Brody (8 page)

Was it
something so terrible, he was afraid she’d never forgive him? Madilyn was
afraid to hear what he had to say. Should she call him and tell him she didn’t
want to hear what it was about? It didn’t matter to her what his reasons for
leaving the Marshals was, she didn’t need to know. It was between him and the
Marshals. She didn’t need to know. Making up her mind, she picked up her cell
phone but a customer came in and the rest of the day passed quickly. She never
got the chance to call him. He was going to tell her and knowing Brody as she
did, she knew if he wanted her to know, he’d tell her no matter how she felt
about it. With something that important, he’d tie her down to make her listen
if he had to. She shrugged, knowing she’d listen but it wouldn’t change how she
felt about him.

Chapter Six

As
Brody drove to Madilyn’s later in the evening, his stomach was in knots. He
wasn’t sure how she was going to take the fact he’d been involved with a
married woman. It didn’t matter whether he knew or not, she’d frown upon it.
She said cheating was something she could never forgive.
Shit!
He ran his hand down his face. How was he going to tell her?
Would she even believe him when he told her he hadn’t known Abby was married?
Brody shook his head. Maybe he should have kept it to himself. What she didn’t
know wouldn’t hurt her. He never believed in that saying, because eventually
the person found out and when that happened, all hell broke loose. He’d never
lied to Madilyn before and he wasn’t about to start now. Brody knew he’d feel
better after telling her just as he did after telling Sam.

He
pulled into the parking lot and strolled to her apartment. God, he hoped this
went well. Taking a deep breath, he blew it out as he knocked on the door. She
pulled it open and smiled at him and his heart hit his stomach. He loved her so
much and after losing her five years ago, he swore he never would again.

“Hi.
Come in.” She opened the door for him to enter.

“Hi.”
He quickly kissed her lips and strolled to the living room. She entered behind
him and took a seat on the sofa. He paced.

“Is it
so bad? What you have to tell me?” she whispered.

Brody
ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s not pretty but I want you to know about
it before we go on with our lives. I don’t want it to surface later and you get
angry I didn’t tell you.”

Madilyn
nodded.
“All right.
Sit down, Brody. You’re making me
nervous.”

Brody
sat on the sofa next to her and took her hand in his. “Before I say anything, I
want you to promise you’ll listen to all of it before jumping to conclusions.”

She
seemed to hesitate but finally nodded. “I promise. Go ahead.”

“I had
an affair with a married woman.” When she tried to pull her hand away, he held
it tighter. “You said you’d listen.” She huffed and nodded. “Good. I didn’t
know she was married. She hid it from me for six months. I should have known. I
have better instincts but I didn’t see it.”

“Because
you were in love with her?”

“No. I
was never in love with her. At first, it was just sex then I thought I’d try to
make a go of it with her. I thought I’d never be with you again, and I wanted
to get married and have kids.” He shook his head. “Her husband, Wilson Delgado,
came to see me. Told me to stay the hell away from his wife or I’d regret it. I
told him I didn’t know she was married. He laughed and said he didn’t believe
me. I also told him I was a U S Marshal and he just laughed harder. It didn’t
matter he said. I called Abby later that night to break it off with her. She
took it hard and swore she’d leave him. Of course, I didn’t believe her. I
mean, all she did was lie to me. A month later, she was dead. I know her
husband killed her but I couldn’t prove it. He’s a very powerful man in Butte.
He’s involved with the mob but just like anything else, it’s never been proven.
I was let go from the Marshals because I couldn’t let it go. I followed Delgado
everywhere and he eventually reported me to my supervisor. When Holt warned me
the first time I didn’t listen, I continued to follow Delgado. I was obsessed
with proving him the killer. As I told Sam, he may not have pulled the trigger
but he had something to do with it. I know it in my bones.”

Madilyn
stood and moved away from him. “Why were you so obsessed with proving him the
killer? Why did it matter so much to you?”

Brody
jumped up. “Why did it matter so much?
Because a woman was
murdered.”

“Is
that all it was, or was it because you did love her and wanted to avenge her
death?”

“I
wasn’t in love with her, Madilyn,” Brody said through clenched teeth.

