Page 109

I smile and look at Emelia, nodding in agreement.

“He applied for a job in Portland without telling me,” I say.

Sutton frowns. “Ansel wants to leave Echo Lake?”

I shake my head. “I’m not sure it’s about wanting to leave. More about wanting to move ahead in his career after another guy at the station got promoted.”

“So you’re upset that he’s going to move hours away when you’ve just started a relationship? That’s understandable,” Nina says, sympathy in her eyes.

My free hand flies up. “No, it’s not that. Sure, it’s not ideal, but we could’ve talked about it… had he told me. But that’s the point—he didn’t.”

“So how did you find out?” Nina asks.

“Well, he told me today.”

Nina nods, getting it now.

“How long has this been in the works?” Emelia asks.

“A few months, from what I gather. I just… I can’t be in another relationship where my partner keeps things from me.”

Emelia tilts her head because she doesn’t understand what I’m talking about. I glance at Nina and she nods, suggesting that I tell them.

I slug back half my glass of wine and tell the girls all of it—the original receipt I found, the hotel invoice from Galveston, and finally the hidden cell phone. Then I tell them how Ansel read through all the messages for me and relayed what they said.

Nina gives me a sympathetic smile, tears in her eyes, when I mention the baby. She knows better than anyone else here how much it wore on me when I didn’t get pregnant right away.

Emelia and Sutton’s mouths are practically hanging open.

“I can’t believe Caleb did that. It just seems so unlike the guy I grew up with,” Sutton says.

Then I detail how Fowler knew about Caleb’s affair and my conversation with him.

Sutton’s jaw actually hangs open now. “Fowler knew?”

I blow out a breath. “Yeah. I can understand why he didn’t say anything after Caleb died. He was his best friend and thought he was saving me a lot of pain. But we’re good now.”

Sutton downs her glass of wine and seems almost angrier than I was. I guess, like Ansel, since they all grew up together, she’s wondering how Fowler could keep that secret.

“Given all that, I can understand why you were upset with Ansel.” Emelia frowns.

“I just don’t understand why Ansel wouldn’t tell me. He says it’s because I had so much going on already, but he had a front-row seat to me discovering my real marriage. Didn’t he think I deserved to make the decision about our involvement knowing all the facts?” I shake my head.

“I can tell you exactly why he didn’t tell you,” Sutton says, pushing up from where she sits cross-legged on the floor. “As soon as I refill my wine. Anyone else?”

Nina holds out her empty glass.

Sutton goes into the kitchen and returns a minute later, passing Nina her refilled glass. She sips her wine, then looks at me. “He didn’t tell you because Ansel is terrified of ever letting down someone that he loves.”

“Why would—” But as I’m asking the question, it dawns on me. “Your father.”

She nods. “I don’t think he ever really got over what our dad did. He knows the pain you cause someone when you fail them, and I don’t think he ever wants to be the one to inflict that kind of pain on someone else.”

The room quiets for a minute.

That jives with the Ansel I know.

“He has to know that keeping things from me isn’t the right course of action, though. It’s not something I’ll be able to deal with, even if he thinks it’s for my own good. He disappointed me by keeping it from me.”