Page 38 of You Can Leave Your Hat On

“By very nearly getting yourself killed? What would that have accomplished? Even though she drove me crazy and she was my ex, it was hard enough losing Bailey. What if I’d lost you? Where would that leave me? And Murielle? And your parents? I swear, Maisey, don’t you think of anybody but yourself?”

It would’ve been more merciful if he’d taken a knife and stabbed her in the heart. Hearing him say those words hurt unlike anything else she’d ever experienced. “No! I was thinking of Hazel!”

“Hazel’s dead, Maisey! And you’d leave all of the living behind to avenge her death? What kind of trade-off is that? It tells us that you don’t value our relationships at all. Not at all. And that really, really hurts.”

“That’s not true!” Maisey couldn’t get to him fast enough, and she fell to her knees in front of him, her hands on his knees. “Please! Don’t say that! You and Murielle are the dearest things in the world to me! Don’t you see? Having a murderer out there, someone who could potentially hurt other people, who could hurt the two of you? I couldn’t stand the thought!” She was blubbering, and she didn’t care. Aaron had never been as angry with her as he was in that moment, and she was scared.

“He wasn’t going to hurt us, Maisey. You can’t justify it that way. I love you and I want a life with you, but I can’t go through this again. You need to decide what’s really important to you.”

“But I have! There’s no decision!”

“From where I sit, that’s not true.” Aaron stood and looked down at her. “Think about it. We’ll talk in the morning.” Before she could say anything, he set his glass on the table and walked out the front door.

Maisey was horrified. She’d ruined her marriage chasing after a killer for a dead woman. The man was being brought to justice, but what about her? How would she pick up the pieces of her life? And where was Aaron going? Was he coming back?

Day turned to evening, and then to night, but Maisey didn’t turn on a light. She didn’t move. She sat on the floor, arms hugging her knees to her chest, crying. She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting there when the front door opened and his voice questioned, “Maisey?”

“I’m right here.”

The light nearest the door snapped on, and she could hear him moving into the room, then the sound of his jeans on the sofa as he sat down. “Babe, come up here.”

It was hard to get up from sitting on the floor for so long, so it took her a minute, but she managed. When she reached the sofa, she stood there, unsure if she should sit down, until he patted the cushion beside him. Maisey sat, afraid to reach out to touch him, just waiting, eyes down. She’d made a grave mistake, and she understood that.

“First, I told you I’d get to it tomorrow. And I would’ve. I had every intention?”

“I know! I’m sorry!” she cried out.

“Don’t interrupt me. Let me say what I need to say. I had every intention of following up on it tomorrow, and I could’ve taken care of it in no time without endangering anybody else. Second, I tried to call you and you rejected my calls. Two of them.” Maisey wanted to explain, but she knew better. “That’s a trust-buster if ever there was one. Third, you drove straight into harm’s way with no thought for anybody else, just you anda dead woman. Fourth, you made me miss court, which could’ve gotten the whole case thrown out. Thank god JudgeBeacon was on the bench today and he was understanding. Next time I doubt he will be. And speaking of next time, that’s fifth?there can’t be a next time.”

“There won’t be a next time. I promise. I absolutely, positively promise.”

“There’d better not be. That’s going to be a deal-breaker for me. If there’s a next time, it’ll be the last time. Period. I can’t do this again. The thought of losing you…” To Maisey’s shock, a tear rolled down Aaron’s cheek. “I love Murielle, but without you, I’m worthless. You’re my whole world. Murielle will grow up and go her own way, but you’ll still be here with me, and I don’t want that to disappear on me, not because you’re stubborn and bullheaded.”

“It won’t. I’ll never do anything like that again. And I made a decision.”

He perked a little. “What’s that?”

“I will never, never, never buy another piece of used clothing. Won’t try any on. Won’t take any from a friend. If it looks like it was bought and returned because the original tags aren’t on it, I’ll pass. I’ll check the bottoms of shoes before I try them on. I won’t wear anything I haven’t bought brand new from a store. And I won’t put down anything that’s mine and walk away in case it gets swapped out like the hat. I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Aaron let out a heavy sigh. “Good. That’s a good step.”

Maisey trembled with fear as she asked, “Are we good?”

“Yeah. We’re good. I love you, Maise. You’re the only woman I want to spend my days with, but you drive me crazy sometimes.”

Something flashed across her mind. “I’ve just got one favor to ask.”

Aaron’s eyes widened. “From where I sit, you’re not due any favors!”

“It’s not bad. I’d just like to be the one to tell Hazel’s family that we got the guy.” Aaron frowned. “Thatyougot the guy.” He smiled. “I feel like I owe them that.”

“Okay. I think I can make that happen. But I take you, okay?”

“Okay. That’s fine. Can we go tomorrow?”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Yes. We’ll go tomorrow and it’ll be over.”

As far as Maisey was concerned, that was the end.

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