“What?” she shouted.
His jaw dropped.
Wow, what the fuck?
Clenching the steering, he laid out his cards. “I didn’t give you hell for your choices, so you’re going to stop giving me hell for mine. Who I’m with is none of your damned business. I haven’t badmouthed you or your husband. You don’t get to say one bad word about Marissa, who did nothing wrong. You had left me for another man. I waited two months before I did anything with anyone. She walked away to give you a chance to fix things. I hadn’t touched her until the other damned night, more than three years after our divorce was final. You’re the one who begged me to take you back for our baby eleven years ago, and you weren’t even sure Ashton was mine at the time. I knew better, and I took you back, even though we were doomed from the time you walked out on me the first time.”
“He’s your son.”
“Yes, he is.” He pushed back in the seat and closed his eyes. “But I never needed to stay with you to be his father. I would have shared Ashton with you. I would have made it work without wasting years of our lives. Then maybe Brett wouldn’t be so damned worried I might try to steal you back. I didn’t want you anymore, remember?”
“I loved you.”
He laughed harshly. “Not enough to stay faithful. Not enough to help me through the worst time of my life. No. You were too busy moving on.”
“I thought you’d kill yourself.”
“Fucking hell, Jeanette. What is wrong with you to hope I’d kill myself?”
She cried. “You were so fucked in the head you weren’t yourself. And you were depressed. You kept spiraling downward.”
And he could blame her, part of it was her fault. Not all of it. But he didn’t want to argue. “Just stop. Do me one favor. Stop with all the shit. You brought Ashton back to me because you had to choose between your son or your husband. I wish you the best, but stop acting like I’m a piece of shit. Back off. And take some damned responsibility.”
“I’m not the only one at fault!”
“Didn’t say you were. But the past is the past, and we can’t change it. So, let’s stop this bullshit. I will do everything in my power to ensure you get to talk to your son when you want to, as long as you don’t try to change how I raise him.”
“She’s not right for you.”
“I don’t give a damn what you think. You need to stop, take a step back, and realize that maybe she was the right one for me all along.”
“If she upsets my boy—”
“She? You really think she’s going to be the problem? She came over last night, had dinner with us. Spent the evening getting to know him because she doesn’t want him to hate her. Unlike Brett, who doesn’t seem to give two fucks about our boy. You took Ashton across the country so I couldn’t be with him and allowed that prick to treat him like an inconvenience. Marissa isn’t doing that.”
“Great. So, she’s fucking perfect,” she screeched. “He’s going to hate me.” The waterworks started and he fought back the groan.
“I didn’t say that. I’m only asking you to back off where Marissa is concerned. I’m not calling you a bad mother. I’m not asking you to do a damned thing but to stay out of my decisions. Ashton is my priority above all else.”
“Fine. But if I find out she’s done something to upset him, I’ll take him back.”
“How long do you have, Jeanette? And if you aren’t there, who do you think would get custody?”
She sucked in air. No words came.
“How long?”
“Weeks,” she whispered.
He rubbed at his forehead. “I’m sorry. God knows, I don’t want to make this harder on you. I’m asking you to trust me to take care of our son.”
She sniffled. “I do.”
“Take care of yourself,” he told her, meaning it.
Her voice trembled. “I wish I hadn’t moved so far away. You deserved better.”
“Stop. I don’t want an apology. Just be happy.”
“I can’t. I’m dying.” The phone clicked off.
Metcalf dropped his head to his steering wheel and sat there. When he finally caught his breath, he called Gavin.
His whole crew was close, but since the divorce he didn’t hang out with them all as much. Still, his closest friend was Gavin. They’d been buddies since school. He was a year behind, but he trusted him with everything. And Gavin’s wife had been best friends with Jeanette for as long as he’d known them.
In fact, they were so close Gavin and Cadence were Ashton’s godparents. He and Jeanette were their girl’s godparents.
Now he hoped like hell Cadence and Jeanette were still close. If anyone could get through to her and offer the support she needed, Cadence could.
Gavin answered quickly. “What’s up, Metcalf.”
“Can we talk?” He cringed at the desperation in his tone.
“Sure.”
“You home?”
Gavin paused for a heartbeat. “Shit, what’s wrong, man?”
“Just need to talk,” he replied.
There was no hesitation. “Come over.”
“Be there soon.”
* * * *
“I know you got some last night. Why so focused now? Shouldn’t you be on cloud nine?” Brian teased when he walked up to her desk.
Marissa looked up from her computer. She couldn’t find the white van anywhere. That would put them closer to a suspect. They couldn’t find any usable prints at the hardware store. And none of the clues were helping.
Leaning back, she met his gaze. “I’m busy.”
He placed her favorite coffee in front of her. “What are you working on?” He came around the desk and frowned at the screen.
“Trying to find the missing pieces.”
“What happened to your leads?”
After a sip of coffee, she shook her head. “Can’t find anything about a white van. I watched the video a dozen times. There is one thing I noticed. The person limps slightly. I can only think of three people who limp. Old Man Tombs. Rick Abbey. Chelsea Bauer. There might be more, but not that I know off the top of my head.”
