Page 33 of Coveted Justice

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Maddie reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of iced tea, pouring herself a glass. She had a million emails to get through before dinner, but she was going to need a bit of caffeine to do it. Frankly, her mind had been elsewhere. Between her father’s revelation and Marty’s murder, there hadn’t been much time to do real actual work.

She had thought a great deal about her conversation with Sherry. Her friend was right. She could put off meeting her half-sister for awhile, but eventually she was going to run out of excuses. It might be better to get it over with sooner rather than later. At least then she could say that she’d done it.

She still wasn’t sure what it said about herself that she didn’t want to meet this woman. It wasn’t her half-sister’s fault any of this had happened. If anything, she was the victim and had to grow up without a father. That couldn’t have been easy, and Maddie had sympathy for her situation.

But I don’t want to share my dad.

Just hearing there words inside of her head made her sound petty, immature, and downright nasty.

Okay, I’m a bad person. I don’t want to be, but I think that I am.

She was never going to be best buddies with this woman, but she didn’t have to be a bitch to her either. They’d meet. They’d talk. They’d move on with their lives, possibly seeing one another on Easter or Christmas. Would one more person at the Thanksgiving table be that awful? Did the woman even want to be a part of their holiday traditions?

Having made the decision, she tapped out a text to her father telling him and asking if he could set something up for them to meet. Her schedule was jam-packed these days, but she’d make time for it.

When she heard Tanner coming in the front door, she couldn’t wait to tell him that she’d made up her mind. Without saying it, she could tell that he thought she should meet her half-sister. He would never come out and tell her to do it. That wasn’t his style. But just the way he’d talked about the situation, she could see that this was a direction he was hoping she’d go.

She was, however, still angry at her father. Those feelings weren’t going to be resolved overnight. That was going to take some time to work through. She wanted to ask him about the circumstances surrounding what he’d done, how he had decided to do it. Had he confessed to her mother? And if so, what had she said? Had he been forgiven? Had she been angry?

So many questions, so few answers.

There was no going back now. She couldn’t bury her head in the sand and pretend it didn’t happen by not knowing any of the details. She had to face it head on and being the type that she was…she was going to want to know it all. The good, the bad, and the downright terrible. Only then could she make sense of it and move on.

He walked into the kitchen, placing his phone on the counter and heading straight for the pitcher of tea she’d placed next to the sink. He poured himself a tall glass and gulped half of it down in seconds.

“You must have been thirsty.“

“I’m also starving. We should just order in tonight. I’m not in the mood to cook.”

She couldn’t help with that. She’d been known to burn water, and both Tanner and Amanda had told her to stay away from the stove. It was better for all of them.

“I’m glad you’re home,” she said. “I’ve made a dec—“

“Wait, before you go on…I need to tell you something.”

It wasn’t like Tanner to interrupt so Maddie was instantly on guard. They’d always been open and honest with one another, but she knew his expression well. It was the one he wore when he didn’t want to tell her something, but he was going to do it anyway.

“Okay, I’m listening.”

Leaning his hip against the counter, he downed the rest of the iced tea before placing the glass in the sink.

“I think you should know that I agreed to help Abby find the real killer.”

Maddie had to play the words over in her head a few times before they made sense. She’d predicted this, but somehow she was still surprised.

“You’re going to help her… How?”

“I talked to Jason, Logan, and Reed. The other guys, too. They’re going to pitch in as well.” Tanner sighed, his shoulders slumped. “She swears she didn’t do it, and she seems scared.”

Now that she’d had a moment to wrap her head around the subject there was only one thing left to say.

“Of course, you should help her. I’m glad you said you would.”

Tanner’s brows shot up. “You’re okay with me helping my ex-wife prove that she didn’t kill her current husband?”

“Yes,” Maddie replied firmly. “Is there anyone better to do it? You and the guys? I don’t think so. You wouldn’t be the man that I fell in love with if you didn’t help her. She’s the mother of your children and I’d be a terrible wife if I didn’t support you in this. Abby and I haven’t been close over the years, but I don’t want her to go to prison for a crime she didn’t commit.”

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