Life After Wife : Small Town Romance (Balsam Ridge Book 1)

by Amber Kelly

  “When I got to the Palmer House, I valeted and ran to the desk to find out what room he was in. I had my ID out and told the clerk who I was, and before I could say another word, she started apologizing. She said, ‘Oh, Mrs. Lowder, we’re so sorry you had to come down. We were just about to deliver the extra towels you requested.’ Confused, I said there was no need and I could take them myself. She waved over a worker who had an armful of towels, and I took them. Then, I looked back to her and said I walked out of my room without my key, so she told the other desk clerk to make me a new key for suite 2026. I took the room key and the towels, and I rushed up the elevator.

  “When I entered his room, a woman was in the bed, and she sat up and let out a scream before yelling at me that I shouldn’t just enter their room without knocking. Damon ran from the bathroom, fresh from his shower, and I threw the towels at him as he started trying to explain that it wasn’t what I thought.”

  “Did you kick him in the balls?” Jena asks.

  I halt my tale and blink in her direction.

  “Did you?” she asks again.

  “No,” I answer.

  “Why the hell not? He was standing there in his birthday suit; it was the perfect opportunity to nail his nuts,” Erin interjects.

  “I didn’t think to. I just wanted him to get dressed and for us to get out of there.”

  “You should have kicked his ass, broken his legs, or something, and then loaded him up to go to the hospital. You were already headed that way,” Jena adds.

  “I didn’t have time to process. I was in concerned daughter-in-law mode.”

  Erin shrugs. “Sucks you missed the chance.”

  “Yeah, hindsight,” I agree.

  “Then, what happened?” Ansley pushes me to continue.

  I take a deep breath.

  “I told him about his dad and demanded he got dressed,” I say.

  “What did the tramp do?” Erin asks.

  “She leaped from the bed and wrapped her arms around him to console him.”

  “The nerve!” Ansley screeches.

  “I hope you yanked her hair out of her head,” Jena squeals.

  “Did you kick her in the twat?” Erin asks.

  I shake my head.

  “Dammit,” Erin bellows.

  “I know. I should have done all of that. Instead, I picked him up and drove him to the hospital, where we spent the night comforting his mother and praying for his father, who ended up having bypass surgery. Damon was in doctor mode, and I was caught up in the emotional support role. By the time his father was home and recovering at our house, it all got shoved under the rug. Damon apologized. Said it had never happened before and would never happen again, and I was stupid enough to believe him.”

  The table goes silent for a moment.

  “The worst part is, I’d worked so hard to keep us afloat all those years. We only had one child because we couldn’t handle more at the time. Hell, Caleb was raised by television and video games while we both worked our asses off. We were finally in a place where we were going to start reaping the rewards. The practice was thriving, and we both had more time. Time to be a family, to travel, to make Caleb the priority. I didn’t want to throw that away over one indiscretion, so I forced myself to believe him. How pathetic does that make me?”

  Erin sighs. “Yeah, well, we’ve all been stupid before. I believed my first husband too, at first.”

  “So did I. I believed him when he said he was going to stop drinking,” Jena adds.

  “You did?” I ask.

  “Yep. You can’t beat yourself up for wanting to save your marriage, Taeli. And no one should judge you for trying to work things out and getting burned again,” Jena says.

  “Least of all us,” Erin agrees.

  Our orders arrive, and I enjoy the best beef brisket and baked beans that I’ve ever had. This place might look like a dive, but the service and food quality are impressive.

  Several patrons make their way to our table to say hello, and the girls introduce me to everyone like we are the best of friends.

  It’s nice to spend the evening just being me. Not Damon’s wife.

  We dance, play a round of darts, order another bucket of beers, and settle back in at our table.

  “I want to know one thing,” Jena says, leaning over the table and taking my hand.

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “Why in the hell are you still wearing your wedding rings?”

  She holds up my hand to show the diamond and band on my finger.

  I look at the set through my beer-soaked eyes and frown.

  Why am I still wearing them?

  “I don’t know. Habit?” I answer.

  “Habit? Girl, it’s been months. How are any of these fine men going to know you are available for rebound sex if you have that dickhead’s rings on?” Erin asks as she gestures around the bar.

  “Are you even sure you want a divorce?” Jena asks.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” I say.

  “Really sure?” Erin asks.

  “One hundred percent sure,” I insist.

  She looks at Jena and grins. “I think she’s ready.”

  Jena nods her agreement, and then they both look at me.

  “Ready for what?” I ask.

  “A ring toss,” Erin says.

  “Oh boy,” Ansley says.

  “Finish your beers, ladies. I’ll grab the check,” Jena instructs before waving down our waitress.

  Taeli

  “I didn’t wear the right shoes for this,” Ansley says as the four of us hold on to one another, trying not to fall down the hill behind the bar that leads into the woods.

  It’s dark ahead, except for the light from Erin’s phone and what looks to be a porch light glowing in between the trees in the distance.

  I stumble over a rock or log or something large, and Jena tugs my arm to pull me off my ass. The ground is damp, and my ankle boots are sinking into the soft earth.

  “We’re almost there,” Erin calls.

  “Almost where?” I ask.

