Chapter Twelve

I wonder how Karli’s doing, Jordan thought as he ran.

He had not seen or talked to her in almost two months. Aunt Kathy had relayed the news weeks ago about finding Karli a renter so quickly, and he had been tempted to make contact, but restrained himself.

Don’t wimp out, Baker. Focus. Two more circuits, his mind commanded, and his body obeyed.

But running in the park wasn’t the same anymore. Since he had helped Karli move across town, there was no longer any chance of catching a glimpse of her as he ran.

Didn’t realize how much those sightings meant to me until now, he thought with sorrow, and kicked up his speed to try to outrun his feelings.

***

“It must be in storage,” Karli muttered in irritation a few days later. “I can’t find it anywhere in here.”

“I bet it is,” Sarah reassured her. “Just go get it. May have to open a box or two, but I am sure you’ll find it, okay? Please don’t stress.”

Karli took a deep breath.

“I’m trying,” she said. “I’m headed to the storage unit. Be back in a bit.”

She made her way to the storage facility, unlocked her unit, and pushed the garage-style door up.

“Okay,” she murmured to herself. “Let the games begin.”

She waded through box after box, finally finding the folder of papers she was looking for. She also noticed Evan’s cell phone and impulsively grabbed it too before putting the box back into place and locking up the unit.

When she got back to the apartment, she found a note from Sarah on the counter.

With Jodie. Long story, will explain later - S.

“Very well then. Pasta with chicken for one it is,” she said, then chuckled as she felt another flutter from her baby.

“Sorry, sir or miss, I meant for two.”

After she’d made dinner, she sat at the kitchen table with her plate and Evan’s cell phone, feeling nostalgic. But the battery had been drained, so she plugged it into the charger while she ate.

***

An hour later, his phone’s battery fully restored, she sat on the couch, and began to scroll through his pictures.

Karli’s eyes bulged, and she began to scroll faster, her hands trembling.

In the more recent pictures, Evan was with some brunette, and from some of the poses it was obvious they were much more than friends.

She paused long enough to check the date stamps of some of the pictures she’d uncovered so far.

October sixteenth through October twenty-second.

When he said he was being sent out to Midland?

The next pictures, in November, were with the same woman, and the dates corresponded with the week-long business trip to New Orleans he had supposedly been sent on over Thanksgiving.

After that, December, and that same woman smiling, arms wrapped around Karli’s husband in what looked to be a tropical location – when he said he had to go to Kansas for work the week of Christmas.

She could not handle looking at any more pictures.

Her stomach lurched as she moved to his text message history and read line after disgusting line of sexy chats between Evan and his mistress.

But she also saw a thread with Jordan’s name.

She opened it and scrolled, going more and more numb with shock as she read everything the two best friends had said to each other. The last entries were from the week Evan died.

I cannot believe you, man. You have a great woman at home. What are you doing, Evan? Jordan had typed that Thursday night.

Evan’s responses were eye-opening, to say the least. He’d told Jordan he loved ‘Melissa’, that he wanted to be with her, that he’d tried to give her up and couldn’t.

Jordan’s last entry in the thread was on that Friday morning, Karli noticed, and it read You said you stopped. You obviously lied. Karli doesn’t deserve this, Evan. Either you tell her – or I will.

She set the phone down and stared blindly into space, her heartbeat sounding in her ears, her hands beginning to shake with rage.

The next thing she knew she was behind the wheel, driving to Fire Station Number Two.

“Jordan,” Karli called out, walking through the open bay door beside the fire trucks. “Jordan!”

“He’s out on a call, miss. Can I help you?” a voice to her right said.

“When do you expect him back?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Fine,” she snapped. “I’ll wait.”

“Miss, if you…” the fireman stopped mid-sentence when she whirled and glared at him.

Pregnant and mad? Nuh-uh, buddy, no way, he thought to himself.

“Okay, then,” he said, hands raised and backing away slowly. “Okay.”

***

Twenty minutes later, Tim and Jordan’s ambulance pulled in and parked. Jordan did not see her right away; Tim tapped his shoulder and murmured, “You have a visitor.”

“Karli?” Jordan exclaimed, walking quickly to her with a huge smile. “Hi! What a nice surprise. What are you doing here?”

“You knew, Jordan. You knew, and you didn’t tell me.”

“Tell you about what?”

“Evan and Melissa,” she hissed.

His face and shoulders sagged.

“Did you even think I deserved to know?”

“You must have read the text messages, Karli. So, you tell me. Didn’t it sound like I thought you should know?”

“It did,” she snarled. “You just didn’t give enough of a damn to protect me. You helped him cover it up.”

“You wait just a minute,” he said, his eyes stormy with emotion. “I couldn’t bring myself to tell you, Karli. Lord knows I wanted to. But I knew it would crush you to find out.”

“It has,” she managed, tears streaming. “But right now, what hurts even more is that you let me stay in the dark, Jordan. You knew my marriage had turned into a joke. A lie. And you said nothing.”

She turned and began to walk away.

“Karli, wait. Please wait,” he pleaded.

She stopped but did not turn around.

“I didn’t trust myself to tell you for the right reasons.”

Now she turned to face him, still crying, and flung her arms wide.

“What the hell does that even mean?”

“Do you really not know, Karli?” he murmured as he watched her, his eyes blazing.

“No. What are you talking about?”

He swallowed hard, then closed the physical distance between them and poured his heart out at her feet.

“I’m in love with you, Karli.”