Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Lena
A s I pull up to the farm, the sun is just starting to dip below the horizon. I didn’t expect him to invite me over for dinner tonight, especially since he wasn’t supposed to be back from the city yet.
Jayla is spending the night with Tatum and Mike’s kids while the two of them go to a twenty-first birthday party for Mike’s niece. She’ll be off her grounding in a few days, though. She’s really shown up and gone above and beyond with her chores and other things.
I’m a little nervous as I park behind Henry’s truck. Gavin stands by the porch, his arms folded casually over his chest, a small smile playing on his lips as he watches me approach. He looks so at ease here, like he belongs. The farm suits him, rugged, steady, dependable, just like he’s been lately.
Ooh, girl, get those thoughts out of your head. You can’t soak your panties before you even say hi to him.
“Hey.” I smile as I walk toward him.
“Hey yourself,” he replies, unfolding his arms and moving down the porch steps to meet me. “Glad you could make it.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I say as I look up at him, and for a moment, we just stand there, our eyes locked. Something about being around him makes everything else fade away.“I’m glad you’re back early. I missed you.”
And my panties are even more soaked now.
“Come on.” He nods toward the house. “I have dinner ready.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You? Cook dinner?”
He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “Okay, full disclosure, I may have cheated a little.”
“Oh?” I tease, crossing my arms over my chest as I follow him inside. “How so?”
“Well,” he explains, leading me through the front door and into the kitchen, “I ordered from the diner, threw away the containers, and tried to pass it off as my own.”
I burst out laughing, my hand covering my mouth. “Are you serious?”
He looks at me sheepishly, shrugging. “What can I say? I got back from the city later than I wanted and then got buried in my dad’s paperwork again, lost track of time, and suddenly it was almost dinner, and I had nothing ready.”
Still giggling, I shake my head. “You could’ve just told me. I wouldn’t have minded ordering takeout.”
“But where’s the charm in that?” he asks, winking at me. “Besides, I wanted it to be special.”
I smile as I glance around the kitchen. Hearing him say that he wanted it to be special feels nice. Despite the deception, he had gone through the trouble of setting up a nice dinner for us with candles flickering on the table, two plates set with silverware, and even a bottle of wine chilling nearby.
“Okay, I’ll let it slide,” I tease, walking over to the table and taking a seat. “But next time, you actually have to cook.”
“Deal.”
Gavin sits across from me, pouring us both a glass of wine before uncovering the dishes he’d transferred from the diner’s takeout containers to proper serving bowls. Despite the fact that he hadn’t cooked it himself, the spread looks delicious: burgers, fries, and some of the diner’s famous onion rings.
“So what were you digging through in your dad’s paperwork that was so distracting?” I ask, taking a bite of my burger.
He hesitates for a moment, his expression shifting ever so slightly. “I’ll get to that,” he answers softly. “But for now, let’s just eat.”
Something in his tone makes me pause, but I decide not to push. Instead, I focus on enjoying the meal and the easy conversation between us. Gavin is good at making me laugh, and tonight is no exception. Our playful banter feels light and natural, punctuated by moments when our eyes meet and the air thickens with unspoken words.
At one point, he reaches across the table, his hand brushing mine. The simple touch sends a spark up my arm, and I look at him, my heart pounding in my chest. His gaze is intense.
We might not make it through dinner.
Would it be disrespectful to have sex on this table?
“Lena…” His low voice is rough around the edges, tightening something inside me.
“Yeah?” I breathe, my eyes searching his face.
Without another word, he circles the table quickly before pulling me to my feet. His lips are on mine, his hands cupping my face as he kisses me deeply, desperately like he’s been waiting all night for this moment. I melt into him, my fingers tangling in his hair as I kiss him back, losing myself in the heat of the moment.
I didn’t realize how much I had missed him while he was gone.
When we finally pull apart, we are both breathing hard, our foreheads resting together.
“I’ve wanted to do that since you walked in the door.”
“You don’t have to wait next time.” I laugh.
He chuckles softly, his thumb brushing over my cheek. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
We stand there for a few moments longer, wrapped up in each other, before he finally steps back, looking more serious than before. “Lena… there’s something I need to tell you.”
The shift in his tone gives me pause. I pull back slightly. His eyes flick to the floor before meeting mine again.
