Chapter 32

Tyler, TX, 2008

Sloan called Noah on the way to the Hadfield's. History was repeating itself, and Sloan needed Noah now, just as she had then.

"Noah, are you at work?" she asked as soon as he answered.

He hesitated for a few seconds. "I'm with Ridge. Don't get mad. He just—"

"I don't care," Sloan said. "Meet me in Tyler. At Anna's house. Mom is there. Noah, she's there again ."

"What are you talking about? Caroline is still at the hospital. It was a 72-hour hold."

"She's not!" Sloan yelled into the phone. "The hospital called, and she's gone. They left me a message earlier tonight. My phone didn't ring."

"Alright, calm down. How could she have gotten to Tyler on foot?"

"She didn't!" Sloan grabbed a handful of her hair. "Her car's gone. She must have gotten a ride back to the house and snuck in her window for the keys. Felicity texted. Mom's right outside their house."

"I'll meet you there, but I should call this into the Tyler police."

Sloan thought of the open attic entrance. Her mom had climbed up there for the gun. Yes, the Tyler police needed to be called.

But when she opened her mouth, the wrong words came out. "Please, no. She's just sitting there. I don't want the media there again, Noah. I can't handle this all again. Please, just come."

"On my way." Sloan listened to his car start on the other end of the line.

Sloan ended the call and texted Felicity.

Don't go out there. None of you. Text Dad and tell him not to talk to her if he gets there before me. I'm on my way.

She set the phone in the console before pulling it back out to send Felicity a second text.

And just to be safe, lock your doors.

Sloan let out a steadying breath when she spotted her mother's figure still in the front seat of her car.

"Park there behind her," Sloan said. "You stay in here."

"No way." Dylan angled the car to pull up behind Caroline. "Not when she has the gun."

"Mom's not going to hurt me."

"Fine." Dylan didn't sound convinced. "But signal if you need me."

Caroline stared straight ahead, her face void of all emotion as Sloan approached the car. Sloan tried the door—locked. She lightly rapped on the window. "Mom? What are you doing?"

Caroline rolled down the window and leaned forward on the steering wheel, staring across the street. "This is where I stood when I found out about your father. Right at this spot." Her voice cracked. "This is where my life fell apart."

"Is that why you're here? To feel the pain again?" Sloan understood that. It was why she played the Keith Whitley cassette on repeat, why she couldn't stay away from Crow's Nest Creek.

"I've never stopped feeling the pain." Caroline turned to her. "Imagine giving up everything for a man only to have him betray you."

"I don't have to imagine it. I lived it too. Let's go home," Sloan said. "We can talk about it there. We'll stop at Taco Bell. That used to be your favorite."

Caroline turned back toward the house, but Sloan noticed her wipe away a tear. "I want to talk to him, Sloan. I deserve to talk to him."

"Yes, you do," Sloan said. "But will it do any good?"

"It will make me feel better."

"Okay. But why do you need a gun, Mom?"

"A gun!" Caroline jerked her head toward Sloan. "I don't have a gun."

"Don't lie to me."

"Seriously, I don't have it," Caroline said. "I was messed up this morning with Ridge. Out of my mind. I don't want to hurt anyone. All I want is to talk to Jay."

As much as Sloan wanted to trust her mom, she knew better. This was an act, a smokescreen of sanity, a manipulation. "You were in the attic." Sloan crossed her arms.

"I climbed in the attic, but not for the gun. Why would I even think you'd put it back there where I could find it? That would be pretty stupid of you." She reached into the passenger seat. "I was looking for this." She held up a handwritten letter with an old photo attached. "I burned most of the letters and cards from Jay, most of the pictures, but I kept these." She rubbed her thumb across the white border of the Polaroid. "These were special. The first letter he ever wrote me, the first picture we took together. As much as I've hated him all these years, I could never let these burn."

"I'm glad you didn't," Sloan said. "It's a great picture. You both look so happy. And I'd love to read the letter sometime."

"Why?" Caroline wiped away another tear. "Every damn word in it is a lie."

Sloan leaned closer and pointed at the picture. "That smile on his face doesn't look like a lie. It wasn't right what he did. None of it, but Dad loved you, Mom. It was gross how much he loved you."

Caroline shook her head. "Jay has to answer for this. For this and for every year, every lie that followed."