She
nodded. “Then why not just let someone else investigate it? Why were you so
hell bent on getting him for it? And I find it hard to believe you didn’t know
she was married, Brody.”

“Son
of a bitch.
I knew you would say that. It’s why I battled with myself all the way here. I
didn’t know. She hid it from me.”

“For
six months?”

“Yes,
for six months. Look, I beat myself up for it every day because she’s dead and
it’s my fault. If I’d known she was married, I never would have gotten involved
with her. I do not get involved with married women.”

“Apparently,
you do.”

Brody
stared at her. “I can’t believe you said that. You know better.”

“Do I?
You’ve been gone for five years, Brody. How do I know what you’re like now?”

“Well,
if you’d have gone with me, you’d know and none of this would have happened.”

Madilyn
laughed without humor. “So it’s my fault your lover’s dead? Don’t pull that
shit on me. You screwed around with a married woman and she’s dead. You
couldn’t let it go and it cost you your job. A job you left me for. If your
supervisor told you to let it go then you should have, but you didn’t. To me,
it sounds like you cared for her way more than you’re willing to admit.”

“I
cared about her, yes but I wasn’t in love with her. You’re the only woman I’ll
love.”

“You
thought about marrying her,” Madilyn said softly.

“Only
because I thought I’d never see you again. I didn’t know if you’d gotten
married and had children or what. It was five years. I was sure you’d moved on
and I needed to.”

Madilyn
shook her head. “All you ever had to do was ask someone.”

“You’re
serious? Did you ever once ask Sam about me?” Brody stared at her. “Did you?”
he shouted.

“No.
You left me. That told me I wasn’t important enough to you.”

“You’re
sprouting such bullshit and you know it. I asked you to go with me. You
refused. We’ve wasted five years.”

“You
didn’t. You were ready to move on,” Madilyn shouted.

“I feel
like I’m banging my head against a fucking wall.” He strode to her and clasped
her arms. “I asked you to go with me. Don’t put this on me. You wouldn’t go. It
may not be your fault about Abby, but it is your fault we lost five years.”

Madilyn
jerked away from him. “Get out. I’m done. I’ve had enough of this. I don’t
believe you about not knowing she was married. I will not take the entire blame
for ending it five years ago. You left. If you’d have loved me you would have
stayed.”

“And
you should have supported my decision to become a Marshal. You didn’t love me
enough. If you had, you’d have taken the chance and gone with me. I’m still
here. I wasn’t shot or killed like you were so sure would happen. You ruined
what we had. I didn’t.” He strode to the door and left, slamming it behind him.

* * *
*

Madilyn
stood at the counter helping a customer when the bell rang over the door. She
glanced up and smiled when she saw her friends enter. Emma Stone was a longtime
friend. The two women with her were new friends but she loved them just the
same.
Becca
Stone and Olivia Roberts were new to
Clifton. They’d been there for three years and
Becca
owned the Clifton Bed and Breakfast, which is what brought all the business
into the small town.
Becca
married Jake Stone two
years ago and Emma was married to Jake’s brother, Gabe. Olivia wasn’t married
but she moved to Clifton since she and
Becca
were
best friends.
Closer than most sisters.

 
“Hey, girl.
We
brought lunch.” Emma smiled as she held up a large bag.

“I knew
I smelled food.
Burgers from the diner?”
Madilyn
grinned.

“Yes
and onion rings and fries. We weren’t sure which you wanted. Where’s Katie?”
Becca
glanced around.

“In
the back office.
I’ll get her when I finish with Mrs. Holden,” Madilyn told them.

“We’ll
be in the break room,” Emma told her.

Madilyn
nodded and waited while Mrs. Holden looked through flower arrangements then she
joined her friends in the break room. They had the food out, waiting for her.
She noticed Kaitlyn was missing.

“Where’s
Katie?”

“She
was here for a minute then said she needed to use the bathroom,” Olivia told
her.

Madilyn
nodded and sat down. Kaitlyn entered the room and sat back down. Madilyn knew
by the look on her face that something was wrong. She reached out and touched
her hand.

“Katie?
What is it? You look so pale.”

The
women stopped what they were doing to gaze at Kaitlyn. “We’re all friends here,
Katie. You can tell us. You know it won’t go any further than this room,” Emma
said softly.

