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The silence on the phone was deafening. “Hope, is everything all right? You sound funny.”
“Everything is fine, Dad. I’m just asking.”
“Of course, they can stay anytime, you know that.”
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”
“No need. Go and enjoy yourself.”
We said our goodbyes, and I hung up the phone. I looked around the room and then down to the ring on my hand. It felt like yesterday that I was in this same position. I’d already lost him three times, and now here I was again. We’d been having troubles; every marriage does, but I never thought in a million years he would give up so easily and run back to her. I took a deep breath and tried my best to calm down.They were only messages.
I sat up and dialed his number. I wanted to hear his voice, but it went straight to his voicemail. I thought about leaving him a message but knew he probably wouldn’t get it until his plane landed, and I didn’t want to do that to him. I got up, shut the TV off, and grabbed my purse, keys, and shoes. Within minutes I was in my car on my way to Autumn and Hunter’s. I decided that I would spend the night there and, come morning, I would try to book a flight to go and reclaim what was mine.
Chapter Five
Autumn
Ihad just finished puttingKaylee to bed and had finally sat down with a hot cup of tea. I let out a deep breath. I was tired and was looking forward to Hunter returning from his business trip. I glanced at the clock—almost ten. I switched the fireplace on and turned the TV on low to watch my favorite show,The Affair. I needed something to keep me awake until Hunter called. I needed to hear his voice.
A light knock on the door startled me. We lived in a secure building, and no one had called up. Hunter didn’t like me to answer the door this late when I was home alone, but I still felt like I should see who it was; it could have been Sylvia, a little elderly lady down the hall. Getting up from the couch, I peeked out the peephole; Hope was standing there. I unlocked the chain and deadbolt and pulled the door open.
“Autumn, I’m sorry. I know it’s late, but I didn’t want to be alone, and I had nowhere to go.” The tears streamed down her face.
“What happened? Come in. Are you all right? Where is Carter?” I was a little worried. They were supposed to be celebrating their anniversary this weekend.
“Carter had to leave for the airport tonight; he was called away on business. He took me home before he left.”
“Oh, hun, come on in. He must have been so upset to have to leave you tonight.”
Suddenly she burst into tears. “I think Carter is seeing another woman.” As soon as the words had left her mouth, she flew into my arms, her body shaking. I held her, stroking her hair as she cried on my shoulder.
“Hope, honey, I’m sure it’s nothing like that. Come in, love, and sit down. I’ll get you some tea.” I took her coat from her and hung it along with her purse just inside the door. “Now tell me, what’s happened?”
“I don’t know. Tonight, when my dad came to pick up the girls, he told me about Trent, my ex—he’s gone to prison. Carter normally talks to me about work and he never mentioned anything about that case. I mean, sure, Hunter is the one who is working on it.”
“Well, maybe he didn’t tell you because he didn’t want to upset you.”
“Trent is old news, and it’s not the fact that he didn’t tell me about it; he’s just been so distant. But it was what I saw while I was in his office reading the article on the internet that’s really upset me.”
“What did you see?” I asked as I filled the kettle with fresh water.
“Well, Carter received a text message, and I accidentally looked and saw that it was from his ex-girlfriend Felice. She told him she can’t wait to see him next week.”
“Hope, just because she messaged him, doesn’t mean he is cheating on you.”
Hope let out a heavy sigh. “No, I agree, but he’s been so secretive. We’ve been fighting a lot, and he never mentioned Felice at all. If you knew her, you would understand, and from the looks of things, she’s been messaging him for a while. He has been very withdrawn... I’m just worried that my marriage is over,” she said, sobbing into her hands.
“Give me a minute, I’m just going to check on Kaylee. I’ll be right back.” I turned the kettle on, handed her the box of Kleenex, and went down the hall to Hunter’s office.
I picked up Hunter’s private line and quickly dialed his number. “Hello, beautiful, I was just about to call you. I can’t wait to get home to you tomorrow. I get as hard as a rock just thinking about it.”
“I can’t wait to see you too.” I smiled. “Listen, Hope is here. She is rather upset.”
“What do you mean? It’s their anniversary; they’re supposed to be away together.”
“I know. She showed up about ten minutes ago, in tears. She says she’s worried their marriage is over.”
“What?” I could hear the tension in his voice, and I knew when he was tense, he knew something.