Tires squealed as a car rounded the corner. Sloan turned and saw Brad stop in the middle of the road and let their father out before peeling into his mother's driveway.

"Sloan, is everything all right?" Jay asked, looking into the car.

Caroline threw open her door, pushing Sloan out of the way. "No, Jay. I would say everything is most definitely not alright."

Jay drew his mouth into a straight line. "I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry about everything."

"Dad!" Brad took wide steps toward them. "Should I call the police?" He looked Sloan in the eye as if this were her doing.

"No," Jay said. "We aren't calling the police."

"Come inside," Brad said. "You don't have to . . ."

"Bradley!" Jay thrust his arm out. "Go back inside."

Brad's face tightened, skin stretching into a snarl, but he didn't argue.

"Nice boy you got there," Caroline said, watching Brad walk away. "I remember when I learned about him. Went for Ridge's birth certificate and got his instead."

Even in the dark of the night, Sloan saw her father grow pale. "That's when you found out?"

Caroline charged at Jay, slamming her fists into his chest and screaming. "Did you really think you could keep it a secret forever?" Sloan heard Dylan's truck door open, but Sloan motioned for him to stay. Her father deserved far worse. He could handle himself.

"Caroline, don't do this." Jay's voice was calm. He gently grabbed her wrists. "I know you hate me, but you loved me once. Let's calm down and talk."

Caroline shook herself free from his grasp and stumbled back to her car, crying.

"I'm glad you came." He took a careful step toward her. "I've been wanting to talk to you. I've imagined it for twenty years. I never imagined it out here, like this, but it's okay."

"And I never imagined it would be out here where my life ended."

"Your life ending?" Jay shook his head. "Don't talk like that."

"It already ended. At this very spot." She stomped her foot. "This is where I first saw you . . ." She waved her hands toward his house across the street. "This is where I first saw you with her."

Jay's chin dipped to his chest. "How come you never confronted me? I knew something was wrong. Why didn't you tell me you knew? Were you just going to let me off the hook?"

"No." She crossed her arms. "How could I let you off the hook after you stole my entire life?"

Sloan's fingers and toes went numb. Was her mom going to tell the truth about what she'd done to make him pay? "Mom!" Sloan reached into the car and pulled out the letter. "You said you wanted to show Dad this."

Caroline snatched it from Sloan's hands. "Do you remember this? Do you?" She shoved it against his chest.

Sloan watched her father hold up the letter towards a streetlight before dropping his arms to his side, lifeless. "Of course, I do. I meant every word."

"Every word, huh?" Caroline's voice was rough and thick. "Even the ones that claimed I was the love of your life?"

"You were," Jay whispered. "You are. I was going to leave Anna for you." He glanced over his shoulder to ensure it was still only the three of them standing in the street. "I never felt for her—for anybody—what I do for you."

"Right." Caroline sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "So, you were going to leave Anna, but in thirteen years, you never got around to it?" She glanced at his hand. "Make that thirty-three years. Nice to see you wear a wedding ring. You never used to."

Jay folded up the letter. "I couldn't leave her, Caroline. But I damn sure wanted to. I was a coward. I wanted to be with you. I wanted to be with you forever."

Caroline knocked the note out of his hand. It blew a few feet, and Sloan jogged to grab it.

"And yet you are still with Anna." Caroline grew in height as her spine stiffened.

"You didn't give me a choice." Jay's voice rose for the first time. "She stood by me."

"Ah well, Anna's a regular Tammy Wynette, isn't she?" Caroline walked slowly toward her car. "But not me. I'm a little more The Night That the Lights Went Out in Georgia than Stand by Your Man , if you know what I mean."

When Caroline reached into the open car window, Sloan understood what she meant by her comment; she knew what her mom was reaching for. The gun. She had brought it.

"No!" Sloan unstuck her legs as she saw her mom pull the weapon from the car, but she felt like she was moving in slow motion. Thankfully, Dylan wasn't. From the corner of her eye, Sloan saw him jump out of the jeep and charge toward Caroline, right as she pointed the gun at Jay.

The wail of a police siren in the distance stole everyone's attention. It seemed to stun Caroline enough for Dylan to pin her against the car. She fought but couldn't break free. "Sloan, grab the gun," Dylan yelled as Caroline raised it toward the streetlight.