“I’m
pregnant,” Kaitlyn whispered.

No one
knew what to say. They knew about Kaitlyn’s husband. How he cheated on her with
his mistress. They knew, without being told, he wouldn’t be happy about the
pregnancy.

“I want
the baby. It’s not that I’m sad about it, it’s just Kevin will think I did it
on purpose, even though…” Katie stopped and shook her head.

“For
what reason?
You stay with him in spite of his cheating,” Olivia said.

“Olivia
Rene Roberts.”
Becca
chastised her friend.

Olivia
shrugged. “I’m sure you were all thinking the same thing. I just happen to have
the balls to say it.”

Kaitlyn
laughed softly. “Leave it to Liv. She’s right, though. He’ll want me to have an
abortion. He doesn’t want kids. I always have.” She shook her head. “Before we
got married, he said he wanted children then when I brought it up on our year
anniversary he told me he changed his mind. I was devastated.” Her hand ran
over her still flat stomach. “I want this baby and I don’t care what Kevin says
and the fact it wasn’t conceived in love doesn’t matter to me.”

“Good
for you,”
Becca
said.

They
dug into their food, laughing and talking when they heard the front bell ring,
announcing a customer. When Kaitlyn started to rise, Madilyn told her she’d get
them. She walked into the front of the shop and came to a stop when she saw Sam
standing there.

“Sam?
Is something wrong?” She prayed there wasn’t.

“Not
with Brody. I need to speak with my sister.”

Madilyn
knew by the look on his face it wasn’t good news. “She’s in the break room.”
She turned to lead Sam back. She took her seat at the table while Sam hovered
in the doorway.

“Katie,
we need to go to your office. I need to speak with you.”

Kaitlyn
stood. “What is it Sam? Is it Mom or Dad?”

Sam
shook his head. “Just come with me, please.” He held his hand out to her.
Kaitlyn put her hand in his and after giving the women a nod, Sam led her to
the office.

“What’s
that all about?” Emma muttered.

Madilyn
shook her head. “No clue.”

“I know
this isn’t the time to say it but damn, Sam Garrett is so fucking hot.” Olivia
sighed. The women glared at her. She shrugged.
“Just
sayin
’.”

A few
minutes later, Sam stood in the doorway. They gazed up at him. “Katie could use
you girls for a while. Kevin’s been killed in a car accident. Along with his
mistress,” the last he said through clenched teeth. “Katie took it a lot better
than I thought, but it could be shock. She’s in her office.” He left them all
staring at the door then they jumped up and ran to the back office. Kaitlyn sat
at the desk, staring into space. She glanced over to them but didn’t say
anything. Madilyn crouched down beside her.

“Katie?
Are you all right?”

“Kevin’s
dead.”

“We
know. Sam told us. Do you need us to do anything for you? One of us could take
you home.”

“The
day after I find out I’m pregnant I lose my husband who wouldn’t have wanted
the baby. How ironic is that?”

 
“Come on, Katie. We’ll take you home.”
Becca
helped her up.

“I’ll
take care of the shop, Katie, and I’ll be over after work if you want me to.”

“I’d
love it, Madilyn. I don’t want to be alone too much. I don’t think it’s sunk in
yet.”

Becca
wrapped her arm around
Kaitlyn’s shoulders and led her away. Madilyn cried. Not for Kevin, he didn’t
deserve the tears, but for her friend who was hurting. She’d go stay with
Kaitlyn for a few days. It’s what friends did.

* * *
*

Three
days later, almost the entire town was at the cemetery. They weren’t there for
Kevin,
they were there to support Kaitlyn. Sam stood on one
side of her while their parents stood on the other. Madilyn stood beside Sam
and let her gaze roam the crowd until she spotted Brody. He was staring at her.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. No matter what he’d told her, she
loved him, and she wanted him in her life. She’d take whatever time she could
get with him. He’d been telling the truth, she knew it now. He’d never,
knowingly, fool around with a married woman. It wasn’t his style. There were
too many single women out there. Why would he chance something like that? No,
she mentally shook her head, he’d told her the truth, and the thing is
,
he really didn’t have to tell her anything. He did because
he loved her and wanted all the past behind them. She smiled sadly, as she
looked across the gravesite at him. He smiled back.