Chapter 1
Annie curled up on the big brown sofa. She had her own special spot, perfectly worn out and broken in, making it the most comfortable seat in the house. Sipping her tea, she thumbed through the pictures of her fiancé and her best friend Marti. Naked. Having sex. In various positions. And it fucking hurt. She discovered the pictures in Marti’s things when she ran away from home at the ripe ol’ age of twenty eight. What fuckin’ drama!
Grandpa had left her the old antebellum ranch when he passed away last year and she had it restored to almost original after she moved in. She couldn’t restore everything to its original state because of building codes, but it was pretty damn close. She was happy with the work the construction guys were doing and even happier they had finally finished the inside of the house. All the sawing, pounding and banging were getting to her. Not to mention the lack of privacy. They were all working outside now and it was coming along very nicely. Too bad her heart wasn’t.
Her phone rang. It was Tommy, again. He had called four or five times a day for the past few days. She didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t want to talk to anyone. She put the phone on the table next to her. It beeped. Shit! Leave me alone! Voicemail. She picked it up to listen. Beeped again, text message.
“Honey, omw. love u.. got gr8 news.”
Oh great he’s fucking coming over and I am a hot fucking mess.
The past few days had been hell for Annie. Crying, eating, drinking and then crying some more. She was hung-over, dirty, tired and exhausted. She sat there in the same robe she had on when Tommy left. The roses he brought last week were still sitting in the kitchen on the big oak table, wilting in the heat. She hadn’t even opened the card.
Annie had absolutely no reason to leave the house since the big blow up. She gave up her menial job at the sushi bar the day Marti left. She liked her job, she just didn’t need it. With the few million dollars Gramps left her, she knew she would be okay for a while. Set for life.
She exhaled. She knew she caused a big mess coming back to Mountain View. The look on Tommy’s face when he caught her and Marti having girly sex said it all. And then the butt sex with him? And then to have the audacity to kick him out? And the pictures? The scenes kept playing over and over in her head like a really bad B-movie.
What are they doing? Are Marti and Tommy still together? They can’t be. She is with one of them almost all the time. Are they still hiding something? God, what is she doing to them? I miss both of them so much. Why does this hurt so fucking bad?
She walked over to the antique liquor cabinet and poured a shot of whiskey. She shuddered as the alcohol burned the back of her throat. She poured another. It was the middle of the day and she didn’t care. She needed something to take the edge off. To calm her nerves. Tommy would be there any minute. She slammed down one more shot of Southern Comfort just before she heard him drive up.
Shit! He was on his way up the steps, gently tapping on the unlocked door as he walked in with a bouquet of roses in his hand, a silly smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eye. She turned to look at him, her hair hadn’t been combed in three days and her eyes stung from all the tears.
“Hi baby, we found Marti, she’s okay, in Savan – what the hell happened to you?” He rushed over to her. “Baby, what happened?” setting the roses on the table.
She looked up at him, “Tommy, what do you mean what happened? What the hell is goin’ on? Why did you leave? What do you mean you found Marti? Are you still fuckin’ her?”
“Fucking her? What do you mean by that?” Raising his voice, “You told me to leave, what the hell was I supposed to do? Beg? Cry? You broke my fucking heart!” Exhaling as he ran his fingers through his hair, glaring at Annie.
“…When I left here, I went to find Marti… for you, I wanted to – What’s that?” he asked grabbing the pictures from the table, flipping through them. “Oh shit, is this what’s bothering you? Oh my God, Annie, that was so long ago. Fuck!” He paced back and forth across the hardwood floor.
She set her shot glass down and looked up at him again. “Tommy, you know what’s bothering me? You are. When you left here, I didn’t know what to think. Hours later I get a message from you saying you’re looking for Marti. Are you looking for her or screwing her?” she paused, catching her breath. “I have these pictures of you and her, right here, and I didn’t even know you went out with her, much less taking these fucking pictures while you were with her. This sucks, it fuckin’ sucks...Those are pictures of your naked ass and your dick fucking Marti and they were in MY HOUSE!”