Caroline tilted her head back and shouted, "It's the night the lights went out on Brookhaven Drive!"

"Sloan!" Dylan said more forcefully, but Jay was already there. Caroline fought harder, but Jay pried the gun from her hands. He tossed it behind him as both men fought to keep Caroline pinned against the vehicle.

"Stop fighting, Mom." Sloan picked up the weapon. "The police are coming. They'll take you in. To prison this time."

"Get them off me!" Caroline screamed. "Get them off me!"

Sloan looked down at the gun in her hand as blue and red flashing lights filled the street. She ran to the other side of her mother's car and tossed it into the backseat, covering it with a reflective sun visor. She had just shut the door when the police cruiser pulled up beside her.

Noah jumped out, gun drawn. "What's going on?" he asked.

"It's okay," Sloan said. "She only wanted to talk to him."

Noah looked at her incredulously. "Where's the gun?"

"There's no gun," Sloan said. "I was wrong. Mom was getting an old letter out that she wanted Dad to read." Sloan sensed Dylan's eyes boring into her, but she didn't turn to look at him.

"Get them off me!" Caroline screamed again. "They're hurting me."

"Let go," Sloan told them. "She's not going to do anything."

Both men released their grip and slowly backed away. "What happened here, Mr. Hadfield?" Noah asked.

Jay looked at Sloan. "We were talking," he said. "Caroline got a little upset. That's all."

Noah didn't look convinced, but he holstered his weapon.

Sloan looked to her right. A nosy neighbor was peering out her window. The Hadfields had come out and filled their front lawn. "Turn your lights off, Noah, please. Before the entire neighborhood comes out."

As Noah walked back to his cruiser, Sloan faced her mother. "Let Dylan take you home. Go to bed. If you try anything else, I'm telling Noah everything ."

The street seemed strangely dark after Noah turned off his lights, like the switch had dimmed the streetlight as well.

"It's best you go home, Caroline." Noah's voice was deeper than normal.

"She is," Sloan said. "Dylan's going to take her, and I'll drive her car back soon." She turned back to Dylan with hopeful eyes. He nodded, but his expression was tight.

"Sound good to you, Caroline?" Noah asked.

"Yeah. I'll leave for now." Caroline smoothed down her shirt and tightened her ponytail. "But I assume I can come back; I mean, it's a public street."

"It would be best for all if you didn't," Noah said. "But for now, let's get you home. Get in with Dylan, and I'll follow."

Jay looked at Sloan. "Do you want to come inside for a bit?"

She didn't. Not at all. She didn't want to face the Hadfields, but she had some damage control to do. She also wanted to thank her father for going along with her lie about the gun, for keeping her mom out of jail in Tyler tonight. For keeping their names out of the next day's paper. Hopefully.

"Yeah, sure," Sloan said. "Just let me say goodbye to Dylan first."

But as Sloan walked toward Dylan, she saw the passenger door of Noah's squad car open. She'd been so distracted she didn't notice his partner was with him.

But the man who exited the cruiser was not Noah's partner. Not an officer at all. Ridge. Sloan remembered now that Noah said he was with him when she called.

Ridge glanced at Sloan, then at their mother before locking eyes with their father. Sloan waited for him to speak, but he only stared, opening and closing his mouth like a baby crow, waiting for his parents to feed him.

Jay took a step forward and brought a trembling hand to his mouth. "Ridge?" he whispered.

"Yeah, Da—" Ridge's voice broke. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Yeah, Dad, it's me."

Fifteen minutes later, Sloan sat next to Ridge on the Hadfield's sofa, right under a Welcome Home banner, untouched slices of cake on the plates in their hands.

Sloan couldn't understand why Ridge had stepped out of that police car. It had surely sealed their mom's fate. She'd go to prison; they'd all make news again. But as she sat surrounded by her father's other family, Sloan was glad to have Ridge with her.

"I'm going to take the kids home to go to bed," Kyle's wife, Tessa, said as she wrangled two blonde toddlers, mouths stained with blue icing. "Say goodbye to Nana and Pappy."

Nana and Pappy. This was bizarre.

"And I'll get a ride home from Tessa," Brad's wife said. Sloan didn't blame them for wanting to run from this family drama. She wanted to run too.

"So nice to meet you all," Tessa said to Sloan and Ridge.

