Free Raising Cain by Gallatin Warfield Page B

does. Right now this thing is being fueled with innuendos based on a false premise, and that’s bad.”
    Jennifer put her glass in the sink and returned to the table. “So you don’t believe there was any foul play in Joseph’s death
     at all?”
    Gardner shook his head. “Not from what I’ve seen so far. Davis is still digging, but unless he finds some hard evidence soon,
     I’d say it’s just about done.”
    “What if
Brownie
comes up with something?”
    “Pray that he doesn’t.”
    “Why? He has a right to know what happened to his father.”
    Gardner frowned. “You saw him at the church. He was sucked in by Taylor like the rest of the crowd. If he had any objectivity
     before, he sure as shit doesn’t have any now. That was a lynch mob forming in there today, and Brownie was ready to lead the
     charge.”
    “He just lost his dad. What do you expect?”
    “Nothing less. That’s why he has to back off till he cools down.” They stopped talking.
    “Now, there’s a definite
brood
,” Jennifer said. “I wish I had a mirror.”
    Gardner tried to smile. “I have to make a decision.”
    “That’s obvious.”
    “Do I place Brownie on temporary suspension or…”
    Jennifer watched Gardner for a moment. “You’re having trouble deciding. Nothing
new
about that.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You can’t decide
anything
lately.”
    Gardner knew that their professional/personal line was about to be crossed. “Jen…”
    “We can’t keep putting it off,” she said suddenly. “There’s always going to be a case, always an excuse.”
    “Please, Jen,” Gardner protested. “Not now, please.”
    “Now.”
    Gardner hated this. Jennifer had caught him in a pensive mood, and now she was trying to shift the agenda. “Please,” he begged.
    “I want to talk
now
.”
    “Okay… okay.”
    Jennifer looked into his eyes. “How old am I?”
    “Thirty-one?”
    “Thirty-
three
. I want to get married. I want a child. I want permanence.”
    “No…” Gardner moaned. Not
this
again.
    “
Yes
. You have to listen to me, try to understand.”
    “I do understand, Jen, it’s just… it’s just…”
    “You’ve
had
your life. You have a son. You don’t want to start over.”
    “That’s not it.”
    “What is it, Gard?”
    “Things are heating up right now…. It’s hard to think.”
    “It’s
always
hard to think when it comes to this. You
never
want to talk about it. You’re always putting me off. I want to get
married
,” Jennifer went on, “like normal people. We’ve been living together for four years, and it’s been great, but—”
    “It
has
been great,” Gardner interrupted. “We get along. We have the same interests, the same profession. You love Granville….” What’s
     to change? It was a great arrangement, convenient, comfortable.
    “I want
more
. My own family.”
    “But you, me, and Granville are family.”
    Jennifer adjusted her glasses. “It’s not the same.”
    “But I thought you loved him.”
    “I do. But he’s not mine. He’s hers and always will be. I want something that’s a part of us, a part of you and me alone!”
    Gardner looked down at the table.
    “I’m tired of this arrangement, Gard.”
    “I know.”
    “You have to do something about it.”
    “I know.”
    Jennifer stood up. “I’ll wait a little longer, but I can’t wait forever.”
    “I understand.”
    “I
won’t
wait forever.”
    “I…” Gardner’s reply was lost in the sound of Jennifer’s footsteps retreating up the stairs. He picked up his glass and pulled
     back his arm like he was going to throw it against the wall. Then he stopped, placed it on the table, and remembered.
    “Marriage is sacred,” his mother said. “You marry for life. “ They were sitting on the dock of the three-acre pond on the
     family estate. It was a blue-sky summer afternoon, and Gardner was twelve years old. A pair of wild geese paddled silently
     across the still water as he dangled his legs over the