Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Have you been?”
“No, not yet. I meant to over the weekend but decided to lay low. I guess I’m not ready for the questions to start.”
Devy knew all too well what he meant. “Crow’s phone rang off the hook once people saw my car in the driveway. A few people came over, brought casseroles. Like they did after my mom died. He’s pissed.”
“At you?”
Devorah shrugged. “Maybe he’s gloating. I don’t know.”
“There’s a lot of pride in a man like him.”
“And his daughter is the laughingstock of the social media world.” Devy wiped at her cheek. “He doesn’t understand the whole vlogging thing, and I don’t have the patience to explain how people post stupid shit for likes and views.”
“Something tells me she didn’t post a video like that for likes, but to come clean.”
Devorah scoffed. “How about telling me in private, so I’m not embarrassed and leaving town with my tail tucked between my legs?”
“What does Chad say?”
She looked at Hayden. He seemed genuinely concerned for her feelings. “You know how when you’re watching a movie, and the person gets caught with the wrong person and they say, ‘It’s not what it looks like’?”
Hayden nodded.
“Yeah, that didn’t happen. My husband covered himself up and left his mistress lying there, naked as the day she was born. Those words never came out of his mouth. He didn’t apologize or beg me to listen to him. He got angry with me because I threw up on her front lawn and didn’t have any shoes on.”
“Because you’d just had a pedicure.”
Devy nodded. “Yep. Then he told me he loved her.”
Hayden leaned toward her and gently rubbed his thumb along her cheekbone, wiping away her tears. “I don’t mean to make you cry.”
“You’re not,” she told him. “My thoughts make me cry.”
“Still, we don’t have to talk about it.”
“Yeah, you asked about Colt. I haven’t been to the Lazy Lamb either. I’m sure I’ll go this week sometime and pretend everything’s great and smile my way through town while I wait for the other shoe to drop.”
“Being?”
“That someone here has seen the video. It’s humiliating enough to know my entire community in Chicago saw it, but if it reaches here . . .” Devy groaned. “Maren’s been through enough.”
“Maybe Chad should ask his friend to take it down.”
“We’d have to be on speaking terms.”
“Silent treatment, huh?”
Devorah shrugged and readjusted in the seat. “I don’t have anything to say. Besides, deep down, I don’t want to hear how this is my fault or how happy he is now that I’m not there.”
Hayden reached over and touched her hand lightly. “We’ll go to the Lazy Lamb together. This way, the town gossips won’t know which way to go with the tales.”
“Thanks, but I don’t need your pity.”
“It’s not pity,” he told her, but that was how she saw it. She didn’t need to be seen with him so people wouldn’t judge her. Eventually she’d have to face the music, and it would be best to do it with her head held high. Ignorance was bliss, and Devy banked on no one in Oyster Bay having seen the video.
Devorah wrapped her fingers around the door handle and paused. She glanced at Hayden, who stared back at her. “Thanks for the talk.” She opened the door and slid out, not giving him a chance to talk her out of walking in the rain. The rain hid her tears, which she needed right now in case she ran into someone on the street. Not that many people would be out, but people were always willing to brave the wind and downpours to do their daily business.
On her walk toward her father’s home, she passed by the Lazy Lamb. She glanced at her watch, wiped water from the top, and saw she’d sat in Hayden’s truck for almost two hours. It was almost lunchtime, and her stomach was growling. Instantly, her hand covered her midsection to stifle the noise, although it was unlikely anyone else could have heard it anyway. The action was habit, and if Chad had been with her, he’d admonish her for not eating, and then, once she had, he’d mention how snug her pants were or ask how the gym was, knowing full well she hadn’t gone.
As hard as she tried not to think about Chad, he flooded her memories. She missed him and didn’t know how to turn off those feelings, even though the thought of him repulsed her. After spending the last two decades of her life with the man, the only image she could recall was the one embedded in her mind—her husband thrusting into another woman. It was seared there, playing on constant repeat, to remind Devy of her failure as a wife.
The door to the Lazy Lamb opened, and two men walked out. They didn’t see her standing there and speed walked toward a parked car along the curb. The door shut slowly, giving Devorah enough time to tell herself she didn’t want to go in and see her brother, especially looking like a drowned rat. Giving the fine people of Oyster Bay more fodder was not high on her priority list.