Her Reluctant Husband by Erica Marselas (summer beach reads txt) 📗

how I could have been duped for so long. To know why I let her down, so many times over.

What I should have done is told her I believed her, in the heat of that moment, given her my trust, so she didn’t have to give her ring back to me.

My phone beeps and I’m praying it's June, but it’s Adrian.

Adrian: I just dropped June off at your house,

but she told me she wasn’t staying. No clue where

she’s going. She wouldn’t tell me.

So, what the fuck did you do now? I

would have texted you sooner,

but she begged me not to. She was really upset, man.

 

I can’t talk about it now. I fucked up,

but thank you for taking her.

I was worried about where she went.

 

Adrian: She found me. Luckily, I don’t think

anyone else noticed she was upset.

Are you still at the picnic?

No, I left.

 

Adrian: Good. I hope you can fix things with her.

But what about Hayes and the promotion?

 

 

Fuck the promotion.

Just wish me luck with June.

I shove my phone in my pocket and slide out of my truck. As I enter the Sheriff’s office, it’s quiet and I find only one officer at the main desk, reading no less. His head pops up from his magazine when he hears me.

“Slow crime day, huh?” I joke solemnly, tapping my fingers on the granite counter. I’m sure Kinder Fall’s criminals only consist of jaywalking cows and the occasional underage drinker. Or, I guess, there was the one that was lurking darkly right under our noses.

Hilbert, as his gold tag reads, chuckles. “My deputies are hopefully out there stopping speeders or maybe eating donuts. We shall see.” He teases back. “What can I help you with?”

“I was wondering if you can look up a report from five years ago on June tenth.”

“You want me to go back five years? What am I looking for?”

“An accident on Bradford Road and the death of my sister, Kathleen Wilks.”

“You’ll have to give me a few to look into it.”

“That’s fine. I want everything you have.”

“What’s the sudden interest, son?”

“I have been given a lot of new information as of late. Leaving many unanswered questions. Can you just give me that information, please?”

He scoots along the hardwood floor to another computer and starts typing.

“You said there was an accident, right? June tenth?” He scratches the back of his neck and types again.

“Yes. A car crash. My sister died on the scene and the driver, June Madison, was transported to the hospital. I was told she was under the influence. So, I was curious about the final report.”

“Well, you see, I don’t have a police log noting any type of traffic report, accident, or any type of incident for that matter for the tenth or that entire month.”

“That’s impossible. I know the date.”

He holds up his hand. “Oh, I believe you, son. Because I have a coroner report for Kathleen Wilks for June the tenth. And why would I have a coroner report if there wasn’t a reason to investigate it—like a sudden death or accident?”

“I don’t get how this is possible. How was it not reported? I talked to Sherriff Whitmore myself that night.” Why would they not have something? “I saw them taking pictures of the car.”

Sherriff Hilbert’s eyes shoot to his hairline, but then he shakes it off. “I see.” He hums. “Now what did you say the driver's name was again?”

“June Madison.”

“Madison…” he whispers and clicks back on his keyboard. I notice his screen light up with a picture of June’s outdated driver’s license. “Why, I’ll be.” His head shakes, then his eyes close. “Whitmore, you bastard.”

“Excuse me?”

“I think I have the missing pieces to this puzzle because I remember Ms. Madison very well.”

“You remember June? From what?”

“Listen, I saw how Whitmore treated this poor girl.” He grits his teeth. “I knew her name sounded very familiar the second I heard it.” He closes his eyes and swallows loudly. “It’s a name scarred in the back of my mind because I can’t forget the night I met her.” His eyes fly back open and he leans back in his chair.

“What are you saying?”

“I feel the need to protect this girl. I didn’t get to help her back then and this is very sensitive.”

“Listen, June is my wife. I need to know. Please. It’s important.”

“June?” He points to the screen. “Is your wife? Is she back in town?”

“She is.”

He shakes his head. “I sure hope that boy doesn’t know she’s back.”

“That boy you’re referring to wouldn’t happen to be Deacon Whitmore would it?”

He leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers on his chest. “It is.”

“How many people knew but me?” I mutter.

“Pardon?”

“What did Deacon do to her? I’ve seen her nightmares. She told me…but fuck, if you saw it, why isn’t Deacon in jail? Please, tell me what you know. I need to know everything to protect her from him.”

Hilbert leans forward in his chair again and runs his fingers through his thinning hair with a long sigh. “Being the Sheriff’s son gets you out of all kinds of trouble. He should have rotted in jail after what I saw in that motel room. It was one of the worst things I have ever seen. I guess working in a small town also gives you blinders. I was still a deputy. God, she was beat up real bad, her whole face was swollen, and there was so much blood.”

Nausea creeps into my stomach. If I wasn’t a dick to her, if I’d listened to her, she wouldn’t have run out. How many times did