“If only it were that simple. He…he lied about everything. By the time I’d finished unraveling everything, it was like he didn’t exist –everything he’d told me about who he was seemed to be completely made up. I can’t believe I fell for it.”
She started sobbing softly. Without saying a word, I reached into the inner pocket of my blazer and pulled out a small package of Kleenexes. I handed them to her, and she quickly wiped her tears. Another strange thing – I had those tissues at the ready, as though I’d needed them for similar situations. A woman was crying in front of me and I was treating it like no big deal. Strange as hell.
“Take your time,” I said. “Go on when you’re ready.”
I couldn’t quite get a sense of what the woman looked like, other than her being slender and blonde and pretty, her eyes big and blue as they welled up with tears. Her clothes looked expensive and designer.
“Thanks,” she said, dabbing her eyes. “It’s just…this is so hard to talk about.”
“I understand. Finding out someone you thought you knew is someone else is never easy. See it a lot in my line of work.”
My line of work?
“Anyway,” she said. “When we met in Vegas, he was all Texas charm, one of those cowboy types who was a little gritty, but deep down you knew he had a softness to him that he only showed to a few people. And you know how it is – you think you’re gonna be the special girl that brings it out.”
“Didn’t work out that way, huh?”
“Not at all. He managed to keep up that easy attitude until he had a ring on my finger. But after that…he changed.”
“Changed how?”
“The drinking. At first, I thought he only liked a little whiskey at the end of a long day, you know? And I can handle that. But he started drinking earlier and earlier, and the drunker he’d get, the meaner he’d become.”
“Common story.”
“Didn’t think I’d be stupid enough to get caught up in something like that. And when he got me to his property with his family, he…isolated me. Cut me off from anyone outside that little clan of his. Told me it was just me and him, no one else.”
“Also common – emotionally abusive types love to isolate and separate their victims from any kind of support network.”
More eye dabbing. “I know you’re trying to help, and you are. But knowing I fell for such a common type…”
I reached over and took her hand – something else I realized I’d done before. “Listen to me – I am trying to help. And more than that, I’m going to help. You made the right call in contacting me. This guy’s a real prick, and manipulators like him are skilled as hell in luring people in. Don’t think of yourself as stupid. You got played by a pro, and we’re gonna make sure he pays for what he’s done.”
She shook her head as if she didn’t believe me. “Fucking Wyatt. How the hell did I let this happen to me?”
Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, squeezing me gently, bringing me back to the moment.
“You there, little lady?”
I opened my eyes wide and I was back in the bedroom. I snapped my gaze over to Wyatt, his golden eyes narrowed in concern, the bedsheets pulled up just over the notches of his hips, the fabric draped over the outline of his half-erect cock.
“Holy shit,” I said. “I remembered more. And it was about you.”
Chapter 13
WYATT
I hadn’t the foggiest how the hell to react to what she’d said. “You what?”
Jess swallowed and wrung the sheets with her hands. She looked like she’d spilled the damn beans, like she’d said something without thinking that she regretted. I wasn’t about to let her get out of this one. If she knew something, she sure as shit was gonna tell me.
“Maybe it’s nothing,” she said. “Maybe I’m misremembering.”
“No way,” I said, shaking my head. “You’ve been sure about everything you’ve remembered so far. And now you’re telling me something came to mind and you don’t believe it?”
She opened her mouth to speak, maybe to offer an excuse. But she closed her mouth and furrowed her brow.
“It’s simple, Jess – you tell me what you remember. And no bullshit.” My voice was as stern as it got.
“It…was a conversation. And I think it was with Amy.”
My blood ran cold. “What makes you say that?”
“I mean…I know it was with your ex-wife. You were mentioned by name.”
Fucking hell. Had Jess somehow gotten mixed up with my clusterfuck of a marriage? “Tell me what you remember.”
“I remember meeting with Amy somewhere in town. Maybe in Houston. She’s pretty, right?”
I scowled. “Yeah, gotta give her that. But pretty like one of those plants that lures you in and takes a big bite out of you.”
She nodded. “Pretty and blonde and thin, dresses well.”
“Yes, on all counts. Now, why don’t you get to what you remember?” There was an impatient edge to my voice. I didn’t want to snap at her, but she was treading on dangerous ground.
“I remember talking with her. And the subject was you.”
“Shit. I can only imagine what she had to say.”
“She said that you were emotionally abusive and manipulative. That you were a liar, through and through.”
I let out a sharp laugh at the ridiculousness of it. “Don’t doubt she’d say somethin’ like that. Funny thing is those are all qualities she’s got. Heard somewhere once that screwed up people look at others and see a mirror.” As soon as I finished, the real heart of the matter occurred to me. “But what the hell were you doin’ talkin’ to her?”
“I don’t know. Whatever the context of the conversation was, I don’t know. But I know I spoke to her about you, and she told me that you were the monster in the relationship. She cried and everything.”
“That’s her go-to trick. Fell for it a few times myself until I realized she can turn the waterworks on and off on command.” I reached over and took Jess’s hand. “But you were talkin’ to her, and you were talkin’ about our marriage. We need to know what the hell’s goin’ on here, Jess.”
