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She still has her beautiful daughter.
Troy would be better off with her than he would with me. I’m messed up. Olivia isn’t. I’m pulling my life back together again, piece by piece. She and I are in two different places.
And I’m trying to give Violet and Sophie a new life. As long as I’m doing that, there’s no room for Troy in my life—which is why I broke up with him.
I check the time on the computer. It’s getting late, and I have to pick up some food and other essential supplies on the way home. “I need to go. And just so we’ve got it straight, I will be paying you back every cent you paid for my therapy.”
“That’s not necessary, Jess.”
“Yes, it is,” I snap.
I turn off the computer, grab my purse, and hook Bailey’s leash onto her vest. “Oh, and Theresa Bell called. She couldn’t convince her father not to pull out of his sponsorship agreement.” I level a glare at Troy, reminding him that he too has been keeping another secret. Reminding him I know the price of his animosity toward Chief Wilson.
A price I have no intention of letting Violet and Sophie pay.
Troy stands there motionless, my last words clearly enough to put out his fire. I walk past him, not giving him a second glance.
And the hot tears from a few moments ago stream down my face as I walk out the door.
I remove my phone from my purse and text Simone, attempting to push everything that just happened with Troy from my mind. Right now, I need to focus on helping Violet and Sophie.
Simone responds as I approach my bike.
Simone: I’m free anytime Saturday
43
Troy
July, Present Day
Maple Ridge
* * *
Garrett and Lucas walk into Barside Brewery thirty minutes after I arrived. I’m still at the bar, talking to Kim’s little sister, Evie.
Evie tucks her dark, shoulder-length hair behind her ear, her purple streaks bright in the light shining above the bar. Her smoky makeup emphasizes her bedroom eyes that leave most guys drooling on the bar top. Including the man two chairs down from where I’m sitting.
She leans forward to take his order, flirting with him a little. Taylor, from the far end of the bar, rolls her eyes. She doesn’t complain about her girlfriend flirting with the men. It brings in the tips. And all the men in Maple Ridge know Evie is taken. It’s the strangers—like this man—who are clueless.
Garrett slaps me on the back. “You want to sit at the bar or play pool? Hey, Evie.” He nods at her.
She moves away from the man and pours her charm on Garrett and Lucas, the grin less flirty than the one she used on the other man. We’re like brothers to her. “You guys want your regulars?”
“Sure.”
“Yup.”
I chug what’s left of my beer and put the glass on the counter. “I’ll take another one too. Thanks.”
She nods at me with a smile.
“You gonna tell us what has you sitting in here on a Thursday night, drowning your sorrows with beer?” Garrett asks.
“I fucked things up with Jess, she dumped my sorry ass the other day, and we just had a fight.”
Both men wince, the expression more of an ouch, sorry to hear that than anything else.
