ed at Todd then. And could barely control the anger that rose inside him as he saw Todd sitting there, appearing so nonchalant, so guiltless while he came begging on his young lover’s behalf.
What about Martha, dammit? How could Todd do this to her? How could he go home to her, climb into bed with her, knowing what he’d done? What he was still doing?
How could Todd face him, the man who’d trusted him, the man who’d stood up for him at his and Martha’s wedding?
How could he possibly think he’d get away with this? Especially in Shelter Valley. The town where everyone watched out for their own, where family still mattered, where right and wrong were still based on eternal truths.
Todd was leafing through a golf magazine that had been sitting on a corner of Will’s desk. He stopped at the ad for a new aluminum putter that Will was intending to buy.
“You’ve done a very thorough job and I thank you.” Will took special care to be pleasant as he spoke into the phone. After all, it wasn’t the man’s fault he was bearing such disappointing news. “Be sure you add the film and developing costs to your bill.”
Todd glanced at him as Will hung up. “Important call?” he asked. His curiosity wasn’t surprising, since Will had barely spoken a word during the entire conversation.
“You might say that,” he said now, scrambling for a way to do this, a way that wasn’t completely distasteful.
And then determined there wasn’t one.
“I now have indisputable proof that you’re having an affair with Stacy Truitt,” he said baldly.
Todd dropped the magazine. It lay on the floor, unretrieved and folded open. He stared at Will, his lips tight, thoughts chasing themselves across his face. He expressed none of them.
Oddly enough, his silence bothered Will most of all. Where was the boy he’d learned to play baseball with? The man he’d held when his mother had died during their sophomore year of college? The man who’d cried when his first daughter was born? The man who’d been Will’s rock when his own sons and daughters weren’t.
“Why?” Will finally asked.
Todd continued to stare at him, a nerve in his cheek the only detectable movement in his entire body.
“It’s over, my friend,” Will said. “It’s all going to come out.”
Todd nodded. His eyes were overflowing with emotion, and yet there was nothing about the man that was sagging or defeated. Or even regretful.
“What about Martha?” Will asked, angry again.
“How could you do this to her?”
Todd still said nothing.
“Don’t you care at all?”
Will’s voice was hard, his hand clenched into a fist on his desk. For the first time in his life, he wanted to hit a man. To smash Todd’s face until he felt some compunction, until he knew what it was to hurt. Until he was at least sorry.
“Of course I care.” There was no doubting the truth of Todd’s words when his silence finally ended.
“Then why did you do it?”
“She makes me feel something I’ve never felt before.” As sappy as Todd’s words sounded, his delivery wasn’t. He wasn’t defending himself, wasn’t really even explaining himself. He was just stating facts.
Will rubbed his fist with his other hand. “Lust’ll do that to you.”
“It’s not about lust,” Todd said. “She’s like…an angel, sent to earth specially to speak to me.”
Todd was losing him. There was absolutely nothing heavenly about adultery.
“She sees value in me that no one’s ever seen before. Makes me see value in myself that I didn’t even know was there.”
“Martha values you, man. She’s given her entire life to loving you, caring for your children, making a home that you’d be comfortable in, tending to your needs.”
“I know,” Todd said, bowing his head. “That’s what makes this so hard. But I love Stacy so much I can’t fathom a life without her.”