Chapter 37 - Dominic
“I wish I could.”
I read the words over and over as I lie back in bed. That means that she’s there against her will. It means they’re holding something over her. It means her father is right.
I jump out of bed and pull on my pants and jacket. I don’t bother tying my shoes – I just pull them on and rush out the door. My truck rumbles to life, and I peel out of the driveway and turn off towards the mountains. I drive faster than I should down the highway towards my brother’s house. When I make it to the big house, nestled on the side of the mountain, the porch light comes on and Aiden opens the door to greet me.
“Dominic! What are you doing here so late?”
“I need your help.”
My brother stares at me as I walk towards him. His eyes search my face and I can imagine what he sees. I’m sure my clothes are disheveled and my hair is all over the place. I can imagine the look in my eyes. He looks at me for a few moments and nods his head.
“Come in.” We walk to the kitchen in silence. “Coffee?”
“Sure,” I answer.
I slump down onto a chair as he makes a pot of coffee. He places a mug in front of me, and then takes one for himself before sitting down across from me.
“What’s going on?”
I take a deep breath.
“Mara’s gone.”
Aiden frowns. “Gone?”
I nod. “Gone. She left with her ex this morning.”
“Fuck…”
I shake my head. “No, it’s not like that. Something’s wrong. Look,” I pull out my phone and show him the messages. He reads through them and frowns.
“Dominic,” he starts. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up. This isn’t…”
“No,” I interrupt. “You should have seen her when she was leaving. It was like someone died. Tim McCoy pulled me aside and said he thought something was going on. And now she’s saying she wishes she could leave? Something is wrong. Something is really wrong.”
Aiden takes a deep breath and reads the messages again. He takes a sip of coffee and places the mug back down. Finally, he lifts his eyes to mine and shrugs.
“What do you want to do? What can you do? What can I do?”
“Give me the letters,” I say.
Aiden’s eyes widen and he shakes his head. “No.”
“Aiden! It’s the only way. I’ll bring them to Tim. He’ll see his wife for who she is and then we can confront her. We can figure this thing out!”
“You want us to drag Dad’s memory through the dirt? You want the whole town to know he was having an affair with a married woman? I can’t do that to him!”
“He did it, Aiden! He did it to himself!”
Aiden stares at me and shakes his head. “I can’t do it. It would start this feud all over again.”
“Aiden,” I start. I can feel my throat closing and my eyes watering. I’m begging my brother with my eyes as I put my palms flat on the table. I swallow and take a deep breath. “Aiden, I love her,” I finally say.
Aiden says nothing, he just looks at me.
“I love her, and she’s been taken away from me. Dad… Dad would understand.”
Aiden’s face scrunches and he looks at the floor. I can see the turmoil inside him as he shakes his head. He looks up at me and the depth of his pain is visible in his eyes. His voice comes out as a whisper.
“I can’t, Dominic. I can’t put his dirty laundry on display like that. What would people think of him? What would people think of us?”
“Give him the letters,” says a voice behind me. The two of us jump and turn to see Aiden’s wife, Madeline, in the doorway. She’s holding her dressing gown closed and has sleep in her eyes. She’s staring at Aiden and they exchange a wordless glance.
“Give him the letters, Aiden,” she says again, more softly this time. “Your father has been gone for ten years, and you have a chance to do something good. You have a chance to fix this silly feud once and for all. Isn’t that worth it? Isn’t that what he would have wanted?”
Aiden’s eyebrows are drawn together and it looks like he’s about to start sobbing. He’s wringing his hands and taking deep breaths. Madeline takes a few steps towards him and puts her hands on his shoulders. When she touches him, he crumples. A huge sob rakes through his body and Maddy wraps her arms around him, whispering in his ear. He lifts his hand to hers and takes deep breaths as she calms him down.
I watch them and my heart breaks.
I want that.
I want a woman who knows me inside and out. I want a woman who can point me in the right direction and help me make difficult decisions.
I want Mara.
Aiden finally lifts his eyes to mine and dips his chin down.
“Okay,” he relents. “I’ll give you the letters.”
My chest squeezes and I nod to my brother. “Thank you,” I answer.
When he hands me the stack of letters, he puts his hand on my shoulder and looks me straight in the eye. “I hope this works,” he says.
I snort and shake my head. “So do I, Aiden. So do I.”
He nods his head and steps aside as Maddy wraps her arms around me.
“Thank you,” I whisper in her ear as she gives me a hug. She pulls away and smiles at me.
“Get her back, Dominic. She’s worth it.”
My throat tightens and I look at the stack of papers in my hand. This is the key. I know it is. This will convince Tim to look at his wife differently. This will convince him that Mara is in real trouble, and she’s doing something against her will.
I don’t know why. I don’t know what they’re holding over her, but I’ll die before I let her be taken away from me.