“I love you.”
Her lips curve into a smile and her eyes get misty. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes,” I chuckle. “I’m very sure. I am in love with you, Scarlet Cooper.”
“I didn’t think I’d ever love anyone, because I was convinced love didn’t exist.” Her eyes flutter shut, and my heart starts to beat faster and faster. “Then I met you, and I realized that love is real, and I don’t just mean romantic love. You have so much love for your son…and your family…every one of you.” She swallows hard, having a hard time with the words. Tipping her head up, she locks her eyes with mine. “I love you, too, Weston.”
We kiss, and my heart explodes with happiness. For the first time in years, everything is perfect.
“Look at him,” Scarlet whispers, leaning in. “He totally wants her!”
“Do you think she knows?” Quinn whispers back. We’re sitting at the bar at Getaway, and are currently watching Logan painfully try to get out of the friend-zone with fellow bartender, Danielle.
“She messes with her hair when they talk.” Scarlet slides her drink in front of her and looks at Danielle. “And they’re so flirty, you’d think so. How long has she worked here?”
“I think like a year,” Quinn answers. “Or at least that’s about how long ago he started mentioning her. As his friend, of course.” She slides her drink in front of her and takes a sip. “I have to pee. Want to come with me?”
“Sure.” Scarlet slides off her bar stool and follows Quinn to the ladies’ room. Dean ended up joining us after the movie, and he and Archer are playing pool. I grab Quinn’s drink, not wanting to leave it sitting on the bar unattended and join them.
“Ditching the girls already?” Dean asks, glancing up from the pool table.
“They went to the bathroom together.”
“Oh. Scarlet and Quinn have become good friends.”
“Yeah,” I say, not meaning to smile as much as I do. “It’s nice.”
“I guess,” Dean says flatly, and I look at Archer and roll my eyes. We both know what he’s getting at. Kara is—for some stupid fucking reason—annoyed at the new friendship. If she weren’t so uptight, we could all hang out together and it’d be fun. Though I suppose when I stop and think about it, it’s kind of a weird situation.
Archer and Dean have been best friends for years. Quinn is marrying her brother’s best friend. My girlfriend is now good friends with my sister, so when those two hang out and we double-date, Archer comes with.
Whatever. We’re all family now.
“How’s Bobby?” I ask Archer.
“He’s doing all right. Supposedly he made a breakthrough during group therapy yesterday. Like he did the last time he was there. And the time before that.”
“I’m sorry, man. That’s rough.”
“You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to help themselves.” He moves around the pool table. “Speaking of help…you are taking a cat, right? Quinn mentioned that you wanted one for Jackson.”
“I did, and I’m considering it. Scarlet would like it too.”
“Getting her a pet already?” Dean trades his pool stick for his beer. “Are you ready for that type of commitment?”
He’s joking, but my answer is serious. “Yeah. I am.” I look in the direction of the bathrooms, hoping to see Scarlet walking out. “She’s perfect.”
“It’s nice seeing you happy,” Dean tells me. “We all like Scarlet, which is a welcome change from—what the fuck?” He cuts off and almost drops his beer, eyes going wide. “Daisy.”
He doesn’t have to say the words for me to know. The look of horror on his face says it all. Daisy is here, and I turn just in time to see her stop in her tracks. We make eye contact and she doesn’t so much as smile. Then she turns and makes a beeline to Scarlet.
32
Scarlet
“I swear to you, it burned my mouth,” Quinn says and we both laugh. “I told Archer I would never go down on him again if he eats spicy food. I know he likes it, but for the sake of a blow job he’ll give it—what the fuck?”
She grabs my arm and comes to a dead stop.
“What’s wrong?” I face Quinn. Her green eyes are wide and it’s like she just saw a ghost. Following her line of sight, I turn and do a double-take. The annoying eavesdropping woman from the visitation room at the prison is standing a few feet from us.
Is this a strange coincidence or is she—
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Quinn demands, and a darkness that I’ve never seen before comes out in here. “Get the hell out of here before I beat your ass.”
