Free Redemption FinalWPF6 7 by L. E. Harner Page A

rhythm of that slow stroke of his thumb. “Pete and I got
along just fine. He started coming every day and Uriah quit coming. I told
myself it was for the best. Pete had a lot more shades of gray, could
understand better about things I’d done to get a fix. Pete wanted money and
power, and he was determined to get them. Anyway, fast-forward a bit. I latched
on to Pete and he to me. I moved in with him when I left rehab. Our families
were strangely happy with the match. Mine, because although I was sober, I’d
been an embarrassment for the past several years. It wasn’t something they
wanted to risk repeating. Pete’s dad had his own reasons. Eventually, we got
married because his daddy’s law firm liked their junior counselors settled.”
    “Did you love him?” Gabe asked. For the first time, Diane
thought she heard a tightness in his voice that hadn’t been there earlier. When
she looked up, his face was in the shadows, his expression hard to read.
    “No, and he didn't love me. But we fit well together. I got
my certification as a fitness trainer and he finished his law degree and passed
the bar. Life moved on.” She sighed. “You might as well know the rest. I knew
Pete was gay right from the start. His father suspected and that's why he
wanted us to get married. Having a gay son, even one who is a successful
lawyer, is unacceptable to the high and mighty Rueben Wadsworth. Even though
I’d been a junkie, I cleaned up well enough, and my family had the right status
to make him look good. Plus, Pete was getting restless, so having him marry me
was a way to control him.”
    “Do you know why he killed himself?” Gabe asked, his voice
very quiet in the still, early morning hours before dawn.
    “Shut up, Gabe,” Uriah growled. His eyes now open, gaze fixed
on the other man.
    “No. Be still, Uriah, let Dee talk.” Gabe’s voice held a
touch of command, and she noticed Uriah backed down at once, his face set in
mutinous lines.
    “It’s okay, Uriah. You need to hear this. I should have
already told you. Pete is dead is because of me. Pete was in the closet as far
as your dad was concerned, but it didn't bother him to know he was gay. He had
no internal conflict at all. Having a wife was a matter of professional
convenience. I think the only reason he didn’t tell you is because he didn’t
want to put you between him and your dad if it ever got out.
    "The problem was with me. I couldn’t maintain the
charade anymore. Remember, I went through rehab. I needed to be able to live
with myself, with the decisions I made. We were each free to have our little
flings on the side, as long as we were discreet and word would never get back
to your dad. I had strong feelings for someone, someone I’d hurt in the past,
but I couldn’t even admit to that without blowing Pete’s cover wide open.
    “I was scheduled for a two-day conference in Las Vegas. Pete
made some smart-assed remark about my getting laid there so I’d be less bitchy
when I returned. It pissed me off. I told him I was done covering for him, done
living a lie. I wanted a divorce. Three days later, Pete was dead.” She paused
for a long moment, closed her eyes, swallowed hard. “Your brother killed
himself because of me.”
    When the heavy arm slipped around her back, Diane took the
comfort and leaned into the shoulder offered. She rested her head against the
big chest, and was touched when she felt the light press of lips on her hair.

Chapter Eight
    Gabe wanted to bundle the two of them into his arms and
protect them from themselves. His anger pushed away his professional demeanor
and he lashed out at the now dead Pete Wadsworth. “The two of you have it wrong.
Suicide is the greatest magic act of all. Misdirection at its finest. You fuck
up and then think ‘Oh, gee. Let me kill myself and let everyone else clean up
the mess I made of my fucking life!’ Pete wasn’t the only person to ever feel
the blackness. Goddamn, I didn’t even know him,