my purse, and I reach in to pull it out, seeing ‘Reed’ flash up on the screen, but before I can answer, a small voice screeches out from behind me.
“Harleeeyyy!”
The next second, small arms are wrapping around my legs as a little warm body presses into them, and I let my phone drop back into my purse.
“Hey, Paige.” I crouch down level with her. “You look different? Have fairies been pulling on your toes at night and making you grow?” I narrow my eyes and wiggle my fingers against her belly as she laughs.
“I don’t know. Have they, Uncle Stu?” She turns to look up at Stuart, and he smiles at both of us.
“Oh, I think so. Although, how they put up with these stinky little things I don’t know.” He lifts her in the air, pretending to sniff her feet and screw his nose up before he puts her back down.
“Oh, he’s just mad because I bet his feet are all hairy like monster paws.” I grin at Paige as she giggles, her curls bouncing around her cheeks. “Oh, hey, I got you a little something. Here.” I reach into my purse and pull out the small bleating goat stuffed toy.
“He’s just like the one at my party!”
“I know. I thought you might like him.” I stand up, joy warming my heart for the first time in days as I look at her delighted face.
“Raa!”
“Hey!” Stuart laughs as Paige butts the goat into his thigh.
“It’s what Freddy did to Weed.” She butts the soft goat against Stuart’s other thigh as he laughs.
“I know, I remember. Best thing I’ve seen in ages,” Stuart says.
I fight to hold the smile on my face as Paige skips a few steps ahead of us as we walk. That day at her party was before all this began. When I was just getting to know who Reed really was. When things were simpler. God, I would love to go back. Just for the day. To remember what it was like to be together. Before anyone was trying to sabotage him. Trying to use me against him.
“I have a confession, Harley,” Stuart says, pulling my gaze from Paige, skipping and singing. “There is a reason I wanted to talk to you today. Away from Reed.”
“Oh?” I twist my face to his, so he has my full attention. “You said he was focused and determined, and…” My mind wanders to our telephone conversation last night. Stuart said Reed was obsessed. That he was worried he was going to burn out. But when I spoke to Reed afterward, he sounded almost regretful. Like he blames himself for me leaving.
“He is.” Stuart glances at Paige, but she’s in her own little world talking to her goat.
“Then, what? Has something happened?” I scan his face for any sign of alarm, any hint as to why the hesitation in his voice has my lungs burning as though they’re filling with acid.
“You could say that. I…” Stuart runs a hand around the back of his neck. “He’s about to announce who he’s selecting as the commissioners for the agencies. The NYPD being one of them.” The corner of Stuart’s left eye twitches as he talks.
“Right,” I reply, confused about where this conversation is going.
“He… He knows who he wants. And who he doesn’t.”
“Sounds like Reed,” I say. “He’s always known his own mind. Especially when it comes to who he wants working alongside him. He’s going to make a great mayor.”
We slow down so Paige can walk her goat along the seat of an unoccupied bench.
“Yes. He is. And he’s going to make the decisions that are right for the city. Not the ones that are right for him personally.”
“What do you mean?”
Stuart presses his lips together before releasing them with a soft smacking sound. “I mean. He can’t let anything get in the way of what’s best for the city. Even if it isn’t what’s best for him. He can’t let the past dictate the future.”
The blood in my veins turns to ice and my feet stop moving.
“Why are you talking about the past?” I stare at Stuart as he stops walking and calls to Paige to wait for us. “Stuart?” My voice rises as I step closer to him.
“I know, Harley.” His chest deflates as he confesses. “I know about everything. It’s my job to know everything. Past, present, even future, to some extent.”
“But…?” I step backward, unsure of what to say next.
“It’s my job to find out everything. When you’re running for something like mayor, you have to be prepared. You squash an ant when you’re six years old, and someone will find out and try to use it to discredit you. It’s the way it works. I’m not saying it’s right. But it’s how it’s always been.”
“You know about what happened to him?” My voice is barely a whisper. If Stuart found this out, then anyone could find it out. There must be ways. It must be possible. I thought Griffin would be able to find out who was behind sending me the video. It must be someone with a motive. Someone who has something to gain from George Yates being the NYPD commissioner.
But what if it’s just some crazed person who thrives on drama and attention? What if they have no real reason, except for the fact they’ve discovered this huge, damaging part of the future mayor’s life? What if finding out about Reed’s past wasn’t as hard as I thought? Stuart knows. Whoever sent the video knows.
What if the net needs to be cast wider than I thought? What if Griffin, even with all his contacts around the city, and beyond, can’t find out who sent it. What if we never find out?
Reed will never be free of his past. Someone will always be able to discover it and use it against him.
“I do. I’ve always known about the assault. But Reed didn’t mention it, and it didn’t matter. Until now.” Stuart looks at me intently.
“Now?” I try to fight the rising nausea from my stomach back down.
“I know you’re being forced to do things you don’t want to, Harley.”
“How?” My shoulders shake and my throat burns as I blink to keep the tears at bay. Hearing Stuart say it out loud reminds me that it’s real. Watching Paige, the sun shining down on us in the park, I could almost believe it was all a nightmare and not real at all.
I wipe at my eyes and Stuart wraps his arms around me and pulls me into him. He smells of expensive, spicy cologne and coffee.
“Like I said. It’s my job to know about it all. And I’m sorry you’re being dragged into this. I’ve seen some shit in this job. But this is the lowest of it all.”
The muscles in his chest tense against my cheek, and I take a deep breath to compose myself. I don’t want to upset Paige if she sees me crying.
“Are you two going to get married?”
I pull back and Paige is looking up at us, her nose wrinkled, the little goat held firmly in both hands in front of her chest.
“No. Why would you think that?” Stuart laughs.
Paige ignores him and turns to me.
“I want you to marry Weed. And I want you to have Freddy and the other animals at your wedding. And pony rides.” She fixes me with a serious look, her bottom lip poking out.
“Well.” I crouch down and use my finger to gently press her lip back in, which makes her giggle. “I don’t know about the wedding. But maybe another day when you’re with Uncle Stu, I could join you.” I glance at Stuart, who nods. “And maybe, just maybe, we could go for a pony ride.”
“Eeee!” Paige’s face lights up as she flashes a set of tiny, perfect little milk teeth at me. “Can we, Uncle Stu?”
“I don’t see why not.” His lips curl up as Paige starts talking to the toy goat, telling it how she’s going to ride a pony.
“I just wanted you to know that I’ll be there for Reed. He’s a friend as well as a colleague.” Stu reaches out and takes my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze in his. “And I’m here for you if you need to talk as well. We’ll get to the bottom of what’s going on. Secrets aren’t easy to keep hidden in this city.”
I nod at him, then drop my eyes away and back to Paige, feeling calmed by her beautiful innocence. The childlike ability to only see things through the eyes of love.
Secrets might not be easy to keep hidden in this city.
But I pray that the past is.
I pray it can be buried and never be shared with anyone, except who it belongs to.
I will pray so hard my hands bleed, if that’s what it takes.
