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She nodded but still looked doubtful.
They finished cleaning the kitchen in silence. There had been a lot of nights Natalie had eaten dinner over here when they were in high school. Her mom waitressed in town back then and wasn’t around very often. Ruth would cook while Liam and Natalie took cleanup duty. Being here with her now brought him back to a time long past. A time his heart didn’t want to forget but his brain wouldn’t let him revisit.
His cell phone beeped in his pocket. “I’ve got some stuff to do to get settled in today.”
“Before bingo?” Natalie asked, flashing him the first smile he’d seen from her.
He’d missed that smile but forced himself not to show it. “Before bingo,” he agreed. “Are you okay if I head out?”
“This is my job, Liam. One of them, anyway. We’re fine.”
She didn’t need to add “without you.” He knew she’d never needed him in the same way he did her.
He nodded and turned, but stopped at the sliding door that led from the kitchen to the back of the house. “In case you were wondering, I haven’t dated gobs of supermodels.”
Her gaze crashed into his and he hoped it was relief he read in their dark depths. “It’s none of my business who you date.” Her words were sharp but her voice breathless.
He could see her chest rise and fall as she busied herself wiping invisible spots from the counter. It gave him the confidence to say exactly what was on his mind.
“And, Natalie?”
She looked at him again.
“No one ever compared to you. Not even close.”
He watched her jaw drop as he let himself out the back door and walked away.
Chapter Two (#ulink_6ce996d4-3d6c-5a2b-8d81-46d1d4e50ffa)
“That’s how he left it?”
“He’s just cruel.”
“But so dang hot.”
“Why didn’t you tell us your old boyfriend was hot?”
“And rich.”
Natalie looked at her group of friends and licked a bit of salt from the rim of her margarita. Austin was sleeping over at a friend’s house so she’d called Olivia Travers after Liam and Ruth had left for bingo and asked her friend to meet her for a drink at her favorite Mexican restaurant. She’d explained a little about the situation without giving too many details or revealing her conflicted emotions about Liam.
When she’d arrived, it was to find not only Olivia waiting, but also Olivia’s sister, Millie, and their friend Katie Garrity, who owned the local bakery.
Heat crept into her cheeks. “I didn’t realize this was going to be an inquisition.”
Olivia looked a little guilty. “You sounded bad on the phone.”
Millie held out her cell for the table to see. “I’m sure Liam Donovan could make you feel much better.”
Katie took the phone and let out a low whistle. “He was cute in high school, but time has definitely been Liam’s friend.”
Like Natalie, Katie had been born and raised in Crimson. Olivia’s husband, Logan—also a Crimson native—had come back to town, and Millie was married to Logan’s oldest brother, Jake. The middle brother, Josh, also lived in Crimson, and his wife, Sara, who was currently away shooting a movie, rounded out Natalie’s group of girlfriends. She’d never had close friends when she was younger and as much as she enjoyed it now, opening up to people about her private life was still difficult.
“I don’t need any help from Liam.” She took a drink of the sweet margarita. “He accused me of stealing from his Ruth.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Katie said. “You work harder than anyone in town. How many jobs are you balancing right now?”
“Four if you count the jewelry business.”
“It counts,” Olivia answered. “Your earrings and bracelets sell better than any others in the community center gift shop.”
“When are you going to branch out into other stores?” Millie asked.
“When I figure out how to function on two hours of sleep each night,” Natalie answered. She loved making the jewelry she fashioned out of beads, metal and precious stones. The work both relaxed and invigorated her. The plan had always been to save enough from her nursing jobs to invest in her business so that she could expand. One more thing in her life her ex-husband had ruined.
“The point is,” Katie continued, “you live simply, you work hard. I’m assuming it’s to save money for Austin’s college fund.”
“Because it isn’t your addiction to fashion,” Millie interjected.
Olivia nudged her sister.
“Sorry,” Millie mumbled. “Was that rude?”
“It’s fine,” Natalie said with a wry smile.
“Katie’s right.” Olivia dipped a chip into the salsa. “You’re just not a big spender. Anyone who knows you would never think you’d take advantage of someone in your care.”
Natalie folded and refolded her napkin. The truth was she hadn’t taken Ruth’s money, but she had a pretty good idea what had happened to it. She knew she needed to ask Ruth outright but was afraid of knowing the truth.
