“I don’t know what to do; something weird is going on,” I said to Michelle Bronson over the phone as we stopped on the side of the street. Maggie was still crying, so I picked her up to console her.
“What happened?” Michelle asked.
I explained to her what we’d just gone through and she told me I did the right thing by getting out of there. I was glad the police were going to take care of it—whatever it was I’d just walked away from—but there was still a matter of finding Jared.
“I’ll put someone on it,” she assured me. “Where are you right now? Do you know any of the neighbors?”
“Uh, I’m at—”
“Taryn, let me explain something!” John Miller’s voice said from the front porch.
It scared me to see him standing there at the front door, watching us. But he came down the steps like he was going to follow even further. “Stay away from us,” I warned him as I was about to rush across the grass to the next house.
“Taryn, what’s going on?” Michelle asked over the phone.
“You’ve got this all wrong!” John hollered. “Please listen to me! I didn’t hurt your sister, I swear I didn’t!”
I glanced over my shoulder before I stopped, just to make sure he was far enough away from me, and then I turned around to face him.
“Taryn, is he following you?” Michelle asked. “What’s going on? Talk to me!”
“He stopped in the driveway,” I told her.
“Keep moving,” she said. “Don’t talk to him; let the police handle it.”
I decided to do what she said and I continued on in the grass to the next house, stepping between their landscaping.
“I wanted to marry her,” John said loudly.
It made me slow again, and I waited for more.
“I loved her,” he said. “But she didn’t want to marry me.”
I turned around to face him and angrily asked, “So what happened to my sister!”
He slowly shook his head. “I don’t know. I swear I don’t know.”
“Why were you in Jared’s house?”
He didn’t say anything for a few seconds but he finally answered, “I was looking for an address for his house in L.A. He won’t give it to me and I just thought… I was just afraid that he’ll sell this place and I’ll never see him again. He’s my son. I know I’m not a great father, but I don’t want him to cut off all ties with me. I pretty much only see him when he allows it.”
I had no idea that Jared took such measures to keep his dad out of his life. I knew that they had a strained relationship, but Jared did make an appearance every now and then. I guess he did once say something to the effect that he would occasionally see his dad, but his dad didn’t come to him. I assumed that meant because of his father’s choice, but maybe I assumed wrong.
“He came to the office a couple of hours ago,” John continued. “We talked about some things… Rachel… Maggie… Jared mostly talked about you, though. He really loves you. He didn’t want anything to mess that up.”
I could hear sirens coming closer, so I felt more comfortable taking a few steps back onto the driveway so I could hear him better.
“I got mad at him,” he continued. “When he asked me questions about the, uh, murder. He made me mad,” he said, shaking his head. “I said some things…”
A patrol car pulled into the driveway and two officers stepped out and drew their weapons. I told them I wanted to hear what John had to say, so after they patted him down, they allowed him to talk to me as another patrol car pulled up. I sent Maggie to one of the female officers so she didn’t have to hear any more.
“I know I haven’t made the best choices in my life, but I didn’t hurt Rachel. I swear to you that I didn’t. She wasn’t interested in settling down, and I knew that she liked spending time with other men. But I could have accepted that. I knew all of her secrets, but I loved her anyway. I loved every part of her.”
I did believe him for some reason. I didn’t know if it was entirely the truth, but I felt it could be.
“Where’s Jared?” I asked him again.
He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I don’t know. He does that when he’s upset. Takes off and vents to himself, writes, I don’t know. He doesn’t like to be bothered.”
I thought about that for a moment, believing it was probably true.
“Why do you have his car?” I questioned.
He seemed confused for a second as he glanced at the Camaro in the driveway. “Uh, I’ve just been driving it this week,” he shrugged. “When he’s gone I borrow it, I guess. He came straight to my office from the airport; he took off in the same car that drove him.”
I considered tracking down the vehicle, or finding out who was driving him that day—it was my only option at the moment—but John had other things on his mind just as Detective Bronson pulled up with her partner.
“She was the one that broke things off,” John continued. “Rachel. She didn’t say why at the time—just didn’t return my phone calls—but looking back I think it was because of James. A few years later, when she asked me for a job, we did talk about it. I didn’t know some of the stuff she was going through; I didn’t know she was in an abusive relationship. I would have helped her had I known. She just shut me out instead.
“When she came to me looking for a job I was still bitter about being hurt by her. I hadn’t seen her for two years, but I knew I still wanted her back. I knew she was playing games with me over the paternity of her kid, but I didn’t care. I gave her the job because I was in love with her. It was stupid and a major conflict of interest, but I didn’t regret it. I was happy to be working with her, to see her every day. I kind of thought that we could pick up where we left off, but it didn’t happen until about six months ago.”
“What?” Detective Bronson barked. “You’re changing your story now?”
John seemed a little caught off guard, almost like he’d forgotten what he already told her. But he sighed and said, “We hooked up a few times, but not exclusively. We just kept it…casual. That’s all that Rachel would allow it to be.”
