Free Hope Springs - 05 - Wedding Cake by Lynne Hinton

beaten pretty bad,” Charlotte commented.
    Donovan nodded.
    “I’m glad she felt like she could come to you,” she added.
    Donovan nodded again. He seemed embarrassed about the situation.
    “He’s hit her before,” he responded. “But never like this,” he added. He shook his head and slid his hat in his lap. He fingered the edges and then glanced up at Charlotte.
    Charlotte didn’t respond.
    “We’ve been divorced eighteen years,” he explained. “We gotmarried right out of high school. We were young, stupid. And we lasted about six years when she realized she didn’t want to be married to a cop and I realized that she was still interested in being young and, well, stupid.” He paused. “Carla has always been a bit on the wild side,” he added. “I’m more, well, I’m a little on the boring side.” He managed a smile.
    Charlotte nodded and returned the smile. “But you’ve stayed friends?” she asked.
    Donovan shook his head. “Not really,” he replied. “She tends to show up when she’s in trouble,” he added. “It’s not usually this kind of trouble.” He shrugged. “Money, usually. She’s come to me from time to time because she’s needed money.”
    Charlotte settled into her seat. She studied Donovan. He was a big man, broad shoulders, stocky and yet still tall. He had dark hair and eyes, and skin that was brown, like he stayed in the sun all day. He seemed nervous, and Charlotte understood that this was uncomfortable for him.
    “Do you know her husband?” she asked.
    “I know of him,” Donovan replied. “He’s been in trouble before. He’s known to have a violent streak.”
    Charlotte nodded.
    “A few bar brawls, a bunch of skirmishes with some other drunks. A few arrests. I tried to tell Carla before she married him but she wouldn’t listen.”
    “How long have they been married?” Charlotte wanted to know.
    “About six years,” Donovan answered.
    “And there’s somebody out looking for him?” Charlotte asked, wondering if the other police officers had succeeded yet.
    “We sent a unit over to their house. I suspect he’s still there.”
    “Why?” Charlotte asked.
    “Carla got one good swing at him before she ran out,” Donovan replied.
    “She doesn’t look like she could do much damage,” Charlotte noted. “She’s very petite,” she added, thinking about the small woman she had just met.
    “She had an iron skillet,” Donovan said with a slight smile.
    “Well, that does help if you don’t match up,” Charlotte responded.
    “She said he was knocked out when she left.”
    Charlotte nodded. She knew that some of the battered women she met were able to fight back. Some of them were quite strong and could hold their own in a fistfight. Some of the others, most of them, in fact, were generally too scared and too weak. Charlotte had noticed that violent men seemed to be drawn to the smaller, meeker types.
    There was a pause in the conversation. They could hear the women talking and eating in the dining room. There was some laughter, which always made Charlotte smile. There was not usually a lot of laughter at St. Mary’s.
    “Thank you for taking her,” Donovan finally broke the silence. “I didn’t know where else for her to go.”
    “That’s why we’re here,” Charlotte responded. “You know, it’s funny that we’ve never met before,” she added. “I know most of the police officers in Gallup.” She thought about all of the men and women she had met in her line of work. She knew all the emergency room staff at the hospital, many of the local clergy, social workers, school counselors, police officers, and, unfortunately, funeral directors. When she discovered that Donovan served on the force in Gallup, she had been surprised to find out that he had never brought a woman to St. Mary’s.
    Donovan nodded. He wasn’t sure why he had never come to the women’s shelter. He had certainly handled domestic violence calls, but in his experience, most