Anger and humiliation flared in her eyes as she pointed behind me, her voice rising to match mine. “It’s time you leave. This is incredibly inappropriate behavior for a school.”
A sharp, disgusted laugh burst from me. “Says the woman who stripped naked and waited for my husband to find her in his school office,” I ground out, enunciating the last words. “You were trashy in high school and you’re trashy now. Next time you try tricking someone into fucking you, make sure he’s single . . . or at the very least interested.”
Beau was suddenly there, pushing past Stephanie and coming for me. The corner of his mouth twitching like he was fighting a smile, eyes like fire and burning with a look that had my heart pounding out a wild beat as my stomach erupted into chaos.
All primal need and blatant hunger.
Without slowing, he curled his arm around me and pulled me against his side, quickly leading me back the way I’d come.
“God damn,” he whispered under his breath as we pushed out of the main office and into the hall, turning for the large doors that led outside. “Do you have any idea how badly I want you right now?”
I glanced up at him, taking in the sharp line of his jaw as he clenched it tight, and felt a small smile tug at my lips. “Show me.”
A groan rolled up his throat as he stopped us a handful of feet outside, turning to face me while keeping me in his arms. “Tempted,” he said tightly. “I gotta finish a meeting in there. I’m also supposed to be at Sawyer’s right now, so I’ll have to run by there for a second after school’s out.” His head dipped low, eyes holding mine when he continued, voice all gravel and sex. “But when I get home, I’m fucking you wherever I find you.”
A shiver rolled through my body at the words that held a hint of warning. “I’ll be waiting.”
He pressed a hard kiss to my mouth, his tongue slipping between my lips and giving me the cruelest tease before he pulled away and took a step toward the doors again, mischief lighting his eyes. “As much as I loved it, maybe don’t come into the school, yelling and calling people whores . . . especially when they’ve just been fired.”
I inhaled quickly but tried to recover. “Oh no,” I said dully. “How sad.”
“Right.” The word was all disbelief as a whisper of a laugh scraped up his throat. “Go enjoy the rest of your day.”
“Hey!” At the questioning lift of his chin, I gestured over my shoulder in the direction of our house. “Thank you for my flowers.”
One of his rare smiles flashed, his dimples greeting me for a moment before he pushed on the door. “Angel,” he murmured before disappearing inside.
I turned, heading for my SUV and already feeling infinitely lighter than I had hours before and wondering if I should feel bad for any of the things I’d unloaded on Stephanie Webb before deciding I didn’t care.
Not then, at least.
Later, when talk in the town shifted to her, I knew I might. I knew I would go over all the other ways I could’ve handled it. But as I climbed into my car and started toward my original destination, I kept thinking of all the hate-on-Beau messages I’d been receiving because of what Stephanie had done. What she’d tried to do, happily taking Beau down and dragging our marriage through the streets of Amber even when she hadn’t gotten what she wanted.
And I knew if I had to do it all over again, I’d go right back into the school and unleash every pent-up thought.
But as I pulled up to Madison Black’s childhood home, there were no pent-up thoughts, and that lighter feeling seemed to be disappearing with every second because I had absolutely no idea how this would go.
I just knew it needed to be done.
With a steadying breath, I turned off my SUV and climbed out. Taking in the two-story house I’d spent so much time in growing up before landing on the window of Madison’s old bedroom, mostly hidden behind the large tree that had always been our source of mischief.
Stepping onto the porch, I lifted my hand to knock just as the door was opened, revealing a bouncing Avalee and Madison.
“We—” Madison’s words cut off when she saw me there, shock covering her face.
“Wyatt’s mommy!” Avalee shouted. “Did you bring my friends, Wyatt and Quinn, with you?”
“Not this time,” I said and tried to offer her the biggest smile even though my emotions had gone all over the place when they opened the door. “They’re hanging out with their grandparents this week—but next time, okay?”
