Chapter 9 #2
Stiffening, she pulled away, hating the flush she felt in her cheeks. She’d been a serial monogamist for years. She wasn’t ashamed of that, damn it. “I like dating, and I’ve done a lot of it.”
“I think we could all do with some snacks,” Laurel announced. “Boys, why don’t you come help in the kitchen?”
It was a thin excuse to give them some privacy, but as everyone else filed out, Paisley blessed Laurel for the gesture. She rose herself and paced over to stare sightlessly at the whiteboard. She could feel Ty’s gaze on her.
“I wasn’t a monk the last eighteen years. I don’t expect you were either.”
“I didn’t sleep with all of them.”
“Okay. Even if you had, it would’ve been your right. It’s your life, your body. We weren’t together then. I’m not judging you here. I’m just trying to work one angle. If it helps, for now, limit it to the ones you broke up with.”
That list was shorter and easier to produce.
She wrote it out, making notations where she could about how long she’d spent in each relationship, and handed it over.
“It’s probably not all of them. I don’t remember every guy I ever went on a date with and didn’t go for a second.
If we need more, I can call Emerson and brainstorm with her. ”
“Emerson?”
“We’ve been best friends since college. She’s been around for most of my dating career.”
“I can probably help fill in some gaps too,” Ivy added, coming back in carrying drinks. “At least for the last couple of years, which would probably be the most relevant.”
The others filed behind her with bowls and platters of food. There was a veggie tray, chips and dip, popcorn, and someone had put together a charcuterie board.
“This is fine.” Ty sat again, studying the list.
Paisley began loading a plate. Maybe if she stuffed her face, she wouldn’t be so prone to letting her mouth run away with her. Objectively, she understood why he was pursuing this line of investigation. But she didn’t have to like it.
“You were the one who called it quits on both your marriages?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened there? Infidelity? Money problems?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t see why it matters.”
“Because I’m trying to find a motive.”
“Neither of my ex-husbands is behind this.”
“You don’t know that. We’ll need to look at them, and in doing so I need to know why you broke things off.”
Paisley set her plate down and crossed the room to the picture window, staring out at the mountain. She hated having her relationships put under a microscope.
“Were they abusive?” Ty’s voice was quiet and right behind her.
“No, they’re both good guys.”
“Then what?”
“They weren’t you,” she whispered.
“What?”
Exasperated, embarrassed, and knowing he’d find out eventually, she whirled on him.
“They weren’t you, okay? Every single relationship I’ve had for the last eighteen years has all ended for the same damned reason.
Because I kept trying to find another you and failing.
You ruined me for all men when we were eighteen. Congratulations.”
Ty blinked at her for a moment before his lips began to twitch.
“Tyson Gregory Brooks, don’t you dare smile. This is not meant as a stroke for your ego.”
“She middle-named him,” Sebastian whispered.
“Shh!” Laurel hissed.
The twitch turned into a full-on grin.
“If you say it’s not your ego that wants stroking right now, I swear to God, I’m going to hit you.”
They both ignored the chorus of choked laughter.
“Hey, you’re the one whose brain went there.”
“I write romance for a living. Of course, my brain went there. But this is not a joke.”
He sobered, but there was a softness in his eyes in place of the humor as he reeled her in. “Does it help to know I hate them all on principle for getting time with you that I didn’t?”
“Maybe. A little.”
“How about the fact that there’s never been anyone serious for me but you?”
It was Paisley’s turn to blink. “Never?”
“I was married to the job, and I didn’t have the strength of heart to put myself out there to even try. So, I’d say we mutually ruined each other.”
Someone behind them sniffed. “That is just the sweetest…”
“Are you crying?” Harrison asked his wife.
“Pregnancy hormones. I’m allowed. Shut up and pass the popcorn.”
They split the work. As the resident cop with any actual authority to request alibis, Ty hit up the phone for the guys they had contact information on, while everyone else worked on tracking down the others on Paisley’s list. For privacy’s sake, he holed up in Harrison’s office.
Deciding to get the ex-husbands over with first, he reviewed the brief dossiers Paisley had written.
Wasband Number 1: Brian Chesney
Ty actually smiled at her alternative name for ex-husband.
Chesney was the college boyfriend she’d married right after graduation.
According to Paisley’s notes, they’d lasted three years, divorcing at twenty-five.
He now lived in Memphis with his second wife and their two kids.
Given the postmarks of all the letters and packages, it was unlikely he was connected, but Ty wanted to do due diligence and call.
A woman answered the phone. “Hello?”
“I’m looking for Brian Chesney.” In the background, Ty could hear the sounds of kids laughing.
“Just a minute.”
A few moments later, a guy picked up. “Hello?”
“Brian Chesney?”
“Yeah.” The voice was friendly, open.
“This is Deputy Ty Brooks with the Stone County Sheriff’s Department. I have a few questions for you.”
Chesney’s tone hardened. “What’s this about?”
“Your ex-wife, Paisley Parish.”
