1
Chrissy
“Why are you giving him another chance?” Carrie, my best friend since high school, demands to know. “He’s spent more time in jail than he has with you. Chrissy, you filed for a divorce for a reason. What are you doing?”
I try to find the words to explain. Carrie doesn’t have kids yet, but I know it won’t be long before she and the sheriff are talking marriage and kids. It’s only a matter of time. “Katie doesn’t understand all this. She misses her dad. I owe it to her to give David another try.”
The look that Carrie is giving me lets me know she doesn’t agree. I reach across the table and squeeze my friend’s hand. “I know it isn’t ideal, but Katie has to come first.”
The divorce papers are final. At the time, it wasn’t a hard decision. I knew that David wasn’t good for me. And Carrie’s right. He spent some time in jail, but of course he always said it wasn’t his fault or he put the blame on someone else. He’s doing his best to convince me that he’s changed. And the way that Katie’s been missing her dad, well, I owe it to her to see if he has in fact changed. Granting David one more chance by going on a date with him is the least I can do for Katie.
“So where are you going and what will you be doing?” Carrie puts her hands on her hips. “Just in case David gets violent I’ll have something to tell the cops to give them a place to start looking.”
I laugh off Carrie’s worries. “I was married to David for nearly five years. I’d know if he is violent. He makes poor choices, he’s jealous and hot-tempered, but he’d never get physical with me.”
The worried look Carrie gives me lets me know I won’t be convincing my best friend. But how could I? Carrie is always hearing horror stories from Bart, her older brother, who is a police detective in Knox.
I get lost in my memories of how I had such a crush on Bart. He has always been a good man. I still get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about him. I used to dream that he and I would be married one day. Not that he ever knew it. I spent all my time watching him, but I made sure he never knew how I felt. When he left town after he graduated, I was devastated. It was during that time that I met David.
“What are you thinking about?” Carrie asks.
I shrug my shoulders. “Just about Katie and all this.” I’m not about to admit to fantasizing about Carrie’s older brother. Carrie had always gotten so disgusted when she’d thought I was mooning over him.
When I get up to leave the bakery where we’re eating the amazing latest new recipe of Carrie’s, she says, “Try to stay out of trouble. David gets himself in trouble every time he comes through to see you and Katie. It’s only a matter of time before he lands you in trouble too.”
“I’ll be careful,” I promise.
I walk past the bakery, passing by Get Fit, the fitness gym that I own. I know I really need to get going so I can meet David for the date I agreed to go on, but I stop by my gym to check in with the manager and to make sure they don’t need anything before I head out.
I no sooner walk in the door than Logan, the manager, is walking around the reception desk. “What are you doing here? You have the afternoon off, ya know. You’re supposed to be relaxing or whatever you had planned to do. You need to go out and have some fun. You work too much.”
I hold my hands up and hold back a laugh. Logan’s the best hire I’ve ever made. He doesn’t care, just tells it as it is. “I know. I know. I just wanted to check in, that’s all. I’ll get out of here.”
“We’ve got it all under control. I promise I’ll call you if I need anything.” He pats me on the shoulder, which includes a little shove to the door.
“I get it. I’m going,” I tell him as I wave to bye to him.
When I come out of the gym and turn the corner, I find David, my ex, red-faced and angry. He’s in the parking lot and putting away a switchblade.
“I thought you were going to pick me up at my house?” I ask.
“Thought it would be best to see what had you dead set on getting a divorce. I always knew those fitness freaks that work for you were a little too friendly.”
Jealous again. Shocker.
I’ve never cheated on him. Heck, the divorce is final, and I still haven’t gone out with anyone else. He’s always thought I was talking to other men online or something, no matter how much I assured him I wasn’t.