“I found something in my dad’s paperwork. Something about Aaron.”
The mention of Aaron’s name twists my stomach, but I force myself to stay calm. “What did you find?”
He takes a deep breath, his hands resting on my shoulders as he looks me straight in the eye. “Lena… Aaron was cheating on you.”
I force myself to keep my expression neutral. I already knew that Aaron had been unfaithful. There were too many late nights and too many unexplained absences. He admitted as much and promised me that it ended, but right before he died, I learned there was another woman. I had tried to ignore it and convince myself it wasn’t true, but hearing Gavin say it out loud makes it impossible to deny.
My breathing quickens, and I do my damnedest to slow it down. Tears prick at my eyes. I can’t help but feel embarrassed now that Gavin knows. What will he think of me?
“I know,” I answer quietly, my voice steady despite the storm brewing inside me. “I knew he was cheating.”
He looks surprised for a moment but doesn’t interrupt as I continue.
“He promised me he ended things with her a few years ago. We tried to fix things, stay together for Jay. Right before he died, I found out there was someone else.”
His jaw clenches, his hands tightening on my shoulders.
“He was engaged,” he hisses. “To her. To the woman he was seeing. She didn’t even know who he really was. He had a whole other life with her, Lena. They had a kid together.”
The room seems to tilt beneath me as his words sink in.I want to vomit. I cough and turn around quickly.
Engaged? A child? How had I not known? How could he have kept that hidden from me?
My legs feel weak, and I stumble back, catching myself on the edge of the table.I can feel the tears filling my eyes.
I got so sick of fighting with him that I stopped asking questions. I stopped caring that he didn’t come home until late and was always on the phone. I shut myself off from everything.
“What?” I whisper, my voice barely audible. “A child?”
Gavin nods, his expression pained. “Yeah. I didn’t know. Dad had an entire file. It’s all in there, documents, pictures… everything. Aaron was living a double life.”
He looks down quickly. I stare at him, my mind reeling.
Did he know, and that was why he couldn’t look me in the eye?
Why wouldn’t Henry tell me?
Is that why, within the last few months, Henry kept telling me that I deserved better than Aaron?
How could Aaron have done this? How could he have lied to me, to his family? And how had I been so blind?
“Lena,” Gavin starts softly, stepping closer, his hands gentle as they cup my face. “There’s more.”
“More? How could there possibly be more? Shit, is it worse than a secret family?”
He nods, his expression darkening. “My dad… he was looking into Aaron. He found something else. Something worse. I just found it about an hour ago.”
“Worse?” I echo, my voice hollow. “What could be worse than him having a child with someone else? Jesus, Gavin, just rip off the Band-Aid and say it already.”
“Aaron was taking payouts, bribes. My dad found evidence, bank statements, and transactions. It was all there. He was involved in something shady, Lena. Something illegal.”
I feel like the floor is dropping out from under me.
Aaron… bribes? Illegal dealings?
I shake my head in disbelief and squelch the bile rising in my throat. I clutch my stomach, hoping to keep the nausea at bay.
I was so set on doing everything myself, walking on eggshells so that Jayla didn’t see us fighting constantly, that I was missing a dirty cop in my own house.
I feel like my heart shatters into a million pieces as the guilt and betrayal hit me simultaneously. I dug into my work, into this town, going above for everyone in it with no boundaries whatsoever. I hyperfocused on doing everything I could with Jayla to make up for her father’s lack of parenting. I was so busy avoiding the truth that I couldn’t see what was happening right in front of my face.
Gavin pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly as the reality of what he’s telling me sinks in. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs into my hair. “I didn’t want to tell you, but you need to know.”
I bury my face in his chest, my mind spinning. Aaron had betrayed me in more ways than I could have ever imagined, and the worst part is, I hadn’t even seen it coming. I had been so blind, so trusting.
I’ve been so closed off. Did I know subconsciously and just ignored it instead?
I can’t think like that. I can’t go back and scrutinize every moment and take the blame for any of it. Aaron did this.
As I stand in Gavin’s arms, the warmth of his embrace grounding me, I realize something else. Aaron’s betrayal might have shattered my trust, but it hadn’t destroyed me. I am stronger than that, stronger than he ever thought I was.
