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“Have you talked to him?”
“Won’t take my calls.” He plowed a hand through his hair. “Why aren’t you with him?”
“You don’t think he did it,” I concluded, avoiding the question I’d been asking myself since I’d had a moment to process.
“I’ve known him for over twenty years. He’s my best friend. It’s hard for me to believe. But the truth is, it looks bad.”
“If he did, how do I protect this baby from him?” As soon as I asked the question, I wanted to take it back.
Patrick loved Gummy. Loved Blake. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t guilty. Didn’t the people who knew someone like this frequently say they had no idea? That the person who committed the crime was a nice guy?
Andrew cut his gaze over to me. “Are you really going to do that now?”
“I have to think about it.” I paused walking. “Don’t I?”
“Yeah.” He stood and joined me in pacing.
“I hated it when all of you assumed the worst of me.” I despised that I’d in essence done the same to Patrick. Couldn’t stand knowing he was alone with this hanging over his head. My situation had been petty compared to this and that had hurt deeply. What was he feeling?
“But you did it to him.”
I sank down on the sofa. “I asked him if he did it. Wanted him to tell me it wasn’t true.”
“Did he?”
“He didn’t deny it.” I stretched out until my head hit the arm and rested my hands on my stomach.
“The whole situation looks worse because of the soliciting sex thing.”
“I don’t even care about that.” As I said it, I realized it was true.
“That was totally out of character for him,” he agreed.
“So is this.” The words came out without thought. I sat up straight as Andrew halted.
“It is,” he said carefully. “But Marlow, we don’t know for sure one way or the other.”
“We just have to decide if it matters.”
“If he raped a girl, of course it matters.” Andrew looked at me like I’d lost it.
“That came out wrong.” I lay back down and ignored the pain in my lower back. “Either we’re with him or against him.”
“What do you want to do?”
My head rolled to the side. “Wave a magic wand and make all this crap disappear.”
“I had no idea you believed in fairy tales,” he said with a wry upturn of his lips.
“I don’t. If they were real, I’d still have my husband and Blake would have his father.”
“So why are you with Patrick if all you want is Jack?”
This time the guilt that swirled wasn’t for my late husband, but for the man who had brought me back to the land of the living.
Stood by me when no one else could. Had given me my family back and added to it.
“I think I made a huge mistake.” I shot to my feet.
