Page 83 of Healing Hearts
“Life has a terrible sense of humor sometimes, doesn’t it?” Mia says.
“I thought this would be such a happy moment,” I say through my tears. “But I’m dreading telling him.”
Maggie’s hand is on my back, rubbing up and down. “If you need someone with you when you do that, I can be there.”
That sounds worse—a witness to how I’m sure Trent will take the news.
“No,” I say, my words garbled. “I can do it.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Trent
The police tape is gone, Judy has been fired, and some guy named Donny dropped off his resume this morning. It’s hard to have any enthusiasm when it feels like my life is a dumpster fire.
Last night, I went over to Joanna’s house with my mom as a buffer. Which is fucking ridiculous—that I asked my mom to come with me, afraid Joanna would say something to me about Emily.
It’s like I can’t even think about her without it feeling like I’m being cracked in half. When the police were all over me, keeping her away from it, out of it, was exactly what I thought I needed to do.
Now that’s all receding, the reality of what I’ve done is sinking in. It’s still the right thing to do—ease their life in Little Falls by not having them so closely associated with me—but fuck if it doesn’t hurt like hell.
As I sat with Amir last night building the Lego set, I realized I’d probably never be doing this on Emily’s living room floor again. That all the things we’d done together—the trips to the fall fairs,the movie nights, the dinners we cooked together—all of it was over.
Emily still ended up going to the station to confess she was the one on the footage. When Thomas told me, I’d lost my shit, but he’d promised he hadn’t been the one to talk to her. But I can’t imagine how embarrassing it was for her to sit there and confirm all those dates and times.
It just solidifies my belief that she didn’t benefit from being with me at all. A damaged reputation. Embarrassment. If I could go back to January me, I’d sit there listening to Grady and Kelvin explain how my relationship with Emily would fall apart eventually when she met someone, and I’d agree and tell myself she was better off instead of being consumed with jealousy over some nameless person she hadn’t even met yet—a future I wouldn’t be part of.
“You alright over there?” Brett asks from the bay beside me.
“Fine,” I mutter.
“At least Dan’s going to jail this time. Sounds like the police have a lot on him.”
“He got cocky,” I say. “I’ve been there.” I stare out into the empty parking lot. Other than a couple oil changes, there’s been no work today. It’s the first day we’ve been open again.
“People will come back,” Brett says. “Most probably don’t even know we’re open again.”
I don’t bother contradicting him, though I know our opinions don’t align.
“Dan sold you out last time, and he tried to bring you down this time. Anyone in this town with even a hint of common sense will see the link is Dan, not you.”
“Maybe,” I say, grabbing another tool to clean. I’m not holding my breath. I’m going to give it a couple more weeks and then suggest selling again to Emily.
“I’m pissed I didn’t see the signs in Judy,” Brett says. “Should have.”
“Sometimes we see what we want to see.” For a while, I’d thought I could see a future with Emily—glimmery and distant and not fully formed. Turned out to be a mirage. “Listen,” I say, “there’s a good chance I’ll be selling this place. I already called Earl about maybe going back there.”
“What?” Brett leaves where he’s been working through cleaning tools too. “You’ve got to be shitting me. One little scare and you’re out?”
“I wondered if you’d thought about taking over?” I ask.
“You mean if Emily won’t sell this place?” Brett is eyeing me in a way I don’t like. “She doesn’t strike me as the type to back down from a fight.”
“How do you know Emily’s the investor?” I ask, my voice gruff.
“Came out during the police questioning,” Brett says.
“They asked questions about her?” My heart feels like it’s in my throat.
