Forsaking All Others (From This Day Forward Book 2) (11 page)

I gasp in hurt.
She told people?
I blink quickly to dispel the tears that have started gathering in my eyes.

Landon jumps up and comes over to embrace me. I’m too shell-shocked to fight him.

He continues, “Once I knew the truth, I couldn’t walk away from you. You are such a beautiful person inside and out—I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to leave your bed. I didn’t want to approach you until I had all the facts. By the time I made up my mind that you deserved the truth with or without proof, you’d been in the car wreck. I’ll never forgive myself for keeping it from you—”

He folds his hands like he’s praying and brings them under his chin, “I’m the reason you were in that car wreck. If I’d told you sooner, you wouldn’t have been with him that night…you would’ve been safe.”

I’m holding my hands over my mouth to stifle the sobs now.
What is wrong with me?
I ran back into David’s arms so quickly without stopping to consider the consequences of my actions.

Landon pulls my hands away from mouth, “Hey, don’t do that. Don’t cry—” He pulls me into his hard chest again, “I think about what we could’ve been together…do you ever think of us? I mean—what we could’ve been if you found out about the lies sooner?”

I shake my head, “I’ve been so disgusted with my behavior. I cheated on my husband with you—I don’t let myself go there because I don’t recognize that woman.”

He places a finger on my lips, running it lightly across. The effect is like a lightning bolt of pleasure, “Shhhh…do not shame yourself like that, Elizabeth. You were lonely. All I know is that if you were mine, you would never have had to look elsewhere—you know, had I not gone back to Katya. I would’ve spent every day letting you know how much you meant to me, giving you the attention you deserved.”

In this moment, I can clearly see why I fell for him. His words awaken this longing within me, this desire to be cherished. His finger on my lip and arm around my waist have me ready to fall right back into him, even with his missing girl—fiancé…whatever she is. The thought of Katya is like a bucket of ice water being poured over me.

I talk around his finger, “Where do you think she is?”

He drops his arms, stepping away from me. “I don’t know. I’m going to find her or die trying though. Will you help me?”

I swallow the lump in my throat, “
Help you
? How?”

He composes himself, “I’ve organized a search party for tomorrow afternoon. We’re going to go door to door tomorrow morning, handing out flyers with her picture on them. We’re meeting at Founder’s Park at nine in the morning and then back there again around one. Please say you’ll come.”

I’m feeling a bit raw and my emotions are seriously all over the place right now. I want to say no, but the look in his eyes is so intense, that I find myself agreeing to meet him. His smile is so blinding when I agree, that I feel like I made the right choice.

I walk him out onto the front porch when he turns back, “Hey Elizabeth, it was really good to talk to you. I still owe you a cup of coff—”

The roar of an engine cuts off his words and I cringe.
This is very bad. I’m so screwed right now.
I close my eyes and let out a sigh as I hear a truck door slam.

“I swear to fuck, Landon. I thought I made myself pretty damn clear the last time you were on my property that it better be the last.”

I pop one eye open, cringe still firmly in place, as I survey the scene in front of me. Landon’s jaw is set and he’s clenching and unclenching his fists, every muscle stretched taut.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I look over at David and he’s in a similar stance. My eyes also catch our neighbor, Charles, standing stock-still in his front yard—no doubt debating whether or not to call the cops for this little exchange.

I wave exaggeratedly, “Hey Charles! How’s Nina?”

He reluctantly turns his attention over to where I’m standing, “Hey Elizabeth. Nina’s fine—everything okay over there?”

I fake laugh and put on my best southern drawl, “Oh, you know how it is. Landon here forgot to return some tools he borrowed from David,” I then stage whisper, “Not a good idea!”

It’s so over the top, I’m certain he won’t buy it. To my surprise, Charles nods wisely and looks over at David. “David, you’re learning a valuable lesson here. Never let someone borrow something you expect to get back!”