Sloan smiled and nodded. Of course, they hadn't actually all met. "I think you all know Sloan," Jay had said when they came in from outside. "And this is her friend."

But Sloan knew by the look on Felicity and Anna's faces—they realized Ridge wasn't just some friend. Even if they hadn't heard the interaction outside, Ridge had Jay's sparkling blue eyes.

Their father seemed to be in a daze. He hadn't even asked any questions; he had barely spoken at all.

Kyle finally approached Ridge after the wives and kids left. "You want to explain what the hell is going on?"

"Kyle!" Anna yelled. "Sit down. This is good news."

"It is," Brad agreed. "We can finally prove Dad's not a murderer."

Jay put his hand up. "That doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that my boy's alive."

"What happened to you, Ridge?" Felicity asked. "Are you okay?"

Ridge looked at the ground. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Bullshit!" Kyle crossed the room again. Sloan jumped up too. The big sister inside of her awakened.

"Sit down!" Jay scolded, and they both did. Apparently, Sloan, the daughter, was still somewhere inside her too.

"Was it Eddie Daughtry?" Felicity asked. "I've been talking to Dylan Lawrence, and he said Eddie had other victims."

There was a stiffness in Sloan's jaw and neck. "Well, we've been talking to Dylan Lawrence, too, because I'm dating him."

Felicity flinched. "Well, yes, I heard that."

Then maybe you should stop texting him , Sloan thought but settled for an exaggerated eye roll.

"Who's Dylan Lawrence?" Anna asked.

"The whistleblower about Eddie Daughtry," Felicity said. "Sloan and I noticed many similarities between Logan Pruitt and Ridge, so we met with Dylan."

"Then Sloan and I started working on a way to talk to Daughtry," Brad said. "But she seemed to stop caring. Guess I know why now," he said, gesturing toward Ridge.

"Well, Ridge has valid reasons to be afraid," Felicity said. "Dylan's feared for his own life plenty. Eddie has a lot of connections."

"Just stop," Sloan said. "You have no idea what you're talking about, so stop talking." She looked at her brother. "Should we just leave?"

"No." Jay held out his hand. "Please don't go, Ridge. You don't have to talk about what's passed."

"If he doesn't want to talk, why is he here?" Brad asked.

Ridge raised his head. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to see Dad."

"You saw him out there," Kyle said. "Why are you in our house?"

"I figured I should apologize," Ridge said. "For not coming home sooner. If I had, Dad could have come back to you all a long time ago." He stood, so Sloan did the same. "Sorry to disrupt your evening. I'll be gone tomorrow."

"Whatever happened, it isn't your fault." Jay stood and put his hands on Ridge's shoulder. "And I don't care about my name being cleared. Don't leave. Not yet. There's so much I've missed."

"No more than you've missed with any of us," Kyle mumbled under his breath.

"Kyle, that's enough," Anna said.

"Don't compare your life with ours." Sloan pointed her finger. "Don't you dare."

Felicity groaned. "My family didn't have it easy either, okay?"

"Oh, give me a break, Felicity. You didn't live with a mentally ill woman. You didn't have to take care of yourself!" Sloan's yelling had silenced the rest of the room except for her father, who began to softly cry. His tears rubbed her wrong. "That's right, Dad. I worked three jobs. I had to take care of Mom when I could barely take care of myself."

"Until you locked her up in a nuthouse and ran away," Kyle said, standing. "Of course, that was after she spent an evening up on our roof."

Jay stomped over to his oldest son, putting a finger in his face. "Stop right now."

Kyle pushed Jay's finger away. "Stop choosing them over us. Their mom probably had something to do with Ridge disappearing. She's a psychopath."

The slap echoed throughout the room. Anna gasped, but Kyle stood silently, absently wiping at his cheek a few moments before finally speaking.

"This is why I changed my name. Why I tried to get away from this family. You're all crazy."

Anna jumped up from the coach and ran to her oldest. "Don't leave, Kyle. Dad didn't mean it."

Sloan rubbed her forehead. Her mom hadn't been wrong about one thing: Anna Hadfield really was pathetic.

"This is all my fault," Jay said. "But you're all my children, and we are going to have to learn how to be a family . . ."

Not a chance, Sloan thought. She continued listening to her father's speech, but her eyes were on Kyle. His pupils had widened, and his breathing was erratic. He pulled out his phone, holding it up in front of him. When Jay stopped talking, Sloan heard the click of the camera's shutter and realized too late what Kyle had done.

