by V. Vaughn
Once I get off the phone with my friend, I call Henry. He does his best to reassure me he’ll get Tristan out, but I don’t believe him. I call myself a cab and go to the bedroom to get dressed.
Yoga pants hug my thighs when I tug them on, and I let the weight of Tristan’s situation hit me. A second offense within twenty-four hours screams addiction no matter what spin Henry tries to put on it. We can try to get him out of it with the rehab option, but considering how adamantly Tristan denied the truth before, I’m not sure how successful we’re going to be in getting him to agree. I could be furious Tristan consumed caffeine within hours of being arrested, but I’m too familiar with an addict’s ways to be surprised. I can only hope this is my husband’s rock bottom.
I let myself out of my apartment and sit in my wheelchair to roll to the elevator. As the indicator dings and the doors open, I think about why the police might be waiting for Tristan outside Jake’s apartment building. Especially if he hasn’t done anything to show he’s a danger, even on caffeine. Unless Dr. Carroll said something? Could it be Sawyer, McCall, Underwood and Garret? I can see where Lara may not be thrilled that their prized client is helping me, but is she really that vindictive? One thing I am sure of is that my husband is being targeted, and I need to find out why.
When I get to the station I find Hannah in the lobby, and she tells me Henry is inside already. I have questions I need to ask her, but I’m concerned that the walls of the station may have ears considering the way the police were waiting for Tristan this morning. I say, “Let’s go for a walk. I need to talk to you.”
She frowns for a moment but says, “Sure.” The door groans as she tugs it open for me, and we exit to the busy street. Once we’re a good distance away from the station I say, “Tell me everything. Did the guys leave your apartment for any reason before they went outside this morning?”
“No. And nobody came over.” She stops and turns to me. “Jake consuming caffeine doesn’t make any sense. He hasn’t had any since the one time, and trust me, I’d know. He was a maniac on the stuff.”
“Maybe he didn’t know he was ingesting it. Did Tristan bring anything to eat or drink with him?”
She shakes her head and then suddenly stops. Her lips form a perfect circle as something comes to her. “The presidential tea!”
“The stuff Tristan gave Jake a couple weeks ago?”
“Yes,” Hannah says. “This morning Tristan asked for some since he didn’t sleep very well last night. When he discovered Jake hadn’t opened it yet, he insisted Jake try it.”
I recall President Stone sending me the case of tea that hadn’t been released to the public yet. It was a thank you for me stating to the press that accusations against the president claiming she had a hand in the Eroscians’ caffeine problem were nasty rumors. I shake my head, because how stupid is the president if she’s sending me caffeine-laced tea? Unless she thought I’d never figure it out. I was single at the time.
“Hannah, the president sent me that tea. Why would she send me something supposedly safe for aliens that contains caffeine?”
“It’s still in the testing phase, right?”
I nod.
Hannah squints her eyes at me. “Because the woman is evil. How much do you want to bet the packaging will change when she finally does release it, and any of the previous tea she sent out that gets tested, she can claim was stolen in an effort to frame her.”
“That sounds like a bit of a stretch.”
“This is the woman who wiped men off the face of earth. I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
“We don’t know she did that.”
Hannah puts her hands on her hips and squints at me. “The whole country knows she did it. Even I see it, and you know I couldn’t tell you what color the door of my building is.”
Wind is blowing around us and pushes a stray strand of hair out of my face. I recall how the package of tea arrived without any note. “Wait a minute.” While I was single at the time I received the tea, Lara knew I had just initiated a match with the Intergalactic Dating Agency, and she is blatantly racist against Eroscians. That was also the same time I’d begun to court Henry Wyatt. Lara tried to steal him from me, but he saw through her attempt and even chided her for it. Did my ex-boss go to extreme measures to hurt me using Tristan? “Hannah, I might know what’s going on. We need to get back to the station so I can tell Henry.”
Chapter 11
When Hannah and I return to the police station, we don’t have to wait long for Henry to get Jake and Tristan out of jail. Apparently he raised holy hell over Jake and Tristan being tested without just cause, and the aliens were released on a technicality.
I get up from my wheelchair when I see Tristan emerge through the door to the police station lobby, and I hug him tightly. “I’m so sorry,” I say. “I believe you, Tristan. I know you didn’t do this willingly.”
He returns my embrace, but it’s stiff as if he’s only doing it for appearances. I pull back and gaze into his face to see he’s still angry at me. He says, “Sure.”
“Tristan. I’m really sorry.”
His expression is still cold when he says, “Get in your chair so we can go. We’ll discuss this at Henry’s office.”
My chest tightens because I’m afraid Tristan can’t forgive me, and maybe he shouldn’t. I’ve let my past with my father affect the way I treat the man I married. My judgment has been so clouded that I never gave Tristan a chance.
Hannah says, “Now that we’re out of the police station, we can tell you we think caffeine was in the presidential tea.”
Jake says, “That would explain it. If I never feel like that again it will be too soon. Do you know my heart actually races?”
I look back at Tristan and notice his face is pale, and he looks like he might be sick. I reach to take his hand but he pulls it away gently. “I have a theory why.”
He nods and Henry glances between the two of us before he says, “I want to hear it, but let’s wait to talk about it when we get to my office.”
As Hannah and Jake make small talk and cuddle together like lovers, Tristan and I may as well be strangers. He won’t look at me, and all I can think about is how I didn’t trust him. I imagine what it would feel like if I were in his shoes. It would be devastating to think the man I married would rather assume the worst about me than to believe what I was telling him.