David gives me a look before focusing his glare back on Landon. He answers Charles through a clenched jaw, “Don’t worry, Chuck. Landon here won’t be borrowing anything of mine ever again!”

I clap my hands together, “Well, that settles that. No one is going to be borrowing anything in the future. Landon, lovely to see you. David—can I have a word?”

Landon looks utterly destroyed, “I thought you filed for divorce. He’s having a baby with your friend!”

David lets go of the front door handle and storms over to me. Before I can react, he’s dragging me inside the house. “Stay here. I’m done dealing with his shit!”

I march back outside and get between the two of them. “Not here. Landon—I’ll be there tomorrow. David—a word?”

Landon shakes his head and walks to the curb to get into his SUV. David pins me with a look that would wilt flowers. I turn away from him and go back inside before we draw another crowd. He follows, slamming the front door behind him—the glass rattles so hard, I’m afraid it’s going to break.

“You’ll see him tomorrow? What the fuck is that? I leave for a few hours and what—he’s back in our bed?”

I exhale and spin on my heel, “What did you just say to me, David Greene?” My voice has risen several octaves in the process.

“You heard me, Beth. Are you fucking him again?”

My hand connects with his face and the sound is so loud that it startles me. He draws back in surprise, his eyes blazing with rage.

“How dare you, David. How. Fucking. Dare. You!” My voice wavers and then I feel tears hitting my cheeks.

The fight immediately goes out of his eyes and he sinks down into a dining room chair. “Jesus, Beth. I just accused you of being a whore. Please don’t cry. I’m sorry.”

I sink down until I’m sitting on the hardwood floor, my head resting on my knees. “You c-can’t do that to me, David. It’s n-not fair. If you automatically assume the worst—how are we going to make a life together?”

By the time I leave the gym, I feel much more in control of the anger. I was going to have to stick to my word and take things slow. I just needed to pull back and refocus my efforts. We had a lot of hurt between the two of us and I couldn’t expect her to just move through all of that overnight.

It killed me to think that she was basing her future with me on the results of a paternity test though. If I could just get her to remember why we fell in love—why we’re good together—maybe she’d choose me all over again, regardless of what the test said. I’ve got an idea of where to start as I turn onto our street.

And then I see
him
in my front yard.

All the good work in the gym—gone. I’m practically growling with anger when I shove the gear shift into park. Beth closes her eyes, bracing herself for the storm I’m about to bring.

I’m out of the truck and slamming the door shut before approaching him. The son-of-a-bitch has a fucking grin on his face.
I’m going to kill him.
“I swear to fuck, Landon. I thought I made myself pretty damn clear the last time you were on my property that it better be the last.”

I’m pleased to see the grin disappear, but before I can settle things between us, Beth is yelling out to Chuck across the street. I quickly realize she’s trying to divert his attention from what’s about to go down, but I have a sudden urge to laugh.

She’s made up some godawful story about Landon borrowing my tools and not returning them—I don’t even know how she came up with it. There’s a muscle twitching near Landon’s jaw and I can’t decipher if he’s amused or ready to throw a punch. In the meantime, I keep a wary eye on him.

When Chuck calls out a warning about borrowing things, all humor ceases. It hits way too close to home for me.

My jaw clenches in frustration, “Don’t worry, Chuck. Landon here won’t be borrowing anything of mine ever again!”

Beth catches my eye and I can see worry etched all over her face. She claps her hands together and forces a smile.  “Well, that settles that. No one is going to be borrowing anything in the future. Landon, lovely to see you. David—can I have a word?”

Landon decides now is the time to speak up. I’m pissed that she told him about filing for divorce. I feel as though my body is humming with rage as I pull Beth inside the house. I’m about three seconds away from decimating this fucker and I don’t want her to witness it.

I warn her, “Stay here. I’m done dealing with his shit!”

