South River Incident by Ann Mullen Page B

wife; she’s good at everything she does.
Only a dead-beat like Carl would take advantage of a person like Claire. Why
she put up with him for so long, I’ll never know. I would have dumped that
maggot a long time ago. He’s such a worm.”
    “Why don’t you tell me how
you really feel?” Billy said and then laughed out loud. “Man, I hope I don’t
ever get on your bad side. You really do hold a grudge, don’t you? I have a
feeling there’s more to it than you’re telling. Nobody has such hatred for a
person unless that person has done something to them personally. So give, `ge
ya. What has Carl done to you to make you dislike him so intensely?”
    “To be honest, I don’t hate
him; I just really don’t like him very much. Actually, I despise the man. I
hold him in the highest degree of contempt. He’s a slug, and doesn’t deserve
the love of a fine woman like my sister.”
    “Okay, let’s have the
truth,” Billy demanded. “I know you well enough to know there’s something going
on between the two of you. What happened? Did he do something to you?”
    “I’m going to tell you this
because I’ve needed to tell someone for a long time,” I began. “But you have to
swear that you will never tell a soul. It would break Claire’s heart.”
    “I promise to never say a
word to anyone, ever. Tell me what he did.”
    “The day that Claire and
Carl got married, he cornered me in the bathroom at the reception. He slid his
hand up my dress before I had a chance to react. He told me that he wanted to
get me into bed, and before it was over, he would have me. He said he knew that
I felt the same way; he could see it in my eyes. Before I knew it, he kissed
me. I almost puked.”
    “What did you do?”
    “I slapped him as hard as I
could and told him that if he ever came near me again, I would tell Claire.
Then he laughed at me and said that I didn’t have the nerve.”
    “That must have been awful
for you.”
    “Sure it was awful! What
could I do? I couldn’t go to Claire with this. God, it was her wedding day!”
    “And you’ve kept this
secret all this time. That must have been hard.”
    “It is hard. Every time I
look at Claire or the kids, I think of that horrible man and what he did to
me... what he did to Claire. Sometimes I almost want to kill him. Well, now you
know the truth.”
    “Jesse, you can count on
me. Your secret is safe. I will never breathe a word of what you have said,
unless you tell me to.”
    “Thanks, Billy,” I replied.
“I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’ve needed that for a
long time.”
    Billy started the truck and
turned left at the end of the driveway. I was still lost in the conversation
that we had just had before I had a chance to realize where we were going. “Oh,
no you don’t,” I said, straightening up in my seat. “Stop right here and let me
out. I’m not going to Cole’s house.”
    He pretended not to hear me
as he pulled out onto the road.
    “I can’t stop. I’m in the
middle of the road.”
    “Some road,” I said,
reaching for the door handle. “It’s more like a country path. It doesn’t even
have lines on it. I don’t see any traffic. Do you see any? Let me out.” I
grabbed the handle, twisted it, and the door flew open. As Billy slowed to a
stop, I climbed out, slipped and fell in the snow.
    “See what you made me do!”
    Billy leaned across the
seat and laughed at me.
    “Stop acting like a child
and get back in the truck. We’re going to go have a talk with Cole whether you
like it or not.”
    I stood up and brushed the
snow off the seat of my jeans.
    “My butt’s wet,” I whined,
swallowed my pride and climbed back into the truck. “It’s your fault that I’m
all wet. You know I don’t want to go to Cole’s house. Why are you doing this?”
    “If you’re finished
throwing a fit, shut the door and your mouth—and it doesn’t necessarily have to
be in that order.”

Chapter 5
    T he mile-long ride to