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I was speechless, yet I had so many questions. “What?!”
She continued. “Do you remember Connor Hill?”
I nodded. Connor had broken Lizzie’s heart. It was hard not to remember who he was.
“I got pregnant in my second semester of sophomore year. That’s why I switched to night classes; the morning sickness was unbearable. A nurse recommended the tea and it worked for me.” She finally shifted her gaze from her hands to me.
“Losing that baby was one of the most painful moments in my life. I can still remember the cramping pains and knew something was wrong. After I lost the baby Connor and I drifted apart. I blamed myself and I thought he did too.”
I felt horrible I hadn’t been there for her. “I am so sorry, Liz. Nobody should have to face anything like that without family.”
I wrapped my arms around her and we sat in silence until our dinner arrived. We ate while watching a movie on Netflix. I kept glancing back and forth between the television and Lizzie. I wanted to make sure she was okay. I’d never seen her this vulnerable. I was glad she opened up but sad that she didn’t feel comfortable letting me in when everything happened. I started to wonder if she felt that I couldn’t handle it, so I had to ask. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She was puzzled. “Huh?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant or that you had a miscarriage? We told each other everything back then.”
She stopped eating. “I wasn’t sure how to. I was ashamed of possibly dropping out of college and ending up like my mom. Now I realize why I was so overprotective when you told me you were pregnant. I wanted to protect you from the feeling of despair I had. I went into panic mode and I just wanted to protect you from a broken heart.”
I could tell she was sincere. “Liz, you can’t protect me from life.”
“I know, but I wanted to try.”
We finished dinner, and the movie finally ended. I was in between naps on the loveseat when Lizzie stood up. “Well, I’m going to head out. Do you need anything before I go?”
“Yes,” I said. “How about you get over here and give me a hug.” She sat down and wrapped her arms around me. “So, we are really doing this?” I pulled away and looked her in the eyes, “Yes, we are really doing this. We are also buying a house!” I jumped up and grabbed my bag to show Lizzie the signed contract.
She screamed and we hugged each other while doing our happy dance. She left a few minutes later and I was relieved, our friendship was intact and I was buying a freaking house! I’d held off on telling Lizzie about the twins because I’d laid enough at her feet. I thought it best to leave that tidbit of information for later.
I took a shower and finally got in bed. I was relaxing with HGTV on in the background. I was thinking about what I was going to do with my new house. I had ideas for the kitchen and the master bedroom. I wanted to turn one room into a nursery and the other into a guest room. The twins wouldn’t need their own rooms until they were a bit older. I was deep in thought when my phone rang. It was Chris.
“Hi Sam, I hope I am not disturbing you.”
Actually, you are.“No, not at all. What’s up?”
“Can you delay any plans at the ranch on Monday? I won’t be there. Everything can continue on Tuesday as normal.”
I thought it was a strange request but everything about this job had been strange. “Okay, I’ll give the trades a call tomorrow to let them know.” I paused to see if he would elaborate.
“Thanks for picking up. I’ll chat with you more on Tuesday.”
Nope, no such luck. I was a bit disappointed. I would have liked to hear more details about the investigation. “Okay, see you then. Good night.”
I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes. Something was definitely going on. I had flashbacks of being in the interrogation room with Detectives Parker and Brown. I have not had any contact with them since that day. I started to imagine a police chase, kidnappings, and Chris getting hauled away in cuffs again. I was happy he gave me a heads-up this time. I was okay with getting updates from FOX4 about anything that transpired at the ranch.
* * *
CHAPTER 21
CHRISTOPHER
Iwas arguing with Victoria about the paternity test. She had been unfaithful and I just could not wrap my head around the deceit. I was halfway into a bottle of scotch and things were escalating fast. She was crying and I was yelling. I could sense something wasn’t right, she didn’t sound like herself. That’s when she screamed and I heard a loud crash.
I kept calling her name but there was no answer. I was buzzed but my instinct told me to go find her. I stumbled out to my Tesla and set the car in auto mode so I would not have to drive. I wasn’t too far from the ranch when I smelled the burning plastic in the air. I could see the smoke.
I pulled over and ran to the embankment. That’s when I saw a figure emerge from the wreck with Victoria. I was relieved; she was alive, or so I thought. As the figure cleared the smoke, I recognized Brandon. What was he doing here? I had so many questions. I didn’t see his car. Was he with Victoria? Why? He dropped her lifeless body and went back to the wreck. I was too preoccupied with trying to wake Victoria. When I realized she wasn’t breathing, I started CPR. I did not see when he came back. The last thing I remembered was him hitting me over the head hard with the music box.
The rest I filled in. He must have driven me back to the ranch in my Tesla and dropped my unconscious body in the art room. In the shuffle, he must have forgot to leave the music box at the crash scene or he just panicked and decided to get away from the scene before someone else drove by. That had to have been how it got from Victoria’s car into the art room. The night after I was briefed by Steve about Fred and Victoria my memories of the night Victoria died came flooding back.
