Page 45 of A Simple Life

“What happened?”

“She supposedly lived with a friend. I only saw her place once—she liked to come here. She’d be here, then gone, come back, stay a bit, then off she’d go. I understood because I thought it was what she did. I didn’t particularly like it, but I knew what I was getting into. Or so I thought.”

I scrubbed my hand over my face. “Before I knew it, she was basically living here. Lots of her things were at the farmhouse. When she was around, we hung around Richton. She worked remotely, and I managed the farm. Things seemed great, and the truth was, I was falling hard for her.”

Quinn shifted a little, and I squeezed her leg. “I’m trying to be honest. Does it upset you?”

“No, I have a feeling where this is going, and I don’t like it.”

“Laura didn’t like her, which caused a few issues. Laura saw things I either didn’t see or refused to see. Things that didn’t make sense. A few times, her story didn’t line up. I noticed she had more than one phone. She insisted one was work and one was personal, and I accepted that. But she was lying about that and a whole lot more.”

“She was married?” Quinn guessed.

“Yep. And playing me well.” I had to get up and walk. I kissed Quinn’s hand and paced the room. “She had a husband and another life a few towns over. Wells was her base—her friend knew what she was doing and didn’t care. She lived two lives. I found out her goal with me was to get at my money, drain as much as she could, and disappear. Go back to her other life until she found another idiot. Rinse and repeat.”

“How awful.”

“She used people. Any way she could, the whole time acting like a good person and fooling everyone. She said all the right things. Acted the way she thought I wanted her to act.”

“Laura saw through her.”

“Yep.”

I sat down beside her. “I was stupidly thinking she was the one. I even started to think about marrying her one day.”

She grasped my hand. “Oh, John.” She worried her bottom lip. “How did you find out?”

“It was a fluke. I was helping Bob again. I went to Wells to pick up something for him. I was sitting in my truck, and I saw Moira with another man, getting into a car. She was supposed to be on a business trip, and instantly, I knew something was really wrong. I followed them to a house a few towns away, and I took down the address. I gave it to a friend I know who does some investigation work, and he found out a whole lot of information. She was married. There had been others like me. Findlay was her maiden name. She liked to pick her ‘boyfriends’ from her job.” I laughed without humor. “She had access to my personal profile. My banking. Anyone who was looking to be part of the auctions her company ran. She picked out the best prospects. Or at least, that was what she told me when I confronted her.”

“That must have been terrible.”

“I saw the real her. Luckily, it blew up before she took anything much from me. But it was ugly. She had a lot to say about me. None of it particularly flattering.”

“She broke your heart.”

“She shattered my trust.”

“Then you thought I was doing the same thing.”

I shook my head. “A huge mistake on my part. I know you’re different. You’re real. You didn’t contrive to meet me. You’re not after me for my bank account or to relieve the boredom of being married.”

“That’s what she said?” Quinn asked, horrified.

“Yeah, she liked to walk on the wild side and top up her bank account. Apparently, I was even more boring than her husband, but I was a decent fuck.” I shrugged at Quinn’s startled expression. “She’d thought I’d be rougher.”

Quinn’s eyes widened. “I see.”

I realized she was still confused, and I sighed. “When I was twenty-two, I won the lottery. Not a huge amount—just over a hundred thousand. But instead of spending it, I invested it. I had my finance guy take some risks that paid off, and we doubled it. Then I stashed it in various places—some high-risk, some not. I invested in real estate. I’m not rich, but I have a good solid nest egg. Cody’s education will be paid for. That was my gift to my sister.”

“You always put family first.”

I nodded in agreement.

“But she saw that large amount, plus the money from the houses, and thought she should have some of it. Most of it, if she had her way. Pretend to marry me and get access to the accounts. Drain them and walk.” I barked out another laugh. “She didn’t expect to be found out, and she had no idea how hard it would be to get at the money. She walked away with nothing but a few things I gave her and some cash I kept on hand. Her husband found out what she was doing, and he divorced her. Last I heard, she’d moved to Toronto. Changed careers since there aren’t a lot of farmers living in the big city. I feel sorry for whatever business she chooses and whoever she sinks her claws into next.”

“I’m sorry you went through that.”

“I think we both struck out with our exes.” I took her hands, kissing the inside of her wrist. “But that’s in the past, and we’re looking forward now, together. Right?”