Page 77 of When the Smoke Clears

She lets out an odd sort of chuckle. “She didn’t come today, that’s why I asked. I don’t think it’s within Alan’s wheelhouse to think about my feelings, so I doubt he asked her not to come for my sake.”

I shake my head. “No. Um, they’re separated.”

Her eyes take on a worried look. “Hopefully she’s smarter than me. Maybe she caught on to his secret life sooner than I did.”

Sutton’s fingers grip my back tighter as I cock my head in question. “I’m sorry, what do you mean, secret life?”

She angles her head toward one shoulder. “He was always on work trips. Never would give me much in the way of details. Always spending money in large amounts.”

I think back to the start of Stephanie’s marriage to Alan. “You mean gambling?”

“Oh, no, he wasn’t into gambling. He had a family in another state,” she says adamantly.

My mouth drops open for entirely too long. “He had…wait, you know this with certainty?”

“Oh, sure. I talked to the wife once. When I confronted him about it, he filed for divorce. Said I was delusional.” She shrugs. “He was an awful husband. Nothing I did ever made him happy, so I couldn’t be bothered to care if he claimed I was delusional. We both knew he was lying.”

How the fuck did we miss this?

“Anyway, good luck with everything, Maci.” Melissa smiles softly and then walks away.

Sutton rubs his hand up and down my shoulder, trying to comfort me. “You ready?”

He may think I’m close to crumbling with the twists and turns of the day.

James looks between us.

“Yes,” I say, distracted.

Sutton tips his chin down at James and leads me to the truck with his arm still tucked around me.

Chapter 27

Sutton

Maciisonlyquietfor a moment as we pull out of the funeral home parking lot before she starts talking. “I can’t believe he had a secret life. Do you think he still does? Do you think Stephanie knows?”

Honestly, I don’t know how to answer her. “Maybe? He doesn’t strike me as the type to learn his lesson. He didn’t even acknowledge Colt’s mom.”

She stares out the windshield, her hands playing with the hem of her dress.

“You’re probably right.” Her eyes are vacant, and despite her words, I’m not convinced she’s talking to me.

At the red light, I check the rearview mirror out of habit. A dark Mercedes inches closer behind us. The entrance ramp to the highway is on the right, which I normally take for a shortcut out of town. Instead of turning when the light turns green, I test a theory and drive straight, fairly certain the person behind us is none other than Alan.

“Where are you going?” She scans the road before us, trying to find the reason for my alternate route.

“Checking on something.” I wink at her for good measure, but it doesn’t matter. She knows something is up.

As our truck crosses the overpass, I check the mirror again. Sure enough, Alan is right behind us. I don’t know what he’s planning, but he’s sure as fuck not following us home.

I whip into the next parking lot. He follows suit, but since I know where we’re going and he doesn’t, I pull a U-y so the truck faces him before he’s fully in the parking lot. He realizes his mistake too late.

“What the fuck?” Maci cries. “He followed us?” She turns to me for an answer.

“Seems that way.” I give her leg a gentle squeeze. “Wait here.”

“Like hell!”

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