“Did you hear that, Mommy?” she asked, looking up at Madison. When Madison didn’t respond, Avalee looked back at me. “We’re going to see my Hunter.”
“Oh,” I said, stepping back.
“No,” Madison said so quickly it stopped me in place. “No, uh . . . later. We’ll go see him later.” She dropped her bag unceremoniously on the floor and then placed her hands on Avalee’s shoulders, turning her back into the house. “Go find Mamaw. Ask if you can help her water the flowers.”
I gestured awkwardly between Madison, my car, and where Avalee was already darting away. “I don’t wanna stop y’all—”
“It’s fine, trust me,” she said just as fast, voice pleading. “You wanna come in?” Her face creased in a mixture of regret and hope. “We can sit on the floor and plan out a woman-scorned revenge against me.”
Confusion moved through me as I took a hesitant step inside until her words tugged at a memory, forcing a stunned laugh from me.
“I can’t believe you’re not screaming over this,” I’d said to Madison when she’d explained all about her ex-husband’s long-term affair. “Or breaking down—something. I’d be an inconsolable mess, curled up on the floor, planning out a woman-scorned revenge.”
“Yeah,” Madison whispered as she shut the door behind me and led the way into the living room. “I imagined you doing exactly that if you ever found out.”
“I never did.” My head slanted as I amended, “I did end up on the floor a lot . . . just not planning my revenge.”
Her smile was all pain when she faced me as we reached the couches. Just as she started to sit, she stopped and asked, “Can I get you anything? Water, coffee . . . whiskey . . .”
An uneasy laugh tumbled from my lips as my hand subconsciously passed across my stomach. My head shook even as the words broke free. “Thirteen years?” One of my shoulders lifted. “You can get thirteen years back for me.”
Her glassy stare darted away but snapped back to me and widened when I continued.
“Why did you leave, Madi?” I asked, voice filled with pain and begging to understand. “I hate that it happened at all, and I am absolutely furious for so many reasons. But I am so hurt that all of it led to you being so far removed from my life—from Hunter’s life—for years. That it ended in so many lies. That it drove Beau to lie to me and keep things from me for so long.” I clenched my teeth when my jaw began trembling and gritted out, “If y’all had just told us then, so much of that pain could’ve been avoided.”
Her head shook quickly as she sank to the couch. “I was terrified,” she said, looking up at me as tears spilled down her cheeks. “I thought—” Her throat shifted with a forced swallow, her eyes pleading with me to understand. “I know Hunter told you everything, so you already know I thought I was pregnant. Hunter’s,” she hurried to clarify.
“Right,” I acknowledged softly as I sat beside her.
“And even then, Hunter was—gosh, Savannah, he was everything to me, you know that. I would’ve found a way to marry him, I didn’t care how young we were. But still, pregnant at seventeen was an absolutely terrifying thought. Thinking I was pregnant in the middle of the worst months of my life?” A jagged breath escaped her. “I already felt like I was suffocating, then Beau said he was gonna tell you, and it felt like my world started collapsing. I panicked. I was so sure none of us would survive that, so I did what I thought I had to so at least some of y’all would.”
“We would’ve survived better if you’d stayed.”
&n
bsp; “I was seventeen,” she said softly. “I couldn’t see that. I made a mistake, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t just let Beau do what he wanted, that I pushed him into lying to you for so much longer. I thought I was protecting everyone. If I could change it all, I would.”
I nodded, thoughts drifting as I wondered what our lives would’ve been like if they had told us. If Madison had never left.
How different everything would be then.
“Me too,” I mumbled.
“But, Savannah, what’s happening between y’all now because of this . . . y’all can’t get a divorce. You love him too much to let this be the end.”
“I—what? We aren’t,” I said firmly, surprised that Madison would’ve listened to town gossip.
She blinked quickly, her stare falling to my hands before searching my face. Her voice uncertain when she said, “Hunter said you gave your wedding ring to Beau . . .”
“Jesus, how many people know?” I asked, groaning out my regret and shame.