  “You’ll see,” Jena says as she urges me forward.

  A few minutes later, we are standing on the bank of Balsam Creek. Which is a large stream that runs off of the Coyote River and flows through the middle of the valley.

  I look at the rushing water and back to them.

  Erin holds her hand out to me.

  “What?”

  “Hand over the rings,” she demands.

  I look down at my left hand. At the beautiful five-carat diamond ring that Damon gifted me on our fifteenth wedding anniversary to replace the small one he’d proposed with when we were poor college kids. The one he bought for me after I caught him in the hotel room with another woman. The apology ring he slid on my finger, recommitting himself to me and our marriage.

  The guilt ring.

  I yank them off and move to hand them to her, and she catches my hand.

  “Are you sure you’re done with that no-good, lying, cheating, vow-breaking son of a bitch?” she asks.

  “Yep,” I tell her without hesitation.

  She grins and wraps my fingers around the rings. “Then, toss them,” she says.

  I glance down at her fingers clasped around mine and back up.

  “Trust me, it’s liberating,” she says.

  Jena and Ansley cheer me on, and I step past Erin to the water’s edge.

  I let loose the tears that I’ve been holding back, and as they begin to glide hot down my cheeks, I rear back and throw them as hard as I can into the flow.

  Erin, Jena, and Ansley all start cheering and whistling as the rings hit the surface.

  Before I know it, I’m enveloped by them, and we are jumping and laughing.

  “How did that feel?” Jena asks.

  “It felt good,” I shout.

  “Right? I brought Erin out here to do the same thing when she found out Scott was cheating on her,” she tells me.

  Ansley giggles, getting our
attention. “I just imagine some fisherman gutting the trout he caught and finding a diamond ring inside. Like finding a pearl in an oyster.”

  “Yeah, a twenty-thousand-dollar pearl,” I say through my laughter.

  Erin’s head snaps to me. “What did you say?”

  “Huh?”

  She points to the dark water. “Did you say that those rings were worth twenty grand?”

  “Yes. Well, the diamond ring is,” I confirm.

  Her eyes go wide.

  “The fuck you say?!” she shouts before she scrambles into the water and starts flailing around.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  “Getting that ring. Are you insane? Help me,” she demands, and we all jump in after her.

  The four of us futilely swim around, searching the murky water for the rings. It’s a useless endeavor.

  “Dammit,” Erin says as we pull ourselves to the bank.

  We are all soaked, freezing, and exhausted.

  “The current probably has that thing all the way to Nashville by now,” Ansley gasps.

  “Or it’s in some fish’s belly,” Jena agrees.

  Erin smacks me on the arm.

  “Ouch. What was that for?” I ask.

  “What moron throws a twenty-thousand-dollar ring in the creek?” she screeches.

  “You told me to. You said it would be liberating!” I remind her.

  “That’s because I thought it was just a regular wedding set, not one that could buy you a new car. You should have told me to kiss your ass, tucked the rock into your pocket, and tossed the wedding band only. It could have been symbolic.”

  “You didn’t offer a symbolic toss,” I grumble.

  One minute, we are yelling at one another, and the next minute, we are screaming in fear as a bright spotlight is flashed in our eyes.

  We look up through squinted eyes to see a man with a flashlight held steady on us.

  He doesn’t say anything as he takes in the muddy, drenched foursome huddled on the water’s edge in the middle of the night.

  “Officer?” Jena asks in a whisper.

  He lowers the light, and our eyes adjust to see Graham Tuttle standing before us, fighting to keep from bursting into laughter.

  “Shit,” I mutter.

  “What are you doing here?” Erin asks.

  “Dad got a call from one of the cabins, complaining about a bunch of loud, drunk teenagers out in the woods. He asked me to come check it out for him,” he explains.

  “Loud? We weren’t loud,” Jena protests.

  He chuckles. “I could hear you yelling and splashing around from the road,” he informs us.

  “We aren’t drunk,” Erin declares.

  He gives her a look.

  She points to Ansley and changes her statement. “Well, Ansley isn’t drunk.”

  Ansley lifts her hand and holds her fingers about an inch apart. “Maybe this much drunk,” she admits.

  “Are we in trouble?” I ask.

  He grins. “If you guys are done with your midnight swim, I think we can let it slide this time,” he teases.

  I let out a breath. “Oh, thank goodness. I can’t call my mom to get me out of jail again,” I say.

  All their eyes come to me.

  “You guys remember Senior Day?”

  Then, they all start nodding, and we collapse in a fit of giggles.

  Graham just watches us.

  “All right, ladies, let’s get you all home,” he says as he pulls his phone from his back pocket.

  He dials. “Hey, Ted. I just fished your wife and her friends out of the creek down behind the barbecue joint. Okay, we’ll be waiting up by my truck. I’ll get them dried off.”

  He ends the call and holds out his hand. I take it, and he helps me to my feet.

  I stumble into his chest.

  His warm, hard chest.

  I look up into his amused eyes.

  “Don’t tell my mom about this,” I whisper.

  He leans in and says, “It’s our little secret,” and a shiver prickles down my spine as his hot breath tickles my ear.