“But that’s still a relationship, Mr. Miller. When I ask the question, ‘Have you been in a relationship with Rachel Hartford recently,’ your answer should be: ‘Yes, we were sleeping together.’ ”
He took a deep breath and nodded his head. “I know. I was just…worried how that would look.”
“You’ve been obstructing our investigation,” she pointed out.
He didn’t reply with words and barely nodded his acknowledgement.
Detective Bronson motioned for him to be detained for more questioning even though I still wanted to drill him with my own questions. But I figured it was for the best since I needed to find Jared, and Maggie was looking a little overwhelmed with what was going on. It was even more interesting when another vehicle pulled up and parked on the road, and a nicely dressed woman stepped out holding a folder in her hands with a very concerned look on her face.
“Who are you?” Detective Bronson asked her brusquely.
She was visibly intimidated by the situation but cleared her throat and replied, “Um, I’m Janice Nix. I’m a, uh, realtor. I was asked to look over this house so it can be placed on the market. Is this, uh, the Miller residence?”
I was speechless because I realized for the first time that Jared was going to sell his house. I didn’t know what it meant and I barely had time to think about John’s mention of it earlier.
“Now isn’t a good time,” Michelle told her.
Janice agreed quickly with a nod but asked, “Was there a crime here?”
“No,” Michelle replied firmly, clearly getting agitated with her. “But we’ll find another agency to make the sale if you don’t make an exit.”
I kind of smiled to myself as the woman’s reaction was apparent through her eyes. Who could lose the opportunity to sell Jared Miller’s house?
When she left I took a deep breath, and Michelle
turned to me and said, “We’ll give you a ride.”
“To where?” I chuckled. “This is where I was heading.”
She thought for a second and then nodded her head. “Okay, let’s wait inside.”
“Jared’s dad was going through his things,” I decided to say as we walked with Detective Moore to the front door.
“Okay,” she nodded.
We entered the living room, and while I glanced around the main part of the house, Michelle took a phone call from someone that had tracked down Jared, and she told the person to send him home. I was relieved. I had no idea where he was, but I couldn’t wait to finally see for myself that he was all right.
He called while Michelle took a glimpse at his slightly overturned den as we walked by it, and my heart pounded when I heard his voice.
“Are you okay, Taryn? You ran into my dad at the house?”
“Everything’s fine,” I replied. “It was just a really…odd situation.”
“Damn it,” he said under his breath. “I’m so sorry, Taryn. Where’s Maggie? Is she okay?”
Maggie was asleep in my arms at the moment, most likely worn out from the emotional events that had just taken place. I was so thankful that he asked about her though, and I assured him that she was fine as I laid her on the couch.
“I’m on my way there,” he told me. “I just had a couple of things to take care of. I thought you were going to your friend Lexi’s? Isn’t that what you said? I’m sorry for all the confusion; I just thought you were there. My phone died and I didn’t have a charger with me. We stopped to grab one after, uh, I made another stop…”
“At the realtor?” I asked quietly.
He paused briefly. “Uh, yeah, I’m selling the Lake Stevens house. But we can talk about it later, okay? I’m gonna come get you guys and… Well, I love you, Taryn. So much. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
He really didn’t give me much of a chance to respond before he hung up, and I instantly felt uneasy about his tone.
When he arrived, he seemed a little startled that the police were still at his house with me, and even though he just kind of casually acknowledged them, I could tell something was wrong. They asked him if he wanted to do anything about his father’s intrusion but he just shook it off. “I don’t really care why he was here,” he said.
Michelle motioned for the two officers to leave as Jared came and gave me a hug.
“I’m sorry about all of this,” he said again. “I guess I screwed up.”
“It’s not your fault. I was really worried when I couldn’t get a hold of you, though.”
I began to tell him about my encounter with his dad when he stopped me mid sentence and said, “How about we talk about it in the car? I’m just, uh, gonna stay in a hotel for now…”
I knew something was up and I said, “Jared, just be open with me. Why do you want me out of this house? Is there something I should know?”
Michelle was also close enough to hear and he was hesitant. But I guess he decided to just get it out when he sighed and said, “Uh, my dad and Rachel…”
“They were seeing each other again. I know. He just told me that.”
He studied me for a few seconds, seeming to think it over. Then he barely mumbled, “Well, guess where they decided to meet up whenever I was gone?”
It took a few seconds for it to register, and when it did, I wasn’t sure what to think.
“He thinks he can just use whatever he wants of mine,” he continued. “I’m tired of it. I don’t want to be here again, and I don’t want him to have access to anything else of mine. I don’t want him to know where I live, or have a chance to come anywhere near me.”
It made sense to me, especially because of what John had said earlier about looking for the L.A. address. But to think that he and my sister had used Jared’s home for…well, for their meeting place… I could see why he was so bothered.
