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Cars bustled by on the street, and people were walking around, soaking up the rays, but we were pretty secluded in our little corner.
I watched as she let out a deep sigh. “Okay. I’ve been dying to talk to someone about this for days, but I wasn’t ready to get into it all.”
Nodding, I encouraged her to keep talking.
“Five years ago, when I was fresh out of high school and didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life yet, I got into an intense, whirlwind romance with Birch Clawson.”
My eyes widened, but I kept my mouth shut. If I interrupted her, the moment would pass and she wouldn’t tell me more.
“At the time, it was incredible, unique, and magical because he was practically obsessed with me. But as it continued, I started to worry that I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted out of life and felt I shouldn’t be in something so intense yet. I was young and wanted to have different experiences, and the intensity of the relationship became overwhelming. Not knowing what else to do, I broke things off with him, which hurt the both of us a lot.
“It was the hardest thing I ever did, but he was amazing about the whole thing. And even though I hurt him deeply, he still made sure I was taken care of.
“We kept the entire thing a secret from the town in the first place.” Margo eyed me with a cocked head. “You’ve seen what this town does with new couples, especially with the shifter community. Neither of us wanted that. He’d given me the space I’d asked for all those years until a few months ago when I started dating Phil. Then he changed. He got incredibly jealous and was constantly checking on me. It affected his friendship with Phil. They stopped getting along, which made it difficult for them to work together. It became a mess.”
Margo quieted down and took a breath, checking to see if I was paying attention. I was. I was very interested in her story.
“A little over two weeks ago, I found Phil cheating on me. I actually walked in on them.” She lowered her gaze as if she had something to be ashamed of. If the man wasn’t already dead, I’d have a few choice words with him. “I laid into him. I couldn’t believe it. I was so humiliated, and I ended it on the spot. The breakup was messy, nasty. He was cold, expected me to be forgiving of his mistakes. I couldn’t believe it, and I told him once a cheater, always a cheater. There was no trust anymore. I walked away.
“I wanted to keep the awful breakup a secret, especially from Clawson.” Margo stared down at her hands, twirling a piece of nonexistent thread between her fingers. “That’s why I’ve been avoiding him all the time. I’d never be able to not tell him what happened with Phil. He always knows when I’m upset or hurting. He’s a shifter with a bone when it comes to fixing things, especially for the people he cares about. After all this time, he still cares about me.”
Margo suddenly grabbed hold of my arm. “Promise me you won’t judge me for this next part, Tori.”
“I promise. I won’t judge you. Tell me what happened.” I gripped Margo’s hand. The worry that ate at her features had me struggling to stay calm. She was turning into my closest friend; I would never hold judgment against her. I hoped one day, she would return the sentiment.
Gazing at our hands, Margo whispered, “The night of the Full Moon Howl, halfway through the run, I caught Birch’s scent, and I needed him at that moment. I can’t explain it, only that it often occurred since we had been together, but I’d always fought it. I ran in one direction, away from the other wolves, and he followed. Shortly after that, Birch and I ran off alone and hooked up again.” Her eyes peeked at me. When I didn’t give her anything to be nervous about, she lifted her head and faced me. “I don’t know if it was because I needed a rebound or something, but I couldn’t seem to help myself, I wanted him so much. But he stopped it from going any further because he’s honorable. He yelled at me about being with somebody else, and I told him we’d broken up. I told him everything, Tori. How Phil had humiliated me and cheated on me. Every sordid detail.
“Clawson was livid at Phil. He paced and yelled some more, and then he stopped and kissed me hard. He was giving me what I needed.” She sighed. “He made me feel beautiful and wanted. After we hooked up, he said he’d have a word with his deputy. Since then, I’ve been avoiding him because I’m still a little freaked out by how intense everything with Clawson is. He makes me feel things I can’t explain, and I constantly want more from him, but it was too soon after I was hurting so much. Then now, with Phil gone and the way he died, I don’t know what I’m feeling anymore.”