I pull back slightly, looking up at Gavin with tear-filled eyes. “Thank you for telling me.”
He nods, his thumb brushing away a tear that escapes down my cheek. “You deserve to know the truth.”
I take a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady myself. “What do we do now?”
“Well, the woman is fighting the death benefits, claiming that you two were no longer married and that he changed everything prior to his death. The thing is, it looks shady because it was done only a few days prior.”
“It may not be that shady,” I murmur. “I…had texted him and told him that he wasn’t allowed back at the house the day before he died. On the morning of his death, I showed up here with his things. We’d gotten into a huge fight because I thought he was cheating on me and didn’t have the proof. He could have done it because of that.”
“You’ll need to show proof of your marriage to get the benefits owed to you. Things will change, though, because of the child.”
“Did you drug me? Am I hallucinating?” I joke poorly. “This can’t be real, right? He was sworn to uphold the law. This is…shit, if people find out about this, they’ll impeach me as mayor. They’ll think that I’m shady and take bribes, too.”
As the words fall out of my mouth, an entirely new type of panic takes over. My chest tightens, and my breathing turns ragged.
“No one would believe that about you.”
“Well, no one would have believed it about Aaron either.”
“Maybe not, but there’s some pretty damning evidence out there. It seems Dad was gathering as much as he could to prove your innocence.”
I inhale deeply and let out a small chuckle. Henry was always looking out for Jayla and me. I shouldn’t be surprised he did so here, too.
“Of course he was,” I breathe. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me any of this.”
“I think he was trying to protect you until he could be certain. I found some receipts, and I believe he paid someone off to leave you alone.”
“Leave me alone? What does that even mean?”
“It seems like someone named Hank was threatening to tell you. Maybe make it all public.”
“Hank? There’s no way that…”
“Did he recently purchase ten acres of land?”
“Yes.”
He shrugs as he pulls away from me and leans against the kitchen counter. “I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”
“Shit. With Henry and Aaron both gone, what would stop him from blowing everything up now? I can’t…I can’t risk Jayla finding out about any of this. It would destroy her.”
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. Do you know this guy well?”
“He’s been hitting on me since he moved here about five years ago. Aaron always said he thought he was a serial killer or something. Maybe he only said that because he knew that Hank knew what he was doing.”
I start pacing the kitchen. I can feel my chest tightening again as I do.
How did I miss all of this? How was I so clueless?
I know how I was so clueless. I had caught Aaron lying so many times that I didn’t trust a word he said. I fell out of love with him a long time ago, and I was only going through the motions.
“I’ll be gone next week,” Aaron said. “Your husband was invited to an elite conference for top law enforcement in the country.”
“You can’t do that on short notice. We have to vote in and approve the budget and…”
“You can’t even be happy for me, can you? You have to talk about the fucking budget and rain on my parade. I’m so sick of you and all of your negativity!”
“We can’t afford for you to go as a family and especially not as a city. We don’t meet for another two weeks.”
“You can call an emergency meeting.”
“That’s favoritism! I can’t do that!”
“You won’t do that. That’s the difference. Don’t worry about it. They offered it to me all expenses paid,” he said as he looked away quickly. “Which you would have known had you asked.”
“Aaron,” I started, but I saw the look on his face. I saw that his eyes were narrowed and dark, and it would only be a matter of time before the verbal beating ensued. I could hear someone pulling into the driveway, and I ignored the obvious sign of his lies because I didn’t want to fight anymore.
Tears roll down my cheeks as the memory slaps me hard. There were a hundred more moments mostly the same. He knew exactly how to get away with anything.
“What do you know about him?” Gavin asks, his voice bringing me back to the present.
“Not a lot, really. He works from home. He’s socially awkward and always seems to be around when and where you least expect him to be.”
“I have a few friends who can look into him, maybe see what we’re working with. If he’s shady, too, then I can get some leverage to keep his mouth shut. The problem with paying people off is that it’s usually only a temporary solution.”
How does he know that?
It doesn’t matter. I have bigger problems to focus on right now.
“This could destroy me, Gavin. We will have to move if people find out. They’ll never trust me again. I don’t have…”
My chest tightens even more, and I can’t get enough air into my lungs. The more I think about it all, the less air I can get in.