Rescue Me Read Free

other side of town, and I thank God every day that she encouraged me to call the police. I filed my report, then Shelby, Sierra, and I drove to Shayne’s house next door to mine and waited for Joel to come home. I watched from the window as he pulled into our driveway. The cops arrested him and hauled his sorry ass off to jail not only for spousal abuse, but also for drunk driving.
    Joel begged and pleaded for me to come back, promising he would change; however, after a month of unsuccessfully trying to convince me to return home, it was he who filed for divorce. The very next week he was moving his new girlfriend in with him. That was four years ago, yet even now, he is the reason why I can’t imagine ever trusting a man again.
    Realizing that I have been in the tub long enough, I climb out and proceed to try and make sense of why I am feeling this way all of a sudden. I need to obtain some sort of balance here and pull my mind away from this cluster fuck of a mess my life has become and think about the fact that today the woman who helped save my daughter and me is getting married.
    I pile my hair on top of my head in lose curls. As soon as I finish, I apply a light amount of makeup and retrieve my dress from the closet downstairs. With a new attitude, I tell myself I am going to put the past behind me and move on- at least for today.
    By the time I arrive at Luke and Shayne’s house, the girls are running all over the place. With my spirits up, I wander around the house with both Lucy and Sierra tagging along, making sure everything is the way Shayne wanted it. Finally, we make our way up the stars to help Shayne get ready and I catch sight of Luke coming out of the bedroom.
    “What are you doing in there? You know you’re not supposed to see Mommy before the wedding!” Lucy screeches. Lowering himself down to Lucy’s level, Luke kisses her on the cheek.
    “Don’t worry pretty girl. Daddy just needed to get this,” he says, holding up a tie. “Mommy was in the bathroom so I haven’t seen her.”
    Lucy crosses her arms over her chest. “Well you better go now Daddy, because we have to help Mommy get all pretty and Sierra and I have to put on our pink dresses and our princess crowns.”
    Luke pulls both of the girls in for a hug and then releases them, sending them giggling and running down the hall into the bedroom where Shayne is. Straightening up, he draws me in for a big hug, too.
    “Thank you for everything you have done for us, Erin,” he says as he releases me. All of the sorrow and pain I was feeling earlier is gone in that instant, knowing my best friend is about to marry the love of her life. With a perk in my step, I am now ready to help Shayne prepare for the happiest day of her life.
     
    ************
     
    “Would you stop fidgeting and let me finish your damn hair? God, you act like you’re getting married or something.”
    The stern look Shayne gives me in the mirror does nothing for either one of us. We both start laughing so hard, we end up doubled over clutching our stomachs because it hurts so much. Shayne gets up and runs into the bathroom and I laugh even harder as I hear her relieve herself, but I really lose it when she comes out with black mascara running down her face. Call me crazy, but the sound of my own laughter mixed with hers will be one of my favorite memories. The fact that this will be one hell of a story for us to tell the girls puts this way up on the epic scale.
    “You are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen, Shayne. Look at you!” I exclaim as she turns around and glances at herself in the mirror. By the way she looks right now you would have never thought that a little less than an hour ago she looked like a Bridezilla from hell.
    “I can’t believe this day is finally here, Erin. I have waited what seems like a lifetime for us to finally be a family.” She pauses for a moment. “You know, I had a dream last night about Aunt Judy. It was so real.”
    I can