When Hunter and I get to the duplexes the next morning, Oliver is already parked in front of Hunter's old duplex and standing by his work van with his cell to his ear. A dumpster is on the other side of the driveway, so Hunter parks in Oliver's old driveway instead.

 Hunter is carrying a big bulky bag and has a tool belt slung around his waist, and his muscles are straining the tight tee shirt he has on. I walk alongside him as Oliver waves us over; he is standing near a van on his phone. 

Oliver is wearing a crisp white button-down shirt tucked into a pair of light-colored jeans, he is hanging up from a call as we reach him. 

"They're going into DGI as we speak," he informs me and then looks at Hunter. "Julian's company."

"Damn, that was fast," Hunter replies.

"Are they arresting him today?" I ask with wide eyes.

"All I know is they have a warrant maybe multiple warrants and are going in. I doubt the feds are going to tell me much from here."

"It's going to be okay, Darlin," Hunter assures me. "Oliver did the right thing for all those people Julian ripped off."

"I know," I agree and then look at Oliver. "I know you did, and I am glad."

I let out a small sigh. That's not entirely true, and I feel a little guilty about that. Julian was my husband, and I know he did something awful, but I care what happens to him. "Let's just get to tearing stuff up that'll take my mind off Julian."

"Let's go break shit!" Hunter agrees with a wolfish grin.

"I can't get started with you yet. I need to get back to the bookstore. I trust my dad, but that project... "Oliver pauses for effect, "It has to be perfect. I need to oversee the beginning. But I'll be back in a few hours."

I can't help but think back to Hunter saying the bookstore is like Oliver's ode to me. He was being sarcastic, I know, but maybe there is some truth to that. I mean, he's bringing our mutual childhood daydream to light. Yet, despite that, I still don't know where Oliver stands when it comes to me. He left, he reinvented himself without me.

When I was a teen, I was a dreamer when it came to love, I had this vision in my head of what happily ever after looked like, and it was like a storybook, all happy, no drama, all you need is love and all that crap. But then life came, tossed me around, and showed me what the word reality means in the hardest ways possible, and now...

Well, now I'm cynical and scared, and things like figuring out what's in my heart aren't as simple as my mama makes them seem.

"Where's your crew?" Oliver asks Hunter.

"My client wasn't happy about the delay, so I can't pull them from the farmhouse we're remodeling," Hunter explains. "I figure the three of us can handle the demo for now, and by the end of the week, they can come to help us wrap it up."

"I'm sure we can manage. We got a ton done yesterday," Oliver is nodding. "You talking about the Brown farm? I don't think that's ever been remodeled."

"It's somehow a bigger shitshow than the Johnson farm, and that was..." Hunter shudders.

"You did that remodel?" Olliver looks surprised but impressed. "It looks really good. I noticed that right away, driving into town."

"Yeah," Hunter says with pride in his eyes.

"Do you have something lined up after the farmhouse?" Oliver asks, stunning me and Hunter too, from the looks of the way his eyes widen slightly.

"Not yet..." Hunter says slowly. "You'd hire us for this?"

"It'd be much easier than flying another crew in," Oliver says. "But... you're going to have to understand that you work for me."

"We can set our crap aside for the workday," Hunter offers.

"Not just that, I'm not the tactful, shy guy I was. When it comes to those projects, I'm picky as fuck. I do my best to leave you alone and let you work, but I will be on-site often. If I don't like something, I will tell you... bluntly."

"I get it," Hunter says with a slight shrug. "A lot of money goes into something like this. Of course, you're picky. I don't get butt hurt if we get yelled at. We just fix it the way our client wants it."

The worry leaves Oliver's face, and his body seems to relax.

"But..." Hunter adds. "I know what I'm doing, too, and if I have an honest opinion on a better way, I expect you'll at least hear me out. It's common respect."

"That's fair," Oliver agrees. "You sure you'd even want to take this on? It's a big project, going to tie you up for a while."

