Chapter 30

*Livie*

Beth and I stumbled into the house sometime after one in the morning. The uber driver dropped Jess and Sam off at their respective houses, and Beth decided to stay with me since James was on call. After securing the locks and setting the alarm, we found our way to the couch with bottles of water and another helping of tequila, not that either of us needed it. She sipped her drink, and said "Tomorrow is going to be rough." Giggling ensued, but she wasn't wrong.

"I don't care. I needed this." Grabbing the remote I turned on the tv and found "Friends" reruns for us to veg out to.

"Everything ok with you?" Beth's voice was heavy with concern. "I know its a big transition, being married, but you've been through the ringer these last few months. And Detective whatever showing up at the bar tonight had to bring a lot of crap to the surface."

"Yeah it was odd, running into him there, huh?" The question hung in the air, not really directed at anyone.

"What was he asking you about?" She turned toward me, just now remembering the odd exchange.

"That's the weirdest thing. He asked if I was happy?" I stared straight ahead, sipping on my tequila, trying to analyze the interaction.

"That is weird." Finishing her drink and setting the glass on the table, Beth curled up under the blanket on the back of the couch. The show caught her attention, and our conversation stalled. I tried to lose myself in the show, but my thoughts kept trailing back to Detective Shepherd. His presence in my life has been odd, for sure, but his concern has always seemed honest. Even when the accusations toward James were made, it was like he didn't fully trust Nick's version of events. I slipped into a restless sleep with thoughts of the detective running through my mind.

The next morning, I was woken by slight pressure on my head and the smell of coffee filling my nostrils. Beth groaned next to me, "Is that coffee?" She grumbled.

"There's breakfast, too." My eyelids slowly opened and found my husband planting a gentle kiss on on my forehead. He stood, smiling down at me, a coffee mug in each hand. "Good morning, wife."

"Good morning, husband." I grinned up at him.

"Don't start that shit. It's too early and I'm too hungover." She sat up just enough to reach the coffee her brother was holding, then leaned back in the chair. She moaned as the first taste of caffeine hit her tongue. "Wait, you said breakfast?" James's words finally reaching her brain. James and I laughed as he reached out to grab my hand, pulling me up off the couch. He leaned down for a kiss, then gifted me the other coffee mug he was holding.

"Food is in the kitchen." He turned and headed in that direction.

"I'm going to brush my teeth, then I will gladly join you." I shuffled to our bedroom, popping into the closet for fresh clothes before heading into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, then opted for a quick shower. I piled my hair on top of my head in an attempt to keep it dry, then quickly washed my face and body. Once dressed, I ran a comb through my hair then headed into the kitchen. James and Beth were seated at the table enjoying breakfast while Beth filled him in on our visit to Martina's.

"You and Liv need to check it out together. I think you'll really like. B gives all the history of each tequila he serves." When she stopped long enough to take a bite, I jumped in the conversation.

"It really was interesting. He knows all about the plants and the regions, and how you should drink different types." With a fresh cup of coffee, I settled at the table next to James who was already making me a plate of migas. "Are those fresh tortillas?" I should have been embarrased by my excitement over food, but we had drank a lot of tequila.

"There is this awesome lady who makes all this from scratch and serves it at the hospital a couple times a month. There is nothing like it." He smiled at me as I dug in to the food, moaning as each flavor registered on my tongue. I laughed when I noticed he had leaned back in his chair to watch me each.

"I'm not even sorry! This is amazing! Thank you, baby." Beth and I continued to devour the meal as James talked about his night in the e.r. For a monday night, it was particularly busy, with several car accidents, one involving an officer who was injured directing traffic. The time on the oven clock caught my attention, and I jumped up realizing we needed to get going or we'd both be late.

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't realize how slow I was moving this morning." I leaned down to give him a quick kiss, "This was incredible. I really appreciate you!." That earned me another heart stopping smile, then I stole one more kiss, before rushing out of the kitchen. Thankfully my bag and keys were right by the front door, Beth right on my heels. I drove as quickly as possible taking Beth to Trav's office, then heading to Wilson Enterprises. By a small miracle I was only a few minutes late, but I wasted no time getting right to work.

The morning went by quickly, with Noah gone again there was plenty of work to go around. Around lunch, I checked my phone and noticed a text from Beth. *Hey did you tell James about Det. Creepy?* My stomach did a flip flop. Honestly I didn't even think about it this morning. Hoping she doesn't read that as me hiding it, I struggled to understand why he had me so off balance. Curiosity got the better of me, and I pulled up the web browser on my computer. Typing in Detective Carl Shepherd, only a few items populated. It seemed as if he didn't have a social media account, and the search only turned up articles related to cases he had worked. One news report focused on his quick rise to detective. Apparently he is the youngest detective on the local police force. Additional information was limited, and personal records were non-existent. No indication if he has a wife, kids, siblings. I closed my eyes and tried to picture him, willing myself to remember if he wore a wedding ring.* Are you happy?* His voice echoed in my head.

A knock on my office door startled me out of my internal rabbit trail. I looked up to see Jim, one of Mr. Wilson's parters. "Hey, Jim. What's going on?"

"Liv, I'm really sorry to bother you. There's a woman here who is insisting on seeing you. I know we have agreements in place to help keep you safe, but she's close to making a scene, and since the Carter situation seems to have resolved I thought I'd run it by you." My head spun and I close my eyes to steady myself.

"Did she give a name?" Already knowing the answer to my question.

"Nancy?" Poor Jim was stuck between being berated by my mother and risking bodily harm to me.

"It's ok, Jim. It's my mother. I can take her into the conference room. Is it available?" Relief washed over his face as I stood and followed him to the main lobby.

"We don't have anything scheduled for today, so use whatever area you need." He whispered to me, not wanting to give Nancy any details about my schedule.

In the lobby, Nancy was the picture of indignation, unfamiliar with anyone other than Nick not jumping at her every command. "Hi, Mom." I closed the space between us, expecting to greet her with a kiss on the cheek, but before I made contact with her, Nancy pulled back, moving her head, and then her body out of my reach. Trying to hide the hurt on my face, I asked, "Is everything ok, Mom?" Her expression further degraded into disgust.

"I'm not your mother. You belong to whatever whore your pig of a father knocked up." Her words were a punch to my gut, and oxygen was no longer pumping from my lungs throughout my body. Somehow I managed to keep upright, but I would need a chair if she were planning another nuclear attack.

"Maybe we should take this to the conference room?" Nancy's face remained rigid, and she made no attempt to move in any direction.

"That won't be necessary. I just wanted to let you know all your belongings still in my home have been packed up and will be delivered to your current address. I assumed you were still living with James, but if not, that's your problem to figure out. As of now, we no longer have any need to communicate with one another. Your father murdered my only son, and tried to replace him with you. A lifetime of disappointments is more than I am willing to endure." I stood in the lobby, mouth agape, hearing the words without the full depth of their meaning connecting. Her attention was drawn to something behind me. "She's your problem now." The venom she spewed left an icy sting as she sauntered out of the building. Still unable to move, Jim and Chris were suddenly at my side. They guided me to the couch, unease etched in lines on their faces.

"What the fuck was that?" Chris's question pulled me out of my stupor. "Did she just disown you?" I nodded silently. "For marrying James?" His voice rose as his protective instincts kicked in.

Jim took the seat next to me on the couch, placing his hand on my upper back. "Did she say Nick killed someone?"

His question was not intended to be mean or nosy, but the only thought in my mind was that I needed to vomit.

So I did.