Page 59 of Harmony Island Gazette
My heart squeezed at the sound of his name. Pain coursed through me as I studied Mom. Of course, she was going to want to know about what happened. But I didn’t want to talk about it. It hurt too much to even think about him.
But they were going to push until I told them, and I was tired of keeping secrets. Perhaps telling them what happened between Boone and me would help me feel better. It was at least worth a shot.
So I told them about Collin Baker. I told them about how he was having meetings with Boone. I told them how Collin showed up for lunch instead of Kevin, and I told them how Boone never denied any of the accusations I threw at him last night. And instead of staying and explaining himself, he’d just left.
The one thing I did leave out was the fact that I was certain I’d fallen for him. That even though he’d betrayed me, I still cared about him. He took care of me when I needed him the most, and that was something I was never going to forget.
I was never going to forget him, no matter how hard I tried.
Mom and Dad were surprised—especially Dad. They didn’t really say much, just that they were disappointed that Boone had fooled us all.
“He did do something helpful before he left,” I said as I pushed some crumbs around on the tabletop.
“He did?” Mom asked.
I nodded. “He set me up an appointment with a lawyer today.” I glanced at Mom and then Dad. “I’m divorcing Kevin.”
Mom glanced over at Dad, who nodded. “I’ll come with you,” Mom said as she turned back to meet my gaze.
“I’m okay,” I whispered.
Mom shook her head. “No, I’m going with you.”
“I’ll go to the store, and you go with your mother.” Dad was standing now, his gaze dark and his expression sharp. He narrowed his eyes at me, and I could feel his anger and hatred for Kevin as he said, “You go there and you do everything to make sure that son of a bitch gets nothing.”
I nodded before Dad turned and headed out of the dining room.
After I helped Mom clean up after breakfast, we spent some time looking at baby clothes online. For the first time since finding out about the baby, I felt excited. But when I climbed into Mom’s car at eleven to make our way to the lawyer’s office, a sense of dread washed over me.
I was on my way to divorce this baby’s father. Even though I knew that I was doing the right thing, I still felt guilty. I loved this baby more than anything, and if I could give it the world, I would.
I was scared of my future as a single mom, but it was better this way.
We walked out of the lawyer’s office an hour later, feeling better. Mr. Phillips was supportive and he was confident that this would be an easy process. Even though it would require me speaking about the abuse I suffered with Kevin, he was certain that the judge wouldn’t let Kevin railroad me like I’d feared.
Mom held the door for me as we called a goodbye and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Mom wrapped her arm around my shoulder, and we made our way to her car in the parking lot.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
I glanced over at her, but just as I did, I caught sight of a black truck. I paused, my heart picking up speed as I watched it turn right and disappear down the road. The truck looked like Boone’s, but then I shook my head. That wasn’t Boone. I was ridiculous to think that it was.
Boone was probably long gone by now. He wasn’t hanging around Harmony.
“Better,” I finally said, turning to focus on Mom, who was studying me. I smiled. “Hungry.”
She laughed as she dropped her arm and made her way to the driver’s door. I followed suit, making my way toward the passenger door.
We were both in the car with the doors shut and our seatbelts on when my phone chimed. Mom put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking spot as I fished around in my purse for my phone. For a second, I allowed myself to think that it was a message from Boone, but when I saw Kevin’s name, my heart sank.
He knew.
“Who is it?” Mom asked as she pulled out onto Main Street.
I’d made myself a promise to tell my parents the truth, so I whispered, “It’s Kevin.”
Mom was quiet for a moment before she asked, “What does he want?”
I punched in my passcode, and his text flashed on my screen.
