Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
A smile moved across his face. “You fell asleep with her on the sofa last night?”
“Yes! Do you see my problem here?”
“No,” Dalton said, shaking his head. “Have you talked to her about this?”
“God, no! She works for me! Besides, Rose said Emma came from a not-so-great marriage, and from what I can tell by the few things she’s said to me, it’s true. The asshole might’ve even abused her. No—not might’ve. I think he absolutely did. I also think he was in the Marines.”
Dalton snarled his lip. “That sucks if it’s true. Why do you think he was in the Marines?”
I sighed. “Long story. I had Janie at the office run a check on a Ben Middleton from Dallas, Texas, but we can’t find anyone with that name.”
“Middleton is probably her maiden name. If she was in a bad marriage, she wouldn’t want to keep the guy’s name. Hell, she might have changed her name entirely, so he doesn’t find her, if he was abusive, that is.”
Damn it. He was right. “I didn’t even think about that. I need to find out if having Emma in our life puts Hadley in any danger.”
“And you call yourself a cop,” Dalton said, sitting back and crossing his ankles again. “Listen, Aiden, do you honestly think Rose would have let Emma into your home if she thought for a single moment it would put Hadley in danger?”
I sighed. “I wonder if she is using her maiden name again?”
Pulling out my phone, I sent off a quick text to Rose as Dalton spoke again.
“Dude, stop overthinking this thing with Emma. Let it happen if it’s meant to happen.”
I shook my head and stood. “I can’t do that to Hadley. Plus, I’m not ready for anything like that,” I added softer.
My best friend let his shoulders drop and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he pinned me with a look. “You’ve got to let the guilt go. Your marriage was over, Aiden. Lisa flat-out told you she didn’t love you anymore. It’s not your fault she got cancer and died. You didn’t fail at the relationship, you fought for as long as you could.”
My phone buzzed with Rose’s reply. I read it and looked at Dalton. “We should hire Rose. She checked out Emma thoroughly. She does have a restraining order but assures me that all is well.”
“You trust that?”
I nodded. “I trust Rose.”
Dalton nodded.
Sighing, I pushed my hand through my hair. “I wasn’t there the day Lisa found out she was ill because I put work first, Dalton. What type of man does that? Even if we were separated at the time? She’d told me about finding the lump. Told me about the appointment. I knew there was a chance it was cancer, but I wasn’t there for her.”
“She also told you after the first appointment that the doctor said it was probably nothing.”
“Do you know why I was mad at her?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“She told me she was leaving for California. She needed time away from me and Hadley. She was going with that guy she’d been seeing.”
Dalton frowned.
“I told her to go; that we’d be perfectly fine without her while she got it all out of her system. She told me I was the one who’d given up on our marriage, but I don’t think she really ever loved me at all. I fought for as long as I could like you said and…and I just couldn’t do it anymore.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You tried, Aiden. You didn’t leave her. You stayed and you took care of her and you helped Hadley through losing her mother. You loved Lisa until the end, the best way you knew how.”
“What I really wanted to do was hate her, if I’m being honest.”
With a nod, Dalton said, “Completely understandable. You were a better man than I ever would have been, if I’m being honest.”
“Come on, Emma! We sit in the second pew on the left side.”
It looked like Hadley nearly pulled Emma’s arm out of her socket as she dragged her up the main aisle of church. It was clear the woman was Hadley’s new best friend.
Some people smiled and chuckled while a few stared at Emma, transferring their stares to me as I walked by. One or two whispered to their neighbors.
My folks stood and each of them gave Emma a hug and kiss on the cheek. They’d welcomed her into the fold like she was a long-lost friend. I spotted Nancy sitting across the church, glaring in Emma’s direction. I avoided meeting her eye and kept walking.
Before I made it to my seat, Bobby McNight stood and reached his hand out for mine. “Ranger Bishop, how are things going up there at the park?”