“Dementia patient, a washed-up football player, and the new girl who landed your ex.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s an observation. I don’t give a damn about my ex. But she does have a limp.”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “Touchy, touchy. But you have to admit you don’t like her.”
“Only because she won’t leave me the hell alone. Why does it matter I was with him? It was forever ago. I don’t talk to him. I barely look in his direction if he’s in the same room.”
“He married you,” Brian pointed out. “He still asks about you. If you gave him a chance, he might grow a set.”
“The pussy divorced me a month later because Mommy didn’t think I was good enough. So, fuck him. Chelsea needs to get it through her damned head I don’t want her fiancé.”
He lifted his hands with a wince. “Chill. Sorry she’s obsessed. But why have you noticed she limps?”
“She ran into me at the store last night. Watched her walk away with a limp.”
“What does she want now?”
Marissa rolled her eyes. “To know how I kept Carson’s interest.”
Brian snorted. “I ran into him the other day. He asked me about you.”
“That’s neither my problem, nor my fault. I sure as hell don’t encourage his attention.”
He pulled a chair over. “What are you looking at now?”
“I’m trying to figure out motive. Mr. Tombs is unlikely. He may not remember where he is half the time, but the worst thing we’ve found him doing is ranting at the kids in his old yard because they were trampling his grass. Rick may be a drunken asshole at times, but if he was going to burn something down, it would likely be his failing shop for the insurance money, and even then, I don’t think he has the balls to do it.”
“But Chelsea?” Brian snorted.
“Women are ju
st as capable of burning stuff down. Though she’s new to town. Unless she’s a firebug, why that house? Why down the street from where she’s living? The woman unnerves me, but I can’t figure out why she’d set fire to that house. Besides, she’s the one who called in the fire, and she’s the one who called it in about Enrique. Weird as that is, it doesn’t make her guilty. Though I’d be lying if I said she wasn’t a possibility.”
“We’ll figure it out. Now tell me about last night. I saw your car outside an apartment.”
She smiled. “Metcalf and I are figuring things out.”
“Good. As focused as you are, you seem more relaxed. I’ll take that as a good sign.”
“Very.”
* * * *
Cadence opened the door as Metcalf hurried up the steps. “Hey, Metcalf.” The corners of her mouth turned down as she stepped aside. “Why do you look stressed?”
Shaking his head, he snorted. “Ever wish you could go back and make a different choice?”
Frowning, she shook her head. “No. Not really.”
“Good. You and Gavin are great together, but I regret not going through the divorce the first time around.”
Her brow cocked. “What did Jeanette do?”
Gavin came down. “Yeah, what’s going on? She just called me and asked me a ton of questions about Marissa. Like she thinks Marissa is going to make Ashton hate her.”
“She’s pissed I’m with Marissa. I honestly didn’t think she’d remember. It was a fling while we were legally separated at her choosing.”
Cadence nodded slowly and frowned. “Yeah, but she came back when she saw you happy with Marissa. Really happy. That’s when she realized what she was missing and tried so hard to get you back. But she admits it was never the same.”
“Shit. And how do you know all this?”
“Because I’m her sounding board,” she answered. “Look, at the time I didn’t know Marissa. I saw my friend hurting, and she was pregnant with your child. I thought you still loved her somewhere in there…”
“She cut me open when she left. I moved on. She was the one who wanted the separation, the divorce. I finally started seeing a woman and she came crawling back.”
“I didn’t know the whole story,” Cadence replied, guilt in her expression.
He clenched his fists and looked away. “If Marissa hadn’t shut me out, I would have never gone back. I nearly didn’t, but Jeanette had me by the balls—threatening to take our son away and never let me see him.”
“Were things ever good between you after Ashton?”
“After I got the paternity test back.” He rubbed his neck and huffed. “Even then I never truly trusted her again. I couldn’t. I knew who she left me for.”
Cadence let out a sigh. “I’d say she made a mistake, but she repeated it. Once, forgivable. Twice is her own stupidity.”
“Yeah. And that asshole acted like my son was a waste of time. She let it happen. And as much as I want to lay into Jeanette and say every hateful thing I ever thought toward her, I can’t because she’s dying.”
Cadence smiled lamely. “You’re better than that.”
“Shit, you know what my breaking point was?”
“What?” Gavin asked.
“She tried to tell me I shouldn’t be with Marissa. That’s utter bullshit since Ashton walked in on Jeanette with Brett before I was even shot.”
Cadence shook her head, her eyes wide. “Wait a minute. Are you sure?”
Gavin stared at Metcalf, slack-jawed.
“Yeah. He came to me a month before that and asked me straight up, ‘why is Mommy bouncing on Brett, naked.’”
“Oh shit, why didn’t you tell me that?” Gavin asked.
“Because I didn’t want either of you trying to get me to work my shit out with Jeanette. There was nothing left to work out. I had a lawyer drawing up papers, and I was putting together a good case to keep my son with me. I would have shared custody of course, but she was too busy fucking Brett every chance she got.”