“Hang on a second.” Brian excused himself from whatever was going on and went somewhere quieter. “What’s happened to Paisley? Is she all right?” Ty didn’t miss the edge of protectiveness in the demand.
“She’s okay. Having some trouble. Can you tell me your whereabouts on the weekend of January sixteenth?”
“Of course. My father-in-law just had a heart attack three weeks ago. Double bypass surgery. On that Saturday we were all in the waiting room at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. I’ve got half a dozen people who can verify. What is it you’re checking me out for?”
“She’s being stalked.”
“Shit. I knew this would happen someday.”
That piqued Ty’s curiosity. “What makes you say that?”
“She’s too nice. I don’t know if you’ve spent much time with her with the investigation, but under normal circumstances, she’s got this warm, magnetic personality. Spend five minutes with her on a good day and you feel like... I don’t know. Like that song ‘Walking on Sunshine’.”
Ty huffed a laugh. “Yeah, she’s always been like that.”
There was a pause. “What did you say your name was?”
“Ty Brooks.”
“That Ty Brooks?”
He went brows up. “I hesitate to say yes to that tone, but probably.”
“Hm.” There was a wealth of judgement in that single syllable. Ty wondered what she’d said about him. “She brought this problem to you?”
“More like it came to us. I’m investigating.”
Chesney seemed to consider that. “Look, we’ve been divorced a long time. We’re still friends. She sends my kids birthday presents every year. I want nothing but the best for her. If that’s you, great. But for God’s sake, don’t fuck it up this time.”
A blessing and a warning in the same breath. Not entirely sure what to do with that, Ty lost a little of his professionalism. “I’m tryin’ not to. Thanks for your cooperation.”
“If there’s anything else I can do to help, please let me know.”
Ty hung up and stared at his phone for a long minute.
He hadn’t anticipated the guy would recognize his name, know who he was.
That was…weird. But maybe not. It was normal enough to talk about high school in college.
She’d been a lot closer to the heartbreak when she’d met Brian.
Still, it had Ty feeling a little bit paranoid as he checked the notes for Wasband Number 2.
Clint Mercer lived in Franklin, Tennessee.
Unlike Number 1, he was close enough to have dropped the letters and packages around the city.
They’d married when she was not quite thirty and lasted only a year.
It seemed unlikely the guy would’ve popped back up after five years, but stranger things had happened.
No one answered Ty’s call, so he left a voicemail and continued working his way down the list. He’d cleared three more names by the time Mercer called him back.
“I think you’ve got the wrong number, man. I haven’t been anywhere near Stone County…actually I’m not sure I’ve ever been to Stone County.”
“Did you used to be married to Paisley Parish?”
The affable attitude disappeared. “Yeah. Is she all right?”
Interesting that the first question from both of them was whether she was okay. “She’s fine. I need to check your whereabouts in conjunction with an investigation.” He gave the dates.
“I wasn’t even in the country. I was on assignment in Belarus. My boss can confirm, and I’ve got flight records.”
“What is it you do?
“I’m a photojournalist. You happened to catch me on break between stories. I’m flying back out tomorrow. What’s going on with Paisley? Is she in some kind of trouble?”
“You could say that. How would you characterize your relationship with your ex-wife?”
“Brief and intense. We met when she was doing research on a book. I told her there was no better way to learn than on the job. I took her with me to Greece. We eloped before we came back to the States.”
Of course, they had. Elopement seemed entirely in character for Paisley. She’d love the impulsivity and romance of it.
“She traveled with me on job for a while, but it wasn’t conducive to her work, and she didn’t handle the separation well when I was on long assignments.”
“When you say didn’t handle the separation well…”
Mercer blew out a breath. “She accused me of putting the job before her. Which was accurate. She wasn’t okay with that, so we parted amicably after about a year.”
That confirmed what Ty had long suspected and made him feel a little better about breaking things off with her before going into the Army. Deployment would’ve broken them.
“Do you keep in touch?” This wasn’t their guy, but Ty found he wanted to know.
“Sure. I see her when I make it home when we’re both free, and we keep up on social media.”
Ty found himself wondering if those catch ups had been the naked kind. Had this guy inspired the casual stance she’d taken toward dating the last few years? Shaking his head, he told himself it didn’t matter. She was with him now.
“Thanks for your, help. If I need anything else, I’ll let you know.”
“Before you go—are you the Ty she knew in high school?”
Really? Again? “Yeah.”
“Yours is the name she calls for in her sleep. If you’re finally crossing paths again, it seems like a thing you ought to know.”
Ty sat and thought about that for a long time after hanging up.
What was she dreaming about years after they’d split that she was calling out for him?
Did she have nightmares? He didn’t know why it bothered him, except that, on some level, she’d needed him, and he hadn’t been there for her.
He’d put his duty to his country, to his men, to Garrett first. He couldn’t regret that.
He’d saved lives, averted disaster more times than he could count. The work he’d done had mattered.
But that work was finished now. It was someone else’s duty. And for the first time in forever, there was absolutely nothing he had to put before Paisley. He was here for her now, and he’d do whatever it took to make up for those years apart.