Chapter 4

Jocelyn

I sat at the park, lost in thought as I waited for Vince and his son, Jack, to arrive the next afternoon.

My mind couldn't stop playing the events that had unfolded last night and all the blissful things that Vincent did. He had been gentle, slow. He hadn't pressed. He'd gone at my pace. And he had played my body like a damn fiddle. I couldn't say I wasn't excited to explore our relationship further, to see where it led us.

It just sucked that it had taken me a while to realize the gift I had right in front of me this whole time.

Sure, Vince had joined the service right after our wedding. But I never thought anything of it. Especially when he came back from boot camp with a pretty brunette on his arm saying he had eloped with her. And about eight months later, she gave birth to their son, Jack. Everything had seemed well for a while. He moved his family to where he was stationed and was discharged as an honorary disabled vet.

Once he was out, they moved back here and Vince and Caleb had a serious sit-down conversation about starting up their own business. They had once spoken and dreamed about doing so back in high school and they figured out a way to open a diesel repair shop. They were co-owners in the business. Caleb was already immersed in the world and brought in a good chunk of business. And with Vincent's veteran background, it also added to the customer base. Together they worked endlessly. It had been rough going for the first year and a half, and then it started to take off. They had enough business to hire a few hands. It generated enough money Caleb had me quit work and be the trophy, stay-at-home wife. We moved into an existing farm house on ten acres of land and had our dream house built in the meantime. We had decided to hold off on having kids until we were more established, which we had finally reached by the time the accident happened.

And then I was left with the pieces of our life.

I knew Vincent wouldn't have pulled the rug out from under me had I said I wasn't interested in taking over Caleb's position after the accident. The way Caleb had written the agreement, made it to where I would inherit, basically, his half of the business. I could have worked something out, could have hired someone to step in and make the decisions in my stead. Instead, I threw myself into the business, needing something, anything, to distract me from the pain. And, at the same time, get me closer to Caleb.

I had thrown myself into the business for a year and a half. I'd helped Vincent grow it into the reputable business it was. We had so much business, we were going to open up another shop a few towns over. Technically, Vince and I drew enough income we didn't have to go into work. The place was like a well-oiled machine. Everyone we hired was reliable and worked hard. We liked to be there though. To be present in the ongoing, daily life of our business. We felt it was important for everyone to see us and know we weren't just collecting a paycheck off of their backs.

"Hey pretty lady," Vince called out, pulling me out of my reverie.

A smile instantly lit my face and I caught Jack as he sprinted right into my arms.

I had practically watched the boy grow ever since Vince and Caleb started the business. Vince had always brought Jack around and kept him entrenched in the company with the intention that he would one day take over his portion of the empire we had built. After saying a quick greeting, Jack bounded off to the playground and just integrated himself into the groups of children already there. Vince plopped down on the bench next to me and draped an arm across my shoulders. "Sorry we are a little late."

"Please, don't apologize." I brushed off, knowing it had to be his ex.

Vince sighed in agitation. "She was a half hour late this time to drop off. She at least texted me, letting me know about the delay." But it was still frustrating because she was not respecting their court agreements. "She said the baby had a blow out." Which could happen. And, based on horror stories I heard, those things happened at the most inconvenient of times.

I reached out and rested a hand on his knee. "How is Jack handling the change? Of having a new baby brother?"

Vince and his ex, Carin, had separated shortly after they moved back here. It had been a bad divorce. There had been accusations and cheap shots taken on both sides. It had done a number on Jack and it had taken almost a year to get everything resolved enough to where they got joint custody of their son. "It's rough," Vince admitted, covering my hand with his and squeezing softly in acknowledgment of my silent support. "He's clashing really hard with Javier."

Javier, Carin's new husband, I reminded myself. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Vince shrugged, and we moved onto different subjects, things that weren't quite so heavy. Once Jack had gotten his wiggles out, we went to get a bite to eat before going our separate ways. This was something we were used to doing at least every other week, if not every week. It was something I looked forward to. Being around Jack was healing in many ways.

The next few days went by in a blur. Jack, when he wasn't in school, was with us at the shop. When we could, Vince and I were all over each other like horny high schoolers and the revelation of this made us chuckle.

When Friday came, Vince was a no show.

I checked my messages and realized he hadn't texted back since early the night before. I had to wonder what happened. He never just ghosted me like this. Nor was he ever a no-call, no-show.

Hmm...

I left the office and went to the front desk. "Morning Eva, did Vince call you this morning?"

"He did. I'm sorry I forgot to pass along the message that he would be out today."

I was relieved someone had at least heard from him. "No worries, thank you!"

That was so strange. I had to wonder what happened.

Even before this recent development, we had texted each other daily. Even if we weren't coming into the office, we would let the other know.

I couldn't help but think something bad had happened to Jack. Or, could it possibly have something to do with me? It seemed more likely the latter, but I couldn't think of anything that would put him off.

I stayed for most of the day, trying my hardest to focus on the new shop plans and everything that needed to be accomplished before we could move in.

The moment the clock struck four, I was out of the office and in my car. Vince would be dropping Jack back off with his mother and would be back home by the time I got there.

I tried to stay within the speed limit, but my gut was a jumble of nervous knots.

When I pulled into Vincent's driveway, I saw his car and someone else's I didn't recognize. Had someone come to visit, someone from his military days? Or a relative perhaps, and he had just lost track of time and hadn't checked his messages?

I wanted it to be that simple, but deep down I knew it wasn't.

It took a lot of courage to get out of the car and walk the short distance to the door. My heart was pounding in my chest, my legs feeling like jelly at the unknown. Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell and waited. It didn't take long for him to answer.

Before he realized it was me, I could see how downright miserable he was. At first, I thought it had something to do with his ex. Had she thrown shade at him again? Was she trying to gain full custody of Jack again? I had seen him look this haggard before. It wouldn't be the first time his ex had done something like this...

However, the instant his gaze landed on me and his shoulders tensed, his eyes turning to stone, I knew it didn't have anything to do with that, and everything to do with me. Before I could say one word, Vince snapped, "You need to leave."