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“The hell you say. You are not letting that man get away with this. He not only cheated on you, but he also terrorized you. I hate to think of what he’s done to the kids when you or Krystal weren’t around.”
“At the advice of my attorneys, I got the kids into counseling. I’m starting it too.” My voice is quiet because I hate to admit that he’s right.
“Munchie, I love you, and I know you had no choice. How about we come up and see you?”
“You can’t until after the baby is born.”
“Okay. I need to get going and so do you.”
“I love you.”
“Love you, Munchie. You’ll find a man who deserves you. I know it.” He hangs up before I can tell him I’m never going to let another man into my heart again.
* * *
Forty-five minutes later I’m walking into the employee break room in search of Sydney. She’s standing at the counter pouring herself a cup of coffee, a look of frustration covers her face.
“What crawled up your keister today?” I chuckle as I lean against the counter. She slams the pot down and turns to face me. I watch as she eyes my arms crossed over my chest, the tattoos on my hands exposed.
“Your husband ruined my night,” she growls, and I can’t help but smirk at her. I have a feeling she had something special planned for Tucker. She and I need to get together for a wine night because I need details. I’m in desperate need of a fantasy.
“I heard. My attorneys are getting paperwork together today.” I update her on the steps my legal team is taking. I can’t help the sigh that comes out of my mouth. It’s awful that my life is bleeding over into hers all because she’s my best friend and helped me.
“I never expected him to be like this,” she says as she too leans against the counter. She only saw Colton when he was on his best behavior. She doesn’t know that he didn’t really like her because she is from my past. She doesn’t know the things he’d say to me about her.
“He’s changed so much in the last couple of years.” I only give her partial details, like how aggressive and demanding he’s been since working for Kant Holding, and how absent he's been in not only our marriage but as a parent. I hold back the worst of it. Her mom knows the rest, but that’s because she’s helping with my attorneys.
“Why didn’t you move?” That’s the million-dollar question everyone asks me. I’m so glad we didn’t now.
“I didn’t want to give up my job.” That’s the honest truth. I love working here. Plus, Colton working in Dallas wasn’t supposed to be permanent. It went from him having to travel every couple of weeks to him being gone weeks at a time, then months. “I should have known he was cheating on me.” It was so obvious. The warning signs were there to see, yet I ignored them all.
“You couldn’t know.”
“But the crazy thing is I did know. He didn’t want to have sex with me anymore.” That’s a huge flag in itself.
“Hello, ladies.” We jump, startled by a deep voice coming from the entrance to the break room. We both turn to face the newcomer. “Sorry to interrupt. I’m looking for Doctor Rorke.” His voice is whiskey soaked and makes me want to shift my legs. Goose pimples erupt across my body. He’s big and tall, and his chest is wide. His thick arms strain the seams of his state police uniform. It’s true what they say about men in uniform. I’ll stick with that to the grave, just saying. I can only make out that his eyes are light colored under his broad-brimmed campaign hat. Dark sunglasses hang from the front of his uniform pocket.
Yummy. Here’s a fantasy for later.
“That’s me.” My voice cracks slightly.
I watch, mesmerized, as he takes his hat off and holds it in his hand. His dark hair is cropped close to his head and thinning. It doesn’t deter from his sexiness but actually accentuates it. My fingers tingle as I think about sliding them along his head, feeling the short strands tickling my hands.
“I’m Sergeant Whitlock. I was told to seek you out. I have a brown bear cub in the back of my truck.”
“What?” Sydney and I exclaim, and his chest rumbles with a chuckle.
Brown bears aren’t native to Tennessee. For one to be here could be an ecological disaster.
“I don’t stutter, ladies. By the way, not meaning to eavesdrop, but you were talking fairly loudly.” His eyes peruse my body from head to toe. “Any man who turns you down isn’t a real man.” He turns around and walks out.
I turn to Sydney, whose jaw is dropped and eyebrows are raised. I’m sure I have a similar expression on my face. “Um, did he just say that to me?”
“Yes, he did.” She recovers and smiles big.
Before I rush out after the officer, I break down the Zimbabwe Elephant Rescue’s visit today. They want to meet with her, then follow her and her team around. They are especially interested in our rhino exhibit, something that is extremely close to Sydney’s heart.
“Are you coming or not?” Sergeant Whitlock returns.
