There go the tears again. This time from both of them.
“I think I’m going to take my sandwich to the barn and check on Liam.” Grabbing my plate, I leave them to have their moment together—tears, sugar, and all the rest of it.
When I get to the barn, I realize my brothers had the same idea as me.
Liam looks up first. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
“Sophia decided all she could stomach was Violet’s pancakes with fresh strawberries. So, here we are. They’re binging on sugar, crying, and commiserating while also celebrating going through pregnancy together? It was a safe move to come out here.”
Pops laughs deep and loud behind me. “Those cravings are killer, sons. Your mother had some weird ones that had me out at the store all hours of the night.”
Hunter asks, “Was the weirdest one pickles and ice-cream?”
Pops smiles at him. “I know you’re trying to be funny, but pickles and peanut butter had to have been the worst one. And that was with Emma.”
Hunter leans back in his chair. “Who would have ever fucking thought that Wyatt and Liam would become dads at the same time? Hell, who would have thought that Wyatt would ever settle down enough to be a dad?”
I look around at my brothers, smiling because nothing they say can get to me anymore. I know that I’m meant to be here at this time in my life with this woman. She was destined to be mine from the moment I laid eyes on her. However we got to this point, it doesn’t matter to me. As long as we got here.
Pops looks directly at me. “I did. Out of all of you, Wy was the one I always knew would have children. The rest of you always made me question. Don’t any of you remember his work with the youth football leagues?”
While my brothers all nurse their hurt feelings, Dad goes back to his newspaper with a smile on his face for setting them straight.
“Wyatt, I think that you need to come see this.” Pops taps the newspaper in front of him.
His face pales as he continues to read. Leaning over his shoulder, I take in the page of the newspaper he’s pointing to. Right there, in full-page color, are photos of Sophia around Balsam Cliffs interacting with a number of different people, including one of us kissing in my own driveway, uniform and all.
Sophia Black is not a woman you want in your town. She’s a murderer. After attempting to murder her fiancé and putting her father in prison, she escaped to your small town in Maine, bringing her path of destruction with her. The cops are covering for her, falling for her lies as she falls into their bed. Your police department is corrupt, aiding a fugitive and hiding evidence pertinent to cases out of Montana.
“What the actual fuck is this shit?” I shout.
Hunter and Cooper come running over, leaning over my shoulder as I did with Pops. I watch their faces, eyes widening and mouths dropping open as they read this article and look at the pictures.
Cooper speaks first. “Where the fuck did they get all these pictures? How close has he been this whole time without us ever seeing him?”
“You need to call Kane right now,” Hunter says.
I need to call Kane and Chief at the same time. But I settle for texting Kane and calling Chief.
Me:Kane, I need you to look at the newspaper then I need to figure out how the newspaper allowed that to be printed.
The phone rings and rings, but instead of an answer, I get Chief’s voicemail. “Chief. I’m coming to the office, I need you to meet me there now. Or I can come to you, wherever you are, if you call me back in time.”
Kane:On it right now. Where are you?
Me:I’m on my way to the station to find Chief. He isn’t answering.
Kane:He’s actually with me. We are on it. You stay with Sophia.
Me:Are you sure? I want to catch this fucker.
Kane:Very sure. Cameras caught him downtown. He’s been wearing shorts and tees, blending in withthe tourist crowd. Haven’t been able to find out where he’s staying though. That’s what Chief and I are working on now.
Me:Keep me updated please and send me anything as soon as you know.
I start to pace back and forth in the barn. “This fucker is in our town. I need to find him.”
“You don’t need to do anything,” Pops says. “You need to stay with your girl. I think it might be best if you guys get out of town for a bit.”
