Chapter Seventy-Nine
Jessica
My new job in the bakery department at the J and J grocery store had started off promising, but quickly fizzled on my second day.
Valerie, my supervisor, was a friend of Jon’s family, and turned out to be as petty as one could be. She critiqued everything I did. Apparently I even took the pan out of the oven wrong. Who knew that was even a thing?
But I bit my tongue and sucked it up. I needed the money, and after ninety days, I’d get benefits.
I’d seen what the hospital bill would have been if Sarah hadn’t given me Alan’s insurance information.
If Ruthie had another ER visit, and I didn’t have insurance, I’d be in debt to the hospital for the rest of my life.
So, every time Val had something mean to say, I’d remind myself why I was doing this.
Some days were easier than others.
It didn’t help that Alan seemed to be everywhere. He came into the grocery store every day, sometimes twice a day, and always stopped in the bakery. If I was at the post office, he’d magically appear in line behind me. If I was out on a walk with Ruthie, he’d cross the street to say hi.
That was the hardest—when Ruthie was with me. I felt like a criminal keeping him from her. He might have thought I was a joke, but I don’t think he could’ve faked how he felt about her.
It was another soul-sucking day helping customers at the bakery when I noticed Jade walking toward the counter.
Shit.
I hadn’t seen her since Ruthie had been in the hospital, and I really didn’t feel pretending like we were old friends. But I knew Valerie wouldn’t cover for me, so I took a deep breath and plastered my best customer-service smile on when she stood in front of the glass.
“Hey, Jess. How are you?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
I didn’t ask how she was. I mean, I kind of cared but I didn’t want her to know I cared.
Her engagement ring sparkled under the bakery lights. I thought about my engagement and wedding rings sitting in my jewelry box in my apartment.
I probably should give them back to Alan.
“Did you know, when Earl Schilling and his nephew kidnapped Lainey last spring, Alan was the one who found her? It would have taken the police hours to find what he was able to in minutes. Lainey didn’t have hours—they were trying to rape her when Adam rescued her.
And while Adam was rescuing her, Alan was saving Brian’s life by putting a tourniquet on his leg where his femoral artery had been nicked.
“The only people who know Alan was even there are Brian and Adam, and me and Lainey after the fact. I think Brian’s dad suspects, but as the chief of police, he prefers not to officially know anything. Your husband saved my sister and my fiancé, and no one even knows.”
I believed her. I could see him being a quiet hero. Not wanting the spotlight.
I felt my eyes water as I whispered, “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you need to know he’s a good man.
Did he mess up by lying to you? Absolutely.
Should you make him grovel and kiss your feet?
One hundred percent. But at the end of the day, you have to consider what kind of man he really is.
He saved the lives of two people he barely knew; imagine what he’d do for you and Ruthie. ”
“I feel so stupid, being the only one who didn’t know.”
“That’s on all of us. But to be fair, that’s a secret we were sworn to. It’s not something we were going to discuss casually with you. I had no idea you didn’t know, and I don’t think Lainey did either. But you have to ask yourself, is this worth ending what you had with him?”
“It wasn’t real.”
Jade cocked her head and asked, “Do you really think that, or is that your pride talking?”