When Lightning Strikes (Whiskey Creek #1)(83)
Author: Brenda Novak

“The media will find it strange that you’d abandon me to rush to her side,” she said, her voice a monotone. “This could ruin everything we’ve established so far. You realize that.”

He did. They’d talked about it on the way home. He’d take Gail with him if he could. But jealous as Bella was, he knew that would only cause more problems. It was his text about being happily married and the picture of Gail and him on the porch that’d finally caused Bella to break down. She’d told him on the phone that the minute she saw that picture, she’d feared she’d lost him for good and couldn’t bear the thought of it.

“She’s suddenly willing to work something out.” He didn’t have to specify who “she” was. “I have to take advantage of that. You have no idea how hard she’s been to deal with. No one does. But she promised me that if I come right away, I can see Ty.”

Gail frowned. “She’s using him as a carrot. She wants you back.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m no longer interested in her,” he said, but he could tell that Gail didn’t quite believe him. She thought it was the end of their marriage, and he couldn’t promise her it wasn’t. What they had was a contract to work together to help him get custody of Ty. Their relationship had turned out much better than he’d ever dreamed. But if he gained custody of his son tonight, he’d have what he wanted, and there’d be no reason to stay together.

“I’m sure she thinks you are interested,” Gail said. “She’s always been able to get you back before.”

Only because she was the mother of his child and he’d so desperately wanted to maintain a regular family. “I’m not the same person I was.”

“And yet you’re willing to get on the same old roller coaster.”

“No. She’ll eventually have to face the fact that I’m over her.”

In the meantime, Bella could think whatever she wanted as long as she gave him access to his son. Maybe they could build a bridge during the next few days, figure out how to put the negativity and fighting behind them. As far as he was concerned, their split didn’t have to be so acrimonious. Especially now. Thanks to Gail, he was feeling healthier, more capable of dealing with the disappointment, the sense of failure and confusion caused by the divorce.

He’d gladly offer Bella more money if she’d agree to share custody. He wasn’t sure what he’d be able to arrange. Bella hadn’t been all that coherent on the phone; she’d just kept crying that she wanted him—but now that she’d reached out, he had to at least try.

“I don’t trust her,” Gail said.

“Neither do I,” he responded. “But I have to do this. I’m sorry.” Once he’d finished packing, he wished the limo he’d ordered while they were at Sophia’s house would arrive. He had a long drive to the airport and didn’t want to miss his flight out of Sacramento. It was the last one of the night. He could’ve arranged for his own jet to pick him up—he rarely flew commercial these days—but that wasn’t easy to do on such short notice. He’d need to call his pilot, have him get the plane out of the hangar, make sure it had fuel, file a flight plan. Then Simon would have to wait for him to arrive from L.A. “Will you be coming home soon?”

“No. Not for a while.”

She probably didn’t want to face the media onslaught, and he didn’t blame her. She’d find it embarrassing. Everyone would say that their marriage was just another fling and that he’d been in love with Bella all along. They’d say Gail should’ve known better than to think she could keep him. Maybe those people Ian had mentioned, who’d figured out that they’d done it for the PR, would get louder and more insistent. He dealt with the media enough—and so did she—to realize what the conjecture would be like and that it wouldn’t be flattering to Gail. He already planned to offset that as much as possible by telling everyone how great she was and how much he cared about her. But he had to handle one thing at a time. “Then I’ll come back here.”

“No, there won’t be any reason for you to do that,” she said. “If you gain custody, you won’t need me anymore. And if you don’t, if she calls the cops because you violated the restraining order, staying married to me won’t matter. After this, no one will believe you really care about me.”

This was more than he could handle at the moment. He’d have to think about what to do with her later. “I just want my son. That’s why I started this.”

“I know. He’s a great kid, so I don’t blame you. What I’m trying to tell you is that I think you’ll have a better chance if you stay. You should set up something consistent and reliable through the legal system, something that won’t depend on her whim.”

But he couldn’t wait. “That could take months and months, maybe years,” he said. “And even then there’ll be no guarantees I’ll win.”

She didn’t try to convince him otherwise. “True.”

“That’s why I have to go.”

He’d dropped a shirt on the floor. She got up to fold it. Then she handed it to him to put in his bag and went about gathering up everything else he’d left—clothes, books, toiletries. “You didn’t have to call a car service, you know. I would’ve driven you to the airport.”

“I know. I didn’t want you out so late. What if you got a flat tire?” He motioned at the stuff she was still picking up. “Forget that.”

“You don’t want it?”

“I’ll get it later.”

“Okay.” She put the jeans she’d taken off the floor on the bed. “But before you go, there’s one more thing I want to say.”

He squirmed at her somber tone. This felt like a funeral. He wanted to get out of the house as soon as possible, but she deserved the chance to tell him how rotten he was for letting her down. She’d gone to a lot of work and effort to help him, and he’d done nothing except disrupt her life. True, her business was coming back from the brink of collapse. But in the aftermath of his leaving, her family would be angry with her for marrying him and her friends would have every right to say “I told you so.”

He’d even messed up her love life. He knew very well that she’d once had feelings for Matt. Maybe, if not for his involvement, the two of them would’ve gotten together and become the perfect hometown couple.