After It's Over Page 16

  If she kills herself with my gun, that could open the door to a world of questions. I need to get my gun back. It’d also be really bad if she killed herself. Would she really do it? Am I worried for nothing? Do I even know enough about Beth to answer any of these questions?

  Ben leaned against the wall. He only committed to memory what really mattered, like when baseball season started and the once a month when he needed to avoid Paige.

  Beth was twenty when we met. She was young, but seemed so experienced. Where’s she from? I don’t know. She said she’d been given orders to come to Utah, but I have no idea where she came from. I’ve never met her family or a single one of her friends.

  Ben racked his brain for information about Beth and only ended up with headache. He did know that Beth had married a guy in another squadron shortly after he’d married Paige, but he didn’t know the guy’s name because Beth had only married him to get even with Ben for marrying Paige.

  What else do I know about her? I know she always liked what I liked. That’s weird, isn’t it? Paige doesn’t like even a few of the things I like. Of course, we have almost nothing in common, which is why we either run out of stuff to talk about or end up arguing. Hmm…Beth might have had a point. Focus on Beth, not Paige. Okay, there’s the other time we broke up.

  Ben struggled to remember exactly what had happened. His instincts told him that memory might give him a better idea of just who Beth Barton really was.

  ***

  Ben had been in bed with Beth, when ten-year-old Bianca came running into the room. She had cried and said she’d had a bad dream. When his young daughter realized what she’d stumbled upon, she ran sobbing back to her bedroom. Ben got up to talk to her, but Beth stopped him. She clung to his arm.

  “Don’t go, baby. She’ll be fine. Besides, what will you say to her?” Beth gave him a look that said he was better off in bed with her.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t want her to wake her sisters.”

  “I can’t hear her, which means her sisters can’t either. Let her be. She’ll get over it. Kids are so resilient.” Beth threw off the sheet and smiled seductively at him.

  Ben didn’t know what to say to his daughter anyway, and he liked what Beth was offering. He got back into bed and completely forgot about Bianca. After they were done, Beth snuggled up to him.

  “You know what would be fun?” she asked.

  “What?” he murmured.

  Ben would’ve been asleep, but Beth kept spooning him and making him hot. He picked up her arm and gently lifted it off his side. She put it right back down and pressed herself into him. He scooted away from her; Beth rested her chin on his shoulder.

  “Maui. I love Maui. Have you ever been there?” she asked.

  “No, Evelyn and I were supposed to go there on our honeymoon, but I had to go to basic training instead.”

  “Oh.” Beth dragged her manicured nails down his back. “We could go there you know.”

  “Kids are expensive, so I’m kind of broke.”

  Ben had plenty of money. He just wasn’t interested in spending any of it on Beth.

  “Well, I have some money saved up, and we both have vacation time.” Her voice was sweet as she batted her eyelashes at him.

  He rolled onto his back and sat up. “How do you know I have vacation time?”

  She shrugged. “I talked to Sarah in payroll.”

  “You asked her about my leave time? That’s really not any of your business. We’ve only been together—”

  “We’ve been together a year, Ben. A year! Everything about you is my business!”

  “Calm down. Do you want the girls to hear you?”

  She folded her arms, rolled her eyes and leaned back against the headboard. “So what if they do?”

  She’s only twenty-one. That’s the kind of response you get from someone who’s barely legal.

  “What do you mean everything about me is your business?” He frowned.

  I hate to be controlled and she is getting more controlling by the minute.

  “I know everything there is to know about you. From the cologne you wear to your favorite food. I also know exactly how much time off you have and it’s more than enough for us to spend a week in Maui. Besides, it’ll be my treat.”

  “Stop talking to Sarah in payroll and lay off, will you? You’re smothering me.” Ben rolled to the very edge of the bed, his back to Beth.

  “I’m sorry, baby. Don’t be like that. I only asked because I wanted to take you on an amazing trip.” She blew warm air into his ear and massaged his back.

  He eyed her warily. “What would I do with the girls?”

  “Can’t they stay with your parents?”

  “I guess, but they live in Virginia. How will I get them there?” Ben scratched his head.

  “I’ll buy them tickets and if they end up staying for awhile, so be it.”

  ***

  Ben had gone on that trip to Maui, and they’d had a perfect trip. The weather had been great and they’d spent several lazy days on the beach. Beth had paid for everything. He knew her salary was significantly less than his; she was little more than a glorified secretary, but he didn’t feel guilty for the hefty bill he racked up. She could have said no at any time, and the fact that she didn’t, well, that was her problem.

  When they returned, Beth didn’t want him to get the girls from his parents. She had pleaded, trying to cajole him into leaving his daughters with his mom and stepdad indefinitely. But even Ben knew that wasn’t right, so he broke up with her. They didn’t speak for two months and then one day, Beth showed up at his front door wearing only a rain jacket and a smile. He’d been putty in her hands.

  The kids were never an issue for Beth again as she made an effort to be a stepmother of sorts. She even tried to win Bianca over by taking her shopping a couple of times.

