“What is it?” Her heart stopped and restarted as panic ran through her. What if Laney had gotten hurt? What if she’d needed her, but Lydia was too busy being mad to even acknowledge it?
“I’m honestly not sure.” Callum replied, putting the phone on speaker. “Just listen.”
He played the voicemail again.
“Hi, Lydia.” A female voice said. “I just want you to know that I know. I know everything. I know who you are and who you used to be.”
Lydia swallowed hard and felt her body weaken.
“I know.” The voice repeated. “And I’m going to tell everybody.”
Staring at her phone in horror, she couldn’t stop the choked sob that sounded shortly after.
Someone knows.
“Oh, God.” She whispered, covering her mouth with a trembling hand. “Oh, God. Oh…”
What on earth had she done to deserve this? Why would anyone want to destroy her life? Who was the woman? She didn’t recognize the voice.
“It must have come from a blocked number.” Callum sat up slowly and slid his thumb over the screen. “The only missed call you have is from Laney. I don’t get it—did the phone even ring? I didn’t hear it. Did you?”
“No. We were a little busy, don’t you think?” She ran her fingers through her messy hair and tried to calm her breathing. Her stomach was a mess of knots and butterflies. God, she was going to be sick.
“Yeah, but it should have at least rang. My house gets great signal. Who would say something like that to you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know that voice. Oh, god.” Her emotions became a painful lump in her throat and try as she might, she couldn’t swallow them down. “Why?”
“I don’t know why, baby, but we’ll get to the bottom of it. That’s bullshit. I won’t let anybody do this to you, Lydia. Are you sure you can’t think of who that voice belongs to?”
“I really don’t know who it was.” She sniffled and quickly brushed a tear away with her thumb. “Is this punishment for being a bitch earlier?”
“Hey… come here.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, kissing her temple. “Don’t ever call yourself that, do you hear me? You are not a bitch, Lydia. You’re a wonderful woman who deserves everything in the world. We won’t let this happen. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“But, how? We don’t even know who she is!”
“We’ll figure it out somehow.”
“How? Are you going to call your dad and ask him to magically trace a number that we don’t have?” She snapped, suddenly so angry at the world she couldn’t see straight. “Are you going to call up the Scooby gang and have them hunt for clues as to who would want to fuck up the most important day of my life? It is my life we’re talking about, you know. This isn’t something that’s just going to get swept under a rug or forgotten about in a couple of weeks. She’s going to destroy me and I don’t even know who ‘she’ is or what I’ve done to her!”
“Hey.” He cupped her face between his hands and stared at her. The corner of his mouth twitched as his gaze hardened. “It’s my life, too, Lydia—our life. You hurt, I hurt. Don’t you think for a minute I’ll let this go so easily. I will find out who she is and I will put a stop to it.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to get so upset, Callum. I just… God, I was beginning to think life would be smooth sailing from here on out. I never would have thought anyone would try to steal this from me. I’m so sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for?” He slid his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his, kissing her tenderly. “You never have to apologize to me for being human, Lydia.”
She stifled another sob as their lips touched and wrapped her arms around him, thanking her lucky stars for sending someone so compassionate and kind. They would get through this together, wouldn’t they? No matter what happened and no matter how it turned out, at the end of the day Callum loved her, her family loved her, and that’s what was most important. The obsession over her wedding day had gone too far.
The woman threatening to shatter her life would not succeed. If Prairie Town found out the truth about her past, so be it. They could either love and accept her, or they could look the other way. She really didn’t care.
“Lydia? Sugar?” Aggie knocked on the bedroom door. “Are you okay in there? I heard yelling and it wasn’t the sexy kind.”
“Oh, God.” She hid her face against Callum’s naked chest.
“We’re fine, Ags.” Callum called back to her. “Come on in.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to accidentally see your sausage, Cal. That’s a vision I’ll never get out of my head and it’ll make things awkward.”
