrained from doing so.

  “My mom says the cops are here to talk about Grady.”

  “The cops? Why?”

  Graham typed out a message and pocketed his phone. “I don’t know. Last night the doctor said he was found and brought by ambulance, but he never mentioned the police needing to speak with us.”

  Rennie pulled Graham into an alcove and asked for all the details. She listened intently as he recounted what the doctor said when they arrived yesterday. After he finished, they made their way back to the ICU, where they waited for the double doors to open. They bypassed the waiting room and followed the nurse. The moment Rennie saw Johanna, tears formed. It had been years since she had seen Graham’s mother, a woman she had grown very fond of while growing up. The two women hugged for a long time. “I’m so sorry,” Rennie whispered.

  They pulled away, and Johanna sat back down while Graham introduced himself to the two police officers in the room. Rennie stepped forward and held her hand out. “Renee Wallace. I represent the Chamberlain family.”

  The two gasps she heard behind her were something she’d expected. Graham hadn’t asked her for help, but from the moment he mentioned the police were there to see them, she knew they would need it. There was no wa
y she was letting this family battle the legal system alone.

  “I’m Officer Hook, and this is my partner, Officer Frey.” The tall blond officer pointed to his dark-haired equal.

  Rennie sat down and pulled her notepad and pen out of her bag. She crossed one leg over the other and looked at the officers, who sat across from her. She smiled and mentally prepared herself for part of the law that wasn’t her forte. At best, she would take all the notes she could and then hand the case off to a colleague.

  “I’m a little fuzzy on why you’re here,” Rennie started. “Are you checking my client’s medical status?”

  “No, ma’am,” Officer Hook stated. “We’re here to place Grady Chamberlain under arrest.” Johanna inhaled deeply, and Rennie glanced at her.

  “Under arrest for what?” Graham’s tone held anger. Rennie placed her hand on his leg, which she hoped reassured him she could handle this.

  Rennie wasn’t up to date on criminal justice but knew the state had implemented overdose laws. Grady had OD’d and been found in time, which luckily for him meant he was clear and free from any charges.

  “Surely you’re not filing charges against my client because he overdosed on the side of the road.”

  “Yesterday evening, when we came upon Mr. Chamberlain on the side of the road, we thought he needed help. When we approached the car, we saw many empty bottles in the back and could smell alcohol on him, which would be an automatic arrest for driving under the influence of intoxicants. I took his driver’s license, which had expired, and went back to my patrol car to call it in,” Hook said.

  “I stayed at the car. I noticed some damage on the front end and decided to inspect it. I found blood and fur encrusted into the bumper, which looked fresh. I radioed the game warden to be on the lookout for an injured or deceased animal on the side of the road. I went back to the driver’s side of the car to ask Mr. Chamberlain what he hit, and that is when I noticed a bottle in his hand. His eyelids were fighting to stay open, and he started convulsing and foaming from his mouth. I called for Hook to assist in a naloxone injection. It took two doses to bring him back,” Officer Frey added.