Chapter 4
Paige whipped into the gravel driveway of the house she and Will were to share. Sadness ripped at her heart but there wasn’t time to dwell on that. It wouldn’t be long before Will discovered she’d run and she had to get her bag and get out of town before that happened.
She mentally checked things off her to-do list: get go-bag, grab keys to the storage unit in the next town over where she kept a second car, write Will a note to say good-bye. She was a damn coward, she knew it. But, seeing the hurt, disappointment, and disgust in his eyes when she told him about her past would crush her.
He was the District Attorney of Blister County, for heaven’s sake. There was no way he could be involved with a woman who had such an illegal past. She should’ve never gotten involved with him, never let it go this far. It was just that he was everything she’d ever wanted. Strong, honest, noble, loyal, all the things she’d never known a man could be. The men in her family were loyal in the sense that if you came against the family they’d do anything to protect it, but they’d also sell each other out in a heartbeat.
The car skidded to a stop and Chester, the chocolate lab she and Will had gotten a few months ago, bounded down the porch steps toward the car. That was when she lost it. Tears welled in her eyes and dripped down her face at the sight of the enthusiastic pooch jumping and barking outside the car window.
Through her tears she could see the farmhouse, surrounded by acreage, that she and Will were supposed to create a life in, raise their children in, and grow old in, things that would never happen now. She should’ve known she couldn’t outrun her past, that it would catch her and devour any good in her life. With a shuddering breath she exited the car. Chester bumped her hand for a head rub. She complied, then went to gather her things.
The house smelled of apples and pumpkins from the plugins she and Will had bought last week in Austin. More tears fell as she thought how those air fresheners would always remind her of Will. Stupid really, but he’d been so fascinated with the little things. That’s how Will was, always seeing the world through a veil of open curiosity.
She knew he thought he was boring, but nothing could be farther from the truth. He was steady, and there was a big difference between that and boring. And she would’ve happily lived with his steady presence for the rest of her life. If only her family hadn’t shown up tonight. But they’d made it clear they’d set their sights on having a senator and a DA under their control, and the means they would employ to make that happen would destroy the people she loved.
Leaving was the only solution.
She moved boxes around in the top of the closet until she felt the handle of her go-bag. As she withdrew it from the shelf, the box with her wedding shoes fell to the ground. The completely impractical, sparkly white things had been a gift from her mother-in-law to be. A fresh wave of misery crashed over her. Hardening her heart, she scooped the shoes back into the box and replaced them on the shelf, purposely ignoring her wedding dress hanging on the rack. If she gave that beautiful garment even one look she’d lose her resolve.
The sound of the go-bag’s zipper filled the room. She withdrew the contents to make sure everything she needed was there: passport, money, fake ids, a couple changes of clothing, toiletries, and a new cell phone. This was what her life was reduced to, these miserable items laid out on her bed. Items that offered a new life, but she didn’t want a new life, she wanted the one she’d created. The one she couldn’t have.
“Going somewhere?” Will’s deep voice filled the silent room.
She screamed and clutched her chest. “Will, you scared me.”
“Then we’re even. What are you doing, Paige?”
He never left the doorway. He just stood there with a hurt, confused, pissed-off look on his face.
She shoved things back into the bag. Her tongue wouldn’t work and she couldn’t form words. There were things that should be said, explanations to be given, but still no words would come.
This wasn’t a scenario she’d planned for.
Get out, get out, get out, reverberated through her head.
“I asked, what are you doing?” Will had never raised his voice to her before, but his hurt-filled shout rattled the window panes.
She shoved past him and headed for the front door. “What does it look like I’m doing, Will. I’m leaving.”
His footsteps on the stairs spurred her to run for the front door. What was she doing? This wasn’t how this should go down. Her running from him instead of sitting down and answering his questions. But years of conditioning kicked in and she had to get away.
She was out the front door and on the lawn before she knew it. Not wanting to be left out of all the fun, Chester barked like an idiot as she ran for the car.
Just as she pulled the keys from her pocket a warm hand reached around her and yanked them from her hand.
“You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.” His words scraped over her like sandpaper.
She held out her shaking hand. “Give me the keys, Will.”
“No. Not until you talk to me.”
Panic shoved a shrill, angry sound from her throat. “Give. Me. The keys.”
“Fuck that.” Then the DA of Blister County, the most levelheaded man she’d ever known, hauled off and threw the keys into the pond beside the house. “Now, you’re going to tell me what the hell is going on.”