A Gift of Time Read online

  “Ten years.” Grizz shook his head. “And you’ve only been in a short time, so you have a long way to go.”

  William looked away.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Grizz cocked his head. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

  “Well, yeah. I have to do some time to not make it so obvious, but I won’t be doing the full ten.” He looked sheepishly at Grizz. “I fixed the records so I get out in a couple years. I can only hope nobody actually remembers what I’m in for and how much time I have left. If somebody digs into it, they could figure it out, but I’m counting on a nobody like me just slipping through the cracks.”

  Grizz broke into a grin. Fuck. He wished he could get away with something like that, but it would never work for him. He was too well-known. Jason “Grizz” Talbot getting released from prison wouldn’t go unnoticed, especially with a death sentence hanging over his head. No, he’d have to play this out for the next couple of years. At least.

  “Can you look something up for me?”

  “Yeah, what do you need?” William’s eyes brightened at the prospect of a new project.

  “Can you hack into government agencies? See what’s going on with the Florida Death Conviction Laws? I’m trying to find out where they are with passing the law on death by lethal injection instead of the electric chair.”

  “Yeah, sure, man. I can see what I can find. I’ll work on that, and you let me know where you want me to search for data on you—you know, erasing or swapping out what you mentioned earlier.”

  Silence fell between them, and Grizz could hear the wall clock ticking. “So, the inmates refer to you as Pretty?”

  William turned red, looked away. “Can’t help how I look.”

  “I don’t like it. What’s your real name? Your whole name?”

  “William Franklin Petty,” the young man answered, looking Grizz in the eyes. “But I’ve always gone by Willie.”

  Grizz thought carefully for a minute. He didn’t want Petty going by Willie. That name might be turned into something almost as degrading as Pretty.

  “From now on, you’re Bill. Anyone who calls you otherwise will answer to me.”

  Grizz rose from his chair then, retrieved his T-shirt from the office, and headed for the door.

  “Same time next week, Bill,” he called over his shoulder. And he was gone.

  Chapter Ten

  Ginny

  2000, Fort Lauderdale (After the Execution)

  “You did what?” Tommy asked me, as I lay wrapped in his arms that night. The look of disbelief on his face was almost comical.

  “I showed up at your office all ready to seduce you and went to lunch with Alec instead. You were out with Eileen,” I told him, laughing and trying not to blush at the entire situation again.

  He pulled back to look at me, a knowing glint in his eyes. “You haven’t done that since my birthday! What made today so special? And before you answer that, remind me to kick myself in the ass for taking Eileen to have her car fixed.”

  He got serious then as something dawned on him.

  “Oh Gin, I didn’t even ask you how today went. You were supposed to clean out Carter’s garage. Did you do it? Are you all right?”

  I sat up in our bed then and faced him. I crossed my legs in front of me, resting my elbows on my knees and told him everything. From the moment I arrived at Carter’s until I got home from my lunch date with Alec. I told him about my childhood Bible and the letter and other paperwork it contained. I told him about the box I found in the guesthouse. About the earrings I’d put away for Mimi. I told him everything except for the fact that one of Grizz’s bikes was missing. I had no intention of ever wearing that bandana so it made absolutely no sense to let Tommy worry or think about something that would never happen. No. Grizz was dead and gone as far as I was concerned, and I would not allow him to drive another wedge between my husband and me.

  I suddenly felt lighter as the emotional baggage I'd carried all day evaporated. It felt good to get everything off my chest. Well, until I looked at Tommy’s creased brow. He looked worried.

  “Are you okay, Ginny? I mean, the letter from Delia has to be messing with you. Especially after we’ve put so much behind us. To dig something like that up from the past. To know how your father died. Why Delia treated you the way she did. And the fact that you had a sister that died, too. It just seems like a lot to digest, honey. Do you want to talk more about it?”

  The love in his eyes was so genuine, and I couldn’t help but notice the little spark I saw when I told him I’d asked Carter to throw away the cardboard box of Grizz’s keepsakes. I leaned over to kiss him.

  “No, Tommy. I don’t want to talk about it, and truthfully, I don’t need to.”

  “You’re okay, Ginny? You’re really okay? You’d tell me, right?”

  I gently kissed his neck as my hand made its way down his flat stomach in search of his manhood.

  “Yes, I would tell you. I’m fine. I’m really fine,” I whispered in his ear.

  I could feel his body relax as he exhaled loudly, his growing erection evidence that he wanted me as much as I wanted him. He started to turn me on my back, but I stopped him.

  “This is my night, and I’m in charge.” Quickly, I straddled him. He smiled as I reminded him of Delia’s note and the discovery of my real birth certificate. “So you see, you’re actually married to an older woman.”

  Our lovemaking was hurried as I was again fueled by the burning need from earlier that day to have Tommy inside of me. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the headboard tightly while Tommy’s fingers expertly matched the pace I’d been slowly building. I found my release first and had to grab his hand to pull it away from where he was touching me.

  “It’s too sensitive. I already came. Please—stop!” I practically screamed.

