Chapter 20 #2
“Not much, to be honest, though I didn’t exactly drill them for information either. Like you said, the past should stay in the past. All I know is that Jocelyn cheated on them with you. Everything else I gathered from her behavior toward me.”
Carlos shakes his head slowly. Something tells me he is still disappointed in himself for having fallen for her. I recognize that look in his eyes. I saw it in myself not that long ago.
“It wasn’t right, and I knew it,” he admits. “I was aware of the polyamorous nature of the guys’ relationship with her, and I had also seen them around with Jocelyn more than enough times to put two and two together. Jocelyn was off-limits.”
“Yet you…”
“She has a charming way about her,” he says and chuckles dryly. “You don’t realize it’s all for show until it’s too late, until you’ve already given her what she wanted. I fell for her. Hard. The forbidden-fruit effect, I guess. I couldn’t look Dax, Beck or Leo in the eyes for a long time.”
“What happened then? Did she tell them?”
“No, I did.”
“Whoa.”
“For Jocelyn, it was all about the sex. For the guys, it was always way more than that. And I realized, right then and there, that Jocelyn didn’t care who got hurt in the process, as long as she got what she wanted,” Carlos replies.
“It broke my heart, but I had to tell the guys, to warn them. And I had to come clean about my own dishonesty, as well. Their friendship mattered more.”
“I don’t blame you. ”
“I was a fool to think I might have an actual shot at a real relationship with Jocelyn,” he scoffs.
“At least I opened my eyes at the right time. So I called the guys up, sat them down, bought them a whole lot of drinks, and explained everything. I had texts, some involving some pretty racy stuff, photos. I laid it all out and told them that it was over between us.”
“What did they say?”
I can almost picture my men sitting there, quiet and stoic, while Carlos explained what happened and their hearts shattered, their trust crumbling in real time.
There’s no way to accurately describe the bitterness of betrayal.
Poets, writers… some have been able to put it into words, but I’ve found nothing that comes close enough to explain that foul taste, the nasty flavor of pure disappointment, of anger, of hurt.
“They were angry, of course,” Carlos says.
“Beck was close to using my face as a punching bag, but Leo talked some sense into him. I apologized profusely, promising I’d spend the rest of my life making it up to them one way or another.
It was not my proudest moment, Olivia, I’ll tell you that.
Eventually, we parted ways. We didn’t talk for a while, but we kept things civil. ”
“And Jocelyn?”
“I had already broken things off with her. As soon as I left my meeting with the guys, I grabbed her stuff from my place, tossed it into a box, and brought it over to the DA’s office.
It was sort of public and humiliating for her, but she had it coming, especially when that coworker she’d wanted to join us in bed approached me, I guess to intimidate me. ”
I laugh. “Intimidate you? ”
“Yeah, imagine that. Jocelyn found herself alone. Four men who once adored her now wanted nothing to do with her ever again. It stung. She never got over it, truth be told. Our paths still cross with work, and every time I still see the remorse, the anger, the shame. She masks it under her so-called fierce and sharp-tongued facade, but I see the real Jocelyn, and she knows it: insecure, miserable, jealous, and impossible to please; desperate for human contact, yet incapable of opening up to someone.”
“Honestly, I feel sorry for her,” I say. “But at the same time, I’m glad she’s out of their lives, Carlos, and yours. I can no longer imagine my life without them.”
“I can’t blame you. They’re good men. They’ll go to the ends of the earth for the woman they love.
” He pauses and checks his watch. “Hey, I was thinking. It’s off topic, but before I forget, it’s my day off.
I thought about driving up to the cabin to bring Chloe a few things from town, maybe one of Melinda’s badass pies, fresh out of the oven. ”
“Oh, that sounds really nice, and is very sweet of you,” I reply, carefully analyzing his expression. “If you can wait until after lunch service, I could join you.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Does Chloe like peaches or apricots? I think Melinda’s baking a few of each.”
The shimmer in his eyes. The subtle smile.
The way he lights up whenever he mentions Chloe’s name.
It’s so obvious, once you get to know him a little bit better.
Carlos deserves a second chance at love, and Lord knows Chloe needs a great man by her side, someone who can make her happy and keep her safe.
Maybe, just maybe …
“Peaches. Peaches, all the way, my friend,” I tell him.
The afternoon finds us driving up to his family’s cabin outside of town. It’s nice and quiet, orchards unraveling along the base of the mountain, the branches bent from the abundance of fruit, ripe and ready to be plucked.
