Saving This (The McCallans #5) (5 page)

Teague cringed. “Ouch.”

Max had no response. Ouch was right. Ouch didn’t even cover a
part
of it. His father threw one project after another at him and he gladly took every one of them to keep his mind on other things. He became obsessed with working, taking on other emotions and roles so he didn’t have to deal with his own. He thought time might do Olivia some good; maybe she just needed some space. But one year turned into two, and then he found out she got married to some British guy.

“How come you never told me any of this?” Teague asked.

Max studied him closely, aware that he was being sincere. They used to be so close growing up, even just as half brothers when Teague moved into the mansion. His mom had died of an overdose when he was just four years old. They were so young and didn’t care about minor details over whose mom was whose. They just became best friends. Then as teenagers, Jay was added to the mix more often and the three of them became inseparable. They could always confide in one another, and were always each other’s allies against their parents.

“I honestly have no good explanation for that,” Max shrugged. “Just a combination of things maybe? I got busy, you got busy, I was too angry and selfish to do anything about it… I don’t know. Dad was always mad at you; I was wallowing in my self-pity because of Olivia and kept trying to avoid how I was really feeling. Stress was getting to me. Sometimes it was making me sick. I felt like I was stuck in the middle of you and Dad so I tried avoiding both of you more…

“I don’t know, Teague. I know that’s not a good enough answer, but it’s all I have. I wish I’d handled it better. I basically shut myself off, and for all it’s worth…I take full responsibility for it and I’m sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I’m truly sorry. I acted like an asshole because I let my crushed heart change me, and it was easier to let dad have control of my business decisions because I didn’t want to think about any of it. And when Tyse came to town… God, I had no idea what the hell was happening when he started dating a Douglas. Seriously out of all the people, he picked the one girl that’s almost the spitting image of her sister who nearly destroyed me.” He sighed. “I’m sorry for all of it. I know it’s one excuse after another, but I’m sure I could have handled it better.”

It was Teague’s turn to sigh. “It wasn’t all on you, man. I was to blame, too. So many things have changed… I think we were all caught in the whirlwind and didn’t know where to start picking up the pieces so nobody even tried. And as for handling situations with Dad…I know how that goes. I’m guilty of handling things poorly too. You just can’t win and he has a way of making things worse.”

Max thought about that for a minute, glad Teague could understand. You really couldn’t win either way with their dad. Even when Max was completely golden in a glorious public moment or career achievement, his father still pressured him to do better.

Max also had information he was holding back and had been asked not to share it with his brother. However, he felt it now needed to be disclosed. He’d followed so many instructions from his father over the years—some results had been good and some bad—but maybe it was time to just throw everything on the table and start over.

“There’s something else,” he began.

Teague eyed him suspiciously. “Okay…”

“It’s about Dad.”

“Hit me with it. Am I even going to be surprised?”

Max shrugged. “I don’t know, but he didn’t want me to tell you.”

Teague’s face darkened. “Fabulous,” he spoke sarcastically.

“Probably nothing like what you’re thinking but… About five years ago—shortly after Olivia left and you and Dad started getting into it even more…”

Teague waited for him to continue, but gave him an impatient look that said, “And?”

“Dad was diagnosed with cancer. He had surgery, went through treatments… He went through a really rough time. I guess you could say that was part of the reason why I stuck around so much. He made it clear he wanted me to sign on with the company—both of us, actually. You and me.”

“What kind of cancer?” Teague asked, rubbing his forehead with a sigh. “They got rid of it?”

“Pancreatic. And no, not at first. It was worse than they thought and surgery was a little more complicated. Because of how much of the pancreas they had to remove, and some of his intestine, he’s had to take medication for digestion issues and now he’s even borderline diabetic.”

“Was this when he wanted us to meet with his lawyer to go over his business assets? The meeting I refused to go to?”

“Yes.”

“He was worried he was going to die from this and wanted us to split the company with Grandpa?” It was more of a statement.

“Yes.”

Teague sighed again. Now he was rubbing his face with both hands and he did so for almost a minute. Max didn’t know what else to say, so he gave his brother the time to contemplate.

Finally Teague said, “Well, a lot of things make sense knowing this. It would have been nice to know this a few years ago.”

