Page 9 of Reclaiming My Wife

He took a huge bite of his sandwich and chewed so slowly I wanted to throttle him for keeping me in suspense. Finally, he swallowed, looking just as miserable as before. “In digging through the ranch’s finances, I found something interesting. Jack Ward hired a private investigator a few years after your divorce to look into Jillian. The investigation was completed, and the results were buried in a mislabeled file. I’m guessing that you didn’t know this.”

“My father hadn’t even wanted to acknowledge that I’d ever been married. Why the hell would he be interested in my ex-wife?” Confused, I flipped through the papers. I skimmed over most of it. The investigator found that Jillian went back to school on a track to get her Psy.D in psychology. No surprise there. It had always been her goal.

“I want to become a psychologist so I can figure out my own shit,” she said, her hand running down my chest, to my abs, lower. “Those who can’t play, coach.” Her lips followed the path of her hand. “Those who can’t do, teach.” She licked up my cock, her teeth barely grazing over the head. “Those who are fucked up work with the fucked up.” Her tongue dipped into the tip. “In time, by helping others, I might just help myself.”

Gordon waved a hand in front of my face. “Earth to Brendan.”

I shook away the mental image of Jillian taking my cock in her mouth and gave him a wry grin. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

“I was saying that I don’t know, but I recognize the date he hired the investigator. It was the day after your twenty-fifth birthday. Do you remember? You showed up at my apartment so drunk you could barely stand.”

Rubbing my chin, I sighed. I did remember that day. My father and I had gotten into a huge argument about the choices I’d made, and I practically threw the truth in his face. The real reason that Jillian and I didn’t make it.

We never talked about it again. I’d forgotten that he knew.

“Look, it doesn’t matter. I don’t give a damn what Jillian is doing right now.” I flipped the page and felt a fresh wave of pain and regret wash over me. There was a copy of our divorce papers in the folder. I was just about to close the folder when I paused, tapping the spot where the notarized signature should be. “Where are the official papers?”

“That’s sort of the problem,” Gordon said softly. “There is no official record.”

My head snapped up so fast the vertebrae in my neck crackled and popped. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Turn the page. I highlighted the paragraph you need to read.”

Flipping the page, I skimmed down to the bottom of the investigator’s report. There it was, in black and white.

It seems that the paperwork was never filed. There is no official and legal record of a divorce between Jillian Ward and Brendan Ward.

The world stopped. I could have stared at the words for hours. It just wasn’t possible. For years, I’d been running away from a divorce that never happened?

Gordon finally cleared his throat. “I did my own research. Your lawyer wasn’t actually a lawyer. He was a con artist. He’s in prison doing time for an adoption scam.”

“Why would my father never tell me?” I shook my head, trying to understand. “He knew I was still married and never told me?”

“I don’t know. Under the circumstances, I’m sure that I can find a judge to expedite the process. After all, you’ve been separated for over freaking forever. I just need to get your wife to re-sign the paperwork.”

I jerked my head up and stared at Gordon. “My wife?”

“Yes.” He gave me an apologetic look. “Your wife because, technically…”

“I’m still married,” I finished for him. As the words twisted and turned through my brain, I remembered my conversation with Harry less than an hour ago.

I don’t want my land to be the reason you never find fulfillment in your life. Love. Family.

The old man wanted to see me settled before handing over the added responsibility. He didn’t want me living with regrets the way he lived with his own.

My heart beat a little faster as an idea formed in my head. “I have an estranged wife. I already have a family.”

Gordon narrowed his eyes and studied me. “Uh, Brendan, you’re taking this much better than I expected. Is this the calm before the storm, or is it just not processing?”

“Everything is processing just fine.” I looked up at him, weighing all the pros and cons. “I have an estranged wife, and I have a family man refusing to sell his land to me because he’s afraid I’m not making time for family.”

My friend’s eyes widened. “Harry Blackwell. Jillian.” I watched him connect the dots before my eyes. “My god, you’re not actually thinking what I think that you’re thinking.”

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