“Are you okay?”
I shook my head, refusing to let any more tears fall while I was in the office. “He’s right.” I huffed out a laugh. “He’s right about everything. We failed him, and that’s exactly why I have to leave. I am responsible for that little boy’s death. We all are.”
“No, we’re not,” Katherine argued.
“You can choose to keep thinking that, but as long as we work for a broken system, we’re not helping anybody. Those deaths are on us, because we failed to help them out of a situation that could have been prevented.”
“So, leaving is the answer?” one of the girls asked. “How does that help?”
“It doesn’t,” I answered. “You’re right. But I refuse to stay and work for a system that only fails people. I won’t be part of the problem any longer.”
I turned and walked into my office, shutting the door behind me. I wouldn’t feel sorry for myself from this point on. I recognized the problem and now I was leaving it behind before it tore my life apart. By the end of the week, I would be out of here, and I would never look back.
As I headed through the parking lot to my apartment, I felt eyes on me. I stopped and slowly turned around, watching for anyone that could be hiding. And then he stepped out of the shadows. The man from earlier today strolled up to me, his posture relaxed, but I could see the anger simmering underneath.
“How did you find me?”
“I waited across the street from your work.”
“How did you know I was the case worker?”
He laughed humorlessly. “You were the only one that looked guilty. How do you live with yourself? You were supposed to help them.”
I gave a short nod. “You’re right. And that’s why I’m leaving my job. I knew they were in danger, but my hands were tied. There are so many rules and hoops that I have to jump through to remove a child from a home. And your sister didn’t want to make that move.”
“You’re blaming the victim?” he seethed.
“No, I’m saying that if she had wanted to leave, if she felt like she had someplace she could easily escape to, I could have taken them out of that home that day and none of this would have happened. But because of government bureaucracy, I was forced to leave your nephew there, despite feeling like it was the worst decision in the world. And that’s something I’ll have to live with the rest of my life.”
“And that makes all of this okay?”
“No, none of this is okay. I take responsibility for my part in this. I wish I could have found some other way to help them. But I can’t. What’s done is done, and I know their blood is on my hands. I’m leaving my job and I’ll never work for the department again.”
He stood there for a moment, like he was unsure what to say. Then he slowly leaned in and whispered, “You really think that’s enough for me? You’re taking the blame and I should just accept that? How would you feel if it was your family?” He took a step back and shook his head. “Maybe one of these days you’ll find out.”
He turned and walked away. His chilling statement had me hurrying inside and locking my doors.
7
Jack
I glanced at the clock on the wall. I still had an hour before I had to pick up Brody. Looking at the real estate listing on the flyer, I made up my mind to go check it out.
“Where are you going?”
“To look at a house.”
That caught Carter’s attention. He stood up, staring at me in confusion. “You’re moving?”
“I’m thinking about it. You know, I think I need to. Everything in my house reminds me of Natalie. This could be good for me.”
“Are you sure about that? It’s Brody’s home.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t have any memories of her. Besides, this house is really nice. It’s bigger than ours, so…”
“So, you could expand your family?” he asked curiously.
“No, I’d have more space. Natalie and I had always planned on moving anyway. Our house was never meant to be more than a starter house.”
“Cool,” he nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
I frowned at him. “No, I need you to stay and answer phones.”
He pulled out his phone, pressed some buttons, then grinned up at me. “Call forwarding is great. Alright, let’s do this.”
I knew I wasn’t getting out of this. When Carter put his mind to something, there was no changing it. I followed him out to the car and drove to the address on the flyer. It was a two story home on the edge of town. The property was a few acres and trees lined the edges, giving it a feel of privacy. I could easily see Brody getting lost in the trees on his explorations.
“The exterior looks nice.”
“Yeah,” I nodded, checking out the siding for any noticeable issues.
“Do you think we can take a look inside?”
“I made an appointment.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t sure I was going to come. I figured I could always back out if I changed my mind.”
“Let’s do this,” he grinned, marching up the front steps. I stepped in front of him, wanting to get my first visual without Carter standing in front of me. Pushing the door open, I was a little shocked at how much I immediately liked it. I thought for sure I would hate it on principle and walk out, but the open floor plan was really catchy.
He let out a low whistle. “Nice. I like it.”
“Me too.”
“This has so much more space than your house.”
I nodded and looked around just as the realtor, Janice, walked around the corner from the back of the house. “Jack, it’s great to see you. I wasn’t sure I would ever be selling you another house.”
“Well, I was thinking it was time for a change.”
“This is the perfect house. I can see Brody already running up the stairs or sliding down the banister.”
“Yeah, that’s not really a selling point.”
She laughed and waved me upstairs. The staircase was directly in line with the door, past the foyer. “Come on, I really want you to see the room I imagine Brody in.”
