Love of a Lifetime (10 page)

Carla looked over at the friend and smiled before regaining eye contact with Patricia.

“I’m going to say this only once so you better listen up.  Billy loves me.  I am his wife.  He
chose
me.  Even after you spread your lies and tried your best to get in between us he still chose
me.
  I don’t know what game you are playing or what you are about but it appears to me that the only person you are fooling is your friend there.”  She nodded towards the woman standing beside Patricia.

Patricia laughed. 
“You silly, naïve, little girl.
 
Everyone
can see the love William and I share and every person out there can vouch for our relationship.  It is time for you to run along and play with people of your own class because here you seriously lacking.”

“Is that so?”

“Absolutely.”

Carla flashed her teeth in a devilish grin.  “We shall see.”

Carla marched out of the ladies room with a purpose.  She walked up to the podium and tapped against the microphone to get everyone’s attention. Once she was satisfied that everyone in the room was looking upon her she introduced herself.

“Hello.  My name is Carla Bradshaw.  I’m William Bradshaw’s wife.”

Carla knew Bill and Atayla had situated themselves in front of the crowd and she tried hard to avoid their questioning looks.  She didn’t need the distraction of Bill’s disapproval as she continued on.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your evening, but I feel it is time to settle an important issue.  I’m sure by now you have all heard the claims made by Patricia Wilson that she is having an affair with my husband.”

There was a murmur of agreement. Carla searched the crowd until she saw Patricia towards the back with her arms crossed over her chest.  If looks could kill Carla was sure she would be dead where she stood.

“I confronted her on her accusations just a moment ago and asked her to quit spreading lies about my husband.”

“You did what?”  Bill shouted as Atayla cheered “Atta girl!”

“She informed me that if I wanted to know the truth all I had to do was ask all of you.”

Carla encompassed the entire crowd with a wave of her hand.  Their attention was rapt, waiting to see how this situation was going to play out.  Well, if they wanted a good dramatic episode to gossip about they were about to get it.

“So I ask you now.  Has anyone here ever heard William express his love for Patricia?”

The crowd remained silent, looking around from person to person for any acknowledgement.

“I see.  Has anyone here ever seen the two of them in a compromising position that would make you believe they are having an affair?”

The crowd still remained silent.  Not one person stepped forward, instead their gazes turned towards the back of the room where Patricia stood silently seething.  The glare she sent towards Carla promised retribution.

“Interesting.”
  Carla looked Patricia in the eye.  “Bill is a good man.  He is loyal, not only to his clients and business associates, but also to me,
his wife
, who he loves unconditionally.  It is time for you to cease your lies and step back.  Bill is my husband,
mine
, and I will stand by him and fight for our marriage. You claimed that every person here would back you up and prove that you speak the truth, but they all just made it perfectly clear that you are manipulative and conniving.  I don’t know what your motivations were for trying to destroy my husband, but it won’t be tolerated any further.”  She looked at her husband.   “
We
won’t tolerate it any further.”

The crowd erupted in applause as Carla stepped down from the podium and into Bill’s waiting arms.  He kissed her sweetly on the lips.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.  Now let’s get out of here.  My feet are killing me.”

Chapter Eight

There was a chill to the air that hinted of fall.  The wind was slight and carried the smell of autumn leaves and ripe pumpkin.  The bakeries were working hard preparing those special fall treats everyone looked forward to.

Carla herself was planning to stop at the bakery and buy a pumpkin spice roll after leaving the grocery store.  Loading the last bag into the back of Bill’s SUV, she closed the hatch and climbed in the driver’s seat.  She wasn’t entirely comfortable driving this hulking vehicle, but her jeep broke down and Nathan said it would take a few days for the parts to come in.

He had offered to loan her one of his project cars to get her through until he could get hers road worthy again, but she was too afraid of something happening to one his beloved toys while in her possession.

With the trial coming up, Billy really needed his vehicle so she was trying to get all her errands and shopping done and out of the way.  This was her last stop before heading home.  Yes, she moved back home.  In fact, as soon as they left the Events Center last month they stopped by Abby’s house and packed up all her things.

Carla heaved a happy sigh, glad that things were back to normal.  Well, close to normal.  She still had a broken down jeep to contend with.  It shouldn’t be too much of a problem since she got everything done today that needed done.

She turned into the Sweet Things parking lot.  Noticing a sign on the door and no cars parked in the lot, she pulled up parallel to the entrance. 
Sorry, closed until Monday.
 
Dang, that
meant that she had to drive to the other bakery downtown.

Carla frowned.  He hated driving downtown and it would take her at least thirty minutes to get there if she went down
Main Street
.  Deciding it would be faster to bypass traffic, she turned left on
106
th
St
to go past the park and to the outskirts of the city.  There she could drive unimpeded until she reached
Allisonville
Road and make a straight shot to York where Divine Treats was located.

Just as Carla reached the edge of town she noticed a dark truck coming up behind her at a high rate of speed.  It wasn’t unusual for people to drive really fast out here in the rural parts of Nevada where the roads were open for miles. Figuring the truck would just speed on around her, she paid it no further heed.

