Twisting in my seat to watch through the back window of the truck, I see when she manages to get out of his hold, skirting around him and rushing back to the passenger side door. She yanks on the door handle, but with the locks engaged it doesn’t open. The phone camera is back in her hand, pointed through the window at me. Her piercing blue eyes are blown wide with fury. “You should be ashamed of yourself! You’re helping my husband cheat on me!”
Zach is back, his hands on her shoulders as he forces her away from the passenger door again. Everything is muffled through the windows, but I can still hear what’s being said. “Nope, we’re not doing this.We’re divorcing, Brittanee.”
“You’re cheating on me!” she screams again. “Let go of me!”
“Jesus Christ, have you lost your fucking mind?!” Shoving his hands up through his dark hair, he spreads his arms wide in astonishment. “We’ve been separated for two years! You’ve had anotherbabywith a different man since you took off! You tried passing that baby off as mine when we both knew there was no fucking way that was possible… And you want to talk tomeabout cheating?” He points over her shoulder to her car. “You need to leave before I call the cops. This has gone too far—”
“You’ve manhandled me! I’ll haveyouarrested! I have it all on camera!”
“What you’ve got on camera is the entire encounter which showcases you stalking us and assaulting my girl first.” Digginginto his pocket, he tosses the tiny metal disc into the ground at her feet. “I’m assuming this AirTag belongs to you? If I ever find out you’re tracking me, the girls, or Lou again, the next paperwork you get from the courts will be a goddamned restraining order.”
The air leaves my lungs. Fuck, I’m shaking in my seat.
He crosses his arms over his chest, planting his feet wide. Standing between her and me. Protecting me. “Do you understand me?”
“I want to talk to her.”
“Absolutely not.”
“I have a right to know who is around my daughters—”
The laugh that bursts out of Zach is ugly and so foreign it sends shivers up my spine. Goosebumps break out over my skin. “You abandoned those daughters. Do not talk to me about what rights you have when you’re the one that chose to walk away.You replaced them. You replaced all of us.”
My heart cracks in two. If that’s true… Jesus, no wonder he’s so broken up. And so protective of his girls. I get it.I fucking get it.Guilt gnaws at me for my knee-jerk reaction, the way my mind automatically assumes the worst, that he’s being dishonest. No wonder he hasn’t told me everything. I wouldn’t want to rehash that shitstorm, either.
“I’m going to wreck you in court, Zach,” she snarls up at him. “I’ll make sure you lose every last second of custody.”
“Good luck with that.” He points to the minivan still running. “Fucking leave. Now.”
She finally does as he says, climbing into the driver’s side and slamming the door shut. Zach remains where he is, his back to the truck, watching until the minivan disappears from sight down the narrow two-track. Only then does he return, and I hit the button to disengage the locks. My trembling intensifies.
He opens the passenger door and reaches for me, hauling me into his arms. Mine go around his neck, holding tight.
“Are you okay?” he asks quietly, gathering me tighter against his chest as I nod into his neck. “Fucking hell. I am so sorry, Louise.”
He pulls away just far enough to frame my face in his hands, searching my face. “She put that on my car?”
Zach nods sagely, smoothing his palms over my hair before coming back to cup my face again. “I promise you, she will not bother you again. Okay? I promise, Louise. She’s impulsive and doesn’t think shit through in her haste to try and malign me in any way she can. It has nothing to do with you. She’s not going to get away with this.”
“How? She took the video proof with her,” I whisper, turning my face into his palm. “It’s just your word against hers.”
Zach notches his chin toward the dash, and a small black box that’s mounted there. “Couple years ago Chief insisted we all get dash cams for our personal vehicles since most of us have the lightbars for emergencies. There was an accident in another county that a volunteer firefighter was off duty and got into an accident on his way to a fire. Chief wanted to make sure we have video footage of any of our travels.”
“So, that whole thing was recorded?” I ask in surprise. He nods. “Is it recording right now?” He nods again. “Oh.”
“It won’t show anything except out the front window, but the audio will suffice,” he assures me. “I’m sorry you were put in the middle of this, Louise. I never meant for you to get involved in her bullshit.” He rubs at the back of his neck. “Or for you to find out some of that information like that.”
I nod, dropping my eyes to the center of his chest. “Can I ask questions?”
He tilts my face up with a finger beneath my chin. “You can ask anything. I have no secrets. I just… It’s a hard situation. One I’m still trying to figure out.”
“Do the girls know?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
Zach’s eyes search mine, and then he shakes his head. “No. I know they need to find out, sooner rather than later… but how do I explain to my daughters that their mother walked away from them and started another family somewhere else? That the only reason she’s fighting me in court is so she doesn’t have to pay child support? Chloe and Bailey are too young to understand any of it… but Abigail…” he exhales, shaking his head, then swallows hard. “I don’t know how to protect her from that hurt and it fucking kills me.”
My heart aches for him, for the girls. I understand so much more now. Why he’s so damn guarded. I don’t blame him. Not one bit.
“The baby?” I ask hesitantly. He nods.
