“Are you thinking about staying married to Chase?” Ava asked, reminding Laurel that Ava had been shooed away from her brother’s house last night, and as a result, she sent a dozen text messages to Laurel this morning. Ones she’d ignored, blaming work. “You are, aren’t you?”
From Ava’s tone, Laurel couldn’t tell if that idea excited or upset her best friend. Because whichever was the case, the opposite would be true when she admitted she was going to sign as planned come Monday. Bravely she looked up, but was unable to read the answer in Ava’s neutral expression. “This isn’t about that, exactly.”
Kinley rested her hand on top of Laurel’s. “Hey, we’re your best friends. Here for you no matter what.”
“Right,” Ava agreed without missing a beat. “I’m not really wearing the best shoes to hide a body, but if that’s what you need us to do, I’m in.”
Reassurance washed over Laurel like a warm blanket. This was the right thing to do, even if it forced her to confront emotions she preferred to keep buried. “It’s about the reason I left.” With a deep breath, she unleashed the truth she’d been holding onto so fiercely. “We were pregnant. We were going to wait until I made it to the second trimester to tell everyone. Only, I never did. I had a miscarriage. A really bad one.”Blood. So much blood. Memories of that horrid night plagued her with rapid succession, and it took extra strength to shut them out. “I wasn’t the same after that. I was broken inside. Embarrassed. Ashamed. Stricken with grief. I felt like such a failure. Istillfeel a lot of those feelings. It . . . sticks with you.”
“So you left.” Kinley’s tone didn’t hold an ounce of judgment.
“It was like a dream shattered, and I needed a whole new life.” She waited for Ava to say something about her abandoning Chase, but instead her friends surrounded her on both sides, gathering her into a tight, oxygen-depriving hug. With their love and support flowing through her veins, she clung to their collective strength and let her emotions loose.
The tears felt liberating.
“I’m not sure why you felt you couldn’t tell us,” Ava said gently, “but we’re glad you shared it with us now.”
“There’s one more thing.” Fear gripped Laurel’s entire body at the words she was about to speak. Words she hadn’t even allowed herself to think, much less say out loud. “After the miscarriage . . . the doctor . . . I can’t have kids.”
Her friends hugged her tighter, their tears joining her own. Years of distance hadn’t caused them to forget how much the dream of having a large family meant to her. Maybe now they’d understand why she couldn’t stay married to Chase.
“I have to sign the papers,” she said softly, in defeat. “Chase deserves someone who can give him the family he wants.” All this would’ve been so much easier to stomach had Chase found someone else to settle down with after she left.Except we’d still be legally married anyway, which would’ve been awkward.“Don’t try to change my mind on this. And please, don’t tell him. I’ve—I’ve never told anyone what I just told you both.”
“He deserves to know,” Ava gently insisted.
Laurel inhaled deeply, fighting a new round of tough tears. “I know. I’ll tell him. Just, not yet. I need some time, okay?”
“Of course.” Kinley squeezed her tight again. “We love you, Laurel.”
“We’re here for you,” Ava added. “That’s what being best friends is all about.”
Chapter Eight
Chase
“I just got off the phone with Mr. Granger.” Chief Bauer filled the doorway to their shared office, staring hard at Chase. His face was red, making his thin sandy hair seem even lighter than usual. “Youstillhaven’t signed off on that report?”
Chase hit the save button on his spreadsheet, taking his time to fully face Glenn. He’d been expecting backlash for his delay, but he was determined to stand his ground. That was the job, after all. He wouldn’t rush this until he could gatherallthe facts and evidence. “You don’t think it’s strange that there’s an insurance claim on that shack?”
“Odd,” Glenn agreed, folding his arms, then unfolding them and marching toward the coffee pot. “Odd, but not entirely unheard of. Some of these companies insure properties for decades and never come out to see how they deteriorate. You forget, ten or more years ago, thatshackhad renters in it.”
“We were going to use the place as a training exercise last year,” Chase added, turning full circle in his chair to face Glenn. Zeus crept out of his hole beneath the desk, large ears perked, no doubt on treat-alert. “If they kept insurance on that place, you’d think they would’ve canceled it then considering we were planning to burn it down.”
Glenn stirred a heaping spoonful of sugar into his coffee. “What are you suggesting?”
“That something doesn’t add up.”
“What evidence do you have to support that theory?”
Chase dug a treat out of his desk drawer and tossed it to Zeus. “No evidence yet, but—”
“We work with facts, Chase. This isn’t a mystery novel.” Glenn gulped his coffee, making Chase’s own throat burn as he watched. Glenn seemed unaffected by the steaming-hot liquid. “I’m tired of being hounded by everyone for that report. Even Evelynn Marsh is calling me, wanting quotes about this conspiracy you’ve dredged up.”
“Seems over the top, even for a newspaper reporter. Though it’s probably the most exciting thing to happen in town for a while.”
“Exciting isn’t my choice word.” Glenn cleared his throat and took another gulp. “The point is that this thing is blowing way out of proportion. The longer you take, the more conspiracy theories float around town. People start making unfair accusations. You’ve never seen that happen here, but I have. It can get ugly. This town doesn’t needugly.” Glenn sat on the edge of a metal desk. “I know you’re trying to do the right thing, Chase. Being thorough is important.”
“That’s what I’m doing,” he said before the chief could add abutto his statement. “Things don’t add up, and I want to make sense of them before I sign off. It’s my name on that report, and I want to feel right about signing it.”