“I know,” Max bowed his head. “And I’m sorry. He didn’t want anyone to know, including me. I only found out because he looked a bit jaundiced one day and…that’s one of the signs. Then I saw some of the medication he was taking and confronted him about it.”

“So you didn’t know about it until after he had the surgery?”

“Yeah, he was planning to keep it from all of us. He didn’t want it affecting any of his business deals. Like I said, I only found out by chance. Remember when he went to the Caribbean for a month?”

Teague nodded his head.

“Well, he actually didn’t. Apparently he was here, having surgery and recovering in his own damn house.”

“Why the fuck would he keep this from us? God,” Teague groaned.

“I guess we McCallans hate to show weakness,” Max answered matter-of-factly. “It’s the fucking truth.”

Teague studied him sincerely for a moment. “Yeah, it is the fucking truth,” he agreed. “Shit,” he sighed, shaking his head. “What am I supposed to do about this? I feel like…I feel like I should say something to him or… Hell, I don’t know. I’m conflicted. He’s treated me like shit over the years but I’ve given it right back. I feel like there are way too many things to get past. I honestly don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about this.”

“I don’t know either, and I go round-and-round with him too, and knowing this has made it hard to cut him off completely,” Max shook his head. “Like I said, he didn’t want you to know. I think he wants your respect, not your pity. And I didn’t want you to know about Olivia so… I guess we kind of made an agreement.”

“You two are both assholes,” Teague stated.

It made Max laugh. “And so are you.”

Maybe that’s what was needed at the moment because Teague laughed too. “Yeah, I know. It’s that fucking McCallan pride. It’s a recipe for success but it’s also a curse.”

They were both quiet for a while, but Max knew his brother was thinking pretty hard about something. He could tell by the way he was mindlessly stroking his stubble with his fingers. They were both prone to doing that.

Finally Teague looked at him and said, “So here we are, talking about shit. Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

It was a specific request to discuss Kate and Chase, but Max’s heart started pounding in his chest.

He still didn’t know if he could go through with it.

Chapter Six

Feeling like he needed a strong drink, Max settled for a couple of beers with his brother. It really did seem to be a buffer, but putting off the conversation wasn’t doing him any good.

“I didn’t know who Kate was back then,” he began. “You and I weren’t close anymore so…I didn’t know who you were seeing at the time. And I would swear on my own life about that. She was the one who approached me at the HOB one night; she was pretty and didn’t seem to care who I was. But…you know how that goes. It’s part of her game.”

He saw Teague nod resentfully as he must have reflected on his own first meeting with Kate Donnelly in Las Vegas. She’d pulled the same innocent card on him as well, pretending she didn’t know Teague was a McCallan. But it was a bit harder to lie about not knowing who Max was. He was hard to overlook and most people knew his face. Even knowing who he was, her game was to barely give him attention that night. That was a very nice play on her part, especially since he’d been drinking.

“Yeah, she’s very convincing. Missed her calling,” Teague mused dryly.

Surprisingly, Kate had never wanted to get into acting—she only wanted to mingle with the celebrities and be considered one—but Max knew what he meant.

“How’d you seem low key in the House of Blues?” Teague asked. “No bodyguards? VIP?”

Max shook his head, thinking back on the
one fucking time
he defied his father and went out on his own with a couple of buddies. It all turned out fairly well—or so he thought—but he’d never been able to live it down once his dad found out. And fuck yes, Craig had demanded
all
the details once the shit hit the fan with Kate.

With a sigh, Max shook his head. “I had the limo that night and told Dexter to wait there, but that’s it. I missed the old rebellious days, you know? –Where we’d all go out and do whatever we wanted, and as soon as someone recognized us, we’d bolt for the exit to go somewhere new.”

He could tell Teague pieced it all together. “So you were enjoying your rare freedom and you two hooked up that night?”

Max rubbed his forehead uncomfortably. Putting it that way sounded so simple, so
stupid
, and he wished that were the case. But far more had occurred that night than he wanted to remember.

