Always My Hero

by Jennifer DeCuir

  “Get out! Get the hell out of here!” Ryan pushed past her, grabbing Haley by the upper arm and hauling her to the front door where he unlocked it with one hand, opened it and shoved her onto the sidewalk.

  Turning around, he began to walk back toward the office, eyes unfocused and hands trembling.

  “Ryan, she’s lying. I didn’t have an abortion. The doctor didn’t know what went wrong. He said these things just happen. That it was probably for the best. Twelve weeks. Our baby lived for twelve weeks inside me. I’m so sorry I couldn’t bring it to term.” The words were tumbling from her lips, mixed with the salt from her tears.

  “Haley’s lied to me all along. There is no possible way I could believe her now.” However, he refused to look at her. “I need to be alone, Bree. Please just let me deal with this my own way.”

  He didn’t say another word as he slumped into the desk chair, banged his elbows down on top of the desk and dropped his face into his open palms. His shoulders were quaking and Bree wasn’t sure if he was crying or just really, really close. She waited a moment and when he still didn’t acknowledge her, she slipped quietly out of the store.

  That was it then. It could have gone one way or the other. At least now she knew. Whether he harbored any doubts over her version of the loss of their baby versus Haley’s, or whether he was upset because she’d kept her miscarriage from him didn’t really matter. It was too much. They were through.

  • • •

  Crack! The brightly colored billiard balls spun crazily toward the far end of the table. Ryan sunk two of the striped ones on the break, earning a high five from Luke. After he missed the next shot, he propped his cue stick against the wall and retrieved his beer mug. No bottles for him tonight. He was drinking from a pitcher.

  At first he felt guilty for asking his mom if Wesley could spend another night there, especially since it was a school night. But she’d gushed about all the time they had to make up for, that she was just so grateful to finally have her grandson living in the same town that she could take him for sleepovers. She told Ryan they’d make their own pizzas from scratch and probably a batch or two of cookies. Then she’d insisted he take all the time he needed with Bree. Damn it. She thought he was with Bree.

  Guzzling down another few swallows, he didn’t notice Luke had finished his turn until his friend was waving a hand in front of his face. Ryan nodded, grabbed the cue stick and circled the table. He lined up a shot but gave the ball a little too much momentum and it spun right back out of the pocket.

  Of course he didn’t believe Haley. Bree would never get rid of a baby, whether they were together or not. She valued life too much. But the alternative was just as gut-wrenching to consider, if not worse. She’d suffered a miscarriage, lost a child. And she’d faced it alone. He’d as good as abandoned her, so why should she feel she could come to him with the news? Sure, Bree could have gone to his parents for an address if she really wanted to find him. But he didn’t blame her one bit for keeping the news to herself. He didn’t deserve to know.

  He wondered how Haley, of all people, had found out about what was probably the most tragic event in Bree’s life, next to the loss of her father and then stepfather. But knowing his sneaky, manipulative ex, he was better off in the dark on this one.

  Studying the table, he realized Luke was kicking his ass now. When had that happened? He could have been cheating for all the attention Ryan was putting into this game. Lining up another shot, he sunk the eight ball, swore a blue streak and stalked back to the tall table that held his precious beer. Time for another round.

  “Hey, I know it’s considered girly to talk things out, but I won’t tell anyone if you won’t. See? We’re drinking manly beer, so it’s okay.” Luke punched him lightly on the shoulder as he sat down, holding up his own mug before taking a drink.

  “I found out some shit that would have caused me to make some very different decisions back in my stupid-ass college years.”

  “Everyone makes dumb choices in college. We were still kids. We didn’t know any better.”

  “Yeah? What was your dumb choice in college?” Ryan peered over the top of his glass.

  “I was desperate to lose my virginity, you know?” An embarrassed flush crept up past Luke’s beard line, rivaling the red of his hair. “I found out afterward that she was the Dean’s daughter. Almost got myself kicked out of school in the first semester.”

  “But did you get her pregnant?”