She took a deep breath and blurted, “I think Ruth might have used the money to pay off my ex-husband.”
All three women stared at her. Their waitress approached the table, but Olivia shooed her away again.
“Why would Ruth need to pay off Brad Holt?” Katie asked after a moment.
“She doesn’t.” Natalie sighed. “She shouldn’t. But I told her that he was kind of...sort of...blackmailing me, and I’m afraid she took matters into her own hands.”
“Blackmailing you?” Olivia asked.
“Kind of, sort of?” Millie added.
“It’s a long story.”
Millie waved to the waitress. “Another round for all of us,” she called. “A big plate of nachos and an order of chicken quesadillas.” Luckily, the place was crowded and loud so Millie didn’t draw much attention. Not that she cared. When the waitress nodded from across the restaurant, Millie gestured to Natalie. “We’ve got time. Go on.”
“This is difficult to talk about.”
Millie tapped on her own drink. “Try another sip of liquid courage.”
Katie shook her head. “I don’t understand why you would share something like that with one of your patients and not your friends.”
Guilt flared in Natalie as she saw the hurt in her friend’s gaze. “I’m sorry. I spent a lot of time with Ruth over the past several months. She needed help with some of the most basic functions. It was embarrassing for her and seemed to help when I shared details about myself. I’m normally pretty private, so it became somewhat cathartic for me. I didn’t think she’d act on what I told her.”
Olivia reached out a hand to pat Natalie’s arm. “Tell us how it started.”
“Brad and I were only married a year when he got a job doing regional sales for a company based out of Grand Junction. We’d scrimped and saved to buy a house, and I’d stopped working when Austin was born.” She traced her finger along the cool condensation gathered on the side of her glass. “I was worried about money, and Brad assured me things were good. Honestly, I should have paid closer attention, but Austin was colicky. I was on my own so much. I just wanted to believe him.”
Olivia nodded. “I know how that goes.” Natalie remembered that Olivia’s ex-husband had cheated on her before leaving her for his mistress.
“We’ve all made bad choices in men,” Millie echoed.
Natalie glanced at Katie, who gave a slight smile. “Or no choices in men because we’re too scared of making a mistake. It’s no better, Nat. Trust me.”
“I’m not sure you’ll think that once you’ve heard the whole story.” She sipped her margarita, surprised to find there was nothing but ice left in the glass. The waitress slipped another one in front of her. “You’re driving me home, right?” she asked Katie.
“Always,” her friend answered.
Suddenly, Natalie wanted to share her embarrassing past with her friends, hoping it would help her feel not so alone. “Things were okay with us for almost a year, or so I thought. Brad traveled a lot, which made it tough for us to reconnect when he was back. I figured things would even out once Austin was a little older. I was picking up a package at the post office one day and Myrna, the old postmistress, asked me if I wanted the mail from Brad’s PO box, as well. She said he hadn’t collected it in months and it was taking up too much space.”
She stirred the straw around in her drink. “She gave me a whole box of stuff, mainly delinquent notices and demands for payment. I can still see the pity in her eyes as she registered my shock. She must have thought I was the most gullible fool on the planet.”
“I doubt that,” Olivia said, her tone reassuring.
“I was pretty darn close. I took the box home, put Austin down for a nap and opened every envelope. We were months behind on the house and car payments, utilities, credit card bills, the works. At first I thought it must have been a mistake.” She thumped the palm of her hand against her forehead. “Still such an idiot. We’d gotten a late notice call here or there, but Brad always explained it away. That box opened the floodgates. He’d been using his cell phone as a contact number, but I discovered things were worse than I could have imagined.”
“And was he able to explain it away?” Millie asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Actually, I think he was relieved to finally be caught,” Natalie admitted. “As soon as I knew, all the debts became my responsibility. He was off the hook once more.”
“Was it drugs?” Katie asked.
“Not really.” Natalie shook her head. “Maybe some dabbling but nothing hard-core. I lost count of his vices. Gambling was his main addiction. Most of the work he did was in Arizona and Nevada. He got sucked into the Vegas culture and couldn’t find a way out.”
Millie narrowed her eyes. “Tell me you aren’t making excuses for him.”
“Not at all. He cost us everything. My car was repossessed, the house was almost foreclosed on and our credit destroyed. It’s only in the past couple of years that I’ve felt comfortable answering the phone to an unknown number. I had creditors hounding me for so long.”
