Page 75 of Long Hard Road
Ellison had filed his report with the Crestwood PD but no one had seen Fiona since the tire slashing. She had checked out of her hotel room that morning and I was hopeful that she was gone from my life for good this time. I was still a little leery about leaving Madison, but she was adamant about spending time with Lily and Harper. They were having dinner in the lodge and then having girl time around the ranch.
We checked in at the registration counter and handed off our bags to one of the workers who would take them to the Airstream for us. I handed the young man a twenty for his trouble before turning to Madison.
“You call me if anything comes up, okay?”
She still had bodyguards assigned to her and one of them was lurking near the front door, watching her while trying not to look like he was watching.
“Everything is going to be fine,” she insisted, hands sliding over my shoulders and locking around my neck. “I’m going to be with Lily and Harper the whole time and I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Don’t go anywhere alone, okay? I don’t think Fiona is still lurking around, but let’s not risk it.” I leaned down to kiss her, sighing when we were rudely interrupted by my sister and her best friend.
“Aw! Look how cute they are,” Lily sang out.
“She’s going to be such a beautiful bride,” Harper chirped.
I groaned in embarrassment while Madison laughed. “Please don’t let them scare you off,” I said. “Just remember that I didn’t get to choose my family.”
“Have a good night at work. Bring home some good tips,” she teased with a wink.
Our tips had never been as big as the nights when Madison had served drinks and we both knew that. “I’m not nearly as hot as you, angel.” I gave her one more kiss and then waved to where Harper and Lily were waiting by the restaurant door. “Take care of my girl, okay?”
“We will!” Lily grinned happily at me.
Harper was also smiling, but she had tears in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly. “Thanks for letting us steal her away for the night, bro.”
My little sister was crying because she was happy for me. I knew that of all my siblings, she worried about me the most. She had thought that my time in the army was what had been troubling me these last couple of years. And though she had never confronted me, I knew that she wondered why I never dated. I was glad that maybe now she wouldn’t worry so much. Even more glad that she seemed to like Madison almost as much as I did.
The bar was just as packed as I had anticipated and it had been the right call not to have Madison join me for the night. She would’ve been miserable with so many drunk people staring and taking her picture. At least a dozen people asked me if she would be coming in later, none of whom were people I wanted around her.
Toward the end of the night, after the crowd had dwindle a bit, I scanned the bar and tensed at a familiar flash of red hair. “Fuck.” Fiona was seated at one of the tables, staring right at me. I just barely managed to keep from lunging over the bar. Instead, I slipped my phone from my pocket and fired off a text to Ellison.
I needed to keep Fiona in the bar until he had time to notify the police. That meant I had no choice but to talk to her. After telling the bartenders that I was taking a break, I grabbed two beers and headed toward her table.
“What are you doing here, Fi?” I placed a beer on the table in front of her.
“I just want to talk.”
As if that made me feel any better about her being there. I dropped into the chair across from her. “I’ve said all I want to say to you. Leave me alone.”
“Cassidy asks about you all the time. She still misses you.”
I hated her for using that little girl to hurt me. “I’m not the reason I left. You are.”
“I made a mistake, Nate. A big one and I’m so sorry I hurt you.” She almost sounded like she meant that.
“You lied to me for months, Fiona. Maybe even since the beginning of our relationship. I don’t know what I ever did to you to deserve that.”
“Nothing. You didn’t deserve it.” She frowned as she looked at the table. “I had Cassidy so young. I was only twenty-three when you and I met. I was still figuring out how to be a good mother and I didn’t put a lot of effort into being a good partner.”
“Not to me, anyway.” I couldn’t look at her without picturing the other man. “What happened with the baby daddy?”
“It ended after Conner was born.” It hurt to hear that she’d named her son the name that we had picked out together when I thought he was mine. “Axel never wanted to be a dad. I should’ve figured that out when he wanted nothing to do with Cassidy. When he came around again, I thought maybe he had changed. But when I told him I was pregnant, he told me that I needed to convince you it was your baby. I should never have gone along with that lie. I should’ve come clean right away.” She reached across the table like she was thinking of taking my hand, but I pulled it out of her reach. “I wanted you to be their father, Nate. You were so great with Cassidy and both of my kids deserve a father like you.”
“And what did I deserve?” My words were laced with venom. “Did I deserve a wife who lied and cheated? Did I deserve to have all my hopes and dreams shattered? To have a little girl that I loved and a little boy that I wanted so much taken from me?”
“No,” she whispered. “You didn’t deserve any of that. If I could go back and change everything, I would. If you just give me another chance, I will – ”
“That’s never going to happen.” I didn’t need to hear her empty promises. “Fiona, you have to leave me alone. I’ve moved on.”