Forsaking All Others (From This Day Forward Book 2) (10 page)

Her question shocks me. I’m not even sure what sound I make as I grab onto her arms.
My beautiful girl thinks I caused the accident as a way to get rid of her?

I swallow hard, “Baby, you really think I’m capable of something like that? You think I would knowingly put you in danger?”

She uses her fingers to brush away the tears on her cheeks, “David, I don’t know what to think. It’s a lot to process, you know? I’m not accusing you of anything…I’m just trying to make sense of all of it.”

I stand up and pull her into me, resting my chin on her head. “I was messed up after getting that phone call. Here I thought I’d been careful and she drops that bomb on me. The night of the break-in, after you called me, I was done. I didn’t want to be that man anymore. I thought we’d find our ground again, you and me, and then she told me she was pregnant. I was thrown—I was backtracking in my mind, trying to work out the timing. When I thought I lost you—Beth, it damn near killed me.”

Her shoulders shake as she cries and I pull her closer.

“David, I’m still trying to sort through fact from fiction. The wreck took a lot from me, and while I’ve recovered some of my memories, there’s a lot that’s still blank,” she pauses as she wipes away more tears, “While I don’t remember everything, I know you’re it for me. You’re the only man I’m ever going to love and call me selfish, but I don’t want to share you with Jess.”

I tilt her chin up until she’s looking at me, “Then don’t. I’m all yours—I’ve only ever been yours…I just lost my way. My heart fucking belongs to you though, babe.”

She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls my mouth down over hers. I can’t get enough of the taste of her, my hands have a mind of their own, stroking up and down her arms. I can feel the goosebumps and I know her feelings are just as intense as mine.

She pulls back, breathless, “So the sex thing… it’s still off the table? Seriously?”

I grin at her, “Well, since we’re calling off the divorce, I guess I can make an exception.”

Her face falls and she takes a step back. Definitely not the fucking reaction I was expecting from her. Then she rips my heart out all over again.

“David, I don’t want to make any rash decisions just yet. I’m still trying to get my bearings here. I want to know what that paternity test says before moving forward one way or another.”

I clench my molars down so hard I expect them to crack.
What the actual fuck just happened here?

“So, let me see if I understand this correctly. You want to take it slow and not make any rash decisions, but you want to have sex. Does that about cover it?”

She purses her lips in an attempt not to cry, “David, please—”

I try to keep my voice calm, but the rage is quickly surfacing, “No, Beth! You don’t get to have it both ways. And a ‘rash decision’ is filing for divorce and having your husband served instead of trying to work things out—not the other way around.”

She moves closer to me, “Do not yell at me! I want to know what the paternity test says—as someone who would be responsible for helping you raise this kid, I am well within my rights to ask that from you.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to regain control of the situation, “You said you loved me, that I was the only man you were going to love. When did that become contingent on a paternity test, Beth?”

She raises her voice, “I never said it was, David. I will love you regardless of what happens, but I am not going to stand by and have this physical reminder right in front of me—I would hate that poor child!”

I stand there, stunned.
Well, there it is.
I grab my keys and head for the front door.

Her voice calls after me, “That’s right, David. Leave. That’s what you’re good at doing!”

My truck roars to life and I’m ready to snap. I’ve got to think. I want a drink more than I’ve ever wanted one, but I can’t let myself go back down that rabbit hole. I feel like I’m driving around aimlessly when it hits me. I’m running. It’s what I’m good at—Beth was right. I don’t know how to face any of this head on.

I drive back to my hotel and begin throwing all my shit into a bag. I can’t stay here anymore. I check out and immediately get back into my truck. There’s only one place I can think to get rid of all of this tension.

I’m drenched in sweat and every muscle in my body is screaming, but I keep pushing myself further. I’ve spent the last two hours at the gym, trying to find something to work out my frustration. I ran for ten miles and felt nothing. From there, I began lifting, but found that it only ratcheted that anger up even more. Now, I’m beating the shit out of a punching bag—it’s the only thing that feels satisfying right now.

“Mind if I join you?”

I look up to see Mike standing there. “How’d you know I’d be here?” I wipe the back of my arm across my forehead, sweat is pouring off of me.

He smirks, “You’re not the only one who’s good at stalking. I am a detective after all.”

I stare at him, “You’re stalking me now?”

He snickers, “No, dumbass,” and holds up his cellphone, “
Find my Friends
app said you were here. Thought you might need some company after my comments earlier. I was out of line, man. Beth is a fantastic woman, recent behavior notwithstanding, and you’d be a fucking fool to let her go.”