“Why you? It was Brad’s gambling.”
“Everything was in both our names. I could either pay off the debts or file for bankruptcy.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Katie got up and came around the table to wrap her arms around Natalie’s shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell anyone? We could have helped.”
“I was too embarrassed. It feels silly to say that now, but it’s the truth.”
“So that’s when you left him?” Olivia asked.
Natalie nodded. “I gave him an ultimatum. Go to rehab for his addiction or I was leaving. He told me he’d change but was unwilling to get professional help. I filed for divorce within a month of discovering what he’d done.”
Katie sat down again. “I don’t understand why you think Ruth would pay him off now. You’ve been divorced for almost eight years.”
“At the time, I wanted him out of our lives until he could get control of things again. I was angry, hurt and scared. Jason Crenshaw was my attorney for the divorce. He begged me to go after Brad for full custody, to reveal everything Brad had done to wreck our finances, but I didn’t want to air my dirty laundry in front of the whole town. Being a single mother seemed to hold enough stigma.”
“Because of how your mom was treated when she returned to Crimson?”
“I guess,” Natalie said with a shrug. “She’s definitely had a chip on her shoulders for a lot of years. You know she still has a tendency to go off the rails. I couldn’t handle everyone thinking I was like her in any way. The bottom line was I didn’t listen to Jase. I told him to make the conditions of the divorce fair to both of us, to give Brad the option of visitation when and if he straightened out his life.”
She leaned forward and took a long drink from her straw. “As a result, whenever Brad runs out of money, he comes to me making veiled threats about getting back into Austin’s life. If I thought he really meant it, I’d welcome him. No boy should have to grow up without a dad around. But it’s all about the money every single time. As soon as I offer it to him, he takes off again.”
“Scumbag,” Katie mumbled. Olivia and Millie nodded in agreement.
“Things have gotten worse in the past year. He’s racked up a lot of debt again. He’s telling the guys holding most of his loans that he helps me out financially, letting them think that’s why he can’t pay. I’ve given him as much as I can spare, but it isn’t enough.”
Olivia’s mouth dropped. “Natalie, this is serious.”
“I know it’s serious.”
“You have to go to the police.”
“And Jase,” Katie added. “Take legal action against Brad. File a restraining order. Whatever you need to do.”
“What happens when he wants to see Austin again? I can’t legally keep him from that.”
Katie shook her head. “Have you talked to Jase? He’s a good attorney and now that he’s on town council, he has a lot of pull around here. He could help you.”
“I’d planned to, but I didn’t think it would get this far. I gave Brad everything I’d saved almost seven months ago and told him that was the end. Then he started calling again. That’s when I told Ruth what was going on. I’m afraid she’s taken matters into her own hands. She’s got strangely good connections for someone her age.”
“Did you ask her?”
As her stomach pitched, Natalie gripped the stem of her margarita glass. “I only realized it when Liam accused me of taking the money. She kept Austin at her side most of the day yesterday. She’s definitely avoiding me. Once I know for sure I’m going to have to tell Liam. How humiliating is it to admit to the guy who left me behind that I’ve royally messed up my life?”
“You didn’t mess it up. The scumbag ex-husband messed it up,” Millie offered sympathetically.
“I married him.”
Millie lifted her glass in a mock toast. “Good point.”
“I have money from the inheritance I got when my grandma died,” Katie offered. “I can help you pay back Ruth if she did indeed give money to Brad.”
Natalie shook her head. “As much as I appreciate the offer, I need to take care of this mess myself. I know I have to stand up to Brad so this stops. It’s no way to live.” She took a bite of the chicken quesadilla wedge Olivia put on her plate. “It’s not fair to Austin. I’m always struggling to get ahead and I should be putting money away for his college. He deserves so much more than I’m giving him right now.”
“You deserve more, too,” Olivia reminded her.
Fear and guilt warred inside her. Her ex-husband was a problem that had been growing for years, like a festering wound she continued to try to hide with a Band-Aid. As worried as it made her, she had to deal with him, no matter the fallout. “I’m going to talk to Ruth and if she did give money to Brad, I’ll figure out how to pay her back.”
“And?” Katie prompted.
“And ask Jason Crenshaw about getting the terms of the divorce redone. It will mean going back to court, but if Brad tries to fight me I’ll go public with everything. I’ll press charges if I have to.”
