Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
The door bumped open. Broken Sue reached back and shoved it closed.
“And no,” she said, her gaze unfocused now. “His family doesn’t treat me well. I know it’s hard to fit in when you’re the second wife, but I still haven’t found my way with them.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. He’s been under a lot of stress lately. He tends to get frazzled.”
And there were the excuses… The hope that it would get better again. That it would go back to the way it had been when he was that charming man who said all the right things and was liberal with compliments. The guy a woman couldn’t help but fall in love with, not realizing that his entire personality was just a lure. It was a way to bring people in the door. Then the real guy took over.
“I’m going to tell you this, and then I’m going to go, because there is probably a passive-aggressive mob forming now. I blamed myself for him taking his anger out on you. Just earlier today I did that. Austin had to point out how irrational that was. That I am not responsible for the actions of a grown man. I also know how hard it is to distance yourself from feeling that way. To see things clearly when you’re in the thick of it. It was only on this trip, coming back here with Austin, that I started to really process what my marriage was like. So I will say this to you… You are not alone. I am in your corner. If you need help in any way—any way—I can do that for you. I’ll get you a burner phone so you can call me without his knowing. I’ll get you a plane ticket so you can come to me if you need to. I can send you money if he cuts you off. If you need help, I am always available, okay? And we’ve got a lot of great guys around us. Guys who will treat you like a queen. You’re young and vibrant—you deserve someone who is going to love and cherish you. Okay?”
More tears tracked down her face. “This sounds stupid, but I think maybe I was too eager to fall in love.”
I reached out and rubbed her forearm where it rested on the table. “That doesn’t sound stupid. Love is amazing. I hope for everyone to experience what I’ve found. And Matt makes it easy to fall for him. I should know—I did it, too. Just look after yourself, okay?”
A knock sounded at the door, and this time Aurora’s voice came with it. Broken Sue stepped away and opened it, looking inside.
“Gotta go,” she said with a smirk. “They called the cops on you, Jessie. Or maybe Uncle Auzzie.”
“Crap,” I said, pushing to standing. “They could take Austin in for assault.”
I stopped beside Broken Sue at the doorway and dropped my voice to a whisper so Camila wouldn’t hear. “Get our people to the front of the house. Wait until Camila is gone so she doesn’t see you talking to invisible people.”
After he nodded, I continued through, and Aurora stepped back as I passed her. A crowd had formed in the front room. Two policemen had already arrived, and they stood just inside the front door, facing Austin and Mimi, who were off to one side. Mr. Tom and Jimmy were nowhere to be seen, so I connected with Mr. Tom’s bond to find them outside in the front somewhere, moving toward the car. Mr. Tom had taken my son and fled the scene. He was the best babysitter I’d ever had, and my son didn’t even need one anymore.
And now it occurred to me that he’d been essentially babysitting me since I showed up on his doorstep. So there was that.
Patty stood next to one of the cops, a brick of a man with hard eyes and cut muscles. He didn’t match the softer, rounder guy standing next to him.
“Isn’t that a hoot, though?” Patty was saying. “I’ll tell you what isn’t a hoot—calling a woman a whore. That isn’t a hoot at all. And sure as I am standing here, he called her a gold-digging whore. Well, let me tell you, if he’d called me that, I would’ve given him a fat lip. Don’t underestimate me because of my size. I could do it…”
A spindly hand reached out and grabbed me as I made my way to them. I knew before I looked that it belonged to Lottie. She glared at me, her expression livid, and murmured in a low voice, “You have brought embarrassment to this family ever since my son brought you home two decades ago, but this…” She sucked in a breath, and her whole face puckered with anger. “You are a disgrace. This new group of people you hang around are a disgrace. Your outfit, your unabashed flaunting of your possessions, the way you’ve treated my son—a disgrace! I never want to see you in this house again as long as I live.”