“Okay…” I drag the word out, my curiosity peaked.
Hunter runs his hand through his hair, his nervous tell mirroring mine, and begins to pace. I watch in silent confusion as the oldest, usually more level-headedCalloway brother battles with something internally in the middle of my living room.
He stops abruptly and levels me with yet another serious look. “Did you know she was sick?”
I frown, tilting my head. “Who was sick?”
Hunter blinks at me. “Daisy.”
My head rears back, lead settling deep in the pit of my stomach as his words echo around the room. “Daisy was sick?”
His expression is tortured as he nods and then quickly drains the rest of his beer.
Me? I slowly sink into the recliner, my brain playing catch up on the last few minutes. What he’s saying doesn’t make sense.
“My Daisy?” I ask, confirming that what I’m hearing is correct and that he’s saying thatmy Daiswas sick.
“Yeah, man,” Hunter sighs, taking his own seat on the sofa opposite me and leaning forward, his elbows resting against his knees.
I swallow past the lump in my throat before asking, “Savannah tell you that?”
He shakes his head. “No. When I interviewed her, I took a look at her resume`. There was a year long gap in her employment and when I broached it, she told me she was sick.”
I pick at the label on my bottle as my thoughts swirl violently in my head, each one trying to catch up with the next. I’m silent a moment, giving myself time to process the information but Hunter speaks again.
“There’s something else you should know.”
My head snap up. “What?”
“The timing of the gap. It was from the day she left Rosewater Creek. The day she–”
“Left me at the altar,” I finish for him.
He gives me a tight, sympathetic smile. “Yeah.”
My lungs burn and that earlier ache in my chest spreads into my stomach as everything begins clicking into place. I scrub at my face, taking a deep breath.
When I look up, I find Hunter watching me, his gaze etched with worry, and I shake my head in disbelief. “I can’t believe she told you that.”
My brows dip as I recall the conversation from the night at the firepit. “Wait. You said she had great references from thethreeyears she was in Montana.”
Hunter dips his head. “I made that up. She does have great references, but only for the last two and a bit years.”
I stand and begin to pace, my hands cupping the back of my head. “So where was she that first year?”
“I don’t know, but Killian, you need to understand that I have violated employee confidentiality by telling you this. I just couldn’t keep it to myself anymore, man. It’s been eating me alive. Not only because of you, but because I’m worried about her.”
I nod, understanding what he’s saying. “Who else knows?”
“Gray was in the interview, so he knows but that’s it. I didn’t even tell Savannah.”
“Okay, good. That’s good.” I nod again, my mind drifting back to a time I’ve spent so long trying to forget.
I don’t understand how I could have missed this. It somehow makes perfect sense but no sense all at the same time.
There would have been signs. I would have noticed if she was sick, wouldn’t I?
Fuck.
