Page 36 of Beneath Still Waters

“That’s exactly it.” She swallowed hard. Maybe she’d rather face the lake than this story. “I met this guy during my two years of training. I had about a year left and so did he. To say he treated me like I was the sun coming up every day would be an understatement. I thought we’d marry after we wereboth through training. He even dropped the county funding his training so he could join me in Cody.”

Brendon nodded but added nothing.

“Everything was literally great. We spent so much time together. At the time, I should’ve asked myself why he wasn’t leading and asking me to follow him, but I now understand that was a manipulation tool. By following me, he made it seem likehewas the nice guy who’d adjusted his entire life plan for me. He always wanted everyone to think he was the good guy.”

She closed her eyes and took a drink of the water, then coughed it out. Even the vague reminder of the water made her throat reject reality. “Sorry.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Brendon said nothing but his face was no longer impassive. His listening was active, his eyes encouraging.

“When we’d both graduated and headed for Cody, we were going to go out and celebrate at a park. There was a bridge over the water. Since it was mid-summer, we walked across and leaned over the edge, watching the water flow by. We had people take our picture. He pointed out fish in the deepest part. It was probably only about twenty feet deep. At the time, that wouldn’t have bothered me. That would be a good swim.”

His jaw firmed.

“He tried to kiss me. I wasn’t comfortable with that in public. Mom never kissed anyone. I just didn’t see it growing up. Maybe that’s normal but it wasn’t to me.” Her words came so fast she had trouble keeping up with her thoughts.

“It’s okay to have boundaries.”

Not for Hunter. “He pushed me in.” Her voice cracked.

“Pushed you?” Brendon’s eyes drilled into her.

“Then he jumped in after me and held me under.” She swallowed the huge lump in her throat, keeping her words inside. Now that she’d started, she couldn’t stop. “I fought andkicked but I was losing air. I could see bubbles in the water. Things spinning around me, but I wasn’t spinning . . . Everything went black. When I woke up, he was the hero, the one who’d ‘jumped in after me’ and saved my life.”

“That’s when you needed the new phone Connor sent,” Brendon said, putting two and two together.

She closed her eyes and coughed, then continued. “Yes. I couldn’t tell him. No one else would’ve believed me anyway and Connor would’ve been furious. He’d be even more if he realized that I didn’t leave then.”

“What kept you with him?”

She hung her head and gripped the armrests. “Fear of what other people would say. Fear of disrupting the whole force and making them choose sides. Fear of being wrong. What if my dressreally wastangled around my legs like he claimed, holding me down? Not him. What if hedidn’tpush me and I imagined it? What if I was making something out of nothing? He’d been a fantastic partner so far. Why would I risk losing everything, losing the man I . . . loved?”

Brendon looked at her for a few seconds that felt like years, his impassive expression finally giving way to unmistakable concern. “You use the past tense. More happened?” He now nudged the bowl closer to her again.

This time, she wouldn’t refuse. She opened a single chocolate with an encouraging phrase on the inside wrapper.

“There was only one other incident, but it was enough. I knew I had to get away from him.” She looked away. The chair suddenly felt like concrete.

“He’s the one who shot me. That’s why they never found the weapon on the perp. Because he didn’t do it. Hunter did.”

THIRTY

Now that one other person on the planet knew her struggles, the weight had lifted. A little. Not that she was going to announce her history to everyone. Brendon was enough. She headed for the stables to saddle a horse.

Her choice of mount was a solid gray mare who nipped at others but ate carrots out of her hand. “I’d bet if they remembered the toll, you’d be nice to everyone. Wouldn’t you, girl?” She scratched the horse along her neck. That had been her horse of choice for years, but since she was never in a stall with her name above it and no one had said the mare’s name since the first time she rode it, she couldn’t recall. Asking for it now seemed almost offensive.

She started slowly near the house, then clicked her tongue to get into a trot. Once she reached the road, she kept to the side and let the horse walk. While there were plenty of riding trails on Wayside, they were used by the guests and Ferd didn’t want to encounter someone accidentally today and make them feel uncomfortable. She’d also rather not see people for the rest of the day.

“Maybe if I’d bothered to learn the schedule, like everyone else . . .” She took a deep breath of fresh air.

Cody had fresh air, too, right?She should miss her apartment, her clothes, even her job. Instead, all she felt was relief at being away. Brendon had given a potential reason why. All those things, especially her job, were connected to Hunter. He still worked there. While she may have told him they were through while she lay in the hospital, she couldn’t avoid him at work. And he might not give her a choice anyway.

There was also the possibility that he’d set up some sort of retaliation. He might be the reason she now had to go back in person, instead of just providing records. He may have hinted to the sergeant that she might not be telling the truth. She’d asked Brendon to forward proof of their session directly to her supervisor, then she’d called her doctors and counselor in town and had them do the same. Hunter could claim she was hiding things or making them up, but if the documents came from the actual provider, her boss would have to believe her.

It had taken two serious incidents for her to see he wasn’t the guy she thought he was. The hard part was, she still wouldn’t call him abusive. He was manipulative and wanted others to see him as a superhero. He wanted the recognition for saving the day. He wanted to be the best boyfriend in the room, the best guy in the room, the guy who’d saved the most people. And she’d played into his needs by not only accepting all his compliments and adoration but by telling him he was amazing and the best.

Now, stop. It’s okay to give compliments. You’ve just got to be careful about motive.

“Mind if I join you?” Lacy trotted up from behind.