  “What? Hell no! Wait ... Is that why you married Haley?” Luke’s forehead was wrinkled, like he was trying to do the math and it just wasn’t adding up.

  “No. Catch up. I got Bree pregnant.”

  “When were you with Bree?” Luke looked even more confused now, frowning into the bottom of his beer mug.

  Ryan scoffed. Could there have been someone at the big party at the pond who didn’t know where he’d been instead?

  “The night of the big sendoff, before we all went away to college. At the pond? I didn’t go. I went to see Bree instead.”

  “That’s right. You weren’t there.” The color had returned to his friend’s cheeks as realization dawned. “Haley came alone.” Luke’s voice trailed off and he had the good grace to look away.

  “But she didn’t leave alone, did she?” Ryan’s laughter was bitter.

  “So go back to the Bree thing. She has a kid? Your kid?”

  “She lost it. She lost our baby and dealt with it all on her own.”

  “That makes more sense then,” Luke mused, while stroking his bearded chin. “I mean, I’m shy. I get shy. But Bree took her quiet to a whole new level. She always had this haunted look, like she was dealing with some deep shit.”

  Yeah, this wasn’t making him feel any better. All the hurt she’d gone through ... alone. The agony of losing a child. She probably wanted to die herself. He’d felt like his own heart had been ripped from his chest when he’d heard the news today. God, his poor Bree.

  Ryan held up two fingers and waved down the perky brunette waiting tables in their section of Smitty’s. He ordered another pitcher and ignored the teasing flirtatiousness in her eyes. She didn’t seem to notice and pulled a card from the deep cleavage of her blouse, sliding it across the table toward him. “Call me,” she mouthed before heading off to fill their drink order. Disgusted, Ryan picked up the card and flipped it toward Luke.

  Like a broken record, he explained why he’d stayed with Haley. Why he’d ended up marrying the deceitful witch. Luke looked miserable on his behalf. More beer had come and he refilled his glass and swallowed deep.

  Trying to remember that things weren’t always bad, Ryan closed his eyes and thought about the good times with Haley. She’d been so supportive of his dreams. He’d come home from practice and she was right there, ready to massage away the aches and listen to his day. Whenever they lost a game, she cheered him up and reminded him that he’d played his best. She’d even memorized his plays, knew which ones had been pulled off flawlessly and which needed work. He’d loved that she could talk football.

  After the accident and the subsequent surgery, she’d been his nursemaid without complaint. She’d driven him to physical therapy. She’d pushed him to do his exercises at home. And when he’d longed for a baby, his last ditch effort to save a marriage doomed from the start, she’d given in. Even though he knew she was terrified that losing her figure due to a pregnancy might cost her the chance to become a successful actress.

  Now he realized that the only reason she stayed was because she had nowhere else to go. The first director to give her a shot at a paying gig also turned out to be her next sugar daddy. He would have liked to hope that she hadn’t slept her way into the arrangement, but when she signed over her rights to Wesley with no fight, it certainly had him wondering.

  And the woman had no qualms about telling him exactly what his shortcomings were then. Ryan thought back to the day she’d left. Any other man might have been heartbroken, if not for himself, for th
e child she was leaving behind. But he still remembered the profound relief that had quieted his soul for the first time in years.

  “Still, Haley’s not all bad. I’ve seen her visiting her grandpa up at Kittredge Manor a few times since she’s been home. She reads to him.” Luke’s words interrupted his thoughts.

  “Really?”

  “I overheard her talking to him one day. She sounded really scared. Something about needing a lot of money, that she’d gotten herself into trouble and had no one left to turn to.”

  Tipping back his mug to guzzle down those last sips, Ryan spied Doyle standing awkwardly at the door of the bar. He set the empty mug down with a clunk and waved his old friend over. The man walked like a prisoner toward the gallows.

  When Luke saw who Ryan had been gesturing to, his eyes widened. Did he really think there would be some kind of showdown? Aw shit. He didn’t want a fight. He’d had enough of fighting.

