“Maybe he’ll get his life together.”
“Yeah.” But he didn’t sound convinced.
“So talking to him is out.”
“Not necessarily. We could make a request to meet with him, but he might refuse us, not to mention it will likely take a whole day to get up there, meet with him, and then get back. It could be a wasted effort. Plus, it’s going to look suspicious as hell if word gets back to my department.”
“Which means you can’t go, Marco,” I said insistently.
Disgust washed over his face. “I’m not letting you go alone, Carly.” But then his face softened. “Honestly, I don’t think either of us should go. It’s likely a wasted trip, and his credibility is shot to hell. His word against Bart’s?” He shook his head. “We’d be better served to turn our attention elsewhere.”
“So what did you find out about Thad’s accident?”
“Fifteen months ago, Thad and his friend Spencer Gensler were hanging out at the overlook, drinking. They took off toward town in Thad’s mother’s minivan and hit Karl Lister in his Subaru head on. The boys’ tox screens were positive for marijuana and their blood alcohol levels were .16 and .10. Lister’s tests were all negative. All three had significant injuries, but Lister’s were the worst. He was life flighted to Greeneville.”
“And the boys went to the same hospital.”
“Yes. The friend—Spencer—was charged with underaged drinking, but Thad faced multiple charges. Felonies. And the prosecutor was considering trying him as an adult.”
“Why didn’t he?”
Marco shrugged. “He changed his mind? Thad was only thirteen, and it would have been a harder sell since no one died. I suspect the DA considered it because he was up for reelection, and there’s a lot of public disgust for the booming drug trade in these parts, especially in Ewing. He might have thought it would make him look tougher on drugs. But while the boys had pot in their systems, the crash was due to Thad being drunk. As you’ve probably figured out from the large numbers of customers at the tavern, drinking is considered acceptable around here. And yeah, he was much too young to be drinking, but the good people of Hensen County are much more forgiving about DUIs.”
“Except for Wyatt’s DUI,” I reminded him. “He was sent to prison.”
“Well,” he said with a sigh, “we both know that was different. Whether it was a judge bringing the Drummonds down a peg, or Bart convincing a judge to teach Wyatt a lesson, it was not the norm.”
“So the DA dropped all the charges against Thad?”
“Oh, no. He still threw the book at him, but Thad was charged as a minor. Then, all of a sudden, everything got dropped except for a much lesser charge of reckless driving and the civil lawsuit. Thad only got twenty hours of community service.”
“And his friend? What did he get?”
Marco rubbed his forehead. “I haven’t found out yet, but I hope to tomorrow.”
I nodded and then took another bite of food.
“Another thing…Pam’s pleading guilty.”
“What?”
“She entered an innocent plea at her arraignment, but I suspect it was only because her attorney was hoping for a bargain from the DA. Rumor has it she’s planning to change her plea at her next hearing.”
I set my fork back down on my plate.
“Look, Carly, I know you feel bad for her, but she pulled the trigger. Three times. She killed a man in cold blood.”
“I know.” I looked up at him. “I went to his office.”
His face stilled. “What?”
“I planned to just drive by, but I saw all those people gathered at the memorial. So I stopped.” When he looked panicked, I added, “I didn’t talk to anyone. I don’t know why I stopped. I guess I had to see it to make this all more real. She may have been used, but she’s not innocent. I was only there for a few minutes, though. I looked like someone paying their respects. That’s it.”
Relief washed over his face.
“Selena gave me a lot of information about Jim and his family. She knew them.”
“Really?”
I told him about Jim’s involvement in the community and then floated my theory about his wife, Melinda, from the situation with her business to her reluctance to live in Ewing.
“If she ran into trouble with her business, she might have gone to Bart.”
He didn’t say anything, mulling it over.
“What I don’t understand,” I said, “is how a middle-class transplant to Ewing would find out about Bart.”
“You’d be surprised,” he said, shifting in his seat. “It’s all based on rumors. It’s possible.”
“I started digging on the internet, but I ran out of time,” I said. “I barely had a chance to look into Jim, Melinda, and their kids. I didn’t even touch Pam and her family. And then there’s Ashlynn’s ex-boyfriend, Chuck Holston, the father of her baby. According to Selena, he was supposedly in jail several months ago for drug possession.”
“Huh,” he said, picking up my fork and stabbing a meatball.
“But from what I’ve heard about Pam’s husband, Rob, I’m surprised he let Chuck live in a trailer on their land. Ashlynn said he beat his oldest son last year to get him to talk about Seth’s involvement with Bingham.”
“Seth Chalmers?” he asked in surprise.
“Yeah, Ashlynn told me Seth and her brother were best friends.”
“Really?” His gaze turned worried. “How did you handle that? Was it weird?”
“Yeah. I usually only hear about Seth from Hank and Wyatt’s perspective. I didn’t find out much, but I told Ricky to reach out if he ever feels like talking about Seth.”
“I hope he does.”
“Me too.” I took a deep breath. “I don’t have to go to work until Tutoring Club. So tomorrow I’ll spend some time doing research online. I’m already signed up for three hours at the library from several days back, before I even knew what I’d be searching for. I need to look into Rob Crimshaw. I don’t know anything about him.”
