Page 10 of Unveiled

After taking a few steps back, she jogged forward with purpose and flung herself over the side, tucking one leg in tight and extending the other for extra splash.

When she surfaced, Rush wasn’t in the pool. Instead, he was on the side, splayed out like an accident victim. He sat up, acting dazed. “Damn, Sweetheart, you shot me right out of the water. Perfect ten.”

Laughter continued to be the theme of the day.

Rush scooted to the edge of the pool and lowered himself back into the water. They swam around in comfortable silence until her hands and feet were pruned.

Reluctantly, she made her way to the steps. Instead of calling it a day, she dried off and lounged pool side, soaking up some sun. Rush floated around the pool on an inflatable the size of an island.

It was the mental and physical break she needed to start figuring things out. Before she could take another step into her future, she had to get to know Rush. If she could trust him, and who he knew, she could get the help she needed.

“So, why did you decide that Virginia was the place for you?” Start simple and easy.

His voice startled her as it was closer than she expected. “Well, the state motto spoke to me.”

Tatum popped one eye open to find him practically beside her. He was still in the pool but had his elbows tucked over the side, staring at her.

“Really, that’s the best you got.”

“No, just thought if you bought it, we could kill the questions and talk about something else.” He sounded sad and distant, although he hadn’t moved.

“Okay, you don’t have to tell me. I mean, you said I could keep my secrets, so I guess it’s only fair to return the favor.”

Tatum turned onto her stomach, shifting her face the opposite direction. She always found it easier to talk about the difficult things when the possibility of eye contact was off the table.

“Well, since you put it that way. My fiancé was sleeping with my boss and I found out, visually, at our engagement party. There was nothing left for me there. No relationship, no job. . .”

When his voice trailed off, she flipped her face to see him. “I’m sorry. Losing everything is hard.” She wanted to say more, but what do you say to someone who just said that? His face held the same sadness his voice did, but surprisingly, it didn’t seem to be riddled with pain.

His shrug was almost imperceptible. “Better now than instead of two kids and a mortgage later. Besides, I needed a change and intended or not, they gave me the push I needed.” Wow, that’s an attitude that caught her off guard. Almost like he was thankful.

Even though Dale was not the man of her dreams, it still hurt on a level she couldn’t explain. The betrayal, the. . .everything. Even if she factored out the illegal and downright psychopathic and homicidal stuff, she was also stung as a woman, too.

“Well, I’ll see your cheater and raise you a criminal whose daddy doctored my parents will.” Oh, shit. She stopped herself before mentioning they may or may not have killed them. She hadn’t even meant to say that much. Maybe she mumbled enough Rush wouldn’t make it out. The water had taken it out of her. Lying here in the sun with Rush being so raw, coupled with her exhaustion, made it just slip out.

Oh, God.Now panic set in. A million what ifs swarmed her mind. The anxiety which seemed to rise to the top was one that made little sense considering the gravity of everything else. It was the fear of trusting a man. Last time she did that, she lost everything and ended up running down the road in a wedding dress.

Would he push for more than she was ready to give?

She stared into his eyes across the small expanse of deck between them. He stared back, neither speaking. Rush broke eye contact first by dunking himself underwater. Tatum breathed a small sigh of relief.

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