Darkness at the Edge of Town (Iris Ballard #2)(66)

“Anything you have to say to me you can say in front of my wife, Iris,” Billy said harshly.

Another point for Mathias, and he didn’t even have to be there. The bastard was really pissing me off. “Fine.”

Billy led us to a picnic table under a tree near the barn where it was only ninety degrees instead of a hundred outside. Betsy remained super-glued to him as if she were hanging on to a cliff I was attempting to shove her off of. Guess that wasn’t too far from the truth. As I sat down on the bench, I noticed in my periphery a man leaning against the barn. I thought I’d caught him before when we were touring the crops. I glanced his way and saw it was Ken staring straight at us. He must have been following us the whole time. I desperately wished I’d kept my gun with that realization. So much for free rein of the place.



We three sat at the table in uncomfortable silence for a long few seconds, all of us unsure how to proceed. I wasn’t completely confident about his current head space, so I needed Billy to set the tone of the conversation. Billy’s mouth flopped open a few times, but nothing came out. “I, uh, I…” he chuckled nervously. “I…can’t believe you’re here. Last I heard you were on tour or something.”

“Well, I cut it short so I could come see you.”

“Why? I-I mean it’s very nice of you, but…why?”

“Why do you think, Billy? You vanished. No one knew where you were. If something happened to you. Mom was losing her mind.”

“So it’s a day that ends in ‘y,’?” he said.

“Billy, you quit your job, left your fiancée, cleaned out your bank account, all with no warning. She was right to worry.”

“I left a note,” he said. “It explained everything. And it wasn’t out of the blue.”

“Tell that to Gia,” I said. “Your fiancée. Who is about to be thrown out of the home that you shared together for years because you took all her money. I spoke to her yesterday. Coming home to find her fiancé and money gone to parts unknown was out of the blue for her.”

Billy hung his head. “We’d been having problems for a while, Iris. And she knew I wanted to move here if I was ever invited. She made it clear she didn’t.” He glanced at Betsy, then turned back to meet my eyes. “I…Is she okay?”

“No, Billy, she’s not okay. She’s about to be homeless and is drinking a lot because the love of her life left her penniless. And all of that was before I told her about Betsy and her condition.”



Billy’s mouth flopped open in shock, and Betsy hung her head. “Y-You told her?” Billy asked.

“Yeah. And Mom, so thanks for that.”

“I can’t believe you told them!”

“I can’t believe you didn’t. They had a right to know, Billy. You were with Gia for years. You almost had a child together. She was at a complete loss as to why you blew up your life together. You should have been the one to tell her.”

“I-I wanted to spare her feelings. After the miscarriage…” He glanced at Betsy again before continuing. “I didn’t plan any of this. I didn’t. I never wanted to hurt her. It’s just…this is where the universe wants me to be. Here. With Betsy.” He squeezed his wife’s hand.

I glanced at Betsy, then back to him. I had to say it. “Are you sure it was the universe that wanted you here and not someone on this earthly plane?”

“What…?” His face fell. “What are you insinuating, Iris?”

Plant the seeds, Iris. He may hate you, but keep planting. “Just that…you two slept together once? Twice maybe? And now she’s allegedly pregnant?” Betsy shrunk in on herself. “Have you seen any proof?”

“Iris, shut up,” Billy hissed. “Just shut up. You don’t…God, do you have to be such a cold, cynical bitch all the time?”

“Billy…”

He wrapped his arm around his wife. “Yes. I’ve seen proof, okay? Not that it’s any of your business, but I saw the test. And before you say anything else against my wife, she offered to show me before I asked, which I wasn’t going to. But if you knew her you’d know she would never, ever do anything like what you’re suggesting. She is the sweetest, kindest girl I’ve ever met.”



“You’re right, I don’t know her.” I looked at the teary-eyed Betsy, then back at Billy. “But I do know you, Billy. You are not the cheating type. You aren’t. You are the sweetest, kindest guy I’ve ever met. You’d rather cut off your own arm than hurt someone else, especially someone you love like Gia.”

“I never meant to hurt her, Iris,” he said. “It wasn’t planned. And how dare you of all people lecture me on cheating?”

“I’m not lecturing. I’m trying to tell you I of all people understand. When I strayed, it was because I was at one of the lowest points in my life. I was angry. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was vulnerable. And Luke made me feel desirable. Worthwhile. Like a goddess. He knew what I needed to hear at the time.”

“You make it sound like he took advantage of you,” Billy said.

That was the point. In actuality, I was the one who took advantage of Luke that night. He was the gentleman who tried to put on the brakes, but I kept my foot on the gas pedal. “I just know what it’s like to feel powerless, then have someone come in and make you feel powerful, desirable, heroic even, for their own purposes.”