“I looked him up to see if he had any priors. He was arrested for some assault charges that were dropped, but those were a couple of decades ago. Bar fights.”
“He beats his kids and likely his wife instead. Selena said that a teacher reported them to the state for suspected abuse, but Rob convinced them he was only disciplining.”
“I hate assholes like that,” he said, looking away.
“Yeah, me too. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he went to Bart for something, then coerced Pam into fulfilling his task by threatening the kids.”
“I don’t want you talking to him directly. The man obviously has a temper.”
“I won’t,” I said. “I’ll see if I can find someone else to talk to about him.” Then I thought of something else. “Did you get an address for Karl Lister?”
“Yeah, the most current address I have for him is out by where Lula used to live. I also have a phone number, so maybe it would be better to call rather than show up at his doorstep.”
“Okay.” But my mind was racing about how to find out more about Rob Crimshaw.
“You’ve hardly eaten anything,” he said. “Did you eat dinner at work?”
“No. I’m just not very hungry anymore.”
“Come on,” he said, getting to his feet. “We’ve done enough for tonight, and I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” I said, perking up.
“Yeah, it’s outside.” He walked to the door and grabbed a jacket from a peg by the door and handed it to me.
I slipped it on, engulfed by the warmth and the smell of Marco, and slid my feet into a pair of flipflops I kept at his house. He shot me a smile I couldn’t interpret, then led me outside and around the side of the house. A tripod was set up in the yard with a short tube attached on top.
“What’s this?” I asked in excitement.
“I know how much you like lookin’ at the stars on the porch, so I got a telescope.”
“I don’t know how to use it very well, so don’t get too worked up. I meant to get to the tavern earlier, but it was delivered today, and I wanted to get it set up before you came home. I figured we wouldn’t want to fumble with it at midnight.”
“It’s okay.” I squeezed him once more before releasing him and rushing over to the telescope. “What do we do?”
He turned it on, and we tried to line it up with some stars, laughing when we realized the “star” we’d found was a porch light of a house on a nearby mountain ridge. Using the flashlight on his phone, he read the manual and realized he could use his phone to help align the stars even though we didn’t have internet or cell service. We spent the next hour scanning the sky, seeing the moon up close, finding Mars, and zooming in on stars, some of which proved to be multiple stars clustered together. I was giddy with each new discovery, squealing with excitement, all while Marco beamed. But it was seeing the Milky Way that had me hugging him again.
“I’ve always, always wanted to see the Milky Way.”
“I know,” he said, holding me close. I’d only told him that once, and it had been a couple of months ago.
I leaned back to look up into his shadowed face. “Why are you so nice to me? Why do you go out of your way to make me happy?”
“Because it makes me happy to see you so happy.” He lifted his hand to my cheek. “But it’s more than that. You’re a smart woman, Carly. Do you want me to say it?” His thumb brushed my cheek, sending a sharp zap of electricity through my body. “I have no problem sayin’ the words. I’m only holdin’ back for you.”
Tears filled my eyes. I wanted him to say the words, but I was scared to say them back.
He started to let me go, but I reached down and stopped his hand, holding it on my hip. “Hold me,” I whispered.
He pulled me close, wrapping his arm around my back while he cradled my head to his chest.
I breathed him in, the scent that was so unmistakably Marco. I molded myself to the body I knew so well yet had never made love to. I clung to this man who loved me like I’d never been loved before, scared to take the leap of faith to give myself to him.
Why? What more could he do to prove himself to me?
I couldn’t think of a single thing.
Pulling back slightly, I lifted my head to look up at him.
He searched my face as though looking for what I wanted, and I thought of all he’d given me. What had I given him? I wanted him to feel the joy I felt when he gave so selflessly to me, and then I remembered what Hank had said about love. When you truly loved someone, you willingly gave up part of yourself to make them happy, but it was okay, because they did the same for you.
I lifted my hand to his face and caressed his cheek. “I’ll say them first.” His eyes widened slightly, and I reached up to kiss him softly, a quick brushing of lips that sent more desire and emotion through me than any kiss I’d ever had. Then I smiled up at him and said, “I love you.”
“Don’t just say it because you think it’s what I want to hear, Carly,” he said, his voice rough.
“I’m not.” A tear fell down my cheek. “I’ve loved you for months, I’ve just been too scared to tell you.”
“I love you too,” he said, his voice breaking. “Don’t be scared. I’ll do everything in my power to make you feel loved and safe so you never, ever have to doubt me.” His face lowered and he kissed me, softly as though he was scared I’d change my mind, but I lifted both hands to his face and held him close.
The kiss deepened, and he lifted a hand to cradle the back of my head. His hands sank into my hair, grasping a handful of it, and I gasped into his mouth.
He pulled back, releasing my hair with a look of alarm.
Smiling, I shook my head. “I’m not fragile. I want you. All of you.”
He kissed me again, with more passion than before, then lifted me clear off my feet and carried me to the front porch, only to bang my legs into the porch post as he climbed the steps.
“Oh God, Carly, I’m sorry.”