Her eyes flicked down to my hand on hers, and she slipped it free and put it under her free hand. Girl was shaken, and I didn’t blame her. So was I.
“If I knew I’d tell you, Wyatt. You know that. But I just don’t know. Everything around the little bit of conversation is foggy.” She stared at her hands, frowning. “I don’t know what to say.”
And I didn’t either. But I knew I needed to be alone. I tossed the sheet off my body, my cock still half hard from the memory of her soft center. One minute we’d been giving each other what’d we’d both been thinking about since we’d laid eyes on each other, and then it turned on dime.
“Are you upset?” she asked fearfully.
“Truth be told, I don’t know what I am. But I need some time to think. And you do too.”
She bit her lower lip and nodded. As good as it sounded to slip back under those sheets and feel that gorgeous body curled up against mine, there was more important shit to mull over. I slipped back into my underwear, then my Wranglers. I threw my shirt on, not bothering to button it, the two flaps hanging over my abs.
“Get some rest,” I said. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
“Don’t you have stuff to do?” she asked.
“Yes, and I’ll do it.”
Another tense expression flashed on her face. I got the sense she was thinking the same thing I was, that there might be something one of us could say to smooth all this over, make it right. Something that could take us back to where we’d been before the memory had returned.
No chance of that.
“See ya later, Jess.” I grabbed my shitkickers and slung them over my shoulder and headed to the door.
“Okay.” Her voice was weak – a tone I wasn’t used to hearing from her. Jess was tough as they came, but the memory had freaked her out, possibly even frightened h
er.
Moments later I was back in my room, the last ten minutes of conversation playing over and over in my head. What the hell was Jess doing talking to my ex-wife? How the hell had those two even come into each other’s lives? And it sure as shit didn’t sound like a couple of gals gossiping over wine – the impression I got was that Jess was grilling Amy, trying to get information out of her about me.
But for what reason?
I stripped out of my clothes and dropped onto the bed. I was tired –the fucking had worn me out, and my mind was full of questions. My to do list would have to wait; I just didn’t have the motivation at the moment to do anything but sleep. Once I was under the covers, without thinking I draped my arm over the side of the bed where Jess would’ve been had I stayed. The sheets were cool – no one was there.
Several hours later, the crow of one of the ranch roosters brought me out of my restless sleep. I’d barely caught a damn wink, spending the night in one of those half-sleeping states where you know you’re not out, but you open your eyes and it’s morning.
I knew what I needed to do. As much as the idea made my gut tense and my blood boil like the hot water Mama G used for coffee, I needed to talk to Amy. But until then, I needed to keep up appearances. After a quick shower to wash the sex from my body, I headed down to the kitchen for a little breakfast.
“What’s on your mind, kid?” Mama G eyed me with suspicion and concern the second she laid eyes on me. Nothing got past that woman.
The rest of the eyes at the table turned to me, which pissed me off. I should have been better at hiding my feelings that morning.
“Just Amy stuff,” I said, ripping off a chunk of one of the buttermilk biscuits Mama G had put in front of me and dipping it into the pool of chunky gravy. “Nothin’ worth bringin’ up over a meal.”
“Anything new on that front?” Emily asked.
I waved my hand through the air. “Nah. Just want it to get taken care of sooner rather than later.”
I didn’t like twisting the truth with my family, but until I knew just what the hell was going on with Jess, I needed to keep things close to the chest. No sense in getting a rise out of everyone when I didn’t even know what was up.
And speaking of Jess, she never came down for breakfast.
“Our guest sleeping in?” Silas’ wife Molly asked, dusting her hands after polishing of her plate.
“Might be,” I said with a shrug. “Busy afternoon with Juniper – the lady had her foal last night.”
Fuck. How the hell had I let Juniper slip my mind until just now? It didn’t sit right with me that my divorce drama was distracting me from my duties.
The table was all abuzz with talk of Juniper and the foal, the family getting every last bit of info about the new addition to the ranch out of me. When I mentioned that I’d named the foal Red, I slid over exactly why.
Food didn’t sit right – more signs I was letting the situation with Amy and Jess get away from me. I needed to check on Juniper and Red, but if I could put Amy and Jess out of my mind, I knew that’d help me focus on the work. I was not looking forward to the conversation I’d be having with my ex-wife one damn bit.
Delicious as the biscuits and gravy were, I had to force them down. I had a way of focusing on problems – not out of worry, but out of wanting to get them taken care of. Even my normally huge appetite took a backseat when things needed to be done.
“Seconds?” Mama G asked, the expectant smile on her face suggesting she was, as always, more than happy to load my plate with more of the good stuff.
“Nah, not today,” I said. “Got a full day ahead of me. Need to get to it.”
“Something wrong?” Mama G was in tune enough with her boys to know that not eating wasn’t a good sign, and I hadn’t really answered her the first time.
“Tell you about it later.”
I took my coffee mug and headed back up the stairs to my room. I hated being evasive with the family, but I’d let them know what the hell was going on as soon as I did. When I passed Jess’s room, I considered knocking to check in on her. But I realized we wouldn’t have much to say to one another. She’d likely still be as confused by the memory as I was.