Sloan stepped in front of Ridge. "He's taking pictures of you. Go to the car."

Ridge put his head down and hurried out the front door.

"He can run if he wants, but we'll sort this out," Kyle said. "We'll figure out where he's been, and we'll expose it." He turned toward Brad. "Won't we?"

Brad stared down at his feet. "Leave it alone, Kyle. Dad wants to leave it alone."

"Fine." Kyle raised his nose. "If you won't help me, I'm sure the fine people on Facebook will." He turned his phone toward them, displaying a perfect shot of Ridge's face.

Sloan charged for him, but Jay got to him first. He grabbed Kyle by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Jay, stop!" Anna cried.

For all his talk, Kyle didn't even try to fight back or resist. "Breaking parole already, Dad?" he asked.

"Give me the phone," their father demanded. When Kyle didn't respond, Jay bounced him against the wall again. "Now!"

Kyle dropped the phone, and Jay kicked it across the floor toward Felicity, but Sloan got to it first. She raised her foot and stomped down with all her weight. The screen cracked. Sloan kept stomping until it was completely smashed into pieces. When she was finished, all eyes were on her. She walked past them all, through the littered pieces of plastic and glass, stopping only to yank down the Welcome Home banner before walking out the front door.

Sloan looked down at her cell phone lighting up on the center console. "It's Dad again. Turn it off, please."

Ridge powered the phone down. "That was rough. Seeing Dad chase after us like that."

"It's the least he could do."

"You don't have to play the tough guy anymore, Sloan. You aren't alone."

Sloan's hands tightened around the wheel. "Well, after our last meeting, I felt pretty alone."

"I'm sorry. What you said about Libby and Vince hurt because they raised me. But I get that what they did wasn't right. None of it."

"So that's why you showed up tonight with Noah? So Mom, Vince, and Libby can all go to jail? Because that's what will happen."

"Kyle will calm down," Ridge said. "Don't you think?"

"No," Sloan said. "I don't."

Ridge hit the dash. "I'm so stupid. I didn't think it through. I just wanted to see Dad, so I told myself it would be okay."

"You've always been the eternal optimist, Ridge. I can't be mad about that. But we should probably find Mom a lawyer."

Ridge stared out the windshield with a vacant expression. "Whatever happens, thanks for having my back tonight."

Sloan shrugged. "That's what sisters do."

Ridge turned up the radio, only to turn it right back down. "Anna seemed nice, though. I'll give her that. She's a saint for staying with Dad after everything."

Sloan rolled her eyes. "More like a fool. But it doesn't matter. I'm done with them all."

"Even Dad?" Ridge asked.

"Especially Dad."

"Well, you've got me," Ridge said. "Let's hang out tomorrow before I head back home."

Sloan nodded, keeping her eyes on the road. She was surprised at how sad it made her, the thought of Ridge leaving. "Will you come back for Thanksgiving? Assuming we aren't all in the slammer?"

"Well, in a perfect world, yeah, but I can't very well have Thanksgiving with you and Mom," Ridge said.

Sloan hadn't even considered that. "Yeah, guess not."

"So, what's the plan with her?" Ridge asked. "Are you gonna quit your job and stay here?"

Sloan straightened her arms. "Not sure. I can probably get a teaching job easily enough. There's a social studies teaching position open at Dylan's school. I really don't have anything keeping me in Houston."

"Yeah, I can see you teaching social studies," Ridge said. "You once read a book about the Louisiana Purchase for fun. But really, can you trust Mom at home while you teach?"

Sloan felt an ache behind her eyes again. Why was he bringing this up? Hadn't she been through enough for one day? "I'll work it out."

"Mom needs to be committed. If not, she will cost you your job, your boyfriend, your entire life."

"It's not that easy," Sloan said. "It's a legal process."

Ridge cocked his head. "I'm assuming attempted murder would be enough."

"I'm not going to talk about this right now, okay? Today sucked enough. Leave Mom to me and book your plane ticket back here for Thanksgiving."

"Alright." Ridge leaned back, putting his feet on the dash. "Hope you know how to cook a turkey because I sure as hell don't."

Sloan laughed. "Never cooked one in my life."

"We'll figure it out," Ridge said. "We'll figure everything out."