Taking a deep breath, she went on. “First of all, I lost my grandpa and had to move back to this God forsaken place, then I lost my best friend, yes, I know I shouldn’t have had sex with her, but she is still my best friend. It was something new and fun. I had just lost my grandpa and I was hurt, confused. Then, my fiancé, the only man I have ever loved besides my grandpa, runs off to find the girl he used to go out with. And then,” she hesitated, “and then, you waltz in here like Prince Charming with these flowers like nothing happened ‘cause you found Marti. What the hell am I supposed to think? What am I supposed to do? God, Tommy, this is all too much for me!”
He sighed, reaching out to touch her arm. She flinched, pulling her arm away. “Annie, I’m sorry. I was so mad when I saw you two, I wanted to run away. I wanted to leave and never come back. But I stayed. I stayed because I love you. After we slept together that night, I knew I couldn’t leave you. I love you. You are the only girl for me. When you told me to leave, I thought if I found her, you would feel better, you would stop worrying, stop crying. I hate to see you cry. It breaks my heart.”
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “But you went out with her, and you didn’t tell me.”
“Yes, I did go out with Marti. But that part of my life is over. You are my life now and I love you.” He sighed. “Damn, Annie, can’t you believe me?”
“How can I believe you? Why didn’t you tell me before?” She sobbed.
He reached his hand to her face, wiping her tears with his thumb. “Annie, please, darlin’, sit down and let me explain.”
She sniffled. Her eyes puffed up and burning from all the tears “Okay, explain…What happened between you two? How come neither one of you told me?”
He slid his hand behind her back and pulled her to the couch to sit down. Tommy looked down, took a deep breath and started, “When I got back from Iraq, Marti was working at the school and I’d seen her a few times at the club, so I asked her out. She said yes and we started dating. I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I didn’t know how to commit, I did some stupid things and we broke up.”
“What stupid things?” She sniffed.
“Well,” he hesitated, “It was ugly. I went out on her with a few girls in Savannah. They weren’t anybody special, I didn’t fall in love or anything, just some girls I partied with and it ended up in sex. Yes… it was more than once and yes, Marti found out and left me.”
Annie reached over and pulled his face toward her, her eyes meeting his. “And? Are you done with these girls?”
He took a deep breath, wavering for a moment. “Yes, Angel, I am done with those girls. Once Marti left, I knew I had to get my shit together. Marti is a good woman, there’s no doubt about that. I hurt her real bad. And I knew if I was going to be a policeman, the people of this town needed to respect me, not hate me for being a womanizer or cheater or something. I knew I needed to straighten up and fly right. I got some counseling, went back to church and haven’t been with anyone since…until you got here.” He smiled, caressing her arm.
“But, why didn’t you tell me?”
He reached over and hugged her in his massive arms. “Darlin’, I really didn’t want you to be a part of that disgusting time in my life. I didn’t want you to think I was an asshole. I love you. This is my life, here…with you. The past is past. I can’t change that, but I would do anything for you. That’s why I went to look for Marti. God knows I don’t want you with that girl. I don’t want my lady having sex with someone else. I pray to God you never do that again, but she’s your best friend, Annie, and I had to find her…for you.”
She looked up at him and slid her fingers across his cheek. “Do you love me more than you loved Marti?”
“Yes, honey, I do love you more than I ever loved Marti, more than I knew I was capable of loving anyone.” He brushed her hair away from her face, kissing her forehead. She reached over and hugged him tight, smelling him, feeling his heartbeat through his shirt. She did love this man, and that warm, safe feeling came back to her as she held him close.
“Tommy?”
“What, honey?”
“Thanks for the flowers.” She sniffed, rubbing her eyes. “Thanks for finding Marti. I love you, too. And I’m sorry I told you to leave.” She squeezed him as tight as she could; her body ached to feel him again. She was glad to be back in his arms.
“Annie?”
“Yes, honey?”
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I love you so much. No more secrets, huh, no more lies, no more of this bullshit, okay?”
“Ok, baby. I promise.” She thought about the money in the trust. Would now be a good time to tell him we’re millionaires?
“Tommy?”
“Mmm-huh?”
“Can we throw those nasty pictures away?”
He leaned down to her, his mouth tenderly kissing her lips and whispered. “Anything you want, angel. Anything you want.” She shivered at his touch, his soft kisses tracing her lips, moving down her neck. He slipped his arm under her legs, lifted her up and carried her up the stairs.