  My breaths came in short, quick intervals, my head was thrown back and my eyes were closed. I slowed my pace and opened my eyes. I saw the want, the desire, the absolute need in his eyes. And giving him a slow sensual smile, I went back to the rhythm I knew would signal his release.

  After, I collapsed on top of him and laid there until our breathing returned to normal. I eventually scooted down by his side, and he pulled me close.

  We started sharing more about our day, and he asked me if I wanted to do anything about my legal birth certificate. Did I want to change my name or go to some authority and have myself legally declared as Josephine Diana Dunn?

  I sat up and glared down at him. “Absolutely not! I am Guinevere Love Lemon Dillon, and I’m never changing it. I’ve had enough of the aliases and false identities, Tommy. Do you want to change your birth certificate to your real name, Thomas James Talbot?”

  We both knew his birth certificate had been falsified years earlier to make him think he was Blue’s brother. Blue’s real name was Keith Dillon and Tommy’s falsified birth certificate reflected that surname, Dillon.

  We both looked at each other then, and I knew that we were thinking the same thing. Thomas James Talbot still wouldn’t be Tommy’s real name. Grizz was raised by his stepfather and apparently had never even known his own father’s real name. Trying to go back and figure out Grizz’s true identity would be like dropping ourselves into a dark abyss, and both of us had worked too hard to make forward progress. Not go in the opposite direction.

  No. We would remain Tommy and Ginny Dillon.

  But maybe there was something we still could do.

  “You know what I think we should do?”

  He shook his head and his eyes widened as he waited for my reply.

  “I think we should say to heck with my real birth certificate and our false birth certificates that we’ve used all these years. To heck with it all.” I paused to see if he would reply, but he just stared at me. “I think we should do whatever we need to do to make our names—the names we’re used to and have been using—made legal.”

  I raised my eyebrows, giving him a hopeful expr
ession. He didn’t say anything at first. Then he smiled, nodded in understanding.

  “I think our attorney can discreetly file whatever paperwork is necessary to have our names legitimately and legally changed to Thomas Dillon and Guinevere Lemon,” he said.

  He yawned then and rolled over on his side. His eyes were getting heavy, but I saw him notice the wide grin I gave him, and he acknowledged it with another yawn followed by a small smile. I could tell he was relieved we were moving forward in a positive way. After all, we’d renewed our marriage vows with those names. That’s who we were, and that’s who we would always be.

  “Another thing—the cars and bikes,” I said. “Now that I’ve given it more thought, I really don’t want to deal with selling them. Do you think it would be wrong for me to get in touch with Axel? I mean, he’s legit now, and I know he’ll take them and give us a fair price.”

  “I can call him for you,” he answered in a sleepy voice.

  “I’ve handled everything up until now, Tommy. I can handle one more phone call.”

  “That’s good, Gin. I have a lot on my plate at work,” he barely answered.

  He was right. He’d missed a lot of work during our separation, and even though he didn’t have to, I knew he wanted to make up for it. He was feeling somewhat guilty for putting the extra work on Alec when Alec had been going through personal problems of his own.

  “I’m not tired. I think a hot bath will help,” I said as I softly kissed his cheek. I wasn’t sure if he heard me or not. I could hear his quiet snores as I got myself out of bed and headed for our bathroom.

  I loved to take long hot soaks in my bathtub. I started the water and tossed some vanilla bean bath salts in. I lit some candles, dimmed the lights. No need to take my clothes off. I was already naked. I grabbed a hair band and put my long brown hair into a high ponytail.

  I started to climb into the tub when my eyes rested on my blue jeans that, after I’d carefully removed and stowed the diamond earrings, I’d hastily discarded on the closet floor after returning from Carter's earlier that day. I glanced at the bathroom door and noticed I’d locked it behind me—a habit from years of being barged in on by the kids.

  I walked to the closet and picked my jeans up. I started to toss them in the hamper but found myself reaching into the back pocket instead.

  I pulled it out.

  The blue bandana.

  I don’t know how long I stared at it. I don’t remember walking to the tub or climbing in. I don’t remember pulling my knees to my chest as I gently rested my face against them and quietly sobbed. The flood of water filling the huge tub drowned out any sounds I was making.

  And for the first time, I understood why both Grizz and Tommy had lied to me for so many years about so many things. There were just some secrets we had to keep hidden in our hearts to shield those we loved. I didn’t agree with everything they’d kept from me, but I could now relate. They’d justified it because they thought they were protecting me. Isn’t that what I’d done just before making love to my husband?

  I could never tell Tommy that Grizz was alive because it would destroy him.

  I looked up from my bowed position and caught my reflection in the mirror on the back of the bathroom door. Silent tears streamed down my puffy red face.

  I stared at the blue bandana that I’d hypnotically, unconsciously, wrapped around my ponytail. And I realized that a part of me still loved Grizz. Somewhere, buried deep within my heart, the memory of that love tried to claw its way to the surface.

  But I knew to maintain my sanity, I would have to keep it locked away—or make a conscious effort to throw it away. For good.

