“What information?” I said through my teeth.
Sniffling, she pulled a folder out of her purse and handed it to me. “He told me you were married. You didn’t say anything about that,” she said, mouth set in a stubborn line.
I forced my hand to remain steady as I took the folder and opened it. Inside was the evidence of an event I had convinced myself had occurred only in my nightmares.
“You are a terrible person,” I told her finally.
“I know,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
“For lying?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “For putting my family in danger? For putting yourself and your sisters in danger? You do not want to have any sort of dealings with my father; he is dangerous and manipulative and a liar.”
“So it’s not true?” Meg asked, pointing at the folder.
I looked up at the night sky. The sun had sunk behind the tree line.
“Apparently it is,” I said bitterly. “Yes, I am married.”
“So we can’t be together, then,” she said, wiping the tears away from her eyes.
“I’ll-I’ll have to divorce her…”
“It will drag on for years,” Meg said. “I worked at Harrington Thurlow. I know how it goes with a high-profile divorce when there’s big money on the line. This doesn’t have a good ending. This is it.” She rested her hand on my arm. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“My father…” I began then stopped. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Hunter,” Meg said, taking my hand.
“He forced me to marry this woman. He wanted her as a sister wife and needed a way to legally control her because she was underage,” I recalled. “He told me I could expect my little brothers to start getting lost in the desert if I didn’t cooperate. We were kicked out soon after. I didn’t think it was official.”
Meg wrapped her arms around me.
“Fuck.I will never get a break,” I said, closing my eyes.
“If there’s anything I can do...”
I shook her off. “I have to go.”
73
Meghan
“Ifucked up. Crap, I fucked up.”
I was pacing around the Gray Dove Bistro. Hazel was out on a date with Archer. Rose was at her other waitressing job, and Minnie was manning the café counter, ignoring Isaac, who sat there pining for her.
“So does that mean we aren’t going to have a house to live in?” she asked, looking up from her phone. “Because there is barely enough hot water here to go around. You can’t take a super-long shower.”
“I’ll buy you a house,” Isaac promised.
“With what money?” Minnie shot back.
“When I’m deputy mayor—”
“You’re not going to be,” Minnie said loftily. “My sister is going to crush Hunter.”
“Then I’ll get a job,” Isaac insisted.
“Isaac, do your brothers know you’re over here?” I asked, irritable.