“But you two seemed so happy.”
He sighed. “I was trying for Ashton’s sake. I stopped talking to her. I slept in the office. I didn’t want to fight. I just wanted to be done.”
“I swear, when I helped convince you to give her another chance eleven years ago, I thought you still had a chance.”
“We did until Ashton came to me with that.” He sighed. “I loved Jeanette, but she was never all in. I should have walked away, and regardless what Marissa did, stayed away from Jeanette, but I wanted my boy more than I wanted anything else.”
“I’m sorry.” Cadence hugged him. “Honest to God, I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I know.” He squeezed her back. “Not your fault. I let her do this to me. And I wasn’t a mess because of her. I had a plan to still do my job, have more time with my boy, and not have to deal with Jeanette in the same house. It all fell apart because my head got screwed up when I watched Guy Reardon burn in that damned house.”
“Hey, you’re back on track, and it looks like you’ll be the next fire investigator. Relax. You got this,” Gavin said. “And you know we’ll help with anything we can.”
Cadence added, “Anytime Ashton wants to play with Jenny, he can come over. We’ll take him so you can have a real date night with Marissa,” Cadence promised. “And I’ll call Jeanette, find out if I can get her to back off about Marissa.”
“Thank you. Sorry to bring this all to you.”
Gavin spoke up. “You should have talked to me about all of this. If we had known the whole story, we would have been on your side.”
“I don’t need anyone on any side. I just need Jeanette to trust me to be a good father. She’s dying. I don’t want to keep Ashton from her, but I don’t want her interfering in my life. I didn’t cheat on her. I didn’t walk out on her. She left me. She doesn’t get a say in how I live my damned life.”
“She’s scared to death and taking it out on you.” Cadence squeezed his arm. “Maybe she’ll see reason if I call.”
“That’s why I came here. You’re her friend. I’m hoping you can explain it to her in a way that gets through without making things worse because I don’t have much patience left.”
“She needs a dose of reality,” Gavin muttered.
“Maybe, but she doesn’t have long to live. She already gave up Ashton. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brett bails on her. And I don’t want to be an asshole. I never want Ashton to think I hate his mother, because I don’t. I’m not judging her. All I’m asking is the same respect.”
“You’re right. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you. And sorry to bring this to you, but I’m at my wit’s end.”
She smiled, grabbed the phone, and hurried upstairs.
Gavin chuckled. “You have every right to be mad, and you’re here, trying to find a solution without calling her out for being a bitch.”
“I could have been nicer on the phone, but I wanted her to understand it needed to stop. It’s not a competition. Ashton should remember his mother for loving him, not being a spoiled bitch.”
“So, how are you and Marissa doing? If Jeanette is worried, I’m assuming well.”
“She came over last night. We made pizza. Ashton likes her. This could work. She’s not pushing me away this time.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. Now, I’m going to see if I can steal Marissa away from the precinct for brunch.”
“Doubt you’ll have a problem,” Gavin offered. “She was happy when I ran into her at the bakery this morning. Wouldn’t say why. Haven’t seen her light up like that in forever.”
“Thanks for listening.” He slapped Gavin on the back and hurried out the door.
Chapter 11
Joanne Bridges walked up to Marissa as she entered the precinct. She nodded and tried to move past.
Bridges stepped into her path. “We need to talk.”
Marissa forced a smile. “Okay.”
; Bridges grabbed her arm and pulled her back outside. She pinned Marissa with a glare. “Why are you snooping around my case?”
Anger shot through Marissa. She took a slow breath and let it out. “Because I believe it’s connected to my investigation. Don’t worry, I may have added a few notes that could help you find the one who broke into the Hardware store. But remember, I’m the one investigating the fire from the other day.”
“Still think that’s an arson? Or is it a ploy to sneak off with the new boyfriend while you’re working?”
The first couple days they were heavily investigating the case, but they were still waiting on the lab to confirm a few things. In the meantime, she pursued other leads when she had down time. However, she didn’t take over the robbery, only examined the evidence.
Irritated, Marissa snorted. “No, that’s not what’s going on. Regardless of what you think, the fire investigator and I are confident the accelerant used to start the fire in the Cosgrove home is the same that was stolen from Barnes Hardware. I’m not stepping on your toes. I’m trying to stop someone from burning another home or business down.”
“You can’t prove shit and that’s why you haven’t caught anyone,” she hissed.
“What is your problem, Bridges?”
“You don’t seem to give a damn about following the rules.”
She shook her head slowly. “What on earth are you talking about? Zerr assigned me to the case. I didn’t ask for it. I’m doing this because it’s my assignment. Get off your high horse.” She pushed through the door and walked back to her desk, slamming down into the seat.
She picked up the files from the string of arsons four years before. The cases were closed, but something didn’t feel right.
What if Guy wasn’t the arsonist? What happened to his girlfriend? She disappeared, or burned in a fire, but there were never any bodies found, except Guy’s.
Brian leaned his ass on her desk. “Got a text to send you to the parking lot.”
Rolling her eyes, she asked, “Who?”
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