As the sun sets over the mountain, splashing its shades of pink and orange across the sky, I take a deep breath and get out of Carlos’s car, while he collects the boxed pie from the back seat, preparing to surprise Chloe with it.
“I’m constantly amazed by how beautiful it is up here,” I say, reveling in the crisp, fresh air.
The main road winds around the mountain, connecting Ember Ridge to the rest of the county. I can see cars from up here, looking like tiny, colorful ants rumbling up and down, each carrying a story of its own.
Everything is green and clean around the wooden cabin, like something out of a rustic-themed postcard. Chloe comes out, her figure dwarfed in an oversized tracksuit I gave her and wearing a huge smile plastered across her face.
“I didn’t expect you today,” she says, coming down the porch steps to throw her arms around me.
I welcome the hug and hold her tight. “Carlos thought you’d like the surprise,” I tell her. “Also, he got you something.”
“You did?” she looks at him with genuine surprise.
“Well, we did,” Carlos says, trying to minimize his own initiative. Of course, he’s playing it safe, keeping it cool. “Melinda bakes some wicked peach pies, and Olivia says you love?— ”
“I love peaches!” she exclaims while Carlos presents her with the box. “Oh, gosh, it smells sublime. Is it okay if I eat this in one sitting?”
“I’ve been doing a lot of that lately,” I reply with a chuckle. “We’ll go trekking up the mountain after the kids are born and Marcus is in prison. Until then, I say we gobble down whatever we want, sister.”
Chloe gives Carlos a soft nod. “Thank you. It was very thoughtful of you.”
“My pleasure, Chloe.” He pauses and looks at me. “I’ll let you ladies hang out while I go pick a few things from the orchard next door. Is that alright?”
“You can do that?”
“My uncle owns this part of the orchard. I’m not stealing,” he laughs.
“Sure, Carlos. Do your thing. Get me some red plums, if you can. I’ll whip up a mean cake with them and save you a big-ass slice for your trouble.”
“No trouble at all, but I will take the big-ass slice, nonetheless.”
Chloe and I laugh as we watch him head over to the property fence and slip through the small wooden gate. I didn’t even notice the gate until now. Chloe seems just as surprised.
“Huh, go figure,” she mumbles. “His family owns part of a huge orchard. He’s in law enforcement. People around here seem to love him.”
“Sounds like quite the catch, right?”
“And that tight ass. Damn. ”
“Chloe!” I chuckle. “You depraved woman.”
“Hey, it’s not like I can ignore it, not in those jeans, anyway,” she replies, then takes me back inside the cabin. “Come on, have a slice with me. I have the kettle going for iced tea.”
“Oh, I could definitely do with some iced tea.”
We head to the kitchen and make ourselves comfortable.
The cabin itself isn’t big, but it’s clean, cozy, and well kept.
Special attention was given to the decorative details—wooden wall panels, fine sewn wallpaper with rustic motifs, and an abundance of soft-to-the-touch textiles scattered everywhere: pillows, throw blankets, sofa covers, the works.
“Twins, huh?” Chloe says while pouring hot water over the fruit-flavored tea before adding honey and pouring the magical concoction over a heap of ice in a thick glass pitcher. “Didn’t see that coming.”
“You can say that again.”
In the meantime, I open the box and carve out two slices of peach pie, placing each on a small dessert plate while Chloe gets the glasses ready.
“You’re nervous, I get it,” she says. “I can only imagine how overwhelming it is.”
“I’m also happy, and it’s hard to reconcile those two feelings, if you know what I mean.”
She nods slowly as she brings the pitcher and the glasses over to the table. The afternoon light pours through the window with delicate, golden shimmers that dance across the white tablecloth. Between that and the smell of pie, I feel like I really do belong here .
“I know what you mean,” Chloe says. “On one hand, I’m grieving my parents but also looking forward to seeing Carlos again.”
“Oh, well, that was unexpected.”
She laughs, blushing like a rose as she takes a seat in front of me. “Come on, it’s not even a secret. What’s not to like about the guy? But at the same time, I feel a little guilty, like I should cry my heart out for a little while longer before I look to the future. It sounds weird but?—”
“No, not at all. But you can do both, Chloe. You lost your mom and dad unexpectedly, and it hurts like hell. Everybody grieves differently. You’re going through all the phases of a broken heart, yet you’ve met someone who makes you look forward to the future at a time when you can’t help but be focused on your present pain. It can certainly be conflicting.”