How did she know that? Did she look it up online? That would make sense. Why she came up here, looking for answers. They all thought I’d murdered my wife. And from the way Gia was looking at me, I feared she wondered the same.
“I didn’t murder my wife, Gia. But it's still my fault.” I rubbed my throbbing temples. “Sheriff’s department fucked up the case by waiting so long to search. I looked for days on my own. Sheriff finally found her car. It was bloody, but empty. Became missing persons. FBI then brought me in for questioning. The contractors saw Alex and I arguing. Only ASL. Saw me irate…”
“They thought you did it?”
“They never arrested me, or outright accused me, but I knew from their questions they suspected me.”
“Did you tell them what you were fighting about? Surely, they’d understand.”
I shook my head, the tears welling up in my eyes. Even Alex’s parents started to question if I did it, and that was a hard pill to swallow. Nobody other than Tyler, my folks, and now Gia, knew why we were fighting that day. “I didn’t want to soil my wife’s reputation. Let the town think what they want.”
“So, what happened?”
“Weeks later, we finally found her body.”
Well, what was left of it. I left that gruesome detail out. G didn’t need to know about the animals in the woods that had gotten to my wife. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the images out of my head. And even though it was nothing like television where they walk the loved one into a stark morgue and pull off a sheet—no amount of forewarning could have prepared me for what I saw. They’d taken me into a room, with an FBI agent who was fluent in ASL. She sat me down, with the photos face down on the table. She explained to me kindly they firmly believed it was Alex, but they needed me to confirm. And they tried to show me the most tasteful photos possible. The butterfly tattoo on her lower ankle, the side of her face that wasn’t mangled, but my mind filled in the blanks anyway.
“Autopsy showed injuries consistent with the auto accident, but the final cause of death was exposure. She must have tried to walk for help, but headed the wrong direction, deeper into the woods. She was probably dizzy, confused. She’d lost a lot of blood in the car.” I bit the inside of my cheek to avoid losing my shit a second time. Every time I thought about Alex out there, pregnant with my baby girl and the horrible demise they came to, it wrecked me. “No evidence to pin me for murder, but still, people don’t trust me.”
“And the baby?”
“She was mine,” I choked on my words. Autopsy confirmed that as well. They’d tried to find any kind of motive for me, but with no evidence, no motive, they had nothing on me.
Gia sat there, blinking. Breathing heavy she turned her head, her eyes raking over the entire room. She didn’t seem scared of me. Nothing in her face told me she believed I was capable of murder. But she seemed wounded.
And I knew that the room we were sitting in only amplified her fears. She felt like a replacement, like my second choice, the consolation prize. I could see it written all over her face.
But, God, she couldn’t see it in herself because that awful man had stripped her of all her confidence, but she was so much more. She had no clue how incredible she was.
I’d been drowning in my misery and Gia had resuscitated me. From those long, luscious lashes and soulful brown eyes, to her crooked little smile and that bump in her nose. But it was more than her beauty. It was the way she’d giggle when I tried to snap her with the towel in the kitchen. How she liked to sing and dance and shake that cute little ass when she thought I wasn’t watching. The way she was unashamed to be a total goofball. How she’d straighten her spine and lift her chin when she was trying to be bold, to make herself feel taller. Her filterless mouth that always said the first thing that popped into her head.
Funny, you don’t look Deaf. The smart-ass comment that made me laugh for the first time in God only knew how long. Nobody would have dared ever say something like that to me, except Gia.
She’d brought playfulness back into my life. And even though I’d only known her for two short weeks, it felt like so much longer.
“You were never a replacement. Ever. I swear it.” I clutched my chest, praying that she believed me. “I’m in love with you, G. I was falling for you before…” I glanced down at her stomach and tentatively reached my hand out toward her belly.
And then she flinched, pulling back from me. Her face fell, her brow furrowed into such sorrow as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, planting her hand on my cheek. Her eyes were full of kindness, yet so much remorse. “I think I need to go, Tanner.” She planted a soft kiss on my forehead. Then she stood, staring down at me, and I could tell she was truly sorry. She cared for me too, but it was just all too much. I should have told her about my Olivia the moment I’d found out that Gia was pregnant. Before I took her into my bed. My sister tried to warn me, but I didn’t listen.
Gia had trusted me, and I’d failed miserably.
Nodding slowly, I shifted away from her, resting my elbows on my knees. Archie came over and wiggled himself between my legs, looking up at me with those sad, dog eyes, then began licking my face. I wouldn’t beg her to stay. As much as I feared for her safety, as much as it killed me to watch her stand up and walk out that door, I never wanted her to feel trapped. Not again. Not ever.
I just didn’t want her to see me break. I wanted her to know that I was strong, and that I could protect her. But I couldn’t even protect my own child. And now it was too late.
Through a tear-streaked face, I packed my bags as quickly as possible, but I couldn’t get Tanner’s words out of my head.
I love you, G.
And god, I loved him, too. I didn’t think it was possible to fall for someone so deeply, so quickly.
I knew there was no chance in hell that Tanner had killed his wife. He was too gentle of a man. Unless he was a total psychopath, one couldn’t fake the type of pain I’d witnessed in his unborn daughter’s bedroom.
But that very pain he was holding onto was the reason I needed to leave. Clearly, he had some massive unresolved issues, not that I didn’t as well.
Did he love me for me, or did he love me because I could give him back what he’d lost? Did I only love him because he could heal what Angelo broke within me? And yeah, maybe we could work through all that pain together. But was that really any foundation on which to build a relationship? Add to it a baby that wasn’t even his? It was just too much.
I feared we’d only be patching band-aids over each other’s festering wounds. Sometimes, two people were just far too damaged to make sense.
Even if we could get past all our baggage, one hurdle remained. I’d been seen. I had a sinking suspicion that Hal would be calling the police, and soon enough they’d come looking for me. It was obvious the old man didn’t trust Tanner one bit. And sure, when the cops showed up, I could try and explain why I’d left my husband. They’d help me file a restraining order and say that they could protect me.
Yeah. Been there, done that.
Nothing could stop Angelo. Ever.
And I couldn’t lose Tanner the same way I’d lost Hope. I had to try and fix this before it was too late.