Carla’s thoughts turned to her plans for this evening.  Bill and Atayla were working late preparing for the upcoming trial.  Atayla was going to bring Bill home and stay for dinner since it would be too late to stop for anything but fast food.  Carla knew well the issues
Tay
had with her weight so she had extended a dinner invitation.

Not that there were any true physical issues.  Atayla was a beautiful woman.  She had a soft bone structure and curves most women would kill for.  Carla envied her looks and wished she had a little of what
Tay
had.  Not that she would ever believe it.

Her thoughts were broken off as the truck slammed into the back of Bill’s SUV.  The impact had caused the air bag to inflate and bounced her head back against the headrest.  It took her a second to process what had happened. 

Her neck hurt from being jarred so violently and her chest hurt from the seatbelt catching and keeping her in the seat, but she manage not the wreck.  She looked into her rearview mirror and saw the dark truck swerving to stay on the road.  At first she thought the driver had fallen asleep or passed out or something, but then the driver of the truck regained control, sped up and slammed into her again.

Panicking, Carla searched the area for someone to help her but they were far away from homes and public places.  Not knowing what else to do, she grabbed her cell phone and speed dialed Bill’s number.  He answered on the third ring.

“What do you need, sweetheart?  I’m really busy right now.”

Full of terror, Carla began to shout.  “Oh God, Bill, there is this guy behind me and he hit me.  Twice!  I don’t know what to do!  Oh, God!  He’s…..”

The line went dead after Bill heard a loud crash over the line.

“Carla?  Baby, talk to me!  Where are you?”

His question was met with the silence of a broken connection.  He punched Carla’s number and called her back. 
Ring…ring…ring…ring… 
He picked up his office phone after shoving his cell at Atayla who immediately put the phone to her ear. 
Ring…ring…ring…

“Keep trying to reach her.  I’m calling the police.”

He dialed 911 and briefed the operator on the phone call he received and what he had heard.

“I don’t know where she is!  Can you find her location by her cell phone?  I know it is turned on…”

“Please hold, sir.”

“What!?!
  My wife is out there somewhere, most likely hurt,
and you want me to hold
?”  He screeched the last part.  “Hello? 
Hello?
”

Bill seethed as he waited for the operator to come back on the line.  Fear was overriding rational thought.  If she was lying somewhere hurt or worse,
dying
, with no one to help her because
911
decided he needed to be put on hold…

“Sir, the police are on their way to speak with you.  They should be there within fifteen minutes.  If you hear anything more from your wife before they get there, please call 911 immediately and give an update.”

Hanging up the phone, he went to the front door and unlocked it.  He wanted to get out there on the road and search for her, but he knew the futility in that.  He had no idea what she had planned today or where she could be. 

Less than ten minutes later the police arrived and began asking questions.  Fear and frustration from not being able to answer the most basic questions had him pacing and snarling
like a caged tiger.  He gave a description and the license plate number of his SUV and then turned pleading eyes to Atayla.

“Did she say anything to you about where she was going or what she was going to do?”

Atayla shook her head. 
“Grocery store, dry cleaners, post office?
  I don’t know.  She just said she had errands to run.  What are the places she usually goes to?”

Bill thought for a minute.  “She likes going to
Central Markets
for groceries.  When she goes there she usually stops at
Sweet Things
to buy bread and stuff.  She takes my suits to
Warner’s Cleaners
and its right around that area.”  He thought for a moment more.  “She usually has me go to the post office because she hates driving downtown.”  He paused, wondering why he hadn’t heard anything yet.

He turned to the police officers who were questioning him.  “If she had an accident in town wouldn’t we have known about it by now?”

“What are you thinking, Bill?”  Atayla asked.

“She hates driving downtown.  If she needed to go there she would have driven around the city to get there. 
Allisonville
runs straight through downtown and would have gotten her wherever she was going.  The question is what side of town was she traveling?”

“The west side.”
  Atayla stated.  “She always sticks to the west side because there is less traffic.”

Both officers headed towards the door.  The first officer grabbed his radio and relayed the information while the second officer addressed Bill. 

“If you hear anything, call us right away.  We’ll be in touch as soon as we find her.”

Bill and Atayla stared at each, lost and worried.

“Do you think we should go looking for her?”

“No.”  Atayla shook her head.  “I think we should stay right here where they know how to contact us.”

“I hate this…this…not knowing if she is alright.”  His voice was unsteady with grief.

Walking up to him, Atayla wrapped her arms around Bill and buried her face in his chest.  He eagerly wrapped his arms around her in return, seeking all the comfort he could get.

“She’s okay.  She has to be.”

Carla awoke to harsh lights and the smell of antiseptic.  She moaned and turned her head to shield her eyes from the light.  Unfortunately, someone was holding her eye lid open and she couldn’t escape it.  The light flashed again and pain radiated from the depths of her skull.  She wished she could shove that light somewhere it wouldn’t shine anymore.

A deep masculine chuckle caught her attention.

“You must not be too bad off if you can threaten me.”

The light flashed in her other eye.

Damn, did she say that out loud?

Another chuckle.

“Yes, you did.”