Page 37 of Where You Belong

Maybe she’s right. Maybe I just need to trust him and see where it goes.

Madelyn leaves me to get logged in for the day, warning me I’ll have a lot to get caught up on.

I hadn’t even been online or checked in on things. Corbin scooted out the door before Huxton woke up. I didn’t want him to find Corbin in my bed and ask questions I wasn’t prepared to answer. I was pleasantly surprised when I had an unexpected breakfast delivery arrive.

Corbin ended up leaving, running home to clean up and stopping back with breakfast from Oh My Goodies. He didn’t stay long, sneaking in a kiss before saying he had to stop by his parents’ house.

After a long night of lovemaking, we curled up in bed with nothing between us, and he opened up about why he decided to go into law enforcement.

He shared with me about his family background and how his mom had also moved to Arbor Creek with the hopes of a fresh start. Although our circumstances were vastly different, I couldn’t help but recognize how similar our paths were. We both knew what it was like to be betrayed by the people we loved. I admired her courage after all she’d gone through.

The way he described her as this strong and nurturing woman explained so much about why he is the way he is, especially in how he treats me and Huxton.

The rest of the day and into the afternoon flew by uneventfully. I was slammed with emails and messages, but I wasn’t complaining in the least because it kept me busy.

Madelyn came up for air around lunchtime, and we ate together before she took off back to her office to continue editing her photos.

It’s after four thirty when I finally shut down my computer. My mom is meeting me at the house to drop off Huxton. She’s been helping me pick him up after school. I usually will stop by her house on the way home, but tonight was a bit different from our routine since Atlas asked to switch his night with Huxton to tonight, leaving me with little time.

I didn’t want to bother Madelyn on my way out, knowing how stressed she’s been these past few days. When we talked over lunch, I offered to take more off her plate, but she assured me I was doing enough by keeping a handle on her social media and schedule.

Corbin planned on stopping over for dinner, giving us a chance to spend time alone while Huxton was with his dad.

I step outside, locking up behind me while Madelyn was hiding in her office. I didn’t want anyone showing up unannounced.

“Haelynn?” The voice coming from behind me catches me off guard. I spin on my heels, nearly falling against the side of the building.

My eyes land on Gage.

“Gage, hey. I’m sorry, I didn’t even see or hear you coming.”

“I’m sorry. Did I scare you? I wasn’t trying to.” He feigns innocence, shrugging his shoulders. The condescending nature of his tone throws me off.

“It’s okay…” I try to assure him and myself in the process. Something about this conversation isn’t sitting well with me.

“It’s Haelynn, right? Is that what scared you? Me calling you by your name?”

“No?” I question. “I didn’t hear you. Do you often sneak up on women?”

He steps back, holding his hands up, and shakes his head.

“Listen, I’m not trying to freak you out, so I’m sorry if I did.” This time, he sounds sincere, so I force myself to let it go. If Corbin trusts him, I should too.

“I have a question for you, and I’m hoping you can help clear this up, and we can put it to rest. What do you know about me and my family?”

“Excuse me?”

“You had to have recognized my name, right? Gage Shaw… did that not raise any questions for you when Corbin introduced us?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not following,” I say, my brows furrow, looking around trying to piece this together.

“Your father is Marc Krate, right? Were you ever going to tell Corbin, or did that not seem like an important piece of detail to share when you showed up here?”

Truth be told, I never had the chance to meet my father. My mom wouldn’t say much about him growing up, only that he wasn’t a good man before he died.

For the longest time, I thought it was hard to speak about him because the pain of losing him still ran deep.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Mention what? What did my father do?”

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