“I was with Hunter when Cayson called,” she explained, apology twisting around the words. “He said Beau had texted, asking to buy the condo, or something like that. Hunter and Sawyer met Cayson there to talk to Beau. Hunter filled me in the next day.”
My head bobbed subtly before shaking. “It was a mistake—I’ve been such a mess. Hating that Beau’s been gone but not ready for him to come back. Every time he tried talking to me, I either lost it and said the meanest things, or didn’t say anything at all when I absolutely needed to speak up.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m sorry for my part in this.”
“I know you are, and I know he is,” I breathed, my soul aching as bursts of Beau’s agony this past week flashed through my mind. “But I wasn’t allowing myself to really deal and come to terms with what happened, so I couldn’t see a way of getting past any of it. And I kept pushing and pushing him away while, inside, I was screaming, absolutely terrified I would lose him.”
“Tell him this,” she urged gently.
“I have.” I looked to the side as I thought, a wry smile playing at the corner of my mouth. “In so many words. Somewhere in the middle of talking and crying and yelling and rounds . . .” I mouthed the words one, two, three, lifting the respective fingers as I did.
Madison inhaled quickly, expression all surprise and feigned shock. “Savannah!”
A soft laugh rolled up my throat, and for a second, it felt like the old days with her. “We’re gonna be great,” I said confidently, “it just took me a while. Longer than it maybe should’ve because I was too afraid to see where we’d end up . . . but we really are fine. And speaking of rings.” I reached out for her hand, genuine happiness blooming in my chest as I looked at the diamonds decorating the band on her finger. “Congratulations.” I tugged on her hand before releasing it. “I get to say that this time.”
Her chest shook with a muted laugh, her eyes studying mine as if searching for any lingering resentment. “You’re not mad?”
“At you? God, no. I was shocked when Beau said it and mad that the boys kept it from me until then. But you and Hunter? Madi, that’s . . .” I shrugged. “I told you when you came back, that’s all I wanted for him and what I want for you, even still.”
“Thank you,” she said, voice soft and strained. “You have no idea what that means to me—what you being here means.”
“Yeah, well, for a while, I kinda thought I’d start screaming when I saw you. So, just so that’s out in the open.”
“I expected it.” Her eyes danced as she leaned against the couch, resting her head in her hand. “Something totally amazing in that Savannah way that can make even the Dixon boys hang their heads in shame.”
A laugh burst from my lungs. “Well, I think I got all that out about fifteen minutes ago with Stephanie Webb.” My eyes rolled as I said her name.
Madison’s eyes and lips popped wide. “Oh my gosh, I heard about the that. Poor Beau and poor you. What’d you say to her?”
“Um,” I said, voice rising in pitch as I avoided her curious stare. “Some things I probably shouldn’t have considering I went after her where Beau works. Which, you know, just so happens to be a school.” My tone lowered and quickened as I rambled, “I might’ve mentioned that she was a whore and never had a chance with him, and the next time she tried to trick someone into fucking her, he should actually be single . . . among other things.”
Madison’s shoulders bounced with her silent laughter. When she finally caught her breath, she said, “Let the town networking system spread that.”
“I’m gonna feel terrible for it later.”
She made a face like she didn’t believe that. “Eh.”
Another laugh left me as I matched her position, relaxing against the back of the couch, facing her. Savoring the feel as the last of the weights left me and were replaced with a deep sense of contentment.
The difference after my afternoon alone in my thoughts had been staggering. But my thoughts and emotions had still been so at war until I’d been faced with finally having it out with Beau.
I knew there were still some things he and I needed to discuss. Clear up. But I felt so at peace after fighting it out with him and the short and simple confrontation with Madison.
“So, what else have I missed, since apparently the Dixon boys like keeping me out of the loop?”
Amusement and affection played on her lips as she thought. “Oh!” she suddenly gasped, leaning forward and tucking her legs up under her. “Oh my gosh, so much has happened.”