I followed her upstairs as Carter poked me on the shoulder practically every five seconds to point something out. The room was fucking perfect for him. It was at the end of the house, and there was no clear way for anyone to break in, not without a ladder. But I could work out safety features later. My room was down the hall from him, along with two other rooms. I liked the idea of being on the same level with him in case he needed me.
“Did you see that?” Carter asked. “Two other rooms.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So,” he dragged out. “Room to grow.”
I turned to him, faking not understanding him. “Grow what? You think I should start a garden?”
“No, you moron. Room to grow a family.”
“Carter, in case you haven’t noticed, and I’m not sure you have…I’m not even dating. Who exactly do you think I’m going to marry?”
He frowned. “Well, there’s that Carrie chick. I’m sure Joe wouldn’t mind you taking her off his hands.”
At my stare he nodded.
“Yeah, okay, bad choice. Ooh, what about Jo? She’s feisty, loves animals, and that means she loves kids.”
“How do you figure?”
“Well, because animals are like tiny humans. Everyone knows you get a pet to see if you can handle kids. And she’s great with pets,” he grinned.
I nodded. “I see, so you want me to date her based on the fact that she’s good with animals.”
“And don’t forget about the whole nurturing thing. Now, I have no idea if she can cook, and God knows you need a woman that can cook. But even if she can’t, I’m sure she’ll make up for it in other ways.”
“Right, so I’ll just walk up to her and say, you’re great with animals. I think we should get married so you can nurture my kid.”
He rolled his eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t put it quite like that. You don’t
want to scare her off. I was thinking more along the lines of you asking her out on a date.”
“Oh good,” I said, wiping at my brow. “Because I thought you just wanted me to pick a woman and decide to marry her.”
“Who do you think I am? Nathan? No, I think you should date her. See how it goes.”
“Yeah, there’s just one problem with that. She’s friends with Antonio. In fact, they’re kind of like a family, so I would have to deal with him all the time.”
His brow creased in thought, then he clapped his hands together. “I’ve got it. The chick in red from the daycare. It’s perfect! She already works with kids. She can take Brody to and from school without any issue, and to top it off, she’s hot and you know she wants you.”
I sighed heavily, scrubbing at my face. “The last thing I want is a pinup doll as my wife. If she really was hitting on me, do you honestly think that’s the woman I would go for? Someone that uses my kid to get to me?”
“Well, considering most men use their kids to attract women, I don’t see why you’re being so holier than thou about it.”
“Because I have morals. I have standards. And most importantly, I want a woman that wants me for me, not because I’m one of the last single men in town.”
“Hey, that’s not true. Chili Man is single.”
“Yeah, and he’s called Chili Man,” I said, turning on my heel to head downstairs. After Janice showed me around the rest of the house, we ended up back in the foyer.
“So, what do you think?” Janice asked.
“So far, I like it. I’m just not quite sure about it yet.”
“Is the price too high?”
“It’s not about that.”
I just wasn’t sure I actually wanted to make this move. This was like moving on and leaving Natalie behind, which I knew I needed to do, but forcing myself to actually do it was harder than just walking in here.
“Well, I have a few more showings set up. I can’t guarantee it’ll be on the market for long.”
Carter leaned in and whispered. “That’s what they all say. Who’s going to move to our small ass town? You got this.”
I ignored him and smiled at Janice. “Thank you for showing me the house. I’ll be in touch.”
As we walked out the door, Carter clapped me on the shoulder. “Yep, that house is yours. Just name your price and the seller will fold like a two dollar bill.”
I stopped and stared at him. “Carter…”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going home. Don’t follow me.”
I got in my car as he shouted, “But you drove me!”
8
Christy
I finished packing up my bedroom, groaning when I looked in the kitchen at the mess I still had to clean up. I was moving home in just a week, but it felt like it would be tomorrow. I still had so much to do. I was closing on my house in a few days, which I could only afford with a little help from my parents, and then I would finally be out of this place.
Despite how I felt about my job, I was hesitant to go home. It used to be a place I loved so much. Small towns were so appealing to me, and it almost killed me to move, but after watching my best friend fall in love with another woman, I knew I needed to leave.
I took the picture frame into the kitchen and snatched a bottle of wine off the shelf just as the doorbell rang. Looking through the peephole, I was relieved to see Katherine standing there. Swinging open the door, she smiled hesitantly at me.
“Can I come in?”
“Are you here to get me to come back to work?”
“No, I just thought you might want some company or help packing.”
I wasn’t surprised. Katherine was one of the kindest people I’d ever met while living here. Even though I yelled at her at the office, she still gave me the leeway I needed to finish my job and get the hell out of there. She knew I was falling apart.
“I can’t believe how much you’ve packed.”
“Yeah, well, I move in just a week.”
“Are you excited?”
