I had to shut down that train of thought, or I'd get stuck on the knowledge that Tyler had dared to hit her, and I'd go back and kill him, my better impulses be damned.
Parker set the empty glass of whiskey on the counter with a decisive click, interrupting my thoughts.
"I love your mother, and I'm going to hate breaking her heart, but this is over. I'm going to file for divorce as soon as I find a lawyer."
I kept my face impassive–a feat of will considering the pure joy exploding through my heart–and reached for my wallet. Pulling out a card, I handed it to Parker. "Angelica Walton. She's based in Manhattan. She's the best, a fucking shark, and she's waiting for your call."
Parker took the card, turning it over in her hands. "How long have you been holding on to this?"
"Two and a half years," I said, braced for her to be furious at my presumption.
"That's a long time to hold on to a business card," she said musingly, before tucking it into her pocket.
"I know you." Considering the amount of time we'd spend together, I shouldn't know her at all. But I did. Parker didn't argue with that claim. Nor did she argue when I finished, "I know you and I know Tyler. I knew it would come to this, eventually."
Looking at her red cheek and bruised eyes, I amended, "I never thought he'd hit you, Parker. I never would have left you with him if I thought he'd hurt you."
"I know," Parker whispered. "I never thought he'd hit me either until he did. And I never thought he'd do it again until he did that, too."
"This is what we're going to do," I said. "You're going to get your things and we're going to get in your rental car. You're going to call Angelica while I give you a ride into the city and make sure you can get home before you run out the clock on that will of your father's."
Parker's eyes flashed to mine. Was she surprised I knew about her father's will and the reason she'd moved to North Carolina? She shouldn't have been. Even if I hadn't had a personal interest in her, Parker was family, as close to my mother as a daughter. For that alone, I would have kept an eye on her.
I finished, "Once you figure the rest of this out, you and I are going to have a talk. Later. Not tonight."
Parker did exactly as I suggested, picking up her purse and keys from the table by the door and leading me out to the car. She didn't resist when I plucked the keys from her hand and slid into the driver's seat. The only time she argued was when I told her to call Angelica.
"I've never met the woman, Nash. I'm not calling her at this hour on a Friday night!"
Parker had a point. She had no way of knowing that Angelica was a friend, one of the few who knew about my feelings for my sister-in-law. I hadn't been lying when I said Angelica was waiting for Parker's call. Angie would be thrilled to handle Parker's divorce.
I placed the call and Angie promised to meet Parker first thing the next morning. Satisfied, I escorted Parker to the hotel I'd arranged and checked myself into a room on another floor. There was only so much temptation I could handle. If Parker was filing for divorce, I wasn't going to muddy the waters by inviting myself into her bed. Not now. Not yet.
The next morning, I took Parker straight to Angelica's office where she and Angie shared breakfast and planned her exit from Tyler. Satisfied Parker's marriage was finally moving in the right direction–straight off a cliff–I put Parker on a plane to North Carolina, sure her family would keep her safe from Tyler.
For the first time in almost six years, I knew what it was to hope.
Parker had taken her first step to freedom. Her first step toward me.
ChapterFour
PARKER
What I was about to do felt wrong, on so many levels, but I didn't see another choice. Before I could talk myself out of it, I picked up the phone.
Nash answered in two rings. "Parker, is everything all right?"
"Yes," I said automatically. "No," I amended, more honestly. "I'm all right," I reassured him. I couldn't forget the stark pain in his eyes when he'd looked at my face after Tyler hit me that last time.
I knew Nash felt responsible, though that was absurd. Tyler was responsible, and so was I, for staying with him as long as I had.
I still couldn't explain why. Why had I stayed? Angie kept telling me I needed to see a therapist, but I wasn't ready for that. I was ready to be divorced and my husband was being a royal pain in the rear end about it, as he was about most things.
"Parker?" Nash prompted.
"Sorry, I was just gathering my thoughts. Thank you, by the way, for referring me to Angie. She's amazing."
"I know," Nash agreed. "I was college roommates with her wife's brother, so I've known her for years. I knew you'd like her, and she's the best divorce attorney I know." His tone shifted. "What can I do for you, Parker?" A simple question, but in those words, I felt the weight of everything that was Nash. The fact was, nothing was simple with Nash, and it never had been.
