The Payback Man (28 page)

“Parolees aren’t supposed to associate with known criminals,” Selma said with a sniff.

“Lighten up, Selma,” Steve said. “Nobody in
this
limousine is ever going to be inside a prison looking out again.” He leaned forward. “Right, Gil?”

“Yeah, yeah, I guess.”

“Right, Robert?”

“Yeah, man. Mr. Saunders’s already moved my wife and boy into one of the houses on his place. I ain’t never gonna leave them again. I like horses a lot better’n I like drugs.” He grinned. “Me and Old Will’s just alike. I have finally figured out I
hate
cows.”

T
HE WARDEN’S OFFICE WAS SMALL
, so only Eleanor’s team members, the Creature Comfort veterinarians, and Mary Beth and the Colonel attended.

As Steve’s best man, Big shuffled from one foot to the other throughout the ceremony and nearly dropped the rings, but he managed.

The clinic staffers and some of the prison staff joined the others at the reception in the mess hall after the ceremony. Raoul Torres brought his lovely wife and his two children. When he introduced Eleanor to his family, he added, “Hey, even I occasionally miss one. Good thing you didn’t listen to me.” He raised his cup of punch. “But don’t make a habit of it.”

“I promise I will not marry any more convicted murderers,” Eleanor said.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Big actually managed a respectable toast of fruit punch to the happy couple. He blushed like a child when everyone applauded.

Slow Rise kept patting Eleanor’s shoulder as the tears ran down his cheeks. She didn’t know what to say to him, so she simply hugged him.

“Steve, now that you’re married to one of my staffers,” Warden Portree said over a large slice of wedding cake, “will you be moving into Eleanor’s cottage?”

“Until we can find a house away from the farm to buy,” he said. “Frankly I can hardly wait to rub Mike Newman’s
face in the fact that I’m now his neighbor—his
free
neighbor.”

“Better do it soon. I fired him yesterday. He finally went too far. Put a youngster in the hospital.”

“He’s the one ought to be in jail,” Eleanor said from Steve’s side.

“One thing at a time,” Portree answered. “He won’t be able to get away with anything outside in the world. We may well see him back before too long, but in a prison uniform.”

O
N THEIR WEDDING NIGHT
, lying in the king-size bed in the bridal suite at the Peabody, content in the afterglow of love, Eleanor lay curled against Steve’s shoulder. He kissed the top of her head. “It’s nice making love in a real bed.”

She played with the hair on his chest. “Desks and showers are fun, too.” She lifted her face and kissed him under the chin.

“Are you still sure you’re doing the right thing?”

Steve nodded. “Absolutely. It’ll take some time to get the kinks worked out, but in the end maybe I can make a difference, even if it’s only a small one. I don’t have to go to Africa or Brazil. There’s plenty of work to be done here.” He slid up onto the pillows. “If we can identify the cons who really want to turn their lives around, and if I can give them training and place them with my company or somebody else’s when they’re paroled…”

“You sound like Raoul Torres.”

“Don’t sell old Raoul short. If anyone can tell the bad apples from the good, it’s Raoul.”

“He thought you were a bad apple.”

“So he’s not perfect.” He ran his hand down her shoulder and her arm. “I can’t ever be the man I was before.”

“I wish you could talk more about it. Will the nightmares ever go away?”

“With you to hold me, yes. I may never be able to tell you everything that went on in prison, my darling.”

“I understand. I just wish I could help more.”

“You help more than you can ever know. At least in prison I learned that what I do for the rest of my life has to mean something. Making money alone won’t cut it.”

“Your father thought you’d stay as far away from what he calls ‘those people’ as possible. He can’t believe we’re actually going to live on the prison grounds.”

“It’s different. I’m free now.”

She pulled his face down and kissed him softly. “If I have anything to say about it, you’ll never be free. Not of me.”

He slid down in bed and turned to take her in his arms. “Free of you? Never’s fine with me. For once I’m glad I have a life sentence.”