"I can't turn down something like this," Hunter agrees. "Work can be scarce these days."

"Then let's talk later. We'll draw something up," Oliver says.

It's a good thing it's too early for flies, or I'd have caught a dozen of them by now.

Oliver and Hunter working together to tear down and then rebuild the place where we all became best friends? It's so fitting.

"You coming, Darlin?" Hunter calls, and I realize I'm still standing dumbly in the driveway. And he's at the door, and Oliver is already in and shutting the door to his van.

"Yeah, coming," I hustle over and follow him as he opens the door. We walk into the neighboring side to start in this one.

It's identical to what Oliver's looked like; these are all exactly the same, and none have been remodeled like ever. There's a musty smell, and I crinkle my nose at it.

"Don't take another step until you put these on," Hunter hands me an ugly yellow hard hat with a pair of work gloves inside.

"I don't need a hard hat," I roll my eyes and hand it back to him, but I put the gloves on. That cut yesterday hurt like a bitch.

"Fine, but please be careful today. Oliver made me feel like a tool when I let you get hurt yesterday."

"Let me?" I comment. "Pretty sure I managed that all on my own."

"Just be careful," he says with a sigh. "Hop up here. I'm going to have you help me with the cabinets first."

"Me? How?"

He chuckles. "You can handle this. You'll unscrew the bolts from the wall while I hold them in place. It was a pain in the ass for me to get under them to get at the hinges. Your hands are a lot smaller you'll have an easier go at it."

"Right," I say as my eyes fall on those large and rough hands of his...and with that, my mind starts to wander, but the sound of his toolbox hitting the counter as he sets it down jolts me back to reality.

He starts rummaging through the toolbox until he finds the right screwdriver... He then pats his hand on the counter, and I climb up. He stands behind me and leans in slightly, his chest brushing against my back, causing the tiny hairs on my neck to stand up as goosebumps form.

"See the hinges there," he points to them as he hands me the screwdriver. "You just take the screws out. Once you get the last one, it's going to feel like it'll fall on you. Just grab a hold of it. I'll need you to help balance it until I have it."

"Okay," I agree. I need to kneel on the counter and angle my body weirdly to get to the first hinge. I can only imagine how annoying this was for Hunter yesterday. The screws are tight, and it takes a while to get it loose, but finally, I do. Once I get the first bolt undone, I move on to the second and third.

"It'll come loose in a hurry when you unscrew that last one," Hunter warns, and I brace myself.

He's right, the cabinet feels like it's falling right at us, but I quickly steady it while Hunter gets it balanced and eventually takes it from me.

We settle into a nice groove as we work. Some of the screws are rusted and take quite a bit of effort.

"You're doing great, darlin," Hunter comments as he returns from setting one of the cabinets down. "Maybe you missed your calling."

"I don't think so," I say with a short laugh. "This is kind of fun, but not what I'd want to do every day."

We're down to the bottom cabinets and the half one above the fridge. Hunter leans back and studies me." You're going to get the little shop you always wanted. I'm going to make sure of it."

"I'm worlds away from having the money to ever make that pipe dream happen, and you know it."

"We'll see about that," Hunter says.

"Did you forget about my pile of debt?"

"Oliver said he'll get you out of it, right?"

"He said he's going to try to get some of it forgiven," I correct. "Some of the amount of money we owe is still a lot. Then on top of that, I don't have a job to make any payments."

"You can work for me until you have a job."

"Hunter, I appreciate that, but, like I said, I can't do this every day." 

"You don't have to do anything," he cuts me off. "We'll say you do my books or something and get you a steady paycheck. Just while you look for work."

"You cannot pay me for doing nothing, even if it is just for a little while," I nearly laugh, but I can see he's very serious.

"Then you can do my books."

"You don't need me to, though," I point out. "You told me you use an app that does everything for you."

"You can manage the app."

"Hunter... no, you're not giving me a paycheck to check an app for five minutes a day."