I soaked up all the information Margo spewed out. The only thing I clung to was that Clawson may have been much angrier than he’d let on. I worried about Margo’s heart, but if Clawson had been obsessed with Margo for years…well, wasn’t that a motive? What wouldn’t a shifter do to protect a woman he cared for from a human?
Ridge and I had never questioned the sheriff’s alibi, yet he’d also arrived at the crime scene pretty quickly. He’d told Ridge that Phil had texted him to meet at the bar, but that could easily be a lie he’d concocted in case somebody happened upon him around the area. All this was too much of a coincidence for it not to be a solid line of questioning.
Not wanting to worry Margo, I kept my thoughts to myself. I would only confide in Ridge. Great, exactly what we needed in this fake relationship of ours—another complicated conversation. From what I’d witnessed, I’d say that Clawson was Ridge’s best friend. He wouldn’t like me asking around about his best friend, the sheriff. Would he even listen to what I had to tell him? It’d be like when people had suspected me. Ridge was loyal, and this would be hard for him to swallow. He had more reason to be dedicated to Clawson than to me.
For the first time in forever, I initiated a hug. I’d missed it. “Thank you for telling me. I’m glad you did. And you can always talk to me.”
Margo’s shoulders lowered, and she didn’t appear to be wound up as tight. It seemed she’d needed to get all that off her chest. Could it be that she was a lot like me and needed a good friend? Why wouldn’t she have confided in someone else about this?
I had been on the run and forced to shut myself off. She had lived in the same town all her life, surrounded by others, but hadn’t clicked with anyone. It took all kinds of situations to make friendships; I was slowly starting to learn that. In the end, all I could think was how happy I was to have found her when we needed each other.
“Okay, that’s enough of a stressful subject. Let’s lighten this up.” Margo clapped her hands a couple of times, shaking them as if flicking away the bad vibes. “Let’s finish shopping because, girlfriend, you need some clothes. You’re engaged to the mayor, for freak’s sake. You need to look the part. Like majorly.” Her bubbly laugh made its reappearance.
Just like that, the Margo I’d grown to know and love was back. She dragged me back to the boutique, chatting away about clothes, wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses—not so subtly hinting that yellow was not her color—ideas for venues, and, in her words, most important of all, the honeymoon.
Through all the laughter, I couldn’t help feeling sad, too. Margo was so excited about our wedding, I’d even got caught up in it for a bit—it was hard not to with her. She was easily the closest friend I’d ever had, despite the short time we’d known each other. The reality, though, was that our friendship was all fake, and sooner or later, it would end. I’d leave, and Blackwood Creek and all its people would move on without me. I only hoped I could go on without them.
The rest of the morning flew by. Even though I disappointed Margo with how little I bought and the practicality of those items, she let it slide. She even jokingly commented that she was now absolutely, positively sure I wasn’t a gold-digger. If I’d overheard anybody else saying those words, it would’ve pissed me off and probably made me lash out inappropriately, which would have meant more damage control for Ridge. But coming from Margo, I thought it was hilarious.
Carrying bags and chatting, we walked down the street to Margo’s car when I accidentally bumped into Elliot Elkins, who I’d waited on at the diner a couple of times.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Mr. Elkins. Please excuse me, I didn’t mean to bump into you,” I said.
The grumpy old town coot lived up to his name and narrowed his eyes at me. “Watch where you’re going.” He moved in closer and stared at me as he’d done repeatedly since he first met me. He nodded to himself and huffed out, “You look just like your father.” He sneered, turned around, and walked away.
My world imploded around me, my vision blackening with dread. My wolf started clawing to take control as she growled at me, wanting to take care of everything. I raged against her, against the stress of my tight lungs and heavy breathing.
Sweat slicked my body. Shifting was not an option; I was in public. Getting away was the only thing I needed to do. Run. I had to run.
