Page 58 of Recklessly in Love

And then I walk out without looking back.

* * *

One sleepless night later, I get a call from the sheriff’s office asking to collect the coffee cup evidence. I arrange to meet them at the bakery. Since I hadn’t felt like talking about it last night, I need to fill Mia in this morning before the town gossips do. Even though I still don’t feel like reliving that awful, strange turn our relationship just took. Or former relationship? Either way, our fight in my room wasn’t quiet, and apparently, all the other rooms were full. And if I’ve learned anything about Alpine Ridge, it’s that news travels fast.

I meet the deputy outside the bakery, though as soon as I walk in, I can see the questions all over Mia’s face. Rae at least has the good manners to pretend she wasn’t watching.

I instantly put Mia out of her misery, telling her everything that had happened since I last saw her: talking to Greg, planning to make him dinner, my run-in with Ned, the subsequent hospital visit, filing charges, and handing off the evidence to the sheriff’s deputy just now. I leave out all the relationship stuff and our fight last night. I can fill Mia in on that later when it’s just her and me.

To that end, since I need some distance from Greg to clear my head, literally and metaphorically, I decide to spend the weekend at Mia and Nate’s. It gives me time to tell Mia everything that went on with Greg. However, I don’t wallow in it or let her dissect it endlessly. I try not to think much about it at all. It’s still too raw. And I still have no idea how to feel or what to do next.

On Saturday evening, Nate pulls me aside.

“Mia told me what Ned did,” he says, his normally warm eyes hard. “I’m going down to the sheriff’s office first thing Monday to give my statement about what I saw at the New Year’s Eve party.”

I give him the most grateful look I can muster, given everything that’s going on in my head right now. “Thanks, Nate. Every bit helps.”

Despite Nate and Mia’s support, the week is torture. They work every day. I spend my days mostly with Simba, looking for jobs in Seattle. Something I’ve been putting off to see how things panned out here, but it’s time to at least start thinking about my options again. Unfortunately, January isn’t a great time to be unemployed, apparently, so that’s a dead end for now.

Thankfully, at the end of the week, I get the proposed boundary definition from my contact. I immediately head to the county clerk’s office and file the petition, a thrill running through me for the first time in a while. We’re one step closer to helping Mia and Nate and to me taking a break from Alpine Ridge. I should have a few weeks until I need to be here for the initial boundary review meeting, so I think I might head back to Seattle. Hopefully being home and on my own for a bit will help me get my head back on straight so I can refocus on what I really want my path forward to look like.

I must not have had good reception as I drove as I notice a voicemail when I return from the county clerk’s office. It’s from the sheriff. The coffee cup had Ned’s prints, and the coffee was spiked with ketamine. They’re waiting on a warrant but plan to arrest him formally as soon as they get it. They also request that I remain available to testify when it goes before a judge.

I sit down heavily on the guest room bed, relief and anger and a million other emotions swirling inside me. Ned will face consequences for his actions. But my personal life is still a mess, and it looks like I’ll be here for a bit longer. So no escaping to get back in touch with myself. For now, anyway.

In any case, I also realize that Greg should know that the coffee cup stunt worked. Not that I expect that to convince him the risk was worth it, but because it’s his cousin, and there’s bound to be more blowback once he’s arrested. I may not be sure what is going on between Greg and me anymore, but I can’t let this blindside him.

I shake my head, laughing at myself when I realize how much I must really care about him to look out for him even when I’m angry.

Which makes me reflect on that anger a little more. Even though he made me feel like he doesn’t accept me as I am, I know I probably overreacted. And because I’ve never been prone to overreacting or extreme emotions, that’s when I know. I’m truly in love with Greg. Because only love is that irrational.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

GREG

I’m at the community center, trying to focus on paperwork, but my mind keeps drifting back to the fight with Joanie. The look of hurt and anger on her face when she told me to leave is seared into my brain.

I know I reacted badly. I was just so scared when I saw her injuries, knowing she’d been attacked. But she’s right. She can take care of herself. Maybe I should trust her judgment, even though her actions scare me sometimes.

I’m jolted out of my thoughts by my phone ringing. And like my thoughts conjured her, it’s Joanie. My heart leaps into my throat as I answer.

“Joanie, hi,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.

“I have some news,” she replies, bypassing pleasantries. “The cup of coffee I gave to the sheriff? It turns out it was spiked with ketamine. And since it had Ned’s prints, it was enough for them to request a warrant for his arrest. They’re working on getting that as we speak.”

I’m stunned into silence for a moment. Then I find my voice. “That’s great news. I mean, I’m pissed that he’s just as dangerous as I feared, but it’s great that there’s evidence.”

“Yeah,” she agrees. “I just thought you should know.”

“Thanks,” I reply. “And Joanie ... I’m sorry about our fight. You were right to get that evidence. I was being a jerk, telling you that you weren’t being careful. Clearly, you know what you can handle and when taking a risk is necessary. I just worry because I care about you so fucking much.”

There’s a pause, and I hear her take a deep breath. “I know you do. And I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that. The truth is, before Ned attacked me, I was planning to make you dinner, as you know. What you don’t know is that I was also going to tell you that I love you.”

My breath catches in my throat. “You love me?” It’s so Joanie to tell me that for the first time over the phone. I almost laugh. But my heart is too full right now to do anything but revel in hearing her say it.

“Yeah,” she says softly. “I do. But then, when you got so upset about me going to the store, I started questioning if I could be with someone who didn’t accept that sometimes I might seem reckless when I’m doing what I think needs to be done.”

“Joanie, no,” I rush to assure her. “It’s not that I don’t accept you. I love all of you, even the parts that sometimes scare me. I was just upset that you got hurt.”

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