The drive to Dog-Eared Pages usually takes twenty minutes. I make it in twelve.
Julia is waiting on the bench outside the store, her arms wrapped around herself against the cold. She’s surprisingly calm when I pull up, climbing into the Jeep without a word.
“Are you okay?” I ask, searching her face.
“I expected something like this.” She buckles her seatbelt with steady hands. “This is how Richard operates. When he feels like he’s losing control, he tries to take everything away so you have no choice but to come crawling back to him. But I’m not going back.”
“Damn right you’re not.” My hands white-knuckle on the steering wheel. “Don’t worry about him. We’re going to fix this.”
“How? I don’t have a car or a phone or any money. I can’t even pay for my own groceries.”
“First things first, I’m adding you to my plan.” I pull up the app on my phone and walk her through the steps to add her device to my account. It only takes a couple of minutes, and her phone has service again. “You can’t keep the same number, but at least you can make calls.”
She blinks back some tears. “Thank you, Ian.”
“I’m also adding you to my credit card account. The card should arrive in a few days, but I’ve got some cash for you in the meantime.” I grab an envelope from the glove compartment and hand it to her.
She opens it and her eyes go wide. “I can’t take this much!”
“Use it for whatever you need. And before you argue with me, think about the pups. They need their mother to have food and safe transportation and a roof over her head. This isn’t charity on my part. I’m providing for my children.”
She’s quiet for a long moment, and I can see the war playing out on her face. She feels guilty accepting my help, but she knows it’s the right thing to do.
Finally, she tucks the envelope into her purse. “Thank you.”
I reach over to hold her hand. We drive in silence, her small fingers intertwined with mine. I want to take her back to my cabin and wrap her in blankets and never let her out of my sight. But she needs more time to process everything that’s happened.
I pull into her cul-de-sac, where Heidi and Nicole’s purple Victorian looks like a beacon of warmth against the encroaching winter darkness. It’s no wonder Julia feels safe with them here. As much as I want to take her toourhome, I get why she wants to be here right now.
“I wonder how long it’s going to be before they get tired of me,” she jokes.
“I have a feeling they’d let you stay forever if you wanted to.”
She laughs. “No way! Nicole’s only tolerating me in her TV room because the regular season is over and the NCAA tournament hasn’t started yet. If I’m nursing triplets on her couch during the bowl games, she’ll have something to say about it.”
“She’s a college football fan, I take it?”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“Well, the cabin has a room for you whenever you want it.” I keep my eyes on the front door of their house. “One for the pups, too. No pressure. Just a reminder that it’s half yours. You’ve got a key.”
Her hand squeezes mine. “I know. I think… I’ll be ready soon.”
My heart squeezes so hard, it hurts. “Will you be okay tonight?”
“I’ll be fine.” She leans over and kisses my cheek. “Thanks for coming to get me. And for everything else.”
“Any time.”
I watch her walk inside, phone clutched in her hand, and wait until the door closes behind her before I drive away. Richard might be able to take her car and her credit cards and her phone service, but he can’t take me.
Chapter 33
Julia
The thing about Richard’s attack on my finances is that it’s not surprising. I knew it would happen. It has been spelled out in the prenup forever, although in more polite legal language. Everything is his. I should have known from the beginning that it would always end this way.
All those years of walking on eggshells, trying to keep him happy, convincing myself that his coldness was just his personality and he loved me underneath the ice? That was me making excuses. Thiscampaign he’s waging against me is who he really is. The cool indifference was just the tip of an iceberg. Underneath, there was always this: a man who would rather destroy me than let me go, even though he doesn’t really want me, anyway.
