Dynamite & Whiskey

Chapter 4

You jumped when your phone hummed next to you on the couch. You were so riveted by coverage of the first day of Jacob Barber's trial you just let it ring. You'd been so lost in thoughts that you should be there right now, covering that story. Doing your job.

As you watched, Andy Barber ushered his wife and son up the sidewalk, up the stairs of the courthouse. Their faces were set in stone, you'd expected that.

Andy looked so tired. So defeated.

You wanted to hate him for your current situation. You really did. You were stuck at home, laid off. And because of a couple of snide remarks made to you when you'd gone into town, you just didn't go out a lot. You shopped late at night for what you needed and that seemed to take care of it. You weren't a morning person anyway.

That woman's son is on trial and you're fucking her husband?

What's it like fucking a murderer?

When you'd argued Andy hadn't done anything...

No? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?

If you thought you had it bad, you couldn't imagine their life right now. You'd read the article where the reporter caught Laurie at a diner, got her talking. They'd painted Andy as a friendless, loner and that certainly didn't help anything. Another friend at the paper told you about an incident between Laurie Barber and Ben Rifkin's mother in the grocery store one morning.

There'd been the rumor about Andy's father and after doing a little research, you discovered that one was true. Your heart broke for him because as much research on him as you'd done, you'd never encountered that. Apparently, he hadn't wanted that bit of family history known. You understood.

In the last few weeks, you'd seen Andy only a handful of times. He never texted or called and you understood why. He always came late at night. Since he wasn't above breaking into your house, you'd just handed him your spare key. You tried hard not to think about the pure gratitude on his face when you'd done that, the way his gorgeous blue eyes had been edged in tears.

Every time he loved you, there was a desperation, a reverence in the act. Each time felt like it would be the last time you'd be with him and each time, you assumed it would be. After all, what could the future hold for the two of you?

If Jacob were truly innocent, how would that change things for Andy and his family? Would everything heal? Could they go back to being a happy family? You knew that was probably for the best.

Had you just been a temporary convenience when Andy's world had fallen apart?

If Jacob were found guilty? Andy would be destroyed. What he had or didn't have with you wouldn't matter. Not in the face of that.

Andy Barber had been the worst mistake you'd ever made.

And deep in the night when you were alone, often crying yourself to sleep about the limbo your career was in and worse, the mess he'd made of your heart, you couldn't bring yourself to regret anything.

No, you were dumb enough to hope. To wish that maybe one day...

When your phone started again, you saw that it was Lawrence and you decided to go ahead and answer.

"You'd better answer the goddamn phone," he grumbled before you could say anything.

"Yes?"

"There's a lady you need to call," he said without preamble, "at a paper in Boston. She needs some help and likes your work."

Your heart sped up a little at that.

"What?"

"There's a lady named Lilah Bennett," Lawrence went on. "Here's her number. Write it down."