As usual, Beth does what Beth wants and she follows me right back outside. She gets in between us and sends Landon on his way. I can’t even think straight as I walk back inside—is she going to call him up to come over every time we fight? She’s cut deep with her actions and I’m ready to return the favor.

I snap at her, “You’ll see him tomorrow? What the fuck is that? I leave for a few hours and what—he’s back in our bed?”

She stops walking and turns on me, her voice getting higher after each word. “What did you just say to me, David Greene?”

The words come out in a snarl, “You heard me, Beth. Are you fucking him again?”

Her hand comes up out of seemingly nowhere before meeting my face. I’m shocked and for a second, the rage is deafening. Then, just as quickly as it came, it’s gone.

She responds, “How dare you, David. How. Fucking. Dare. You!” I’m certain she’s about to go on a tirade when I see the first couple of tears fall.

What the hell am I doing?

I sit down into a chair, the full weight of my words hitting me in the face just as she did. “Jesus, Beth. I just accused you of being a whore. Please don’t cry. I’m sorry.”

She slides down the wall until she’s sitting on the hardwood. “You c-can’t do that to me, David. It’s n-not fair. If you automatically assume the worst—how are we going to make a life together?”

The minutes seem to lengthen in the silence. I go over and sit down in the floor next to her, my sore muscles protesting. I take her hand in both of mine, my fingers make little circles over her soft skin.

“I left here earlier because I was pissed off that you’d still go through with the divorce if it turns out I’m the father. I went to the gym and tried to process everything you said. I still couldn’t imagine why you would deny yourself what you want because of one person,” She opens her mouth to speak and I lightly place my finger against her mouth.

“Let me finish. It wasn’t until I pulled up and saw Landon that it clicked. I love you, Beth. Hell, I’d kill for you if needed, but I won’t share you with him. I get it—you won’t share me with her either. So, we’re at an impasse here. What do we do?”

Beth pulls her hand from mine and my heart is fucking free-falling through the floor beneath me. I’m surprised when she grabs onto my shirt and pulls me into her, resting her wet cheek on my chest. “Landon came by—”

I cut in, “Hey, you don’t owe me an explanation—”

She haphazardly brings her hand up to my mouth and holds it there. “Shhhh…let me finish. Landon came by because of the alibi witness statement I gave. Apparently, he and Katya broke up for a while, but when he knew I was getting back with you—he went back to her. I gave a statement that contradicted that…I don’t know, I guess I’m still forgetting things from before the wreck. He said he was going to propose and then he asked me to help him find her. He’s organized a search party. That’s why he said he’d see me tomorrow.”

I sit in silence, her fingers still pressed to my lips. She wasn’t running back to him. It’s the only answer I need. I nip at one of her fingers and she seems surprised to find that they’re still pressed to my mouth. She’s been crying so hard that her eyes appear to be glowing blue.

I use my hand to tilt her splotchy face up toward mine. I don’t know what we’re going to do or how we’re going to make it through this—all I know is that she’s never looked more beautiful than she does in this moment.

“I love you too.” Her voice is quiet, but her words are weighted.
Am I okay with loving her for as long as I have her?
Could I love her enough to overcome the obstacles?

She brings her hands up and cups my face in hers, “I’m gonna love you for as long as I have you, David. I just want to enjoy every moment we’ve got—no more fighting.”

Her words echo my thoughts.
That’s got to mean something.
I don’t have time to dwell on it any longer because she presses her lips against mine and all rational thought ceases.

It takes a lot of effort to not lose myself in her mouth. I need to stay in control. I’m not getting her into bed until we reach some sort of resolution here. The problem is, when she kisses me like this, there’s nothing I want more. I reluctantly pull away when her hands find the hem of my shirt and start inching their way up.

“Can I take you to dinner?”

She sputters with laughter, “You really think that food is what you want right now?”

I groan, “No—I want you,” Her eyes light with desire before I continue, “but I meant what I said earlier. I want it to be right between us. So, dinner it is.”