"Twenty minutes and why not?"

"Because I am not taking money for doing nothing like some kind of charity, just like I'm not taking a loan from Oliver," I stress. "Just because you two figured out the adult thing doesn't mean either of you needs to clean up the mess I made of my life."

"Uh, Kinz, hi." Hunter cutely waves at me. "I'm divorced too and squatting on your parent's land in my travel trailer."

I can't help but laugh at that. "And you still have it more together than I do! I slept on the porch the other night, for Christ's sake."

"What? Why?"

Fuck why did I tell him that?

"Never mind. My point is I need to clean up my own shit."

"But you didn't get yourself into it, Julian did," Hunter reminds me. "So don't let your pride stop me or Oliver from trying to help you out of it. A loan might be exactly what you need, then the fees and shit stop, right?"

"You think I should take a loan from Oliver?" I ask as my eyes widen.

"I'd rather it be me, but I don't have that kind of money to get you out of it," Hunter says slowly. "I think if you took a loan from him, then a job from me –"

"I am not taking a job where you pay me to do nothing," I cut that idea off again.

"Fine," he surrenders. "But–"

"And I'm not taking a loan from Oliver either," I say quickly. "Can we drop this for now? Every time I think about money, my head starts to throb."

"Yeah, of course," Hunter says as he squeezes my shoulder.

"Last upper one," he motions to the half cabinet. "They say it's the most pointless cabinet ever made."

"Yet everyone has somethin' in there," I comment. "I always kept the stupid impulse buy stuff I never used up there, like my juicer." 

"I did the same thing my Ma did and kept the hard liquor in it," Hunter says.

"I still can't believe how much booze we got away with taking back in the day," I snort, some parties we'd go through half the bottle! 

"I found out years later that she knew all along. She put the cheap shit up there and hid the decent stuff in her room."

"Sounds like Shar," I laugh.

"Brace yourself," he warns me as he positions his arms around the fridge to pull it out. "You never know what's under these things."

I shudder as he pulls it out. It scrapes across the floor, tearing the linoleum, but it doesn't matter since that'll all be redone anyway.

"Ugh," I grimace at the pile of hair, dust, and greasy grossness hiding under the fridge. Now I know where the musty smell came from. I grab a broom and sweep it as best I can, gagging all the while, while Hunter heads out to get a ladder.

When he comes back, I step up on the ladder while he holds onto the cabinet, and I start working at getting under it where the hinge is. This one is super rusty as the screwdriver slips from my hand. When it does, I somehow lose my footing, too, and I gasp as I feel myself start to fall backward.

"I got you," Hunter is behind me in moments, and I fall against his hard, sturdy chest. He captures me in his arms as he lowers me to the ground. I'm safe, but my heart doesn't know it yet and is still racing from that falling feeling.

"You're such a clumsy little thing." He laughs, and the husky sound in my ear does nothing to calm my racing heart, only now it's racing for an entirely different reason.

"Maybe I just wanted you to catch me," I tease him as a coy smile curls over my lips.

"Darlin, if you want my arms, just let me know. You don't have to go falling off ladders," he says as his muscular arms tighten around me. My gaze is drawn to those large hands of his as his palm rests gently over my stomach.

Shit...I can feel his breath hastening as well. All I can think about is how close our bodies are as the heat between us turns my cheeks crimson. 

His lip touches my ear as he leans in close. "You can have them anytime."

I'm melting into a puddle and unable to form words as goosebumps spread over my skin.

The door opens, and Oliver walks in before we can pull ourselves from the intense moment. We all freeze right in place for what feels like forever, but it is only a few seconds before Hunter and I slowly part while Oliver darts his gaze away.

When I look at Oliver again, I can see his jaw is tense, and his dark brown eyes are shadowed and guarded. Even his posture is stiffer than when we saw him earlier in the driveway.

A memory is lingering, on the cuff of my mind and I know it's coming. Those angry words that were shouted but not absorbed by anyone, are haunting us now. They never went away, they still linger, even now. 