When we finally get to Henry’s and sit down I say, “I know this might sound crazy, but I think Lara Sawyer is behind this whole thing to get back at me.” I glance at Tristan who is sitting across from me and next to Henry. “When the tea came, the package didn’t include a note. I assumed it was a thank you gift from President Stone for me publicly discouraging the rumors that she had something to do with the caffeine problem for Eroscians.”
“But it didn’t,” says Hannah.
I shake my head. “Lara knew I believed the rumors about President Stone even though I was doing what was right for my client at the time by keeping his case as clean and simple as possible.” I glance at Henry. “Lara doesn’t like me because you chose me for your counsel.” He nods. “And she is not happy about Eroscian men coming to Earth. So she had strong reasons to try to stir up trouble for me at Tristan’s expense.”
Tristan says, “That’s a lovely story. But how are you going to prove it?”
Henry frowns for a moment and then says, “I have my ways, and we could probably dig up enough information to prove you and Jake were given caffeine against your will.” He pauses, and a sly smile forms on his face. “But I’d rather approach this a simpler way.” The older man leans back and the smile grows on his face as if he’s satisfied with himself. “I’ll get back to you in a couple of days, but consider yourselves free men.”
Tristan asks, “That’s it?”
“That’s it.” Henry scans the group of us. “Go home and get some rest. I’ll be in touch.”
“Henry,” I say. “You can’t leave me in the dark like this!�
�
“Cassie, in this situation it’s best. Don’t worry, my dear. Consider the case closed. Just go home and take care of that baby.”
I glance at Tristan as he stands up. But the look on his face doesn’t give me any indication that he’s happy or even relieved by what Henry said. I can only assume he wants to wait until we’re alone to talk, so I let him push me to the car without any questions.
The moment we get into our apartment I say, “Tristan, Henry is true to his word. He has a lot of connections in high places. You really don’t have to worry about jail.”
“I know,” he says with a scowl.
I decide to get to what I think is the real problem. I say, “I can only imagine how angry you must be with me. I’m so sorry.”
“I know,” He says again as he guides me over to the couch, and the cushions sink under me as I sit. He says, “You can stop apologizing. The truth is our marriage is in trouble because of both of us.”
Tears come to my eyes because I’m afraid he’s thinking about leaving me. “What do you mean?”
“I haven’t been truthful with you.” Oh god. Has he been having an affair? I hold my breath and brace myself for devastating news as he sits at the other end of the couch. Tristan says, “When we found out you couldn’t work, I approached Henry about a job, and he gave me one managing the apartments he built. That’s where I’ve been going every day.”
I blink for a moment as I process the news. My knee-jerk reaction is anger that he lied to me, but considering the way I’ve been treating him I won’t let myself act on it. I take a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Every time I tried to tell you, something made it easy for me not to. The truth is I knew you wouldn’t like it.”
He’s right. I would have been mad that he thought I couldn’t take care of us, even though it was true. “I wouldn’t have liked it.” I recall Hannah laughing at me for believing Tristan shouldn’t work because that was our original agreement. And then I want to cringe when I realize I thought he wasn’t capable of finding a job that could help. I say, “And there’s something very wrong with that.”
“There is, Cassie. We’re supposed to here for each other. But you can’t seem to let me do more than cook and clean for you.”
Shame burns in me as I look at the floor and say, “I know.”
“Were you afraid that if I got a job I wouldn’t want to stay home with our children?”
“No.” My ears burn with my embarrassment as I stare at the floor. “Maybe. But I think my real problem is the fear of depending on you and finding out I can’t.” I can feel his frown, and I glance up at him as tears fill my eyes. “I’m not being fair to you thinking that. You’ve done nothing but prove to me how capable you are, but I seem to operate on the level I did as the child of an alcoholic.”
“Yeah. Well I proved the junkie part right.” Sadness clouds his face.
“Tristan. I love you. I know this wasn’t your fault, and I hate myself for not believing in you.” I lean forward and reach for his hand. “I can’t believe all you’ve taken on since I was put on bed rest. You’ve been working three jobs. I—” I swallow down my shame for thinking Tristan was anything less than capable of caring for both of us. Hot moisture streams down my face as I ask, “Can you forgive me?”
“Of course I can.” He squeezes my fingers and the warmth of him seeps into me.
“I know you’re incredibly strong.” I pull my hand away and reach up to place my palm on his cheek.
He leans into it. “You make me want to be, Cassie.”
“Thank god, because I really do need you.”
Tristan smiles and brushes the tears from my cheeks. “We need each other. You’re about to deal with me and my withdrawals.”
I offer him a wry smile. “I’ll have payback when I’m screaming my way through labor.” I lean in and kiss him. He holds me tight, and our connection seems to intertwine around our hearts, bringing us closer together. I know we’re going to be okay.
While I married Tristan believing it was my job to support him, I realize now it’s a two-way street. Tristan is so much more than the man who’ll stay home and raise our children. He’s capable of being whatever it is I need. We’re each other’s support system in every way.
He lets out a contented sigh. “I love you so much.”
I nuzzle into his neck. “I love you too, Tristan.”
We have a few challenges coming our way as he kicks his habit, we have a baby, and I navigate a new job. But whatever roadblocks we face, I am sure we’re going to get through it together.
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About the Author
V. Vaughn lives on an island off the coast of Maine and spends as much time outside. as she can. She’s never met an alien but she’d sure like to meet a guy from Eroscia ;)
V. Vaughn also writes Contemporary Romance as Violet Vaughn. You can read more about her Snow-Kissed Romance, Billionaires and Camp Romance here.
www.violetvaughn.com
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