I faced the window, my mind spinning with confusion. “Are you saying you’re okay with murder?”
“I’m saying that I trust my man to do whatever he needs to do to protect me and our family.”
“But murder?”
We pulled into the diner parking lot and Wyatt turned to face me. “Would Stanley have stopped?”
“What?”
“Would he have stopped coming after you?”
I sighed. “No.”
“I think Scooby did the right thing. And honestly, if you think about it long enough, you’ll probably agree.” She raised her hands. “But I’m not here to make you agree with me. I was in your shoes once and it’s a huge mind-fuck, this life. But the alternative is to be with someone who plays by the rules.”
I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t tell her this, but the thought kind of turned my stomach a little bit. I mean, I didn’t necessarily want a man who murdered everyone who threatened me, but I sure as heck didn’t want one who followed the rules.
Wyatt glanced behind us. “Thorne’s here. He’s gonna want to walk you in, but then we’ll be out of your hair.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “Thanks for everything.”
“Anytime, honey. Seriously. Please call me if you want to talk. About anything.”
I nodded, but I knew I never would.
Scooby was done with me, so sadly, I was done with the Primal Housewives of Monument forever.
Rowan
Sunday morning, Iwoke up early… well, no, that wasn’t entirely accurate. I hadn’t really gone to sleep. After Sundance had checked every corner of my loft, making sure it was safe, he waited while Lord did his business, then I locked up and watched him and Wyatt drive away.
I’d taken my anti-anxiety pills and curled up on my mattress, but the sheets smelled like Scooby, so I ripped them off and remade the bed. Actually, everything in my room reminded me of him, especially the sex swing he’d installed in the corner which I had no earthly idea how I was going to get rid of now. My ceilings were high, and I was far too mortified to go through a marketplace listing for handymen to uninstall it, so it was going to stay there for a while.
But I mean, really, how would that conversation go with a future real estate agent when I went to sell? Maybe I’ll be able to convince them I was in a horrible accident and laid in traction for a few months, or perhaps was the former owner of the world’s largest cockatoo.
For the moment, I focused on the sheets, and once I’d done all I could to rid my bed of Scooby’s scent, I let Lord out of the crate, and he stretched out beside me in a perfect spoon, but I still didn’t sleep. In the end, I took a hot shower and headed downstairs to prep for the Sunday morning rush.
Dusty and Monty arrived within minutes of each other, and Dusty was none too pleased to see me.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said as she donned an apron and washed her hands.
“Honey, you had the chance to finally have some time off—”
“We broke up.”
“What?” Dusty exclaimed. “Why did you break up?”
“Did he do something?” Monty asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said.
“But you’re in love with him,” Dusty observed.
I frowned. “Well, I don’t know that I’d go that far…”
“Oh, honey, I know love when I see it, and the two of you are completely besotted with each other.”
“He dumped me, okay?” I snapped. “Can we drop it, please?”