I didn’t ask any more questions after that. Michelle said we could leave, so Jared carefully scooped up Maggie and took her to the car with us. She was still sound asleep when we left Lake Stevens behind.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
It was getting to be awkward again. Jared had us checked into a hotel—in separate rooms at first, until I declined. Things just felt off, and I didn’t see any sense in segregating us from him any further when he was already putting emotional distance between us. I kind of let him be at first—he just sat on the couch for a while, fiddling with a leather band he always had on his wrist. He’d devoted all of his attention to Maggie when she woke up as we arrived, and while she was happy watching cartoons and munching on some goodies that he’d ordered for her, he started to get spacey. I could tell he was bothered, but we hadn’t had a chance to talk once Maggie woke up.
I’d been on the phone with my parents for a few minutes, updating them on a couple things. I kept it pretty vague, not even telling them about the whole paternity issue just yet. Mainly I informed them that we were in Washington with Jared while he took care of some business. I think I did a good job pretending that everything was just great, and we hung up on a good note.
Jared finally looked at me when I approached the couch to sit by him. Again he said, “I’m sorry, Taryn.”
I sat down and shook my head. “I don’t hold you at fault for anything. There’s nothing that you—“
“I already know the paternity results,” he said quietly. “My dad had it done a few years ago, just to be sure. I know he was being honest about the result.”
I stared at him for a few seconds, barely piecing together a complete thought.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I just didn’t know how I felt about it yet.”
My heart was thundering in my chest, but I almost didn’t need to ask for the answer. I knew the result because I could see it in his eyes as he got up to go to the bedroom.
Maggie was still absorbed in her cartoon, so I left her there and followed after him, whether he wanted privacy or not.
“I just wanted it to be,” he said softly as I entered the room. He sat on the bed, leaning on his knees and staring at the wall, and I closed the door behind me. “This is all just… It’s confusing, Taryn. I don’t like it. I don’t want anything to do with my dad, but for a second—a tiny second—I thought that maybe his selfish choices finally did something to benefit me for once.”
I swallowed as I sat on the bed next to him and I slid my arm around his shoulder. “Jared, I don’t know exactly how you feel, but you’re just a part of Maggie’s life as I am. Yeah I’m her aunt, but she was kind of just thrown into my life unexpectedly, just like she was yours because you’re with me.”
He took a deep breath and finally looked at me, seeming intent to listen.
“I don’t really care if you share the same DNA as her or not, you are such an important part of her life. I’ve watched you with her from the very first time, and there’s definitely a connection between you two. I don’t care if it’s not biological because maybe it’s spiritual. Maybe the two of you are connected by something stronger. I can’t dispute that, and I won’t. You can be a part of her life as much as you want. No matter what happens, I know that you’ll always be there for her.”
I couldn’t tell what he thought because he didn’t say anything for a while. He looked at me for a few seconds and then looked at the wall again. I was about to say something further, something along the lines of Maggie’s pure desire to have him in her life, but he surprised me with, “That sounds a little like the end of you and me.” It was my turn to be speechless because I certainly didn’t mean it to sound that way. But he looked at me again and said, “I can accept it—eventually—if you just admit it, Taryn.”
“I wasn’t thinking that at all. I- I just… I was only trying to guarantee your future with Maggie, if that’s what you want.”
“I want a future with you, too,” he told me. “I want you to guarantee that for once. I feel like you’ll always allow me to be a part
of her life—I’ve never doubted that—but I want to hear you promise me the same about you.”
I couldn’t say anything at first, and he slightly nodded his head like it was already confirmed. Just a day ago I was going to guarantee a future with him, and then everything changed. It’s what I wanted, and even though I knew I still did, I felt like I just needed time to reassess my life again.
“Jared, it’s just… I can’t promise anyone anything right now. It’s not that I don’t want a future with you—I don’t even have to think about it because I truly do—but I just can’t make any decisions right now. I don’t know why. I don’t know why I can’t be decisive. I just have this…constant fear, I guess. I’m afraid of making choices, and I avoid it. It has nothing to do with you, or how I feel about you.”
He was silent for a few seconds and then very softly said, “It’s because you’re still in love with Zack. And before you try to convince me otherwise, just know that I don’t hold that against you in any way.”
My chest felt tight at that moment because I knew that I really did love Zack. I guess the honesty of the situation made it seem real, and Jared was ready to say it out loud before I was.
“Taryn, I wish that things were different, but I’m the one that put myself in this position. I knew what I was getting into, but I just tried to convince myself that I was going to come out on top. There’s always been something really unique between you and I, and I’ve always felt it. From the first time I saw you, even. But now—because of this crap with my dad, and now I’m finally willing to be honest with myself—I realize things were never in my favor.”
“You shouldn’t jump to conclusions, Jared. I do love Zack—I think I always have, but just didn’t realize it. But you’re forgetting one major point here. He left. He didn’t have the same ideas that I—”
Love Today Page 24