  “Pull up a chair. We can get another glass.” Ryan motioned to one of the empty tables.

  “Nah, it’s okay. I was just gonna have a quick beer and head out.” Doyle’s features were tense, his eyes scared.

  “Oh, for crying out loud! I’m not going to hurt you. I apologize for being a dick the other day at the warehouse. If anything, I feel sorry for you.” He shook his head, rolling his eyes in disgust.

  “Wait, why?”

  “For getting saddled with Haley? When I kicked her out today, she whined about having nowhere to stay, and I figured since you two had gotten cozy again, she’d end up crashing at your place.”

  “No, man. She left town. I saw her earlier. Told me she’d gotten the cash she needed in order to start over. Said she was headed back to LA.”

  “But she’s broke. Where would she get ... Fuck!”

  His friends were staring at him. With sudden clarity, Ryan knew where his ex-wife could get her hands on a large chunk of money.

  “I need to get home, fast! I think Haley might have stolen the offer for the hardware store.”

  Chapter 17

  The library board members were seated around the long conference table in the meeting room. Bree had the floor, presenting the final version of the calendar. Martha fanned a hand over her face, but her giant smile showed just how pleased she was with the results. Harold looked uncomfortable as he nodded and mumbled his own acquiescence.

  However, the more the female members of the board voiced their appreciation, the more Harold seemed to realize the money they were likely to make with this project. He sat up straighter, rubbing his meaty hands together. She swore she could see dollar signs dancing in his eyes.

  “Young lady, if this goes as well as I think it will, you just may be looking at a raise.”

  It wasn’t a promise, by any means, but it was far more than she’d expected. The board was pleased with her efforts. Harold was heaping praises on her and had already started discussing ideas for upcoming library fundraising projects he’d like her to be in charge of. Bree should have felt proud ... elated even. She was getting the recognition she never realized she craved until this moment.

  But her heart wasn’t in it. Not this morning. Her heart hadn’t been into much of anything since she’d left the hardware store the day before. The look on Ryan’s face when Haley blurted out that bold-faced lie. It was like he’d been stabbed through the heart. And not by his ex-wife, but by the woman he professed to love.

  She wasn’t going to let this go without sitting down with Ryan and explaining what really happened. And why she hadn’t told him. God knew there were a million times she could have told him in the months he’d been back. But he needed time to process what he’d learned, skewed as it was.

  Yeah, Ryan needed time. That was it. Bree yanked the laptop cord from the outlet on the wall and wrapped it neatly before snapping the computer shut. She knew once she sat down and had a heart to heart with the man, that things would officially be over.

  One woman’s lies had already altered his life. Though her own lie was technically one of omission, it was still something she should have owned up to long before now. One deceitful woman in his life was more than enough. Bree completely understood if he never wanted to speak to her again.

  The board members filed out of the meeting room, Bree trailing a few steps behind them. She was struggling with the zipper on her laptop bag and didn’t notice the small grouping of people milling around the circulation desk. However, the stage-whispered “Pettridge’s Hardware” got her attention fast. Head snapping up, she strode forward, pushing her way to the front of the cluster.

  “What’s going on? What about Pettridge’s?” Her heart raced as an active imagination conjured up pictures of the hardware store on fire, broken into by thieves, or destroyed by hoodlums.

  “Oh, we figured you already knew. Aren’t you dating Ryan now?” Alice, one of the older librarians, eyed her curiously.

  Bree wasn’t about to give them any more grist for the gossip mill.

  “I haven’t seen Ryan since yesterday morning. Has something happened? Is his father all right?” she pressed on.

  “It’s that ex-wife of his. Haley. She stole the store.” Alice and several library patrons watched her closely for a reaction.

  Now that was just ridiculous! Bree rolled her eyes and started to walk away from the desk. Small-town living. You knew nothing had happened of import in a while when someone had to come up with a whopper like this.

  “And I suppose she just dropped it in her Gucci handbag and strolled away, did she?” Bree threw over her shoulder as she tried to put some distance between herself and the gossipmongers.