  A throat clears, and I quickly turn to see Erin, Jena, and Ansley grinning at us.

  “Follow me, ladies, and watch your step,” he instructs as he takes my hand.

  I reach back and clutch Erin’s hand, and we form a clumsy chain as he leads us out of the woods and to his truck, parked beside Erin’s Jeep.

  He lets the tailgate down and motions for us to take a seat, and then he disappears into the restaurant.

  “Maybe we should make a run for it,” Jena suggests.

  “Ha! Taeli isn’t going anywhere. Not with Graham Tuttle fawning over her,” Erin quips.

  “He is not fawning over me,” I snap.

  “You like him,” Jena says.

  All of their eyes come to me.

  “He’s okay,” I admit.

  “Okay?” Jena gasps.

  “Yeah, I guess. What?”

  “Sure, the bossy but sweet, successful, handsome man that you were making swoony eyes at is okay,” Erin states.

  “I did not swoon,” I deny.

  “Ansley?” Erin turns to the other girl and raises an eyebrow.

  Ansley leans around her and looks at me. “Sorry, Tae. You totally swooned.”

  “Well, it’s rude to point it out.” I huff.

  “Shh, here he comes,” Jena whisper-shouts.

  Graham

  I have the four of them sitting on the tailgate of my truck, wrapped up in blankets from my roadside emergency kit, when Ted’s truck pulls into the parking lot.

  He parks and hops out. Shaking his head at the sight of the shivering women.

  “What the hell happened?” he asks the group at large.

  All four of them start talking at once. We get that they were having dinner. Something about a round of shots being bought by a group of cute guys and a trout with a diamond pearl.

  Ted looks at me and shrugs. “Did that make sense to you?” he asks.

  “Nope.”

  He turns back to them, and they all start talking again.

  He raises his hand to stop them.

  “You, go,” he says, pointing at Ansley.

  Erin starts to speak, and he stops her, indicating that he wants Ansley to start first.

  “We were just having dinner and a few beers when Erin noticed that Taeli was wearing her wedding rings, so we decided to do a ring toss,” Ansley begins, and Ted lowers his eyes to the ground and starts shaking his head.

  “And, well, it was good and all. Taeli took them off and tossed them far away into the creek. Then, we were celebrating when she told us how much they were worth, and we kind of freaked out and jumped in to find them, but it was dark, and the water was moving fast. We finally gave up, and that’s when Graham found us.”

  Ted looks up at me. “These crazy-ass women.”

  I chuckle.

  He turns back to them. “I expect this from you two”—he points at Erin and Jena—“but, Ansley, I expect you to be the voice of reason.”

  Ansley huffs. “Hey, a ring toss was in order.”

  “Whatever. Let’s get you loony birds home,” he says.

  “You can take those three. I’ll take Taeli up to Leona’s on my way home. I’ll drive by and get Erin in the morning for work and pick her car up. I talked to the owner, and it’ll be fine here for the night,” I tell him.

  “Thanks, man. Come on, girls,” he says as he corrals them into his Jeep.

  Taeli stands and waves as they drive off while I shut the tailgate. I walk her around to the passenger side and help her in.

  Once we are on the road, she lays her head against the window and goes quiet.

  “So, Senior Day?” I ask to break the silence as we turn onto the road leading up the mountain.

  “I kind of stole a patrol car and took it for a joyride through the valley,” she explains.

  I look over at her.

  “That was you?” I ask, surprised.
I was in college when Garrett graduated, but the story of the girl who stole Deputy Wyatt’s patrol car reached me and Langford. We were impressed.

  She sighs. “Yeah, that was me. My mom came down to the jailhouse to get me. She was mad as a hornet. Screaming at me about how I could ruin my chances of getting into UT. I swear, Deputy Wyatt let me slide without charges just to get Leona Tilson out of his office. That and to pretend it hadn’t happened because he was so embarrassed, but the genie was already out of that bottle.”

  “I can’t believe that was you,” I muse.

  “I was wild as the wind once,” she mutters.

  I slide my eyes to her and reach over to pull a piece of driftwood from her hair.

  “I think there is still a bit of that wild woman in you,” I tell her.

  That makes her smile.

  “You threw your rings in the river,” I say to prove my point.

  She nods. “Yep. I didn’t even realize I was still wearing them. That’s how numb I am,” she explains.

  “Numb?”

  “Not angry, not sad, not hurt. Just numb. It’s weird. I’d rather feel anything, even the bad stuff, than nothing at all,” she mutters.

  “Believe it or not, that’s when you know you’ve started to heal,” I inform her.

  “What?”

  “The opposite of love isn’t hate. It’s indifference. So, if you weren’t even mad enough to notice you were still wearing his rings, then you probably aren’t in love anymore. It took me a long time to take my ring off. I did it when I realized I wasn’t in love anymore,” I confess.

  “You stopped loving her?”

  I look over at her.

  “Mom told me about your wife. About what happened.”

  “No. I will love her forever. But to be in love is to be in each other’s space, sharing a life. She’s gone. Moved on to another place. I still love her and the life we shared, but my heart has been released to fall in love again. It took me a long time to understand that,” I explain.