“I’m covered up, Aggie.” He snorted, causing Lydia to giggle weakly. “Come on in.”
The door slowly creaked open and Aggie, curlers rolled in her bright red hair, stepped inside. Lydia cheered up a little upon seeing the Betty Boop pajamas her friend was sporting.
“Hey, guys.” Aggie dove onto the bed like a kid, burrowing between them. She looked at Callum and then looked at Lydia, lifting an eyebrow in suspicion. “What’s going on, muffin?”
Callum glanced over the top of Aggie’s head and met Lydia’s gaze. His expression said he would wait for her cue; it was entirely up to her.
Lydia had made a promise to Aggie when they became roommates that she would never hide anything from her. Now was not the time to break that promise.
“I’m not really sure what’s going on.” She admitted, grabbing Aggie’s warm hand and holding it tightly. “But it’s not good, Ags.”
Aggie wiggled and squirmed, turning to face her as her eyes clouded over. Was she angry? Sad? “Tell me what’s happening, honey. Let me help.”
Callum played the voicemail again and they all sat in silence as a heavy blanket of uncertainty fell upon them.
Lydia knew there wasn’t much she could do until she knew for certain whom the woman was, but she wasn’t sure she could focus on anything else until she found out the truth. Laney needed her; her parents were depending on her; Jeb deserved an apology. What was she going to do?
“Well.” Aggie broke the silence as she smacked her palms together. “Somebody sounds like a spiteful twat.”
“Tell me about it.” Callum sighed. “We don’t even have a number to trace.”
“Maybe she’ll call back.”
“Maybe she won’t.” Lydia frowned. “What if it was just somebody trying to rile me up? I mean… maybe it’s someone in Vermont.”
“Oooh! Like Tara?” Aggie’s eyes widened.
“Tara. Ugh.” Lydia rolled her eyes and shook her head slowly. “I hope not.”
“Who’s Tara?” Callum asked, completely lost.
“Tara is like, the worst person on Earth.” Aggie explained as she twisted around to talk to him. “She used to be with Benji. Well, she’s been with him twice. God, I never liked her. She was seriously high maintenance and so prissy. You would have thought her vagina was made of gold or something.”
“One of those kinds, huh?”
“So much worse.” Lydia rubbed at her temples. A migraine. Perfect. “I hated the way she treated Benji. She was never kind to him. Ever. And she cheated on him, too, right, Ags?”
“Right.”
“Well…what does her cheating on Benji have to do with our wedding? Why would she call and threaten Lydia?”
“Oh. That.” Aggie grinned. “Her and Lydia never really saw eye to eye—none of us saw eye to eye with her. What Benji ever saw in her… Anyway, Lydia almost kicked her ass once. She was calling Benji worthless and stupid and…holy shit that still bothers me. What a bitch! Ugh.”
Callum cleared his throat and that seemed to get Aggie back on track.
“It was glorious! You should have seen it, Cal. She took out her earrings and everything.”
“Lydia did?”
“Yep. She was going to kick her ass and I was ready to put down a bet on who
would win. You don’t mess with our Benji.” She blinked. “You just don’t.”
“Is that true?” His eyes fell back to Lydia and she blushed. “I never pictured you as the violent type.”
“I’m not really violent—not at all. But she hurt him and I was seeing red that night.”
“So not violent, just protective.” Callum’s eyes twinkled. “You’re a good friend.”
“You’re damn right she is. But I’m almost willing to bet that’s who’s calling. Freaking Tara.” Aggie crawled out of the bed and put her hands on her hips. “I’m going to go tell Benji. He’s still got her number, I think.”
“I am not going to ask Benji to call her.”
“Why not? How else are we going to find out if she’s the culprit?”
“We can find another way.”
“She’s right.” Callum said, stroking his chin. “Give me her last name and I’ll look into it.”
“Okay, Mr. I-Have-Connections-Everywhere.” Aggie rolled her eyes. “But if she’s trying to toss a wrench in the most glorious wedding Prairie Town’s ever seen, I want in. Let me help you take her down.”
