Page 78 of If I Didn’t Have You

I laughed to myself, shaking my head at the stupidity of it all.

My wife. A murderer. It just wasn’t possible. No way. Clara just didn’t have it in her.

Of course, then I thought back to how she kicked me out of the house and told me she wasn’t sure if we could make it. I wasn’t exactly her favorite person right now, but I still couldn’t imagine Clara ever getting so upset that she’d intentionally drive through a window to kill me.

Just thinking of it made me laugh.

God, I was letting my imagination get the best of me, and it wouldn’t be long before I convinced myself that my wife was actually a closeted murderer. Insanity was running rampant through my family right now, and I had to put a cork in that before the bottle shot off like champagne on New Year’s Eve.

23

CLARA

“So…what exactly happened?” Mav asked, scratching the back of his neck as I tried and failed not to stare at my husband, who was talking with River.

“Um…” I laughed lightly, trying to appear as if this was all a terrible mistake by an old woman.

“Clara,” Mav sighed heavily. “I need to understand how your car ended up in the gym.”

“Well, it was strange, really. I’m not exactly sure. I think my shoe must have gotten caught.”

He stared at me, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Your shoe got caught.”

“I think so. Oh, Mav. You know how it is.”

“Actually, I’m not sure I do.”

I waved him off as the paramedic took my blood pressure. With any luck, it would be sky high, and I’d have to go to the hospital to be checked out. Only then would my story truly hold.

“I was driving down the road and…well, I just couldn’t stop. I panicked and turned the wheel. I guess I thought the curb would stop the car.”

“Uh-huh.”

He didn’t believe me. If there was one thing Maverick Wynne was really good at, it was sniffing out bullshit, and I was full of it at the moment.

“Honestly, it was so frightening. I’m not sure I even remember what happened.”

“Have you been drinking?”

I gaped at him, surprised that Mav would go down this route. “Maverick Wynne, in all the years I’ve known you…I’ve had you over for family dinners, and you think I would drink and drive?”

Okay, I might have been laying it on a little thick considering what I just did in an absolute state of hysteria. But still. I was practically a second mother to him.

“I really hope not,” he muttered. “How’s she looking?”

“Her heart rate is still a little erratic, but otherwise, she seems to be okay.”

That wasn’t good. If I was going to get out of this, I was going to have to play up my strengths, and one thing a man could never ignore was a woman in distress.

Did I feel bad about it? Awful. But I had just crashed my car through the window in a moment of insanity. Thankfully, Georgia was on my side, and always would be. She was the best at laying it on thick, and I knew she wouldn’t fail me.

Mav flipped his notebook shut, sighing heavily. “Give us a minute,” he said to the paramedic.

With a nod, he walked off, leaving me alone with Maverick.

“Look, Clara. I know things have been rough between you and Ben lately. And whatever is going on with you, it’s okay to be upset, but…just don’t let it get out of control.”

“I have no idea what you mean. Things are going great with Ben.”