I laughed and cupped his cheek. “I’m fine. Take me to bed, Marco.”
He grinned. “I’ll try not to maim you in the process.” Then he carried me into his room, lowering my feet to the floor next to his bed.
“Are you sure?” he asked, worry filling his eyes.
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”
He kissed me again, and we fumbled with each other’s clothes, shedding pieces while we kissed and ran our hands over each other’s bodies. His was every bit as beautiful as I’d known it would be. We lay down on the bed, and Marco grabbed a condom out of the nightstand drawer, then didn’t waste any time putting it on.
He studied my face, seeming to hesitate again, so I rolled him onto his back and lowered myself onto him, leaning my head back and moaning at how good he felt.
“Jesus, Carly,” he gritted through clenched teeth, grabbing my hips and holding me still.
I fell forward and kissed him, then bit his bottom lip.
He groaned, rolling me over onto my back, and grabbed my hips again. “I want to take it slow.”
“Take it slow next time,” I said, “I want to go fast.”
He growled, then gave me what I wanted.
Afterward, he collapsed next to me, gathering me in his arms as though he worried I might regret what we’d done.
I looked up at him and smiled. “I’m not going anywhere. I won’t change my mind.”
“I love you.” He stroked my cheek, staring at me with so much adoration I wondered why I’d wasted so much time.
“I love you too.” For the first time ever, I felt like I was where I was supposed to be.
Chapter Nineteen
I overslept the next morning.
After Marco and I brought the telescope inside and put it away, we put on a movie but only made it a few minutes in before we started making love again. This time we took Marco’s slow route, not that I complained. But I forgot to set my alarm, so I didn’t wake up until Marco’s alarm went off at seven-thirty.
“Shit,” I said, scrambling to get out of bed. “I’m supposed to be at Hank’s right now.”
“You don’t have to meet Wyatt, Carly,” Marco said, sitting up in bed. The sheet fell down to his lap, exposing his broad, naked chest and drawing my attention to the erection the sheet was covering. “You don’t owe him shit.”
“I know,” I said, hurrying into the bathroom to brush my teeth. “But I’m not doing it for him. I’m doing it for Hank.”
I started brushing my teeth, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My hair was wild, and I had the look of a woman who had been thoroughly satisfied.
Marco walked up behind me and pressed his naked body to my back. He lowered his lips to the curve of my neck as his hand pressed on my stomach.
“You’re making this hard,” I mumbled around my toothbrush.
“Good.” He kissed his way up my neck to my ear, then bit my earlobe.
“You also realize this has got to be one of the most unsexy things I could be doing right now.”
“See how much I love you?” he asked with a grin.
I leaned over and spat into the sink, then rinsed out my mouth. I stood and turned around to face him, resting my hand on his firm pec. Why was I leaving again? “You realize I’m an older woman,” I teased. “Carly Moore just turned thirty, but Caroline Blakely is about to turn thirty-four.”
“I guess that makes you a cougar,” he said with a grin, his hand skimming over my shoulder and down my arm.
I sobered. “My biological clock—”
He leaned over and gave me a slow, sensuous kiss, then lifted his head, keeping our faces inches apart. “You are what I want, Carly. You. If we never have kids, I’m okay with that.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked with tears in my eyes. “I’m not okay with t
hat.”
“I would never want to bring our children into a world where they’re not safe. We’ll work it out, okay?”
I nodded, and he kissed me again. “Do you want me to call Hank and tell him you’ll be late?”
“No. As crazy as it sounds, he’ll be happy I’m late.”
“Doesn’t sound crazy to me. Just the other day he told me to quit takin’ so long and make my move already.”
I laughed. That sounded like Hank.
I quickly got dressed, wishing I’d taken another shower since I was sure I smelled like Marco. Not that I cared, but I didn’t want an inquisition. Nor did I want this to be any more awkward than it already would be. Marco had left the room, and I found him in the kitchen, wearing a pair of gym shorts and pouring coffee into a travel mug. God bless the timer on his coffee maker.
“I can get coffee at Hank’s,” I said as I packed my notebook into my purse.
“I know, but I figured you could use the caffeine, especially since you’re about to go deal with Wyatt’s bullshit.”
I walked over and kissed him, then stared up into his eyes. “You’re the man I want, Marco.”
He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “If you wanted to be with Wyatt, you could have gotten back together with him months ago. And I get why you’re doin’ this. You want to make sure Hank is taken care of.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“I’m not goin’ try to control you, Carly. Lovin’ you doesn’t mean puttin’ you in a cage. I love the person you are, which means I respect the decisions you make.”
Why had I ever questioned this man’s intentions? I kissed him again, letting it linger for longer than I’d meant to
He groaned and pushed me back a few inches. “No doubt I’ll regret this later, but you need to go now or I might keep you here for another half hour.”
I grinned up at him. “Only a half hour?”
He swatted me on the butt. “Off with you.” But he walked me out to my car and opened the door, giving me another kiss before I got in.
He handed me the coffee, then rested his arm on top of the car. “You get off at midnight?”
“Yeah,” I said as I put the cup in the holder in the console.
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