“Will do.” Callum laughed.
“Just promise me you won’t tell Benji. I don’t want him getting involved with her again. She’s crazy.”
Aggie pursed her lips together, afflicted.
“Aggie…”
“Fine.” Her shoulders slumped. “I won’t say anything to Benji.”
“Thank you.”
“I suppose you’re welcome.” Aggie replied sullenly. “You two have a good night.”
Watching Aggie hang her head and leave the room, Lydia released a low breath and snuggled into Callum’s waiting arms.
“Are you sure you shouldn’t tell Ben?” He asked in a quiet voice, tracing his fingers up and down her arm.
“Not yet.” She replied, wracking her brain with reasons as to why Tara would want to out her to the world. That incident had been almost two years ago. Why was it so important now? What was she trying to gain from it besides ruining somebody else’s life? It didn’t make sense.
“Well, you know what you’re doing, babe. I guess we’ll just—”
“Um, guys?” Aggie appeared in the doorway again.
“Yes?” They said in unison.
“Benji’s gone.”
Chapter 8
Benji
He wasn’t usually the type to eavesdrop, but when Aggie went to investigate the yelling coming from down the hallway, his curiosity got the better of him. Besides, he’d only been pretending to be asleep so he didn’t have to listen to Aggie’s never-ending dreamy sighs over Jeb.
What he hadn’t expected to hear was Tara’s name, and worse, the reason behind it.
A rage he’d never felt before overcame him as he returned to the living room, retrieved his phone, and quietly slipped outside. The phone was already ringing when he stepped off the bottom step and fished his key from his hoodie pocket.
It only took a few seconds for Tara to answer.
“What do you want, Benji?”
“Hello to you, too.” He bit the words out, trembling as he unlocked the driver’s side door and got in. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Tara?”
“What are you talking about? I’m not doing anything.”
“Don’t you fucking lie to me. I know what you did and it’s fucking sick, shit. If you think you can get away with it, you’re wrong. You’re dead wrong. I won’t let you ruin Lydia’s life.”
“Lydia? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Benji. I haven’t talked to Lydia in over a year.” The tone of her voice was sad, not defensive. She had been crying. “Look, now isn’t a good time, okay? Can I call you later?”
His nostrils flared and he slowly shook his head. So that’s not how he imagined the conversation going. And damn it, why did he even care that she had been crying?
“What’s wrong, Tara?”
“My father just passed away.”
“I’m sorry.” Damn it. And now he felt guilty? What the hell?
“It’s fine… I mean, it’s not, but thank you anyway. Look, I really haven’t talked to Lydia. Whatever you think I’ve done, I haven’t, all right?”
“Okay. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. It was really nice hearing your voice again, Benji.”
“Yeah. Erm… you, too.” Lie.
He ended the call and watched the numbers flash on the screen.
“Way to jump to conclusions.” He mumbled.
Aggie and Callum could rest well knowing he’d marked Tara off the list, but that left them with an even greater mystery.
If she hadn’t made the phone call, then who did?
His phone started vibrating in his hand and he nearly dropped it. Glancing at the screen, his worries suddenly disappeared into thin air.
“Hello, Laney.” He greeted her, smiling as he pressed the phone to his ear. “Fancy hearing from you at this hour. What’s up?”
“Hey, Benji.” Her sweet voice said on the other end. “You weren’t asleep, were you?”
“No. Quite the opposite actually.”
“Oh. Yeah, same here. I just can’t fall asleep.”
He waited a few seconds, listening to her breathing and nibbling at his lip ring. “Everything okay, Laney?”
“Yeah.” She replied ever so quietly. “Just thinking.”
His pulse quickened. “About what?”
She laughed and it sent a freaking flaming arrow of happiness straight to his heart. No matter what crazy shit was going on in the world, her laughter was truly the best medicine. He wanted to hear it as often as possible.