The annoying lady puts her hand on her hip and shakes her head. “Nice to see you too, Quinn.”
Wait a minute. She knows Quinn?
“Get out of here,” Quinn says through gritted teeth. “Now.”
“Or what?”
“I’ll force you outside myself.”
Annoying Lady leans in. “We both know you don’t have it in you.”
“But I do.” Logan rushes forward, putting himself between Annoying Lady and Quinn. “This is my bar and I can kick whoever I want out. So get out.”
“That’s no way to treat a lady.”
“You’re not a lady,” Logan spits. “Get the fuck out of my bar, Daisy.”
Daisy? I blink. Once. Twice. She’s still there. Owen and Archer are coming over, and Dean is standing in the back of the bar, hands raised a bit as he tries to talk down Wes.
And now it makes perfect sense.
The Dawson siblings are ready to tear this woman apart because she’s Weston’s wife. She’s Weston’s wife who sat next to me while I poured my fucking heart out to my sister. While I admitted every bad thing I’ve done and planned to do.
I can’t breathe.
“Babe, you okay?” Archer puts his arm around Quinn’s shoulder, trying to turn her away. She’s still seething with anger, ready to throw the first punch.
“Archer Jones?” Daisy tips her head. “Wait a minute—you two are together?” She laughs. “I did not see that coming. How’d Dean take it?”
“Stop acting like you know us,” Logan warns. “And get out before I call the cops.”
“But one is already here.” Daisy smiles. “I’d like to talk to my husband now.” She looks right at me. “You do know you’ve been sleeping with a married man, right? Though I suppose breaking up a marriage is a cake-walk for you.”
She knows. She fucking knows.
The world spins around me, threatening to swallow me whole at any second. And I think this time I’ll let it.
“You okay?” Owen puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah.” I blink and shake my head. “Shocked, that’s all.”
“You knew about her, right?”
I move my head up and down, unable to force out more words. Owen gives me a gentle nudge, leading me away. My feet don’t want to cooperate, and part of me knows that if I walk away, anything is fair game.
She’ll tell Weston what she overheard.
He’ll know the truth. Know what a horrible person I am.
And he’ll hate me for it.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the noise. My mind races, going into self-preservation mode. There’s no reason for Weston to believe a word this bitch says, right? I’ll tell him she made it all up. I’ll admit to some of the less terrible things I did, like steal a few bucks from assholes who got a little too handsy at the bar.
And then we can go on like nothing happened, because it has to go on like nothing happened. I love this man so much. And I love Jackson.
I can’t lose them. I won’t lose them.
But maybe I should.
I’m obviously not the woman Weston thinks I am. I love him. I really, truly love him. I don’t want to live the rest of my life lying to him.
“I’m not your husband anymore,” Wes says, and hearing his voice makes me feel sick, because I’m already thinking of losing him, of never hearing hi
s deep voice again. Daisy whips around, and I see the remorse in her eyes the second she looks at Weston.
She messed up big time, and she knows it.
We already have one thing in common.
“What do you mean?” she asks.
Wes sidesteps Daisy and puts his arm around me. “I mean I filed for divorce.”
“But I didn’t sign anything.” She smiles again, trying to look victorious. Really, she’s terrified that she just lost the one angle she thought she could play.
Which is bad news for me.
“Doesn’t matter. The papers are already being processed. It’ll be official soon enough.”
“Why, Wes?”
“I haven’t seen you in three years, Daisy. What did you expect?”
She lets out a breath and shakes her head so fast it looks like a nervous tic. “I want to see my son.”
“No.”
“You can’t keep my son from me.”
Wes’s grip on me tightens, and I know he’s working hard to keep calm. I can’t imagine how pissed he is. “You can take it up with the court. You haven’t seen him for over three years. You haven’t provided any sort of support for him since he was two months old.”
“He’s my son.”
“He is. And he’s a fucking awesome kid. It’s a damn shame you missed out on him.”
