Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
B rad’s message halted me like I’d run into a wall. My shoulders curled together. Oh, get a grip you idiot .
I took a deep breath. Brad was so…solid. Muscular and a little sunburned over his freckles. Under a blanket, in the back of his truck, had been my favorite place our senior year.
Me
Catching up sounds really good. I’m not sure when—going through a separation right now. Wasn’t married, but we own a townhouse together. Just moved out. Normal life stuff but I’m rattled and sort of flattened… Anyway, just need time, I think. Great to hear from you. What are you listening to these days while you’re on the tractor?
Biting my lip, I stared at my message. A rejection wrapped up in too much information and padded with encouragement. Classic passive Kelsey mealy mouthing . Why wasn’t the man married?
Monday morning, I hiked to work, lugging a big bag with my packed pasta salad and a fresh shirt in case I funked up the one I was walking in. I had to put my hood up and cinch it tight to keep the chill wind from freezing me solid.
Gerry cornered me in the parking lot.
“Kelsey,” he shouted from where he stood by his car, parked on the far side of the lot. He waved at me urgently. “Come over here.” Would he whistle next?
I trudged over. My frozen fingers clenched into fists in the pockets of my jacket.
The start of my relationship with Gerry had reminded me of the romance between Rory and Logan from the Gilmore Girls , a show I’d binge-watched with my sisters. In college, he’d been the wealthy playboy I had a class with and said no to several times before we started dating. I’d been flattered by Gerry’s pursuit and very attracted to him. Being with him had felt like entering a bigger life—until I’d begun to see the depth of his dishonesty.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his mouth hanging open and his forehead wrinkled. “Get in the car and warm up.”
I stayed where I was, chilled through. “I walked because I don’t have enough money for gas. What do you want, Gerry?”
“Where are you staying?”
Work started in five minutes, and I wasn’t ever late. I shook my head, glancing over my shoulder.
“Hon, this is killing me. I just need a little time. Please come home. I can’t let this become a story at work—you know how it is. We’re in a rough patch. It’s private.”
I stared at the perfect parting he’d combed into his hair. A month ago, he’d made me change my dress before dinner at his golf club because he’d thought my arms looked fat. It was like the man had cast a spell that diminished me a little more with each year that went by.
“Five days,” I said, my voice harder than I’d heard it in a long time. “I won’t announce your theft at work, but I will take legal action.”
His face went red, and his jaw clenched. He smiled and waved at someone across the parking lot. When he turned back to me, the real Gerry was on his face.
“Listen to me. We’re done with this. Get your ass home, tonight.”
I took a step back. “No. We’re over.”
“You’re forcing me into a corner here.” He held his hands out, palms up, a sneer on his face. “Do you think your boss would like to hear that you make videos about dirty books?”
My eyes widened. Crossing my arms, I shrugged. “HR would be more interested in your crime.”
He leaned forward, his breath puffing white in the freezing air. “Not when they see that you’ve been selling naked pictures of yourself. Posted to porn sites online.”
Pain stabbed into my chest. I stumbled sideways. “What?”
Eyebrows pinched together, he stared at me. He stood up straight and smoothed out the sleeves of his jacket. “Let’s head in. Your nose is red.”
“You…” I shook my head. “You have pictures of me?”
I didn’t believe him— what pictures? I’d never given him any or let him take them. Still, my stomach burned, and I thought I might throw up.
He sniffed. “I love you, Kelsey. We’re going to work this out.”
I turned and ran across the parking lot.