Page 95 of On A Manhunt: Complete Series

DEX

“I’m not sure if I can keep up with your workouts,” Silas said, breathing hard and wiping his face with the hem of his t-shirt as we finished our run around Washington Park, just south of Downtown Denver.

I walked beside him for our cool down. “Then I guess you’ll never be drafted. Although you can’t even skate. Maybe mom still has that skate trainer from when we were little.”

He punched my shoulder because he knew what I was talking about–the pipe framing, which looked quite a bit like a walker, was used by little kids to hold onto as they skated. I’d ditched it when I was maybe four. Silas used one until he was ten and then gave up.

“Whatever. At least I’m not dealing with a broken heart by running my brother into cardiac arrest.”

“Fucker.”

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“Like shit,” I replied. “It’s been two weeks. Nothing.”

I lingered in Hunter Valley for three days and didn’t hear from Lindy or knew where she was. Bridget had confirmed she’d heard from her and that she was okay. Well, safe.

I wanted to shake Bridget until she told me where her sister was, but Mav would have beaten the shit out of me, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Lindy didn’t want me.

After that, I gave up and returned to Colorado. It was over.

I’d fucked up. That night in Vegas, she’s said we should round out our wild Vegas night of drinks and strip clubs by getting married. Doing all the infamous activities. I’d immediately agreed because I wanted Lindy as my wife. It had been what I wanted from the very first time I saw her.

I had the fucking ring the entire time. Even carried it with me just in case. Well, just in case happened.

She didn’t even remember being the one to suggest it. Maybe I’d been stupid to go along with a shallow, empty wedding, but it was a wedding. We were legally married. I didn’t care if we got married at a drive thru or a million-dollar affair at the James Hotel.

All I wanted was Lindy to be Mrs. Dexter James.

“Did it ever occur to you that she’s hurt because you two married for the wrong reasons?”

“I married her because I love her. That’s the only reason to do so.”

News spread of the nuptials like it always did when Dex James was involved. Like wildfire. Scott had fielded calls and interviews and besides a few crazy women, the comments were all positive. Dex James was off the market.

“Did you tell her that?” he asked, walking beside me as we did another loop.

He never joined me in any of my off-season workouts, but now he was blatantly checking on me.

Theo was back to work at the hospital and hadn’t seen him since Hunter Valley.

Something was up his ass besides Maude cheating on him.

He was usually quiet and surly and up to his elbows in guts and brains, so he’d get around to telling us eventually.

We shifted to the side to let a woman with a double wide stroller walk pass us.

“No.”

“All she knows is that OutdoorNow gave you the sponsorship deal because of your relationship.”

“She overheard what my agents said. I fired him, the fucker. He spun this all around.”

“Did you tell that to OutdoorNow?”

I stopped, turned to face him. “I told them point blank at the meeting in Chicago.”

“So you let perception and assumption win.”

I ran a hand over the back of my sweaty neck. “What the fuck does that mean?”

A guy on a bike whizzed by and a dog barked in the distance. It was a busy day at the park.

“It means OutdoorNow doubted you for the role because of that bar fight. The media spun the shit out of that to make money.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” I kicked a pebble on the path and sent it flying.

“Then OutdoorNow made assumptions about you and Lindy that swayed them the other way.”

“Right. But I set them straight that Lindy wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Did you set them straight about the wedding?”

“No, because it’s none of their fucking business.”

“You could have turned down the deal. If they only make assumptions about you, then why would you want it?”

“One, because if I keep correcting people on how they perceive me, then I’ll never do anything else.

Two, because it’s tens of millions of dollars.

I’ve already told them to donate it all to my charity.

I don’t want the fucking money. If I didn’t sign, they’d get someone else and then the charity wouldn’t get a dime. ”

“Lindy’s made assumptions about you. Why would you want her?”

“Because I love her!” I shouted. A breeze kicked up and helped dry the sweat clinging to my skin.

“And all she wanted was a marriage based on love, which is actually what’s going on.”

I ran a hand through my sweaty hair, getting more frustrated the longer he talked.

“Christ, you’re not fucking helping. You don’t think I don’t know this?

That I’m not losing my shit every moment of every day?

I love her and am married to the woman I want, but I can’t give her what she needs.

Me, being around. I can’t commute from Hunter Valley to the practice rink every morning.

I can’t wake up with her day in and day out.

Solve shit like a tree in her house. I can’t do anything about it for a couple of years, unless I get injured. ”

“Don’t even mention that.”

“I’m just saying,” I replied, letting him know I wasn’t going to get myself injured to get out of my Silvermines contract. “But telling my lawyer to send her divorce papers to make her happy didn’t fucking kill me? Si, I had the fucking ring all along.”

“What?” he asked, wide eyed.

“Right after Farrah’s wedding. Remember I brought Bridget from Hunter Valley to confront him at the hotel?”

He nodded. “Lindy and Mallory were with me. Lindy had to work.” On her romance book. “I told Mallory then and there I was going to marry Lindy.”

“You’re shitting me.”

I shook my head. “She went with me to help pick out a ring. I always knew.”

He shook his head, started walking.

“Tell her. Tell Lindy this.”

“Why? I’m just a fling. She made that clear all along and I still can’t be permanent.”

“Then why was she so upset?” he asked. “If all you were was a quick fuck or two, then why did she freak? Why did she stay at Mallory’s and cry the entire week?”

I winced. “She did?” I didn’t know anything about that. No one told me shit once I got back to Denver. Or before.

He nodded. “She has feelings for you, too. I’d say she even loves you.”

I shook my head, even though his words gave me hope. Hope that hurt like fucking hell.

“No. She was mad because I was only Mr. Right Now, and being married to her keeps her from nabbing Mr. Right. I’m legally keeping her from the one thing she wants. No guy’s going to date a married woman, even if it was because we were drunk.”

He stopped again, set his hand on my shoulder.

“You are Mr. Right, you dumbass. You’ve been Mr. Right all along. Show her that.”