  With my arms still wrapped tightly around my legs, I laid my forehead back against my knees and whispered to myself, “Of course I need you. I’ll always need you. But I need Tommy too. And I’ll never sacrifice his heart to get back a piece of my own.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Grizz

  1988, Prison, North Florida

  It had been more than a week since Grizz’s last meeting with Bill in the library. The last time they’d met, Bill had informed him he’d been doing his best but couldn’t tell where the State of Florida was going with the death penalty.

  “It seems like it’s been put before the State Legislature a few times already, and it keeps getting voted down. There are a lot of people who want to see lethal injection passed since it’s a more humane death than the electric chair. It’s fucking weird. A lot more people are for lethal injection than against it. Seems like it would be a no-brainer, but it keeps getting squashed. Somebody doesn’t want it passed. Sorry, man. I can’t tell you any more than that.”

  Bill looked at Grizz with concern. He almost felt sorry for him. This guy was facing the electric chair, and rightfully so. He deserved it. He’d read what Grizz had done. But Bill could also understand why Grizz didn’t want to die that way. It was barbaric.

  Grizz nodded his head in understanding and told him to keep an eye on it. He asked him then if the other inmates had left him alone. Bill told him yes. Psycho and his friend, Bender, had stayed far away from him.

  That conversation had been more than a week ago. This was the third night Grizz had been in the library expecting to see him. What was going on?

  Just then he heard the door open and saw Bill make his way quietly to the table where Grizz sat. His eyes were red. It was obvious he’d been crying.

  “What’s wrong?” Grizz stood.

  Bill wouldn’t make eye contact.

  “Are they fucking with you again?”

  Still no answer or eye contact.

  “They know better than to touch you.” Grizz clenched his fists.

  “They haven’t touched me,” Bill said quietly.

  “Then what the hell is wrong with you?”

  Bill looked him in the eyes then. “They didn’t defy your orders not to touch me. They haven’t come near me, so you can’t retaliate.”

  “What the fuck did they do? And don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. Now fucking spill it!”

  Bill sighed. “They got ahold of Buddy.”

  Grizz knew about Bill’s rat, Buddy. He sat down. It was an unusually large rodent and had been hand-fed and cared for by Bill since it was a baby. A rat wouldn’t have been Grizz’s first choice for a pet, but he’d always held a soft spot for any animal, especially since his baby sister, Ruthie, had cared for a family of mice in their old barn. It was why he’d been so reluctant all those years ago to follow his stepfather’s orders to put out the poison—he hadn’t had time to relocate Ruthie’s pets to a safe place. It hadn’t mattered anyway. He’d made good use of the poison.

  “What did they do to Buddy?” But Grizz was certain he knew. They must’ve killed it. Stupid sons of bitches.

  “They killed him and…and...” Bill’s voice was laced with emotion.

  “And what?” Grizz growled.

  “They must’ve paid somebody off in the kitchen or something,” Bill said as he tried to stifle his sobs. “They told me he was in the hamburger I ate that day. It was set aside just for me, and when I went through the chow line, Joker made sure it was the one given to me.” He balled up his hands, pressed them to his eyes. “I didn’t know it. I ate it. I ate my pet.”

  The thought of what Bill was telling him made bile rise in Grizz’s throat. The musty smell of the library mixed with the heavy aroma of disinfectants used by the cleaning crew caused his stomach to roil. He shifted in his chair, wondered how this news hadn’t reached his ears already.

  “Maybe it’s not true,” Grizz said. “Maybe they’re just fucking with you. Maybe Buddy will show back up.”

  “Parts of him already did,” Bill said. “I keep finding a different piece of him every day since then. Under my blanket. Floating in my toilet.”

  Grizz’s fist came down so hard on the table it caused Bill to jump.

  “Those motherfuckers should know better. They may not be touching you, but they are fuckin
g with what they’ve been told is mine. And nobody fucks with what’s mine!”

  Bill gulped and gazed at him.

  Grizz looked at Bill evenly then. “I’ll find out tomorrow how much of what you told me is true, and I’ll find out why I’m hearing it first from you—and not from my brothers.”

  This conversation was over, and Grizz was ready to move on. He’d been curious about something and had never gotten around to asking Bill.

  “Tell me why that guard, Headly, lets you use the library. I never asked you.”

  “I helped him with his daughter’s hospital bill.”

  “How?”

  “I used to empty the wastebaskets in his office, and I heard him on the phone with his insurance company trying to get them to pay for a procedure. She’s only twelve and pretty damn sick. I told him if I could use the library computer just the one time, I’d be glad to send my uncle, who just happens to work at that insurance company, an email and ask him if he could do anything to help.”

  Grizz’s eyes blazed. “You told me it was just you and your grandfather.”

  “It was just my grandpa and me. I don’t have an uncle. I made it up. I used the computer time to hack the insurance company and have the claim approved. Headly thought my imaginary uncle helped. It was the first time I had access to the library computer, and Headly made sure the camera was turned off so I couldn’t be seen using it. Prisoners aren’t allowed to use it. It’s for the librarian only. But I wasn’t just hacking the insurance company. I used the time to set up the camera feed so I could go back in later and use the computer unnoticed. When the claim was approved, he asked what he could do for me, and I told him I’d like some reading time by myself in the library after hours. He arranged it.”