I Stand Before You (Judge Me Not #2) by S.R. Grey Read Free Book Online Page B

day after steady boyfriend number eight became husband number two my mother hired a big-shot attorney. She called me up, told me about him, and said he was going to get me out of prison. I thought she was bluffing, a true Vegas gal. But, to my surprise, she was telling the truth.
    The attorney she hired was good, and he got right to work. His strategy was to appeal to the governor and convince the court I’d been deprived of due process. Mr. Big Shot Attorney came to see me in prison the day after I talked to Mom. He arrived armed with a stack of legal pads and enough righteous indignation for the both of us.
    He asked a shitload of questions…
    Was I ever read my rights? I didn’t recall.
    Did the court-appointed psychiatrists overprescribe medications, turning me into a zombie who had no way of comprehending the charges I so willingly pled to? Yeah, pretty much .
    And that was just the start.
    I never would have expected it, but Mr. Big Shot Attorney turned out to be not just a good lawyer, but also a good guy. I slowly grew to trust him. When the time came, he argued my case before the judge, insisting I’d been railroaded. He spread out all the documentation, presented the evidence. He was nothing if not thorough. And when all was said and done, the judge agreed. My six-year sentence was commuted to time served. I couldn’t believe it. I was a free man. Finally, I could go home. Unfortunately, I had no home to go to.
    I’d already decided—even before I was released—if I got out of prison I wasn’t going back to Vegas. There were just too many memories there, most of them bad, some of them sadder than fuck. So no, I had no desire to return to the town that had broken me.
    My mother, who had no idea I’d already made up my mind, gently suggested I give Vegas another try on the day she visited with my brother. It was the morning of my court date.
    At the courthouse, while we all waited in a holding cell in the courthouse, she said, “We have a big house out there in the desert, Chase. There’s plenty of space. I can decorate a room for you any way you’d like.”
    It was a sweet sentiment, but it was about seven years too late. I had needed a mom who was interested in stuff like decorating and taking care of her wayward son right after Dad died. But what can you do? Mom was more into gambling, not nurturing, back then.
    I didn’t go into my real reasons for not wanting to go back to Sin City. I just told Mom, “Thanks, but no thanks.”
    It was ultimately Greg’s home she was inviting me into, and her new husband had already done enough for me. Despite all we’d been through over the years, it was still great seeing my mother. She may piss me off, but I’ll always love her. She looked so fantastic at the courthouse that day, healthy and together, no more vices. No more gambling, no more smoking. Although I could have sworn I smelled smoke on her clothes. But Greg had definitely gotten her help for her gambling addiction, and she assured me she’d stopped going to the casinos months ago.
    I begrudgingly conceded to her that Greg was an okay dude, better than all the rest of the guys who had never cared what my mother did in her spare time. I guess I missed my mom more than I’d realized. I actually got a little misty-eyed when I first saw her that day at the courthouse. Maybe she missed me too. Lord knows she sure held on to me for a small eternity when I gave her a hug.
    “I love you, Chase,” she told me in a strangled voice as she struggled to hold back tears. “I’m so sorry all this happened to you, baby. I wish we could go back in time. I’d do things so differently.”
    No, you wouldn’t , I thought.
    But it didn’t matter, and it doesn’t now either. And though I couldn’t say it back that morning, I think she knows I love her. She is my mother, after all. She’s far from perfect, but she’s the only parent I have left. And I’ve lost too much time these past few years to waste any