No One But You (Silver Springs #2)(72)

“And you’re proud of that?” A crash reverberated as Sly swiped his water glass and utensils to the floor. “You whore! No wonder I couldn’t get along with you! You don’t want a decent man. You want some dirty murderer in your bed.”

Sadie clenched her jaw. “Dawson’s no murderer. He’s a far better man than you. You’re the one who set the fire. I saw you outside my window! You knew I wasn’t coming back to you, so you tried to burn me out. To make sure I had nowhere else to go!”

He went silent. He wasn’t used to having her come back at him, let alone casting any aspersions on his character. In the past, she’d always tried to placate him, to keep the level of emotion down—for the sake of Jayden, for the sake of those around them, for her own safety. Especially if they were in public. But she was tired of his emotional vomit. If standing up to Sly meant war, there was no way to avoid it, because she couldn’t tolerate what he was doing to her any longer.

“You’d better kiss that little boy of yours goodbye,” he said, “because I’m going back to court, and I’m going to take him away from you.”

“Boy of mine?” she said. “He’s your son, too, and you’re an even bigger monster than I thought if you’d deprive Jayden of his mother just because I was so miserably unhappy with you!”

He grabbed for her. In that instance, she thought he was going to take hold of her and punch her. She dropped her pad and pencil as her arms came up to protect her face, but Pete grabbed him in a bear hug and hauled him back before he could reach her. “Come on. We’re getting out of here. Now!” Pete said and half dragged Sly from the restaurant.

Sadie was shaking when she bent to collect what she’d dropped. Everyone in the room was staring at her, and for good reason. She’d just had a knock-down-drag-out with her ex, who happened to be on the police force, after admitting to sleeping with the guy everyone believed killed his parents—with a hatchet, no less. A scene didn’t get more salacious than that. She’d be the talk of the town for weeks.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” Lolita came rushing toward her.

Sadie wasn’t sure she had the strength to stand. She’d experienced such extremes this weekend—fear and anger on one side, ecstasy on the other. She wasn’t sure her emotions could swing in a wider arc.

Fortunately, Lolita helped her to her feet. “Here, hang on to me.”

“I’m sorry.” Sadie could feel the shock and amazement in the room and chafed beneath the unwanted attention. “I didn’t mean to cause a scene. That isn’t right, not in a place of business.”

“You’ve never caused a problem before. It was that ex-husband of yours who was spoiling for a fight. Jealousy can turn people into the ugliest possible version of themselves.”

Lolita assumed this was an anomaly, that Sly was a normal person and extreme circumstances had led to extreme behavior. She had no idea what Sadie had lived with on a daily basis for over a decade. “I’m afraid he’ll try to take Jayden from Petra’s, to scare me if for no other reason. I’ve got to go. I know it’s not a good time, so I hope you’ll forgive me, but...I have no choice,” she said. “And this is it, my last day. I won’t leave Jayden again.”

*

Dawson was surprised to see Sadie pull into the drive. When he’d dropped her off at her car this morning, so she could drive herself home after work and would have transportation thereafter, he’d expected it to be noon or one before he saw her again, but it was barely ten o’clock.

He left the field he’d been weeding to meet her. He’d been thinking of her all morning, hadn’t been able to get the touch and taste of her out of his head. He’d been with plenty of women over the years, especially in college, but sex with Sadie had been different somehow, more fulfilling. Although he’d been trying to convince himself that he was overreacting, that a year in jail and becoming the most hated man in town would make a person more grateful for every kindness, every soft touch, he feared he felt more than mere gratitude for her “friendship.” Somehow, Sadie had really gotten to him. And he was pretty sure she felt the same. When he’d awakened this morning, she’d been gone from his bed, but every time he caught her eye, she’d smile and blush as if she was thinking about the same thing he was. She’d even sat a little closer to him in the truck when he took her to get her car.

Jayden came running toward him. “Hey! I get to be with you!” he yelled as if that was the greatest thing in the world.

Dawson couldn’t help smiling. At least he had one admirer.

Jayden squealed in excitement when Dawson swung him up on his shoulders. He loved riding there, loved any kind of affection. He was such an easy, good child—it made Dawson wonder how Sly could be disappointed in him. “Why are you back so early?”

“My mom came and got me,” the boy replied.

That didn’t answer the question, but it was probably all Jayden knew. Dawson held the boy’s ankles so he wouldn’t fall off as he finished closing the distance between him and Sadie. “What’s going on?” he asked as he reached her.

She lifted a box that reeked of smoke out of the back of her El Camino. “I got a call from Chief Thomas. He had my things, so I swung by the station to pick them up.”