  “In a manner of speaking. She got her hands on the offer for the store, contacted the buyer herself, and said she’d cut him a deal if he paid cash.” Bree knew the woman spoke the truth when she turned back around to stare and was met with Alice’s know-it-all grin.

  “But that’s impossible. Surely she couldn’t ... ”

  “Apparently the buyer is not from around here. She still has Ryan’s last name. She told the guy she was his wife. Gave the man a discount if he’d pay in cash. Up front.”

  Was Haley really clever enough to conjure up a scam of this magnitude? Bree couldn’t imagine the woman involved in anything that required the least amount of effort. She had to be incredibly greedy … or desperate.

  “I need to talk to Ryan. Where is he?”

  “The police were called to the hardware store this morning. Toby Horace is over there too. Everyone is trying to figure out how to find Haley. Seems she’s skipped town.”

  Well, duh! You don’t steal hundreds of thousands of dollars and then stick around to rub it in everyone’s noses.

  “Alice, can you cover story time in an hour? I’ve already got the books and supplies set up upstairs. I’ll ask Martha to watch the desk for you.”

  Making arrangements to duck out for the remainder of the day, Bree hurried to the hardware store. She wasn’t sure whether he’d push her away or not, but she had to try. Ryan needed as many people on his side as he could get. God, if she could wring that horrible woman’s neck right now, she would!

  The closed sign was still up at Pettridge’s but all the lights were on and Bree could see several people milling around. She knocked softly at the door and Anne hurried to let her in. She gave the woman a comforting hug.

  “I came as soon as I heard. I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

  “Just be here for him. He feels so responsible. I’ve never seen him so beaten down before.” Anne squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek.

  Bree followed the woman’s gaze to Ryan, who stood in the crowded back office with his father, Chase Eaton, Chief Hanson, Toby Horace, and a tall man she didn’t recognize. Ryan looked terrible. Even from this distance, she could tell he hadn’t slept all night.

  “How could this happen, Anne? Seriously, Haley isn’t smart enough to pull off something like this.” Bree shook her head in disgust.

  “Until last night, I
would have agreed with you.” The older woman rubbed her eyes with her knuckles.

  Arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders, they walked up the center aisle of the store until they were standing in the doorway of the office. Now that she could see him up close, her heart contracted painfully. Ryan’s eyes were bloodshot. His hair stuck out at all angles. A couple of days’ worth of beard lent him a dangerous air. His father sat in his chair, Ryan’s hand clamped protectively over his shoulder.

  “It shouldn’t have been this easy,” Ryan snarled.

  “I didn’t do my research well enough. It was my fault. I knew yours was a family-run business. When she called and told me she was your wife, I didn’t think anything of it. She told me about your kid and the life-saving surgery he needed and I reacted on a gut level.” Grim-faced, the man shook his head while studying the ground at his feet.

  “I have a daughter of my own that I would do absolutely anything for. But I should have called Horace before signing the contract.” He finally looked up, glancing quickly at the faces all turned to him.

  Ryan hooted.

  “Oh, that’s rich. Our kid is one hundred percent healthy, and even if he did need a life-saving surgery, you can be damned sure Haley would not be the one fighting for it.” His lip peeled upward in an angry sneer.

  “It’s my own damned fault. I left the offer letter just sitting on my desk at home. She’d already pounced on it once at the store. I should have locked it away. I handed her the stupid keys to the store, where she somehow knew to find the deed. Jesus, I may as well have signed off on the whole thing!”

  “Haley played everyone, Ryan. And it wasn’t your fault. Bo’s stroke threw the whole store out of whack. And you can’t blame that on anything but bad luck.” Chief Hanson shrugged, giving Bo a sort of half-grin. Bree remembered hearing that the two men had been friends since their grade school days.

  “The store deed should have been locked up in a safe deposit box at the bank,” frowned the real estate agent, holding up his hands in surrender when everyone in the room turned to glare daggers at him. “Hindsight ... I know.”