“I want to see him.”
Wes slowly shakes his head. “He doesn’t even know who you are.”
Daisy’s eyes fill with tears that she angrily wipes away. She looks at me. “There’s a lot of that going around.”
Feeling like I might puke, I turn in toward Wes. “She’s not worth it,” I whisper, unable to make my voice any louder. We need to get away. Maybe she’ll disappear again, and we can go back to how things were before.
Because things were perfect.
“Let’s go,” I tell him.
“Yeah.” Wes brings his arm down and takes my hand. “Let’s.”
“Wes, wait. Please,” Daisy pleads.
“You heard him,” Dean says through gritted teeth. “He doesn’t want to talk to you. None of us do, so do yourself a favor and get the hell out of here. And don’t stop until you’re out of Eastwood.”
“I have a right to be here.” Daisy pushes her shoulders back, trying to hang onto what’s left of her dignity. There isn’t much to hold onto. “And I have a right to see my son.”
“You forfeited that right when you abandoned him,” Logan interjects. “As my brother said, take it up with the court if you want to see him again. Though if you really care about Jackson at all, you’ll stay away. He doesn’t know you. Best to keep it that way.”
“He can get to know me,” Daisy pleads. I watch her body language, breaking her down as if she were a potential client to scam. She’s desperate all right, and I think some of it is genuine.
“For how long?” Wes spits. “How long before you take off again? It won’t be any different than the last time.”
“It might be,” Daisy goes on. “I deserve a chance.”
“Not with me.” Wes shakes his head and squeezes my hand. “And not with Jackson. We’re leaving, and if you even think of coming to the house and seeing Jackson, I’ll arrest you for trespassing myself.”
“Wes, stop! Let’s just talk.”
Wes turns, pulling me with him. Logan and Owen move in, blocking the way so Daisy can’t chase after us. Wes storms out of the bar, letting go of my hand the moment we get outside. He’s upset, and I should comfort him.
Better yet, I should tell him the truth. It will sound better coming from me than from that crazy bitch. All I need to do is open my mouth and confess. Just get this over with.
But I can’t.
We get into the Jeep and Wes pulls out of the parking lot. Now’s another good time to come clean.
But I don’t.
“I’m so sorry, Scarlet.”
“Don’t be,” I tell Wes, reaching over and putting my hand on his thigh. I close my eyes, clenching my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering. If anything, I’ll blame it on the cold. “It’s not your fault.”
“I feel like it is. I have no idea why she showed up.”
I do. She showed up because she heard me running my mouth about this nanny job I took, thinking I could con money out of my new boss. She showed up because I talked about her soon to be ex-husband and son.
I was careless, thinking it was damn near impossible that someone would overhear me and know exactly who I was talking about. It has to be fucking fate. The universe is finally giving me the middle finger, getting back at me for all the shit I did.
Just a few days ago, she heard me say I was in love with Weston, and now she’s here. Which only means one thing.
She’s here to break us up. She’s here to tell him everything she knows about me.
33
Scarlet
“Wes?” I ask quietly. We’re at a four-way stop and need to turn left to get to his house. There are no other cars around us and we’re still sitting there. I take my hand off his thigh to turn on the heater. The cold has crept through me, going straight to my heart.
I want to shove it back down into the hole it crawled out of. But it’s beating strong inside my chest, making me feel so much. Too much.
I can’t do this.
Not to Weston. Not to Jackson.
My jaw trembles and I think about how far I’ve come, how much I’ve changed. How happy I’ve been. Weston has given me everything without even offering. He showed me love, real, unconditional love.
“Wes,” I start again, voice breaking. I bring my hands into my lap and swallow the lump in my throat. I need to say it. Now. Get it out. One way or the other, Wes deserves to know, doesn’t he? I’m not stupid. These things have a way of coming out when you least expect it, and even if Daisy goes away and never returns, I can’t live with this hiding in the closet.
His phone rings and Logan’s name pops up on the display screen on the dash.