I nod at him, the closest either one of us will get to apologies. “What happens if that test comes back, saying I’m the father? What the fuck am I gonna do then?”

He wraps his hands with tape as he prepares to join me, “We cross that bridge when we come to it, man. Jess doesn’t seem like a ‘one man kind of girl’ from what you’ve told me, there have got to be other men that could be on the hook for paternity here.”

I slam my fist into the middle of the bag. “Yeah, but so far I’m the only fish on the line.”

Mike holds the bag steady as I rain my fury down on it. “Dave, you ever think of hiring someone to follow her? See what she’s up to? If you suspect she’s not being honest with you, then what do you have to lose?”

I stop hitting the bag and step back, “That’s why I’m friends with you, Mike. Always thinking like a detective.”

He’s right. I could hire someone to keep tabs on Jess—see what she does and who she’s with when I’m not around.

We box until my arms are weak, the anger finally giving way to something else. Something I didn’t think I’d have after this afternoon. Hope.

I hear David’s truck as he goes speeding down the street. “Fuck!” I take a throw pillow off the couch and launch it across the room in anger. I immediately think of the baby, “Sorry, bean. Mommy shouldn’t use words like that.” I don’t even know if the baby can hear me this early in the pregnancy, but I’ve apologized nonetheless.

The man makes me crazy with lust one minute and ready to murder him the next. I mean, in hindsight, it was probably a bit much to ask for a physical relationship without being willing to call off the divorce. I’m just not ready to withdraw everything yet, especially if there’s even the smallest chance that he’s the father of Jess’s baby. In his mind though, it would just be one baby to work his life around—not two.

I know I need to tell him the truth, I can only hide this for so long. Just this morning, I woke up to a slightly rounded belly. To anyone who didn’t know, I might just look like I had a big meal—but if David keeps coming around, he’s going to put two and two together rather quickly. I’m vomiting all the time yet getting bigger…it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

Maybe once the paternity test results come back, I’ll tell him then.
That is, unless they prove that he’s the father of Jess’s baby.
Seriously, I’m surprised we haven’t been offered our own reality show yet. There’s only one way to calm my mind now.

I spend the next few hours cleaning the house because some things never change. The floors get the brunt of my frustration and soon they’re gleaming in response.

I’ve just sat down in my chair, ready to relax, when the doorbell rings. I smile to myself—I knew he wouldn’t stay gone for long. Now we need to call a truce or at least table the argument for a later date. I don’t want to fight anymore. I rub my belly; this poor baby has been exposed to so much drama already.
I’m going to be better.

I throw open the front door, “I knew you would—Landon? Why are you here?”

He gives me a curt nod and brushes past me to get inside, “Elizabeth. I’m sure you know why I’m here.”

I shake my head, “No. I don’t, and I think it would be best if you left.”

He completely ignores that and begins pacing the living room. “We’ve got a little problem, Elizabeth. You told the special investigator something that wasn’t true today.”

I stare stupidly at him, waiting for him to elaborate. He begins running his hands through his hair almost obsessively while still walking laps around the couch.

“Elizabeth, you told the investigator that Katya and I broke up. That isn’t true though. I don’t know if it’s a result of losing your memory in the car wreck or what, but Katya and I are still dating. Hell, I was actually about to propose when she went missing.”

I’m sure my mouth is hanging wide open, I’m utterly dumbfounded right now, “But the coffee date—um, you asked me out for coffee?”
Was that a question or a statement?

He sighs heavily and sits down on the edge of the sofa. I bite back the urge to tell him that he’s sitting in David’s spot. “Elizabeth, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to mislead you—I knew you had to be going through a rough time and I wanted to offer my support.”

I lean back against the wall, my brain going ninety miles an hour in an attempt to make sense of what he’s telling me, “What about the night I found out, Landon?”

“Do you love me?” I blurt the words out before I’ve fully had a chance to think it through. Remembering his actions at the bar that night makes me regret asking almost immediately.

He doesn’t even hesitate, “Yes, and you love me.”

He smiles at me and those dimples could be my undoing, “Um, about that. Katya knew about you—told me if I couldn’t get you out of my system, she was leaving. She and I had only been back together for a few months,”

At this revelation, his eyes tear up, “I had you under my skin and I wanted to see if there was still a spark between us. When I went to your work and told you that we’d broken up—you blew me off. I was ready to wash my hands of the situation when I saw your friend out at a bar one night. She was bragging to someone about screwing your husband behind your back—”