Page 69 of Awakening the Sheriff

“It took me a long time to accept that. When I confided in Marnin, he offered to help. Said I should feel free to ignore it or forget he ever made it. But I couldn’t. I wanted kids, and if I couldn’t be their father, who better to ask than my best friend? I talked to Tricia, and she agreed. So we used his sperm both times.”

“And they know it’s Marnin?”

I nodded. “They call him Uncle Marnin. He’s spent a lot of time with them over the years, but he’is like that fun uncle who leaves when he’s done. It works for all of us.”

“You chose well, then. In your ex-wife and your best friend.”

“And in you.”

His smile made my heart flutter. “Thank you.”

I checked my clock. “We still have some time. Wanna shower together?”

Keaton leaned in for a soft, slow kiss. “Sounds perfect.”

24

KEATON

The knot in my stomach tightened as I stood on Mandy’s doorstep, dreading the conversation we were about to have. I was looking forward to this about as much as a root canal. Actually, I’d prefer a root canal over the drama this would turn into. I was determined to keep it as civil as possible, but I had some things to get off my chest. Not just for myself but for our kids as well. Her lying and deceiving had to stop.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. When she opened it, her face lit up with a smile. “Keaton! It’s so good to see you!” She ushered me inside and led me to the kitchen.

Her fake friendliness only made me more anxious. Little good could come from Mandy being this nice, I knew from experience.

The scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, and the faint sound of jazz music drifted in from the living room.

“Thanks for having me over.” I took a seat at the kitchen table. “I wanted to talk to you about something important.”

“Of course.” She sat down across from me.

Lord, give me patience for the fight that’s about to start.“I’ve met someone new, and we’re dating. His name is Auden, and he’s the local sheriff in Forestville.”

Mandy leaned back in her chair. “I knew it! I always suspected you were gay, not bisexual. You’ve always preferred men over women.”

Her words stung. “Do you really believe I lied to you when I told you I loved you? That I was faking it when I married you?”

“I think you thought you loved me, but clearly, you were confused. You prefer men over women, and don’t try to convince me otherwise. Every weekend when you drop off the kids, you stay in town to have sex…and it’s always with men.”

Shit, how did she know that? I had never told her, and no one else knew except Auden. Or…Byron. He must’ve somehow figured it out, though how, I had no clue. But if he’d told his mom, I wasn’t about to throw him under the bus. “That’s my personal life, and it’s none of your goddamn business. I don’t comment on who you sleep with, nor do I care.”

“I never said I cared. All I’m saying is that it proves you prefer men. You always have, and I’ve always been suspicious that you’d cheat on me with a guy.”

“It doesn’t prove jack shit because you don’t know anything. Jeepers, Mandy, even if I preferred men over women in a ninety-ten ratio, I’d still be bisexual. It doesn’t have to be fifty-fifty. And being bi doesn’t mean being a cheater. I never cheated on you, Mandy, not once during our entire marriage.”

She stared at me for a long moment, then sighed. “You might be telling the truth, but if we’d stayed married, you would’ve cheated in the end.”

How could I counter that? There was no reasoning with her, and I didn’t care anymore. No matter how much it hurt to hear her say that when I had never considered stepping out on her, I had bigger fish to fry.

“Look, Mandy, I didn’t come here just to talk about Auden.” I steeled myself for the next round of nastiness. No matter how angry she would get, I was determined to hold my ground and get to the bottom of things. I wanted the truth. “Did you tell Byron you wanted full custody when we divorced?”

Mandy shook her head, taken aback. “No, I didn’t tell him that.”

“Are you sure? Because Byron seems to think otherwise,” I pressed. She wouldn’t get off the hook so easily.

She hesitated for a moment. “Well, I considered it, but you made it clear you wanted nothing but full custody.”

I reached into my bag, pulled out our separation agreement, and slapped it onto the table. “Then how do you explain this?” I pointed to the part where Mandy had agreed not to fight my claim for full custody. “Because this document contradicts what you’re saying.”

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