Blossom Street Brides (Blossom Street #10)(80)

“Please, Rooster, I’ll explain everything once I’m home.” She needed to get someplace private where they could talk undisturbed. Her head buzzed and her mouth felt dry, but not from thirst.

He gave her an odd look and seemed utterly perplexed. Well, he shouldn’t be. Lauren was badly shaken. Her nerves were stretched to the breaking point, and her stomach roiled in one huge knot.

They rode in silence so loud it hurt her eardrums.

As he drove, Rooster glanced her way once or twice, as if he was at a complete loss as to what had upset her. He should have known that she’d find out this information about him sooner or later. Elisa was right. She’d been naive and foolish, and stupid. Just plain stupid. She’d been caught up in this romantic fantasy that should be reserved for fairy tales. It took all the restraint she possessed not to press her forehead against the dashboard and close her eyes and pretend none of this was real.

Rooster parked the car in the proper slot in her parking garage. They climbed out and didn’t speak until they reached her condo.

They were barely inside the door when Rooster demanded, “Okay, what is it?”

For the longest moment, Lauren couldn’t do anything more than stare at him.

“Lauren, tell me!”

“This morning,” she started, her voice faltering as she struggled with keeping the anger and disappointment in check. “When I first told Elisa we were married, she was shocked.”

“So?”

“So … she asked me if I really knew you.”

“You know me,” he countered.

“Do I, Rooster? Do I really know you?”

“In the biblical sense, I would say you know me pretty darn well.”

He might have thought he was funny, but Lauren wasn’t the least bit amused.

Rubbing her palms together, she calmly stated, “Elisa asked if I’d read the background report my dad got on you.”

“Had you?”

“No, but my father had, so I didn’t think it was necessary.” What a fool she’d been.

“So you read it this morning after Elisa suggested it might be a good idea? And something in the report badly shook you?” Thankfully, Rooster was good at filling in the blanks. Before she could answer, he added, “You realize those reports aren’t always one hundred percent accurate.”

She wanted to believe that was the case with this one, but it was unlikely.

“Lauren,” he pleaded, “tell me, what did you find that was so horrible that you can barely look me in the eye? Whatever it is, we’ll straighten it out.”

For just an instant, hope flared that there had been a mistake, and yet, intuitively, she knew that might not be possible.

“Rooster, please don’t lie to me. I need the truth.” Her words were a plea and a cry.

He blinked hard. “I’ve never lied to you, Lauren. God as my witness, I’ve never lied.”

“Then tell me. Is this your first marriage?”

He couldn’t disguise his surprise. He opened his mouth and then quickly closed it again. “No.”

Lauren felt her knees go weak.

“I was married once before,” he added. “Years ago.” He walked across the condo and looked out the view window before finally turning around and sitting on the sofa.

“So a marriage that took place ‘years ago’ doesn’t count?” she asked, unable to disguise her sarcasm. “Is that what you’re saying?”

He gestured weakly, using both hands. “Lauren, get real. I’m nearly forty. Yes, I was married. I don’t understand. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal, as you call it, is the fact that you completely forgot to mention this tiny detail about your past.”

“So?”

“And so what else has slipped your mind?” she demanded.

“What do you mean?” he asked, losing his patience now.

Interesting, when she called him on this, that he would get defensive. That raised her suspicions all the higher. Elisa wasn’t the only one who watched those true-crime series on television.

She had more questions that demanded answers. “What about children, Rooster? Were there children?”

“No.” He hesitated, and then reversed himself. “Yes.”

“Is it yes or no?”

He exhaled sharply. “Lacey was pregnant when we married and then later miscarried the baby.”

“What happened?” she asked.

“How would I know?” he snapped. “Women miscarry babies. It wasn’t anything I did, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”

“What happened with the marriage?” she clarified.

He walked away from her and kept his back to her. “You’ll have to ask Lacey.”

“Unfortunately, she isn’t here for me to ask, but you are.”

It seemed an eternity before he answered: “We were both young, immature. I had a night job.”

“And she got lonely.”

He shrugged. “Something like that. Like I said, we married too young, before either one of us was ready to settle down.”

“How long were you married?”

“Not long.”

The vague answers upset her all the more. “A year? Five years? Ten?”