  That thing with the girls was controlling and manipulative, but who doesn’t behave that way on occasion? Overall, Beth’s a good person, isn’t she? But she’s not like Paige. Paige just stepped in and took over as the girls’ mom. She would never have sent them away. That’s why I choose her over Beth. Still, I really don’t want Beth to shoot herself.

  Ben texted Beth one more time, this time he said he’d do anything if she would just give the gun back. Exactly one minute later, the phone rang—it was Beth.

  “I’ve missed you,” he said.

  “Really.” Beth’s voice was filled with contempt.

  “How are you, honey?” Ben always called Beth ‘honey’ and ‘sweetie’. Nicknames helped ensure that he never called her by the wrong name.

  “I am not your honey.”

  My usual charm is apparently not going to cut it. Well, pretend to care until you get the gun back so you can finally get some sleep. I am not good with guilt.

  “I made a mistake, Beth. I want you back.” Ben did his best to sound contrite, but he’d never actually felt that emotion and wasn’t sure what it sounded like.

  “Yeah?” Her voice was cold and unmoved.

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking. I don’t belong with Paige.” Ben bit his lip and rolled his eyes while waiting for her to respond.

  “She doesn’t love you like I love you! Why would you throw away what we have for her?”

  “She’s a really great mom to my kids. She’s smart and pretty—”

  He bit his tongue hard. He didn’t mean to defend Paige. The words just slipped out.

  “Paige is a loser with crazy parents. Besides, I thought you said you made a mistake!”

  Ben felt his temper rise. It was one thing for him to complain about Paige, but it was a whole other thing for Beth to do it.

  Calm down. Play her game. You can do this. You’ve been manipulating women since you realized your mother couldn’t stand whining.

  “I was joking, sweetie. I think you’d be a way better mom to my kids.”

  You know if you weren’t seemingly unstable.

  “I would be!”

>   It almost sounded as if she were jumping up and down.

  “Beth, I miss you. What can I do to make this all up to you?” His voice was soft and soothing.

  Come on, baby. Just give daddy what he wants.

  “Nothing.” Her voice was flat.

  “But I miss you so much. I really miss touching you in that special way that you like.”

  I’d rather snuggle with a boa constrictor than touch you right now.

  “Really?” Beth’s voice perked up.

  “Yes, really.”

  No, not really. I need to get my gun back before you shoot yourself and I get kicked out of the Air Force for having an affair with you.

  “Beth, I need to see you.”

  “Dad!”

  Ben looked up. Down the hall, Bianca stood in the doorway of her bedroom. He nearly dropped the phone.

  How much did she hear?

  “Go back to bed, Bianca.”

  “Who are you talking to? Is that Mom? Give me the phone.” Bianca held her hand out for the phone.

  “No! Go back to bed!”

  “Good grief. Can’t you control your kid?” Beth asked.

  “Just give me a minute,” Ben replied. He covered his phone with his hand. “What do you want, Bianca?”

  “I heard you and Paige talking earlier. Sounds like you’re being a jerk again.” She shook her head at him.

  “Is that what you came to tell me? Are you looking to chew me out again because I’m doing the best that I can. I’m actually trying to be a better guy, but nobody seems to believe that.” Ben took his hand off the phone and ran it through his hair.

  “Whatever.” Bianca rolled her eyes. “I heard what she said about chaperoning. I don’t want you to do it. You’ll just embarrass me in front of my friends.”

  “Ben! Ben! I’m getting bored!” Beth said.

  Ben gulped.

  “Is that Beth?” Bianca’s mouth dropped open; she turned away from him.

  “Just a second,” Ben muttered into the phone. “Look, I’m chaperoning your dance whether you like it or not. Someone needs to keep an eye on you since you’ve made some bad decisions lately.”

  “I’ve made bad decisions?” Bianca scoffed. She shook her head and walked away from him.

  “I don’t want you to be like me!” Ben called out just as she shut her bedroom door. “Crap.”

  “Ben! I’m sick and tired of waiting on you,” Beth cried into the phone.

  “I’m sorry, Beth. Please just give me my gun back. I’ll do whatever you want.” He slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor.

  “I will not give it back! I’ve loved you for five years. I did everything I could to make you love me, and you’re choosing them over me.”

  “Who?”

  She is just getting nuttier by the minute. I have no idea what to do now.

  “Your family!” Beth hissed.

  My family. I’m choosing my family. I don’t want to lose them.

  “Give me the gun, Beth.”

  “No, Ben.”

  “What’re you planning to do with it?”

  “Who says I’m planning to do anything with it? Maybe I just like having it. A woman in my position needs options.”

  “What does that mean?” Ben took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes.

  “Nothing.”

  “Give me the gun, or I’ll go to the commander.”

  “Go ahead. That will give me a chance to tell him about our affair,” she replied.

  “You won’t do that. If you do, we’ll both be discharged. I can rebound and get an engineering job in the private sector, but you won’t. You’ll be stuck as a lowly office assistant or something. How pathetic would that be?”

  Ben didn’t get a verbal response. There was just abrupt silence. He checked his phone and groaned loudly.

