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“Well…I’ve got all weekend.” Now that my blood’s rushing to my head and all my veins are standing up, she sees I can go from Zen to t-rex real fast.
“When we divorced nine years ago, Quade moved back to California and left me the house…but it’s still in his name.”
“So he’s threatenin to pull the rug?”
“Something like that.”
“No!” I growl with disgust. “What would make him wanna do such a thing after so many years?”
“To tell you the truth, I really don’t know. He seems to be sensing an increased loss of control over me? I don’t know how or why, but he’s been saying things lately…to indicate he thinks I’m slipping away from him. Quade and I remained best friends over the past decade, and I’ve never seen him like this before.”
“Slippin away?” I have to cut in. “What right does your ex-husband have to exert any control over you whatsoever?”
“Well, he doesn’t. Apparently he’s been living under the delusion that we’re still essentially married. I guess maintaining such a close friendship has been a huge mistake. There’s no way I could have predicted it would come to this.”
“Come to what exactly, if you don’t mind my askin?” I’m askin regardless of whether she minds, but I figure she’ll only give me more information if I’m diplomatic about it.
“Well, I don’t know exactly. That’s the thing. Several nights ago he threatened to take everything away from me. And he freaked me out a little bit.”
“What did he do to you Fiona? You can tell me anything,” I try to implore calmly, though she can probably sense I’m about to run to Iowa to sucker punch this guy.
“He just…I think he might be spying on me. Maybe has my phone or my house tapped somehow. It’s just paranoia I’m sure, but I moved into my other friend’s condo right before leaving for Florida. Holly’s offered to put me up until I feel confident about living at home again.”
“My God woman…you can’t even sleep in your own home because of this guy? That ain’t cool.”
Fiona looks away, like she doesn’t wanna deal with my directness. I think I read a little embarrassment, but there’s definitely somethin she’s not disclosing to me. I can see it in her flighty eyes.
“Do you really mean to tell me that your own ex-husband, and pretend friend, would tap your phone or your house?”
“Oh…I’m sure not. I’m known for my hysterics. It’s just a thought I had that’s been freaking me out and I need to stop considering it.”
“Well I don’t know darlin. I put a lot of stock in intuition, especially a woman’s intuition.” I also can’t imagine that a ten-year-old ex would tap her phone, but I don’t wanna see her shut herself down if she’s onto somethin real… especially considering the potential severity of the situation. “Quade. I don’t like it. He has the name of a wounded ego,” I practically bark.
“That’s him exactly,” Fiona affirms, shaking her head in dismay. “He’s a weak, little man who never made a good husband for me. But he used to be kind. I’ve consulted him over business details every step of the way and he’s been indispensable. He’s a big pushover who’s never gotten his hands dirty in his life. I found him insufferably insecure as my husband.”
Now I can see how her expression contorts into the stress lines on her forehead. I know exactly where they came from.
“It was all wrong from the start but my family adored him and I thought they’d disown me if I turned him down. He’s such a weasel…he actually got on his knees and proposed at a family event. I said yes but wanted to privately redact it later, but then he was sharing his wedding and honeymoon ideas with me a mile a minute. He was excited like a schoolgirl.”
“You were manipulated.” I’ve said my piece, and I know I need to back off. There’s a time and a place to deal with somethin like this, and now ain’t it.
“Oh I definitely was. But I still could have bailed out and wasn’t brave enough to do it.” She looks down quietly, and I have a sense that there’s a lot more to say. This woman isn’t easily manipulated. “My parents let me know, in no uncertain terms, that my inheritance would go elsewhere if I ‘made any mistakes’ with Quade. He was like the son they’d always wanted and never had. My mother had two miscarriages trying for another child before doctors discovered she had endometriosis and recommended her hysterectomy. They were torn up over never being able to bear a son.” Fiona holds her head high as she tells me this, always maintaining her dignified stance.
She needs comforting right now, but I’m anxious to get back to the details of her dangerous, current situation. “They were fools to imagine they could ever need more than you,” I tell her, as I pull her close again.
Fiona feels like a doll in my arms, so precious and vulnerable. How life can try to beat down such a perfect creature is hard for me to fathom.
Slowly she lifts her head, eyes glazed with tears, and leans her face toward mine. I sit like a statue, waitin stoically for the kiss I’ve been dreamin of, but she stops just short and gazes at me…breathin with me nose to nose. Her breath becomes heavier as the tension mounts into almost a desperation.
“Bo, am I moving too fast?” she asks breathlessly.
“Well you’ve only been hauntin my dreams for thirty some odd years. You tell me.” And with that, she gives me the kiss of life.
Chapter 13
Fiona
There are no words to describe this man, or what he makes me feel, or why. All night I’ve been on my guard for hasty and reckless behavior. Did I drink too much? Am I rebounding from Quade-induced PTSD? Yes, and yes. But…what I’m feeling is real, and my current mental and emotional state has nothing to do with it. Some part of me fell in love the first time I ever heard Bo’s voice. The falsehood has been my relentlessly attempting to squelch and deny what I was feeling all along.