“Just things.”
“Just things, huh?”
“Yeah. Just things.” She giggled again and he couldn’t help but to smile goofily. There was just something about Laney and happiness. It was a perfect combination.
“Do you want to come over?” Her question caught him off guard. Totally off guard. “You can say no if you want to.”
Only a stupid man with absolutely no sense of adventure would say no to her.
“Sure. Mom and Pop okay with that?” He teased.
“I can sneak out.”
That thought alone caused his skin to heat to new levels. Laney was going to sneak out of her house just to spend some time with him? What would they do?
What won’t we do? He thought with a mischievous smirk. Oh, the possibilities…
“Okay. I can be there in about fifteen minutes. Be on the lookout for me?”
“I’ll definitely be watching for you.” She promised breathily. “Bye, Benji.”
“Bye, beautiful.”
Placing his phone in the passenger’s seat—where Laney would soon be sitting—he had to remind himself that nothing was going to happen. They were just going to talk, right?
Talking was good.
He started the car and released a nervous breath.
“Talking. Yep. We’re just going to talk.”
----------
Laney
Oh, God. What was she thinking? Calling Benji to say goodnight was one thing, but spontaneously inviting him over just so she could sneak out of her parents’ house Romeo & Juliet style? She’d lost her ever-loving mind.
“Deep breaths.” Checking her appearance in the mirror, she made sure she didn’t look like she belonged on the set of The Walking Dead and tried to calm her racing heart.
This was a seriously big deal. Even though she and Benji hadn’t really talked about anything possibly happening between them before, she needed to talk to him about that kiss.
It terrified her beyond belief, but she had to know: Did it mean as much to him as it did to her?
“I will not freak out.” She said to her reflection. “I’m going to talk to him and tell him like it is. I’ve been hurt in the past and my sanity is questionable, but any man would be lucky to have me.”
Ha! Her mind laughed. Do you hear yourself right now?
As
much as she wanted to ignore that stupid voice in her head, it was impossible. It was always there. Sometimes it was quiet, but right now it was as loud as ever and she hated it.
“I am a good catch.” She whispered, glaring at herself through the reflective glass. “I am worth something.”
And surely to goodness Benji thought that if he’d kissed her. He had to…
Who am I kidding? Her heart sank as she placed her hairbrush back on the vanity and frowned. I’m not that great. I’m not even pretty. My life really sucks.
No! She would not let that part of her mind win. Benji was on his way and he wanted to see her—that counted for something. If he thought she wasn’t worth his time, then he wouldn’t have agreed to come over.
The voice in her mind didn’t have anything to say to that.
“Hmph.” She nodded, giving herself a small smile.
I am pretty.
Lydia looked a lot like her. They both had the same big eyes and the same plump lips. Their hair was thick and curly, but manageable on most days.
She had a nice figure, too. Her breasts weren’t too small and they weren’t too big. To her, they were just right.
Will Benji think so?
Flames of embarrassment and waves of arousal washed over her simultaneously. Heaven only knew how many times she’d dreamed of such things happening between them; Benji’s fingers caressing her skin and his lips upon hers.
Well, one of those things has happened. Who’s to say he won’t do the other?
Her phone chirped and she snatched it up, her heart jumping for joy—and maybe a little terror—as she read the text.
Benji: Come out.
Her fingers felt like ice as she tried to reply to him.
Laney: Be right out.
“Oh, god. Oh, god.” She grabbed her hoodie, which was hanging off the bedpost, and pulled it on, all the while envisioning what would happen once she got inside his car.
Nothing. Nothing besides talking. I just want to talk.
True, she did want to talk, but she also wanted to hold his hand and kiss him. She wanted him to reassure her that life wasn’t totally sucky and she wanted to hear him say he returned her feelings.
“Oh, shit.” Maybe she could go without the latter part. Perhaps that was for the best. Just being in his company would be enough, wouldn’t it?
90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) Page 10