  She hung up on me. Great. Now, I’m really screwed.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “Kade Sorenson! It’s been a long while since I’ve seen the whites of your eyes in my church,” Father John said. He clasped his age-spotted hands together and smiled.

  The last time Kade had been to church, the priest had been a spry man in his early fifties. Father John had been known for his tireless devotion to the community. His energy and enthusiasm was boundless. Originally a carpenter, he’d built homes for those that had none. But time had not been kind to him. The priest’s back was stooped, he limped as he walked and his slight Irish accent had become more of a slur than a lilt.

  St. Patrick’s Cathedral, his beloved church, was battered and worn. The wooden pews were scuffed, the carpet was threadbare in places and the walls were in dire need of a fresh coat of paint.

  This place could use some renovating.

  “I’ve never been much for sermons,” Kade replied. He stepped into a pew so the last of the parishioners could make their way down the aisle and out of the chapel. His phone rang in his pocket.

  “You’ll have to turn that off in here,” Father John said. His smile was gone. “Stupid cellphones. They’ve killed Christianity.”

  Blake’s calling. He must know who owns that corporation. I should get this.

  “Is there something on your mind, son?”

  “Yeah, there is.”

  Kade turned off his phone and took a deep breath. “There’s something I was hoping to talk to you about.”

  Father John’s thick eyebrows came together in a thoughtful frown; he nodded as if he understood.

  “I wondered if this day might come,” the priest said.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  I should have dug deeper into the Birches’ deaths a long time ago. Why did I waste so much time?

  “The older I get, the more the past is with me. ‘Tis a terrible thing to be haunted by what I could have done differently.” Father John scooped up an armful of hymnbooks and walked toward the front of the chapel. “Do you know what that feels like?”

  Kade nodded and trailed behind the priest. “I know a little something about that. That’s why I’m here, Father. Do you remember Mrs. Birch, Paige’s mother?”

  Father John’s face fell. He grasped the side of the pew. “I suppose it was too much to hope that time would heal the wounds of that tragedy.” He sighed. “You and Paige were so in love. I always believed you two would end up getting married here one day.”

  “She got married…to someone else.” Kade rubbed his head.

  What am I doing this for? She’s gone. There’s no getting her back now.

  “I know. She would not listen to a word of reason.” Father John hung his head. A few of the hymnbooks slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor at his feet.

  “I’ll get those.”

  Kade crouched down and picked up the books. He took the ones in the priest’s hands and piled them on an empty pew. He sat down across the aisle from Father John. The older man wiped his eyes.

  “Why have you come here now, Kade?”

  “My father said Mrs. Birch was terminally ill when she shot her husband. Paige didn’t know anything about that or she would have told me. But you knew, didn’t you?”

  Father John’s light blue eyes were rimmed with red and bloodshot. “Yes, I knew.”

  “Did her diagnosis have anything to do with her killing her husband?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Because she told my father she didn’t want to leave her children with her husband. He was an extremely abusive man. I’m sure she was concerned about what might have happened to Paige if she were left alone with him.”

  The priest looked away and wrung his hands. “Do you know how many people knew that Tom Birch beat his wife?”

  Kade clenched his teeth and inhaled sharply. “A lot. A lot of people knew and did nothing. Myself included.”

  “You were a boy. No one could fault you, but the rest of us…I’m afraid that is a different story. As a community, we failed Paige and Drew. I failed them.”

  “Why didn’t you do somethi
ng? Anything?”

  “Marie asked me not to. That’s the easy answer, but the truth is that Tom Birch threatened to make my life a living hell if I intervened in his marriage and I believed him. He was quite the powerful man back then. Few would dare cross him.” Father John stared off.

  “Yeah, I know. Doesn’t change the fact that he should have been held accountable for his actions. But there’s more to this story, isn’t there, Father?” Kade felt like the priest was on the verge of giving him answers that could change everything.

  Father John nodded. “I can’t tell you what was said in confession. You know that.” He rubbed his eyes.

  “I’m not asking you to break the rules; however, Mrs. Birch has been dead a very long time.” Kade’s knee shook. He stood up and gripped the back of a pew.

  “Even in death, I will not break her confidence.”

  “So, I’m wasting my time. Fine. Have a nice day, Father.” Kade shook his head, pulled out his phone and walked several feet before the old man called out to him.

  “I won’t tell you what she said in the confessional, but I can tell you what she said outside of it.”

  Kade turned around. Father John stood up and stepped into the aisle.

  “What did she say?”

  “She said that she would do whatever it took to protect Paige. She was quite certain that when she died, Paige’s father would begin beating her. He was an evil man after all.”

  “He was a sick man that should have been treated.”

  “There’s a line between being sick and being evil. I dare say you have seen enough to know the difference at this point in your career. Some men cannot be saved. Mrs. Birch knew her husband was one of them.”

  “She planned to kill him, didn’t she?”

  It was never about the pregnancy. It was always about protecting Paige. Would it make her feel any better to know that?

  “I can’t answer that. When I heard what happened I was quite certain though that had Mrs. Birch not been terminally ill, she would not have shot her husband.”