Etching Our Way (Broken Tracks 1)

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My brows draw down as I narrow my eyes even further at him. Then it clicks, the way he’s been acting around her; staying all the way over in the city.

Dammit. I knew something was going to happen between them. Ever since that night at Mom’s for dinner, I could feel it in the air, I could see it happening right in front of my eyes.

I know that they’ve known each other for more years than I’ve been alive, but never did I think that they’d be… doing whatever the hell they’ve been doing.

Great—now I have those images in my head. Images that I do not want there.

“You and Mom, huh?” I ask, knowing that I’m spot on when he turns away and doesn’t answer.

I really don’t know how to feel about this; on the one hand Edward has been like a father to me all of my life, but on the other hand, it’s going to get weird, him being my driver and my mother's… boyfriend.

“I know that you’re my boss,” he starts, pulling up to the sidewalk outside my office building that he’s made it to in record-breaking time. “But if you’re not comfortable with it…”

He leaves that hanging in the air and I look him dead in the eyes, trying to decipher how he really feels. I can see something there that I could see years ago... happiness. Something that hasn’t been there for a very long time, and when I think back, the only time that he had that look was when he was talking to Mom or taking her somewhere.

Had I missed it all these years? Had something been going on all this time?

“How long?” My voice comes out gruff as I start to see them both in a very different light.

“Huh?”

“How long, Edward?” I lean forward, narrowing my eyes at him, silently warning him not to lie to me.

He pushes his pointer finger in between his neck and his collar, pulling at it and visibly swallowing. “A couple of weeks.”

My brows rise on my forehead at his admission. “That’s it? Not when I was a kid?”

“What?” He practically shouts. “I’m a professional, Tristan, you know this. I would never have done anything with your mother while she was still married to your father. I wouldn’t have done that to you or her, no matter how much I loved her.”

His admission has me speechless and I don’t know what to say so I lean back in my seat, staring out of the window and up at the office building where I know someone is waiting for me to have a meeting. “You’ve loved her all this time?” I ask quietly.

“I…” He lets out a breath, his body deflating. “Yeah.”

I nod slowly, trying to take it all in and then turn to face him, putting my hand on the door handle and pulling at it to open the door. “You hurt her,” I warn. “And I’ll hurt you; are we clear?”

“Crystal.”

I nod once and step out of the car, doing my jacket button up and rolling my shoulders back. Time to run my business and get those goddamn images out of my head.

“So, everything is done?”

“Preliminarily? Yes. Legally? Not yet, but it shouldn’t be too much longer until you’re a free woman,” Nate says. “He agreed to everything, you’ll get your half of the savings, like agreed. He also has specifically stated he wants nothing to do with your studio so your worries are unfounded there, he has no intention of trying to get half of your profits.”

A sigh of relief releases from between my lips and I lean back in the leather chair with a smile on my face. The divorce is nearly over. “You don’t know how much of a relief this is, my studio is all I have.”

He nods and clears his throat. “It’s been a straightforward process, I almost feel bad for taking your money.” He winks at me and I laugh.

“Not too bad though, huh?” He chuckles and stands as I do, that same look on his face like he wants to say something. I huff, “What?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing, I’ll walk you out.”

“Thanks, I hope I can make it back in time for my first session of the day. Traffic was a nightmare getting into the city this morning.”

“Well, we won’t need to see each other after today. You’ll receive the divorce certificate through the mail when it’s nulled and you’ll officially be a Jameson again.”

I stop before the front door to the law firm and turn toward him. “Seriously, Nathan, thank you so much for this and for fitting me in on a Saturday.”