When I was back in my room, I set down the coffee mug and picked up my phone. My thumb moved over the screen until I had Amy’s number in the center.
“Fucking hell,” I said. “Might as well get this shit over with.” I hit call and lifted the phone to my ear. It rang twice before she picked up.
“Good morning, Wyatt,” she said in an ice queen tone that suggested she had me right where she wanted me. “Can I assume this early morning call means you’ve come to your senses?”
I knew “coming to my senses” in this case meant giving her whatever she wanted. “I wanna ask you about something.”
There was a pause. “And what might that be?”
“I need to know if you met with anyone about our situation.”
“Met with anyone? What’re you talking about?”
“Spoke with anyone about our divorce, or our marriage.”
Another pause, and I got the sense she was trying to figure out if I was playing some kind of angle. But that wasn’t my style, and she had to know it. Manipulation was more her thing.
“I…talked to my lawyers about it. Maybe a couple of friends.” Right off the bat she was lying. Amy didn’t have any close friends – only people she used for a time before tossing them aside when they were no longer beneficial to her.
“Beside the lawyers. Did you meet with some woman?”
“A woman? Like, some random woman?”
“Well, she wouldn’t have been random. Maybe a therapist or something?”
“What’s this all about, Wyatt? Why are you asking weird questions?”
“Don’t evade my questions, Amy – tell me yes or no.”
Another pause, this one longer than the others. “This is weird, Wyatt. But no – other than you and my lawyers and your family, no one knows about any of this. Well, not yet anyway. If you decide not to play ball, I’ll make sure everyone hears my version of events.”
I felt like a damn fool for calling her. I knew she wouldn’t tell me the truth. I ignored her not-so-subtle threat. “You bein’ legit with me?” I asked. “No bullshit?”
“The only bullshit here is how you’re insisting on dragging this out, Wyatt. I was hoping you calling meant you were ready to do the right thing and give me what I deserve. But now I don’t know what to think.”
“I’m gettin’ all the information I need before makin’ a call one way or another.”
“Does that mean you’re considering giving me what I want?”
She was baiting me into another argument, hoping I’d pounce on the. Only thing that woman deserved was a boot to the behind. Figuratively speaking, of course.
“That remains to be seen, Amy.” The hell no I wanted to say would’ve turned the conversation into another argument when I was more interested in ending it.
“Fine,” she sniffed. “Don’t know what this call was all about, but if you’re planning on dragging this all out, then you know what my endgame is.” She offered a clipped goodbye and the conversation was over.
Jess. I had to see if she remembered anything else. I tossed my phone on the bed and hurried to her room and knocked my usual knock.
“Come in.”
I opened the door, and she was laying on the bed with her hands folded over her belly, a worried look on her gorgeous features. The moment I saw her, I thought about the night before when we’d had the luxury of screwing each other’s brains out without having to worry about what would happen after. God, the sight of her on that bed, her auburn hair fanned out around her face, was enough to make my cock twitch to attention.
You’ve got bigger things to worry about, Wyatt. I sat down on the edge of the bed and placed my hand on her leg. She didn’t move it.
“Missed you at breakfast,” I said. “Biscuits and gravy.”
&nbs
p; “Didn’t have much of an appetite.”
“I get that. But in Mama G’s book, losing your appetite is the first sign of something bein’ wrong. She’ll probably let you miss one more meal before she runs up here and force-feeds you some homemade mac and cheese.” I offered her a smile, and she gave a weak one in return. “You remember anything else? Anything at all?”
She shook her head, her auburn locks tossing. “Not a thing. I was hoping a good night’s rest and some time alone might jog my memory. But nothing. All I’ve got is that I was talking with your ex-wife for some reason, and that’s it.”
“I had a little chat with the woman,” I revealed.
Jess’s eyebrows flicked up. “Yeah? And?”
“Like trying to dig a well in concrete. Didn’t get a damn thing out of her.”
Jess’s excitement waned, and she nodded. “Wyatt, I don’t know what to say about any of this.”
“You don’t need to say anything because you don’t know nothin’. Not gonna try and squeeze blood from a stone, here.”
She rolled over onto her side, her position showing off the round curves of her hips. It took me a second of getting my head right not to think about yanking those sleeping pants off and burying my face in that perfect pussy. Jess was worried, and that was enough to calm my horny cock.
“What’s on your mind?”
“It’s…I don’t know.”
“Take your time.”
“It’s what I told you. You…believe me, don’t you?”
I was confused. “What, you think I think you’re lyin’ about rememberin’?”
“No,” she said. “Not that. But I can’t help but feel like you think I might be holding something back, something that might make you upset.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Well, you ain’t, are ya?”
“No. I told you everything I know.” But as she said it, her eyes stole to the side, and she didn’t look at me again for a few minutes.
“Then that’s all there is to it.” I took her hand and she clasped mine. “Jess, this thing with you and me, it ain’t gonna work if we’re not straight with each another. And I’ve got no reason to think you haven’t been.” She still appeared conflicted, and I tried to find the right words to put her mind at ease. “We’re gonna get through all this together, you hear? I’m gonna be here for you every step of the way.”
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