It isn't just hitting me either. I can feel it. All of us are going there... we aren't even over there at that house yet, and we're going there.

The upbeat wind chimes of my ringtone break up the tense moment, and I frown as I see my mama calling.

"Mama?" I answer. 

"Kinsey!" she sounds panicked.

"Mama, what's wrong?" I look at Hunter with alarmed eyes.

"It's Julian. He's here. He's in the barn and asking for you, and he won't leave! Your dad is going to be gone for hours and..."

"I'll be right there, Mama," I say quickly as I hang up. "We have to go, it's Julian!"

They don't waste a second as we all race out the door.

***

A small green car I've never seen before is parked in the driveway as Hunter pulls up, and we all jump out. Mama comes running out of the house to greet us.

"He looked so upset," she says in a breathy voice. "He kept saying he just needs to talk to you, Kinsey. I didn't know what to do."

"Let's go," Hunter looks at Oliver, who nods as he rolls up his sleeves.

"Stop!" I yelp as I jump in front of them. "I am going to go talk to him, and you two can wait out here."

"I don't trust him," Hunter argues.

"Neither do I. He's desperate!" Oliver agrees.

"He has never physically hurt me, and he never would."

"But he's desperate," Oliver stresses again.

"I know him. I can handle this," I stress. 

"Kinz..." Hunter says worriedly. "Let us go in with you, then."

"No. Hunter, please. I can handle this," I insist.

"I'm not asking," I add when he remains pensive.  "I am going to talk to him. Alone."

"We'll give you ten minutes, and then we're coming in," Hunter says. "Don't argue with me, Darlin. You ain't going to win this one."

"Fine." I agree, with an irritated huff as I whirl around. So macho I swear and what's with Oliver jumping on his side? 

I let out a nervous breath as I walk quickly toward the barn.

I turn the flashlight to my phone on before I push the heavy door open and walk in. It's eerily like my dream, but Julian's back to me instead of Olivers.

He turns and sighs sadly as our gazes meet. He looks tired and puffy.

"Kinsey.."

"Why are you here and in here?" I ask as I step closer.

"I remember it's your special barn, but I had to hide somewhere," he explains. 

"Not here," I snap. "You scared my mama."

"I'm sorry I scared her. But ... what was I going to do? You know, right? I'm sure your pretty-boy ex had something to do with it. Thats right, this is his barn," Julian says wryly. 

"Don't make this about Oliver or me. You been ripping people off, Jules!"

"That's the thing, no! I mean, not really." He runs a hand through his hair as he gathers his thoughts. "We do take care of anyone who invests with us. They get a lot more than they would have without us. We just take a little more than we say, is all, and most people don't know anyway, so why does it even matter?"

"That doesn't make it right!" I argue. "Come on, you know that."

"All I wanted to do was build a future for us, a dream future."

"I'd have been happy in a small house, living paycheck to paycheck, if we had just stayed, us. We changed when you got that job and moved into that house. It tore us apart."

"Yeah, it did," he surprises me by agreeing. "I know it did. They put so much pressure on me, Kinz. They kept telling me they'd secure my legacy if I could prove myself. I followed the advice of my main manager, Greg. The cards... those were for prizes."

"What?" I stand straighter. "What does that mean?"

"They put me in charge of the incentive program, and so I was running incentives and stuff with huge prizes," Julian explains. "I did what Greg said and just charged the stuff."

"All that debt is part of this?" I question as my blood starts to boil. "Julian, I can't do a damn thing because of all that!"

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," Julian mutters.

"How was it supposed to happen then?"

"Greg said to charge it up, then he'd demote me, and I could file bankruptcy on it citing inability to pay... Once the debt was wiped out, he'd reassert my position."

"What!?" I am glad we're in the barn if there was anything within reach of me right now, I would throw it at him. All that pressure for me to hurry up and file bankruptcy makes sense now. 

