She looked between Caleb and Naomi, her chest tightening again. “Why didn’t either of you tell me Max is an ex-convict?”
The question hung in the air.
Naomi and Caleb exchanged a quick glance.
Naomi frowned before saying, “We didn’t think it was our story to tell.”
Hadley let out a sharp breath. “Well, apparently Max didn’t think it was important enough to tell me either.”
“I’m sure he was going to,” Naomi said. “That news can’t be easy to share, especially not with someone like you. He had a rough background. And your background is practically without blemish. I can only imagine the conflict that causes inside him.”
“And he told us his story,” Caleb said. “We believe him.”
She crossed her arms. “What is his story?”
“It would be better if he told you,” Naomi murmured. “But I can say this. Max is an honorable man. He’s protective of the women here—of all the women in his life.”
Hadley sighed. She understood where they were coming from. This wasn’t their business to share. But that didn’t make it any less frustrating.
“Not to change the subject, but if Max didn’t tell you, then how did you find out?” Caleb asked.
“I got an anonymous email.” Hadley’s muscles tensed as she remembered the message. “Someone wanted me to know.”
Caleb’s expression darkened. “I don’t like where all of this is going.”
Hadley’s mind spun between everything at once—and none of it fit together the way it should.
Max stepped out of the SUV as soon as Sheriff Sutherland pulled into the hospital drive and parked. The tension that had been riding him the entire way refused to ease even now.
They’d found Lyndee.
She was alive.
That should have been enough to make him feel better.
It wasn’t.
He watched as the ER doors opened, and a nurse rushed forward with a wheelchair. Lyndee clutched the blanket tighter around herself as Sheriff Sutherland helped her out. Her voice was low as she answered questions Max couldn’t quite hear.
Max stayed a step back, his gaze scanning everything out of habit.
Or maybe from the sense that things weren’t as simple as they should be.
Once Lyndee was safely inside, he pulled his phone from his pocket. He saw the message from Hadley, and his stomach dropped.
She’d found out about his prison record. That was exactly what he’d feared.
He needed to talk to Hadley, to explain himself.
He dialed her number. The phone rang. And rang.
There was no answer.
His jaw tightened as he ended the call.
Maybe she was still at the clinic. Busy. Wrapped up in work. She’d said she wasn’t feeling great, but it hadn’t sounded serious.
Still . . .
