“Thank you, we appreciate that you drove all this backout here.” Mr. Harlow’s eyes flick over my head to Gray for a moment and then back to me.
I think that’s my cue to leave. Taking a deep breath, I smile my signature smile. “Of course. You can call me if you have questions, or need anything. My card is in the first folder.”
“Will do, Elly, thank you again.” Mr. Harlow says and holds his hand out to shake.
After shaking Mr. Harlow’s hand, I turn to Gray, but he turns and opens the door to the office. My heart sinks and I walk past him to the front door. The house is unusually quiet and I’m wondering if everyone is hiding because I’m here.
Gray reaches around me and opens the front door. This is it. This is the last time I’m ever going to see him, and panic grips my spine. When I get to the top step of the front porch, I turn around to see if he will talk to me, but he beats me to it.
“Did you have anything to do with setting Marley’s stable on fire?” His voice is harsh, and he narrows his eyes slightly, focusing on me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
GRAY
SHE JERKSher head back like I slapped her, and her eyes go wide. “No! I would never! Is everyone okay? Is Marley okay?” The words tumble out of her mouth like she can’t get them out fast enough as she looks toward Marley’s stable, and her hand covers her stomach.
Either she doesn’t know anything about it, or she’s a great fucking actress.
Her eyebrows pull together slightly, and her eyes get glassy. I can’t tell if she’s hurt that I thought she might somehow be involved or if she is genuinely worried about Marley.
Probably both.
Hooking my thumbs in my pockets, I shift my weight to one leg. “Everyone’s fine. We had to put one of herhorses down.”
Her head snaps back in my direction. “Oh, no. Was it the one she just got? The one Lainey Rai likes so much?”
It’s my turn to be shocked, I didn’t realize she was aware of what Lainey Rai likes or doesn’t like. She did spend a lot of time with the girls while she was here. The burn behind my chest spreads and I cough into my fist. “Yeah. She was pretty upset about it.”
Her brown eyes soften and the look she is giving me is pleading. “I’m so sorry. Will you tell Marley and Lainey Rai?”
Nodding my head, I look down at my boots.
The silence is uncomfortable. I’m wondering why she isn’t leaving while at the same time I’m glad to be close to her for each agonizingly painful second.
“Will you please talk to me?” Her voice is soft, and I detect a wobble, making me look at her.
Not knowing what to say, I hold her eye contact. My heart is beating like a herd of horses.
She takes another step, putting her just a couple of feet away from me. “I swear, he’s not my boyfriend.” Her eyes drop to my chest when she says, “I was stupid enough to trust him when I was in college. Turns out I was easier to fool than I thought I was.”
The vulnerability in her eyes makes me want to reach for her and hold her until she feels confident and valuable again. Pushing my feelings aside, I remember my daughter and sisters crying last night. “He was the one to set fire to the stables, he indicated you might have known about it.”
Her eyes snap up to mine, and her head is shaking before I even finish talking. “No. That’s a lie.” Her eyes are wide, and her hands drop to her sides in fists. “The only time I’ve spoken with him since I’ve been in Oklahoma was when you were in the room.”
She looks at the stable and mumbles something about not being able to find him.
Wanting to believe her more than I want to challenge her, I push through the anger and hurt to stay on course. I wince at my next words. “You could have planned the whole thing before you came here. I don’t know how you could prove any different. I just don’t know how I can trust you.”
The sharp intake of breath is quiet, and she starts to say something, but I hold my hand up between us and her mouth clamps closed. “I’m not sure there is anything you could say to minimize the damage that’s been done.”
Images of Marley laying over a lame horse, sobbing like she did all those years ago are heart wrenching. Watching my daughter hiccup herself to sleep because she’s so heartbroken.
Then there’s that fucker smiling at me, wanting me to believe Elly played a part in all of it. His comment‘she get under your skin?’keeps playing in my head and just the thought of everything between us being an act sends a lump to my throat so big it makes me look away while I’m trying to clear the hurt that’s lodged itself in my chest.
Her breath hitches and her eyes glass over. “I swear, Gray, I didn’t know anything about the fire. If there is anything I want you to believe right now, it’s that. I would never do something like that, not for anything.” She takes a deep breath and I hear the shudder in her chest.
The shudder when she inhales has me shifting my gaze to hers. Big mistake.