"It would have been fine, Kinsey. I was making good money. I'd have been able to do it again in a few years. Only you started seeing the credit card bills and the fights started."

"You should have told me, then."

"Right," he scoffs. "When you decided to divorce me, it screwed up the entire plan."

"Good," I say bluntly. "It was a bullshit plan."

"Worked for Greg," Julian counters. "I know you see this as wrong, and I guess in a way it is, but everyone does crooked shit, baby. It's just how the world works."

"No, it's not," I counter. "It's how some people choose to live, but not me. Your dad... Does he know?"

Julian flinches, "He does now he was pretty pissed, said he disowns me."

"And you still don't see how wrong this was?"

"Fuck," He groans. "Yeah, I know... It was, it is. But I can't change it now."

"Why are you here?" I question.

"I wanted to clear the air with you and apologize. It wasn't right that I did this behind your back and the debts," Julian says with genuine sincerity in his eyes. "I want to help in the only way I can."

"Help how?"

"There's a storage locker right outside of Eastland Heights. Inside is a locked file cabinet; the key is in the sole of a pair of your old cowboy boots. Take enough of the money to settle the debts and bring the rest to a place I'll text you to go to."

"There's money?" I take a step back as my mouth drops open. "Enough to pay the debts?"

"I made huge commissions, but a lot was in cash. Greg taught me to be smart about stuff. If you'd had just been patient and not found that credit card bills, we'd have been set; we were on our way."

"On the backs of other people's savings," I say.

"The amount we were taking was like a tip," he says dismissively.

He doesn't get it. He still doesn't think he has done anything wrong. Who the hell did I marry?

"It was illegal charging stuff up knowing you wouldn't pay for it. Destroying my credit right along with yours, come on!" 

"That part is fucked up, and I'm sorry you got screwed. But I am trying to make it right."

"I don't want that money, Julian."

"Kinsey, just take it and pay the debts, and I'll disappear."

"They won't stop looking for you."

"I am one of many guys who took off when the suits came storming in. I'm small in the grand scheme of it all. They'll forget about me."

"But..."

"You know I can't survive prison," he whispers, and I gulp.

"I know..." I trail off. 

"The locker is in your name, and the key is in your boot," Julian says. "They'll think you knew. You might even go down with me for this."

"What? How could you risk me like that?" My cheeks are darkening more and more as I clench my fists,

"I didn't have a choice, but I am trying to make it right, don't you see that?" Julian begs.

"I think in your mind you are, but not like this." 

"Those people will be okay. They'll get their money back anyway; no need for me and especially you to go down for this."

I cross my arms around myself as my jaw tenses.

"Just take the money, let me go, and we end this thing," he begs. 

"Where's the storage locker?" I relent.

"You'll do it, really?"

"As long as you agree after this we're done. Forever, numbers blocked, all ties cut, got it?"

"Got it," He agrees somberly. "I'll text you where to drop off as soon as I leave here. It'll be a from a burner phone."

"Fine." 

"Kinsey, thank you." he leans in to hug me, but I back away quickly and he flinches with hurt. 

"Goodbye, Julian."

He opens the barn door but turns back before he leaves. "I am sorry. Sorry, that in all this, I lost you. That's the one thing I do regret."

I say nothing, and he sighs; I follow him out after he leaves. Hunter, Oliver, and my mama are standing close, and the guys start walking, but I hold up my hand to stop them.

I let Julian go to his car as I walk over and join the three of them.

"Kinz?"

Darlin?"

"What happened?"

I don't answer instead I wait and watch the green car as it speeds off. After another minute, my phone buzzes with a text message, and I look at the address Julian sent me with a sad sigh, "I'm sorry too, Jules. Sorry that greed turned you into this person you are now."

I pick up my phone and dial three numbers, and a dispatcher picks up. "Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?"

"My ex-husband, Julian Rossi... I believe the police are looking for him," I say bravely. "He just left my house. I know where he's going, and I have some information to share."