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“What new guy?” Fin asked.
“The new guy. Classy Clark of the Dior suits and handmade Italian loafers,” Jack added.
“I’ve been on three ten-hour shifts, so maybe I haven’t seen him yet.”
“Maybe. Anyway,” Jack continued, much to Joe’s distress, “Pip went round to Maggie’s last night and sat on her.”
“Pip sat on Bailey?” Fin asked Jack, who nodded. “My eyes just crossed at that vision.”
“Gross, that’s my cousin, Fin.”
“Not my cousin, though.” The park ranger had his eyes closed as if savoring the vision.
“The point here is that he, Classy Clark, was Bailey’s fiancé, according to Pip. But she broke it off, and he won’t accept her answer.”
Joe stopped walking, clutching the ball to his chest. He’d never once doubted the man was her fiancé, because... shit, because he’d got in so deep so quick with her, he’d panicked.
“Did Pip believe her?” Joe said.
Jack look confused. “Of course. Bailey would never lie to someone she cares about.”
“How could you know that, when you’ve only known her briefly?”
Jack shrugged, then winced as his side pulled. The gesture brought back just how close Joe had come to losing him. They better catch the culprit soon, or he was starting his own investigation.
“Bailey’s just one of them,” Jack said.
“One of what?”
“Someone you trust instinctively. She’s sweet, and innocent as a baby lamb, and wouldn’t hurt a fly. Hell, the other day I watched her spend twenty minutes fishing a moth out of a puddle it had fallen into. She then put it on a piece of wood to dry out. Didn’t have the heart to tell her it wouldn’t survive. She’s one of the good ones, Joe. You have to know that surely, especially considering this history between you?”
Joe walked away slowly, dribbling the ball. Did he know that? Was he so caught up in emotion that he’d forgotten that Bailey was one of the good ones? Had he misjudged her without even giving her a chance to explain, because he was scared?
“She told me he wasn’t her fiancé and I didn’t believe her.” He said the words to the wall he now faced. The men behind him heard.
“Why?” Luke’s voice reached him, so Joe made himself turn to face him.
“Because... ah hell, because she’s special, and always has been to me. The thought of her lying to me made me go little crazy and irrational.”
“What a dickhead.” Jack threw the ball at Joe, and winced. Buzz barked and charged at him.
“For an intelligent man, you keep behaving like an idiot. Jesus, Joe. Anyone can see that woman’s a good one,” Luke added, looking disgusted.
He looked at his brothers, who were shaking their heads. Dropping to his haunches, he gave Buzz a good scratch.
“You’re lucky he’s too dumb to understand, or he’d be giving you hell too,” Jack said. “That dog loves Bailey.”
“If I may interject, I know you said there’s shit between you and Bailey—how about you come clean and tell us about it now?” Fin said.
“It’s complicated.”
“Okay, there’s a story there, like I said, and now’s as good a time as any to tell it. Then we can work out a plan for you to grovel.”
Chapter 22
For two days Bailey felt as if someone had taken a club and battered her heart. It was bruised and empty. She’d known pain when she left Ryker all those years ago, but this was different, more intense. By day three, she was done hurting, and woke angry—a much better emotion. How dare Joe Trainer treat her like he had. He hadn’t given her a chance to explain about Clark. He’d simply wanted to believe her in the wrong.
They’d made love, and she’d never experienced such emotion, and to have that dashed in cold water immediately after had been shattering.