“Daisy just left,” Logan rushes out as soon as Wes connects the call. “And she said something about finding Jackson one way or another. We think she’s headed to Mom and Dad’s. Owen’s on the phone with Mom now. Dean, Quinn, and Archer went after her.”
“You let Quinn—never mind.” Wes grips the steering wheel. “I’m headed there now. Thanks, Logan.”
Wes hangs up and I know I can’t drop a bomb on him now. Though maybe it would be a good time. He’s more distracted with Jackson that what I did might not seem so—God, listen to me? I’m going into self-preservation mode again.
And then it hits me. Hard. Harder than the thought of Daisy telling Wes that I took the nanny job thinking I’d sleep with him and would blackmail him into paying me for my silence or something.
She might try to kidnap Jackson.
“Drive faster,” I say through clenched teeth. Wes doesn’t say anything but steps on the gas, jerking the Jeep forward. We make it a few miles before I speak again. “Should you call this in or something? Get a squad car to go to their house?”
“I can get there faster.”
I’m so tense the rest of the way that my back hurts by the time we peel into the gravel driveway of the Dawsons’ farmhouse. The kitchen light is on, as is one upstairs. Quinn and Archer’s Escalade is parked in front of the garage and they’re just now getting out. Wes really did drive fast.
Wes kills the ignition and rushes out of the Jeep, running to the garage.
“I already disarmed it,” Quinn says, face illuminated by light from her phone. She has to be freaked out almost as much as Weston. I know she loves her nephew fiercely, but Emma is inside too.
Wes pushes the door open and the five of us rush in. Mr. Dawson is in the kitchen, wearing plaid pajama pants and a white T-shirt. He was obviously settled in for the night and is already putting on a pot of coffee.
“He’s upstairs sleeping,” Mr. Dawson assures Wes, knowing he’s going to go up there anyway. “Mom’s in the room with him.
Emma just finished a bottle and went back to sleep too.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Quinn says, shrugging off her coat. She sets it down and wraps her arms around herself. “I’m still shivering.”
“It’s from adrenaline and nerves.” Archer steps in, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Wes disappears up the stairs, needing to see Jackson for himself.
“Well, now you’ve met Daisy,” Dean says, pulling out a bar stool. He sits, letting out a heavy sigh. “She’s lovely, isn’t she?”
“She seems great.” I force a smile, feeling myself slipping back into the shadow of Old Scarlet. It feels weird, though familiar, and I don’t like it. I wasn’t a happy person before I met Weston. I barely got by, and I don’t just mean with money.
Every day was a struggle to keep my head above water. Some days, just waking up and facing the day was hard to deal with. I had no purpose, no drive…no meaning. Life sucked and that was just the way it was. I didn’t think things could ever get better.
That I’d actually be happy.
And yet here I am, feeling it all slipping out from underneath me like sand being washed out with the tide.
“Do you really think she’ll show up?” Quinn asks, sitting down on the floor to pet the dogs. The biggest one—Rufus, I think?—pushes into her lap and she nervously twists his long fur around her fingers.
“Who knows.” Archer takes a seat next to Dean and shakes his head.
Mr. Dawson gets out coffee cups and sets them on the island counter. I’m still standing awkwardly in the hallway leading into the kitchen, feeling unworthy of sharing the company of these people.
“I always knew she’d show back up again,” Mr. Dawson says. “Thank God Wes filed for divorce and primary custody of Jackson a few weeks ago.” He looks at me and smiles. “We have you to thank for that.”
It’s like the real Scarlet checked out and took a first-class ticket to hell, being forced to watch things unfold before me with no control.
“Yeah, I did push him a little,” I say with a smile. But it’s my fault she’s here in the first place, and it’ll be my fault when Wes learns the truth. Hurting him is the last thing I ever wanted. Even when I hoped he was a rich asshole, I didn’t necessarily want to hurt him. Teach him a lesson in fidelity maybe, but not crush his heart with my bare hands.
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