“Oh my God, are you pregnant too?”
Her head jerked back, a startled look dancing across her face for a moment. “What? No.” Leaning forward again, she dropped her voice to a low whisper. “You were so wrong about the whole Hunter-and-Isabel-Estrada thing. And, oh my gosh, the whole that with them was . . . friend, it was whoa. Raf broke up with the homewrecker not long after getting traded to Dallas, and Avalee’s so happy to have her dad here. And he and Hunter are really cool with each other, which makes things so much eas—”
“Wait, wait, wait,” I said quickly, holding up a hand as I tried to back through what she’d just said about her ex to the first part. “Hunter and Isabel?”
Her eyes widened significantly. “Yeah. So, right before I blurted out everything about that drunken night and the following months to Hunter, I found out he was also in love with Isabel. That they’d been in some kind of extremely long-term, non-relationship relationship before I came back. And I’d ruined that too.”
I stared at her for a while, completely dumbfounded. “Why doesn’t anyone tell me anything?”
“No one knew,” she said with a slow shrug.
Sitting back against the couch, I gestured between us with a finger. “Tell me everything.”
* * *
Madison’s laughter slowly faded as she reached for where her phone sat on the table a while later.
“It’s my Dixon,” she murmured with a secretive smile as her finger swiped across the screen.
I gasped and reached for my purse, only to realize I’d left it in the car. Not that it mattered, I was pretty sure I’d left my phone at home when the calls and texts about Beau had gotten to be too much. “Oh God, what time is it?”
She turned her phone so it was facing me. “Someone’s looking for you.”
Hunter: Beau called looking for Savannah. She still there?
“I have to go,” I said, already standing.
Madison’s brows pulled tight, but she tried to huff out a tease. “You in trouble?”
A wicked grin slowly crossed my face. “I hope so.”
Her mouth fell open and she smacked at me with her phone. “Gross. Gross. I don’t wanna know.”
“You asked.”
“And I regret it! I don’t need to know about your thats.”
“Speaking of,” I said a little too innocently as I headed for the door. “Y’all better be using protection.”
&nbs
p; “Thanks, Mom,” she said dryly.
I turned at the door, failing miserably at fighting my excitement. “Emberly’s fourteen weeks, right?”
She squinted her eyes at me, trying to figure out where I was going with this as a hum of acknowledgment sounded in her throat.
“Rae’s ten.” I let my hand pass over my stomach and added, “Almost seven.”
She sucked in a gasp, looking like she was ready to burst from excitement. “Are you serious?”
“You’re next, and with those gaps, I’d say you might already be pregnant.”
Her expression fell. “I’m gonna need to fit into a wedding dress first.”
“Would you be mad?”
“Not even a little bit,” she said with a grin. “We’re . . .” A sharp exhale left her, and her smile softened. “I’m so lucky, Savannah. So lucky to have him. He loves Avalee, and everything he does is for me and her. She’s never an afterthought for him. He’s also very respectful of the fact that she has a dad even though he already views Avalee as his own. But we very much want kids.”
“You . . . want kids with Hunter Dixon . . .” I said sarcastically as I fought a smile. “I never would’ve known.”
She playfully smacked at my arm.
“I’m pretty sure y’all had names picked out for your kids when we were in middle school.”
“Okay, but they also changed every year,” she reasoned before lifting her shoulder in a little shrug. “But, no, I wouldn’t be mad. We’re getting started on everything thirteen years late, so we’re not trying to put anything off. Just taking some things a little slower for Avalee.” She gestured to the side with a jerk of her chin. “Moving in with him. The wedding. But we’ve been taking her to pick out things for her room at his place a little bit at a time, and we’re both gonna stay there this weekend to see how she reacts.”
“And a baby takes time,” I said thoughtfully.
“Exactly.”
“On that note . . .” I gave her a suggestive look and opened the door. “I have a husband waiting for me.”
Fire Page 36
