Page 55 of Hard to Love

I steady my nerves; I have no clue what could be in these papers. Chet comes to a stop just behind the bike. I angle my body between him and Aksel; no way is he getting to this kid. Tucked under his arm is a manila envelope, thick enough that he holds it with his hand to keep from losing it.

“Hardison Casey Turner. Damn good day to see you. How are you?” He shoves his hand out in front of him, and I take it with a tight squeeze.

“Good. Glad you’re here. Let’s get this done.” Bending over, I grab a bag and toss it at his feet. Aksel hands me the second one, and I throw it over the same way.

Chet looks at his feet, then back at us before squatting and unzipping a bag. Grabbing a stack, he lifts it up to eye level to check it out. Glancing up at me, he grabs another stack as he stands. His thumb drags across the stack of bills. Sniffing it, he then tosses them at Aksel.

“Here you go, kid, go have some fun on me. Nice doing business with you, guys.” He hands over the envelope as Aksel begins to laugh. “What’s so funny?” Chet sneers at him. I have to chuckle.

“I made this last week, dude. Chump change for a fucking chump.” Aksel tosses it back at Chet, who stands there with his brow furrowed in confusion.

With all the chit-chat, we forgot about the cavalry arriving. Cal, One, Kipton, and the state police show up as if on cue. After all is said and done, I stand looking over the pond Thayer, and I spent so many days at. I send up a silent prayer that she comes back to me.

Soon after the scene with Chet is cleared up, we drive over to One’s office. Laying out the papers, we comb through them, looking for any information we feel Walker would think was important enough to keep from Thayer.

“Has anyone found anything?” Cal asks the group. Chord, Kipton, and myself look up from our stack of papers. Everyone shook their heads in unison, except One. He sits, staring at me as his outstretched hand holds a single piece of paper.

“What is it? Just tell me,” I plead with him, grasping my hands, trying to quiet my nerves.

“Read it,” he encourages me. I shake my head slightly.

“It’s Erica’s autopsy. I looked over it a few times, but on this pass, I actually read it. You need to read this, Hardy. This is what Walker is hiding.” Scanning the room, all I see is love.

“Son, this is your family. And Thayer may be mad as hell at you right now, but she loves you. Read the damn paper; she deserves the truth.” Pointing to the paper, Kipton chokes up on the last words.

Standing, I walk to One. I take the paper from his hand and wander to the window. As I read the autopsy, I see exactly why this is so important. And why I’ve been so wrong to not believe in us. Thayer’s always been right about me. I’m a better man than even I know. Her faith in me has paid off.

Now, the question is can I use this to hurt her? No matter how this goes down, we’re all affected by the information in this autopsy. Why Eric never shared this, I have no clue. He could’ve gotten so much more than just my car.

And Walker. He knew exactly what this information meant to all of us. Why hide this? What does he have to gain by hiding something like this from me, from Thayer? She’s the only person that’s going to get hurt with what’s in this report. The hurt that only lies can inflict. Lies that can and will destroy.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Thayer

Running errands all day, I drop into the nearest seat the minute I’m through the door. The wedding is tomorrow, and I still have so much to do. Lea, the girls, and I went for manicures and pedicures today. It was so lovely to just be with family.

Lea told me that One had finally coaxed Hardy back to work; she seemed pleased at the fact. She also eluded to something going on with Hardy earlier in the week. I hinted at details, but she was tight-lipped. It’s probably for the best. I don’t need to know anything more about him.

Our near kiss at the engagement party still haunts me, but damn, those dreams. What am I doing? I’m marrying Hardy. Damn. Walker, I’m marrying Walker tomorrow. Rolling my eyes, I grab a handful of bags as I traipse to my bedroom.

My house sits in boxes everywhere. I trip over one in the hall, almost taking out Bindi’s cage. Buying Bindi was a last-minute decision; I had to have him. He’s the sweetest Collie ever, although I don’t think Walker likes him.

Picking myself and my packages up off the floor, Bindi begins to bark. I set my stuff inside my bedroom door when I hear the knock at the door. Kicking my shoes off, I hurry back through the house. Peeping through the hole, I smile at the surprise on the other side of the door—my brothers.

“Hey, you two. Come on in.” Swinging the door wide, I hug each other as they step inside. “Have a seat, want a drink?” They decline as One tugs me by the hand to his side.

“You ready for your big day?” Chord asks as he sits on the other side of me on the couch. We all prop our feet up on the table, getting comfortable. “Mom would be so pissed if she saw this.” We giggle at the thought.

“So to what do I owe this honor?” I ask, twisting my head from side to side to look at both of them.

“I want to talk about Hardy. And I want you to listen, can you do that? Please?” I contemplate One’s request before nodding.

“We have some information we feel you should know. Now, you can choose to believe it, or you can go straight to the source.” Chord lays his hand on top of mine.

“But just know, Tay, we love you. We’re telling you this against Hardy’s wishes.” My brow furrows, asking an unspoken question.

“When Kipton searched for Hardy, he hired another guy to help with the search in Charleston. You met him at the party the other night, Chet Norwood?” One asks. "Chet found some information about Erica’s death and sold it to the highest bidders. Walker and Hardy. Walker paid him $150,000 for the information almost three weeks ago. Chet approached Hardy at the engagement party, and Chord overheard it. Hardy was making plans to take the sale from his house to pay the fucker in hopes it would reveal something, and he could win you back.