I blew out a breath as I walked over to the cabinet and pulled down a wine glass for her. “I’m not sure. I’m excited to move past this part of my life, but I’m not completely sure about going home.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “Various reasons.”
She glanced at the counter and picked up the framed photo. “Would this sexy man have anything to do with your hesitancy to go home?”
I stared at the frame, taking a large swallow of wine. “He would be the main reason.”
“Who is he?”
I took the photo from her, staring at the picture of us when we were just twenty years old. “That would be Jack, love of my life and my best friend since I was a kid.”
She nodded, smiling at the picture. “When was this taken?”
“Fifteen years ago? We were at the county fair and he’d just won me a teddy bear.”
In the picture, he was carrying me on his back and my arms were wrapped around his neck. His friend had taken the picture and given it to me a few years later. I still smiled every time I looked at this picture.
“Those were great times. Jack had been my best friend our entire childhoods. We grew up as neighbors, but over time, we became so close that he was more like my soulmate. At least, that’s what I thought.”
She sighed and drank some wine. “I hate stories that start like this. I’m guessing it ended badly?”
“The worst,” I laughed. “I thought we would end up together. I assumed he loved me just as much as I loved him. He was everything to me, and we spent all our time together. But when we were twenty-five, he met Natalie…”
She grimaced. “I already hate her.”
I chuckled. “From the moment he met her everything changed. Jack changed. He still had the same charming smile and handsome good looks, but it was all reserved for her. We didn’t stay over at each other’s houses after he started dating her. He said she felt weird about it, but that was just the beginning of the changes. The nights we used to spend together watching reruns were also eventually taken away.”
“So, she moved in on him and pushed you out.”
“Basically. Not that I really blamed her. Jack was a great catch, and I wouldn’t want another woman hanging around with him either. But her influence over him drove us apart, he just didn’t see it. He was too in love with her. Everything revolved around her and what she needed. I eventually became just a spare part that he only talked to when Natalie was busy.”
“Did you ever tell him you loved him?”
“How could I? I waited too long. I was so sure that everything would just fall into place that I never said a thing. And then he was dating her. I couldn’t just go up to him and declare my undying love. But he was mine first, you know? She just swooped in and took him from me. The man I fell in love with as a teenager was devoted to another woman, and I just didn’t have a place in his life anymore. And then the final blow came when he told me he was going to propose to her.”
She groaned, shaking her head slightly. “No.”
“It was the worst,” I laughed. “Seriously, he came to me and told me he needed to talk to me. And silly me, I thought he was going to tell me he broke up with her and he wanted me. I remember sitting there, sweating bullets because I was so sure that was my moment. And then he broke my heart.”
“No,” she cringed.
I nodded. “Yep, I gasped and held my hands over my mouth like an idiot. I remember tearing up, my heart pounding out of control as he told me he was going to propose. And then he asked me to help him pick out the ring.”
“That’s so cruel!”
“He had no idea. I never told him.”
“He couldn’t be that clueless.”
“He was in love with another woman. Of course he was clueless.” Sighing, I ran my fingers over the photo, hesitating over his face. “In my head, she was just a placeholder. She would eventually leave and I would slip back into my
place. And as he stared at me, waiting for me to tell him he was making the right choice, all I could think was that I was the biggest moron on the planet. I had fallen for my best friend, and he had fallen for someone else.”
She actually looked like she was going to start crying. I grinned, lifting one shoulder. “I couldn’t watch them get married. So, when I got the job offer from you, it was like my lifeline.”
“Was he at least upset you were leaving?”
“I think so, at first. But over the first year, he just stopped calling. He had her and I was gone. I never really fell in love with anyone else after that.”
“Not even Thomas?”
I snorted in derision. “Thomas was probably my worst mistake, but honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever let another man really get close.”
“Because you’re afraid you’ll get hurt?”
“Because no one could stand up to Jack. I compare all other men to him, and they never live up to him.”
“He kind of sounds like a jerk.”
“He’s really not.”
“But why would you move back there and watch them live happily ever after?”
I winced. “She died four years ago. It was really horrible too. But what makes it worse is I didn’t go home for the funeral. I couldn’t watch him cry over her. Does that make me a terrible person?”
“No,” she sighed. “I think I would feel the same way.”
“I just don’t know how I’m going to see him around town and not fall back in love with him.”
“You could take the opportunity to get him back.”
I shook my head. “No, what happened with Jack is in the past. Can you imagine being the woman that could never live up to the dead wife? I think I’ve punished myself enough for one year.”
“So, you’re just going to pretend that he doesn’t exist?”
“I got a job working at the daycare, so I’ll do my job and move on with life. It might not be what I want, but I know I can’t let him back into my life like that. It would kill me.”
Four Horsemen: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 5) Page 6