Forsaking All Others (From This Day Forward Book 2) by Shannon Myers Page A

notice her teeth are clenched together. I pop open the console and fish around until I find a peppermint. “Try this, they’re good for nausea.”
    “Thank you,” she whispers before unwrapping it and popping it into her mouth.
    We manage to make it to the police station downtown without having to pull over again. Beth seems to be feeling much better once she gets out the truck, but I hand her a few more peppermints just in case.
    “How many of these do you have?”
    I laugh at her question, “Well, I eat at Sonic a lot so I’ve probably got a whole console full of them.”
    She places her hand on my arm, “You eat out every day? That’s really bad, David. You need to take better care of yourself.”
    Her words touch me. Regardless of what’s going on between us, she still feels something for me. I grab her hand as we walk across the street, “That’s what I’ve got you for, Beth. Make sure I’m eating right, getting eight hours of sleep—you know, important things like that.”
    She laughs, “And here I thought you were just using me for sex.” I smile and grip her hand tighter. She doesn’t pull away from me so we walk hand in hand into the station.
    There’s just enough moisture in the air for it to feel slightly humid, a rarity in west Texas, and I can already tell it’s going to be unbearably hot later. I just hope we can get in and out so that I can mow without feeling like I’m standing on the surface of the sun.
    They take us to different rooms to interview us separately, something I did not plan on happening. Mike assures me that this is normal procedure as he walks me to an interview room.
    “So, you never told me how you came to be an alibi witness. Care to elaborate?”
    I shrug my shoulders, “I was sitting in a parking lot and saw her come out of her doctor’s appointment. I was across the street so I had a pretty clear view of her. Landon came up out of nowhere and they talked for about twenty minutes. Nothing to elaborate really—it’s not like I heard what they were saying.”
    Mike stops walking and turns around to face me, “Did Elizabeth know you were there?”
    I roll my eyes, “No, she didn’t know I was there. I mean, I told her about it later.”
    He runs his hand through his hair, “Jesus Christ, David. You’re camped out in a parking lot just waiting for her to leave an appointment?”
    I stiffen, “Mike—Landon came up out of nowhere. Obviously, he was watching her. Thank God I was there to make sure she was safe!”
    “How is what you were doing any different than what he was doing? You were stalking your wife, man! That doesn’t make you look any better than him at this point.”
    “Now you sound like Beth. I was at Jess’s appointment with her. We had words and I left. I was taking care of a few things with work when she walked out. She looked a bit unnerved so I was making sure she got to her car when he walked up. And, really? Can one really stalk their own wife? I think that’s called being a good husband. You happy now, detective? Is this part of my interview?”
    He reaches out and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Calm down, this isn’t part of the interview. It’s just your best friend worrying about you. I want it to work out between you two, more than anything, but I also want you to remain rooted in reality. Don’t kill yourself chasing after a woman who doesn’t want to be caught.”
    I give him a curt nod, seething on the inside. It’s getting really old, hearing advice from people who have no idea what’s going on between me and my wife.
    “Alright, Dear Abby, let’s get this shit over with.”

 
    I sit on a hard plastic chair, resting my arms on the table in front of me in an otherwise empty room. There’s a one-way mirror along the wall in front of me and I can’t help but feel nervous. I have to remind myself that I’m not a suspect in Katya’s disappearance—something that’s easy to forget when sitting here.
    At least I don’t