Page 39 of Keeping Denver

"I'm not playing at shit. You have some fucking nerve asking me that. What I'm doing is helping a friend. Not only am I helping Denver, but I'm doing this for you, jackass."

"How is having my woman work for you helping me?"

"Denver doesn't want anything to do with you. Her exact words were, I want to move on. Having Denver working for me keeps her close while your ass figures out how you're going to win her back. If you can." Spencer laughs, and it rubs me the wrong way. The truth fucking stings. Drawing in a calming breath, I listen as he continues. "You have a hell of a lot of groveling to do, Callan."

Sighing, I run my hand through my hair. "Fuck, Spencer. I'll do whatever it takes. I'll fight every day until she's back home where she belongs."

Spencer claps me on the back, and nods. "I have faith you will, man. Denver loves you. She said so herself. You just better pray it's enough." Having eaten the well-deserved ass-chewing Spencer just dished out, and knowing Denver is no longer in jail, I slump into the stool at the counter and run my hand down my face.

"Now, with that out of the way, I came over to let you know Kelly was picked up by the police and charged with making a false claim."

At Spencer's statement, my head snaps up. "What?"

"Yep. It turns out her and Joslyn were cohorts. They devised a plan to get Denver out of the picture."

"Son of a bitch." I stand and start pacing.

"How did you figure out it was them?"

"I didn't. Frances did." Spencer folds his arms across his chest.

"Frances?"

"Yeah, man. You remember last week when Frances left work early for an appointment?" I think for a moment, then nod. "Well, she said she forgot to grab that file you needed. Frances said Kelly was all too eager to drop the file off for her." As Spencer continues to talk all the puzzle pieces begin to fall into place. "She said Kelly asked to use the restroom while she was there. This part is Frances's theory. She believes it gave Kelly ample opportunity to swipe the necklace. So, armed with what information I had, I made a pit stop at Kelly's apartment before coming here." Spencer swaggers across the room. "And me being the badass motherfucking lawyer I am, Kelly caved in less than five minutes. She confessed everything; threw Joslyn under the bus by saying it was all her idea."

I give Spencer a pointed look. "But it was Kelly who took the necklace from Frances's house and planted the jewelry along with her wallet in Denver's purse."

"Women, man," Spencer shrugs. "It's all she said from this point on."

He's right. No matter how much Joslyn deserves some kind of repercussion, the law won't do anything about it. But, I don't need the law to serve justice. I have connections, and people like to talk. By the time word gets around, and they find out what she did, Joslyn's modeling career will be over. So will her chances at landing a prospective husband and climbing the social ladder.

Once I realize Spencer is through putting me through the wringer, I try calling Denver's cell. It rings two times before going to voicemail. Fuck.

Not giving up, I call Frances' house, and prepare myself for another ass chewing. I expect Frances to answer, but instead, I get Richard. "Well, son. You screwed the pooch on this one."

I sigh. "Yeah. But I refuse to give up. I'm going to take a guess and say Frances is pissed at me too?"

"You guessed, right. To tell you the truth, so am I."

"I know. I've let a lot of people down. The only thing I can do now is to fix what I have broken. How's she doing, Richard?"

"She's hanging in there. That woman has been through more than she deserves. Denver is a strong woman, Callan. She'll get through this." His words do nothing to lessen the ache in my chest.

"I appreciate you all letting her stay there."

"Not doing it for you. We're doing it for her." Richard clears his throat. "I haven't known her long, but I know enough to realize she's something special."

"She's everything and more," I confess, more to myself than him.

"If that's genuinely how you feel, son, then you have to let the past go. Your father was a shitty man. He not only abandoned your mother, but he left you too. You think you've moved on from what happened when you were a boy, Callan, but you haven't." A heavy sigh comes through the phone. "I've noticed how you hold people at arm's length. Besides me, Frances, and Spencer, you don't allow people to get close enough to let them in. Until Denver came along. Even then, you fought it. I knew the day you brought her to dinner, she was the one for you—the woman who was finally able to break through those steel walls of yours. Your mistake was letting your insecurities and fears overrule your heart. You went into your relationship with Denver with an expiration date hanging over your head." Richard falls quiet for a moment, and I know he's thinking. "She fell head over heels for you, and from my observations, gave all of herself to you, and you held back."

This time when he becomes silent, he does so giving me time to think, and let his words sink in. They do. His truth hits home. I didn't give Denver everything I had. I held back.

"I hit the nail on the head, didn't I?" Richard breaks the silence.

I swallow past the huge lump of guilt and remorse stuck in my throat. "Yes," my voice sounding gruff.

"That woman has been through hell and back her entire life. She has not had one person in her whole time on this earth that she could put her trust in and count on other than herself. She has lived her life not having anyone to lean on, to stand up for her, or to love her. Yet she was still able to give all of herself to you and love you. Denver trusted you with something she has never given to another person…" I know what he is about to say. "Her heart." It cuts like a knife, straight into my soul. "What did you do with the gift she gave you?"