Sutton
Present Day – April
I hit the light switch and sighed when nothing turned on. “What in the hell, Jack. Did you purposely break everything in the whole damn house?”
“Checked everything upstairs. Looks like you’ve got a few issues, but it shouldn’t be anything too bad,” Harlee said as she approached and followed my gaze. “It doesn’t work?”
With a shake of my head, I let out a breath. “Nope. Getting Jack to fix anything was always an issue, but I swear he did all of this on purpose. There weren’t this many things wrong with the house when we lived here together.”
It had been eight months since I’d left my husband. We’d been married for six years, almost seven. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I’d managed to stay married to him for that long. It had been a mistake to even get married in the first place, but there was no use crying over spilled milk. Still, if I could have one do-over in my life, it would be Jack Larson.
I’d left for the University of Maine with a broken heart. Not caused by Jack, but by Brody. After an amazing evening in his family’s fishing hut, he’d rejected me. I’d felt lost and confused…and who had showed up at my dorm only a week after school started? Jack.
He’d begged me to forgive him. Told me things would be different, that he wanted to be with me forever. Realizing I’d never have a future with the man I really wanted, I gave in and went out to dinner with Jack. From that point on, we dated throughout college. He’d asked me to marry him right before we’d both graduated. My heart had begged me to say no, but my head had convinced me that Jack would make a good husband. He was reliable, had a steady job waiting, and he wouldn’t stand in the way of me opening up my own business in Seaside. He’d checked almost every box on paper.
The fact that I knew deep in my heart I didn’t love him should have been the first clue that I was making a mistake. The fact that no one in my family cared for Jack should have been clue number two.
I was hell bent though, and looking back, I knew it was because I’d still been angry with Brody—even though it had been four years. I had given myself to him. Was prepared to wait for however long he’d needed. But then he’d said those four words.
“I don’t love you.”
Everything had changed after that. Love was for fools, and I no longer believed in the ridiculous idea of soul mates. There was no happily ever after; at least, there never would be for me. So, I had married a man I’d loved, but wasn’t in love with. I’d stayed with him for over six years and had ignored the fact that there was a serious problem in our marriage. Jack had never laid a finger on me, but his emotional abuse had finally gotten so bad, I knew I had to leave.
When I’d found him with another woman, I’d filed for divorce so fast, no one saw it coming except for Jack. He’d known I was unhappy. Hell, he had been unhappy too. But when I’d filed for divorce late last summer and moved back in with my parents, Jack had suddenly seemed more angry than anything else. He’d harassed me nonstop, until I’d finally taken out a restraining order against him. After my father had his heart attack, the last thing I wanted was for Jack to cause more issues in our family.
As soon as the divorce was final, Jack had taken off for France, where his father had another business.
Once I’d left him, everyone I knew told me their true feelings about him, and they all asked me over and over why I’d stayed with Jack for as long as I had. Stupidity. Fear of failure. A deep worry that I wouldn’t be able to make it on my own. But they were all silly reasons I’d talked myself into believing, keeping me in a loveless marriage way longer than I should have been.
Now my divorce was final, and I had been granted the house. Though I didn’t want it, to be honest. Jack had never made a fuss about giving me the house. He’d actually freely handed it over to me. The judge had also ordered him to sell his half of my boutique, Coastal Chic, to me and only me. But so far the asshat had either been ignoring my lawyer’s emails and calls, or he was dead.
There was no way I could be so lucky that it was the latter.
I know. I know. It was a terrible thing to think, but…it was also the truth.
“Do you want me to help you make a list of things that need fixing?” Harlee asked.
Glancing around the bare house, I shook my head. I had gotten rid of every single piece of furniture. Every painting that Jack had bought and hung up. Every ugly-ass curtain he’d demanded we buy. All of it was gone. The entire house was empty, and I was starting over from scratch. I didn’t want a single reminder of him in this place.
Jack took what he wanted, and the rest I’d had hauled away and donated to charity. Right down to the godawful ugly gold silverware he’d insisted we put on our wedding registry.
I turned to my best friend, Harlee Tilson. I wasn’t sure what I would have done the last few years without her or my two sisters, Palmer and Addie.
With another quick look at the empty walls, I asked, “How about we go get some paint and get rid of this awful beige? This place needs more color.”
Harlee’s eyes lit up. I hated to paint, but Harlee lived for it. I was also positive I could talk my sister Palmer into helping by simply offering her free food and beer.
“That sounds like a lot more fun,” Harlee said.
I laughed as I grabbed my purse, and we headed out the door to the hardware store.
“You know, if you stare at that wall long enough, you might be able to make it move with your mind.”
My entire body tingled at the sound of Brody’s voice. I forced myself to put on a small smile and looked at him over my shoulder. He was standing there with a basket in his hands and that damn crooked grin of his. Every time I saw Brody, he got more and more handsome. I was honestly surprised he was still single. Of course, he was only thirty-two and, according to our local gossip column, not in a rush to settle down anytime soon.
“I’m trying to figure out what I need to fix a light switch.” I gestured to the hardware shop’s plethora of light-switch options.
He raised a brow. “At the shop?”