Fireball (Cheap Thrills #1)(46)
Well, fuck my ass with a cactus. I didn’t see any of this coming.
As the story progressed, and he described how he’d done the job and encouraged me to move away, even asking the Chief of Police to look into me getting the job here while he wrapped up the case, I realized exactly how Tabby felt finding out my secret. The betrayal and hurt spreading through me was huge, but I also felt sorry for him being put in that position and having to live that life. Lies by omission weren’t the same as all out lies by intention, but they still hurt badly, like you hadn’t been trusted to know the truth by someone you cared for and who you yourself trusted deeply.
When he got to the part where Luli had been arrested yesterday, thanks to Ben Bakake (yes, he laughed at the name too) uncovering information, and her daughter of all people providing the rest in exchange for a mere year off the sentence they were aiming at for her, I closed my eyes with the relief that flooded me. I had my dad back. There hadn’t been a day hadn’t gone by where I hadn’t missed the man and wished I could just pick up the phone and talk to him, regardless of what I told myself or how pissed I was at him marrying her. It hadn’t just been down to the fact that I knew he was doing a job with Luli that had stopped me, it had been hurt and pride that had done it too.
As he wrapped it up, finishing with how she was facing charges and how she’d reacted when she’d found out that she wasn’t legally married to a police officer like she’d thought, I grinned wishing I could have seen it. That grin dropped though when I realized it was down to this case that I’d lost Tabby. No, that wasn’t fair. I’d lost her because I’d been a dickhead who hadn’t told her the truth upfront like I should have. She’d already been through enough in her life, and even though she hadn’t witnessed what her dad had done, she’d felt the betrayal from it too. I’d only added to that by being a stupid asshole.
Resting his elbows on his knees and watching me, Dad imparted some sage fatherly wisdom. Well, with the help of Hurst, obviously. “Do you love her?”
We hadn’t discussed Tabitha yet, so I assumed that Hurst had told him all about it. Looking between the two men, I replied, “I think so.”
Hurst’s eyebrows shot up at my answer. “You think so? Boy, if you just think so, then what the hell are you in a funk over?”
Mulling this over, I had to agree with him, but still. “Look, we weren’t together for long, so it’s all I have. This isn’t a teenage dream, it’s real life.”
“How long were you with your wife before you knew you loved her?” he asked Dad. “For me with Lindee, it was a two days.”
Dad didn’t even need to think about it. “Four and a half for me.”
Looking back at me, Hurst crossed his arms over his chest. “Well? It doesn’t have to take months for you to know, some people just do. And if you’re telling me that you just think so, then you need to go and have a look in the mirror and see what we do.”
I didn’t need to do that, I knew I looked like a wreck. I was roadkill which had been run over, pecked at by buzzards, nibbled on by a coyote who’d then shat on it, run over again by ten Mack trucks, and then shit on by Bigfoot. My beard looked messy and I never let it get to that stage, my hair was sticking up in sections because I couldn’t be bothered to tackle them like I had every morning since I was old enough to do it properly, and I’m pretty certain that my left eyebrow was sticking up in the air because I hadn’t dealt with that little bastard either.
Who was I kidding? “Ok, yes, I love her.”
With a nod of his chin, Dad involved me in his next case, one which both him and Hurst had come up with. She was either going to hate me or love me by the end of this, but I wasn’t taking no for an answer.
Chapter Twelve
Tabby
For some reason, I’d turned into one of those women in the movies who listens to sad love songs and walks around in her pajamas. It was tragic. When I wasn’t at school, I was in the suckers, I even wore them when I went to Jose’s to see her and Olivia. In fact, I was counting the minutes every single day, timing how long I had to go until I could put them back on. Today’s were Pepé Le Pew ones – only the best ones ever. Well, aside from my Elmo and Cookie Monster ones. And maybe my Star Wars ones. Shit, they were all my favorites which was why it was torture not wearing them. At least, that was today’s excuse. Even my hand was healed, and I hadn’t needed the check-up appointment at the hospital so I’d canceled it. I might even have burned the wrist brace they’d given me to make sure no one could tell me to wear it again. Little things helped when you were going through an emotional crisis, don’t judge.
It sucked because I loved my new job. It wasn’t often you found a school who would employ someone with visible tattoos, but they existed and Piersville was one of them, and they’d made my new start there painless. Even finding out on my first day that I’d be teaching some elementary school classes too hadn’t put me off it. I liked the school, and the kids were just awesome. They were all interested in the different types of art, listening as I discussed different artists with them, and trying out different techniques. And they loved the tattoos on my arms and kept suggesting new ones they thought I should get. Some of them read me perfectly and some of them not so much but I loved that they had ideas.