“I honestly didn’t know she was your girlfriend, I swear to God,” Max began. “And I was pretty careless and drank more than I thought. I’d just returned from New York that afternoon—another rejection from Olivia, a really bad one. I think I was still even hung over from the flight back. I never, ever let myself go like that.
You know that, Teague.
” He silently pleaded with his brother to believe him, and finally Teague confirmed with a nod. “By the time we were in the limo, I think it all kind of hit me at once.”

Teague stared at him for several seconds, but he didn’t show any signs of emotion. When it came to Kate, maybe nothing surprised him. “Well, obviously I can guess the ending.”

“I didn’t even remember her name after that night, or hear from her for several months. She came to our studio offices once and asked to speak with me. I was told my brother’s girlfriend was there to meet me, and since I was curious, I said it was okay to send her back. She’d been cleared by security to be there, so I agreed.”

“And she told you she was pregnant with your kid?”

“I didn’t recognize her as anyone I’d met before, so I stupidly introduced myself. She realized right away that I had no clue. So yeah, when she recapped that night, I didn’t believe her at first. I was about to call security to throw her out, but then she dropped the huge bomb on me.”

Teague sighed, shaking his head again. “I can only imagine. Did she blackmail you?”

“Only after I insisted I didn’t remember her. I think that kind of pissed her off. Then she showed me a video on her phone. And, uh, yeah, it was obvious I met her that night. We were in the limo and I was visibly drunk since I didn’t give a shit or even notice she made a five-second selfie video with me. You know in my right mind I would never allow that. But she told me she would always have that video to share with the world; the night little Max was conceived.”

“Little Max,” Teague mumbled, shaking his head.

“Yeah, clearly that changed when she decided to keep it from you for a while. And I didn’t know what to do, man. She seemed a bit sensible at first. I mean after she convinced me it was possible I really could be the father, and then when I had a paternity test done, she said she understood that keeping it private was the right thing to do. I compensated her very well, I’ll admit that, and asked her to go back to Las Vegas. I even told her she needed to break things off with you. I really thought she did. I honestly did. She told me she had. But after she came to visit you on set that day—when Chase was just a couple months old—she told me she didn’t want to keep it a secret anymore.”

“And you disagreed.”

“Teague, it wasn’t just about my career. I honestly wanted her to let you raise him; I knew how much you loved him. I wasn’t ready for it. I just couldn’t do that to you.”

“Then why didn’t you just come to me?” Teague groaned, rubbing his face with his hands. “Max. Jesus Christ, I would have done anything in my power to have that kid in my life! Don’t you get that?”

“Don’t you get that I was trying to protect you?” Max retorted with frustration. “Teague, goddamn it, that woman is a fucking nightmare! If I could keep her from wreaking more havoc on your life, I was willing to take on
anything
to do it. You know she would have just pulled some stunt later on anyway. You
know
that! She’s all about the drama and attention. Even if the truth were kept quiet for a while, something would change that somewhere down the line.”

Teague looked up from his hands and stared at him for a bit. Finally he sighed and shook his head. “You’re right. You’re totally right. And it was better that Chase was just a baby, I suppose. He doesn’t know any of that. I just wish you would have talked to me about it, but then again…I was too mad at you anyway. We probably would have ended up in a death match.”

Max’s head teetered back and forth. “True. But to be honest, it was so much easier to let you hate me. I wanted to apologize so many times—”

“You actually did, man. A few times. I just didn’t want to listen. I was too pissed. And that’s on me. I take full responsibility for that and it was just…just really pathetic and immature. I’m sorry.”

“Had the roles been reversed, I think I would have done the same thing, Teague. The wounds were still too fresh. I get it.”

His brother barely nodded. “I suppose.”

“And really, it’s kind of embarrassing,” Max scowled. “We were raised to dodge devious women like that and…
both
got hit by the same one.”

“She’s a cunt, and I hate using that word, but it’s true.”

Max held up his hands. “You don’t have to explain that to me. I hear ya.”

Teague looked like he was still trying to make sense of all the information in his head, but finally he shook his head in what seemed like concession. “So let it go,” he finally advised as he exhaled. “Seriously, Max, just…let’s leave it in the past, okay? It’s not worth it—
she’s
not worth it.”

“I’m with you, but it’s not so simple. You know how vicious she is. She’s got me in a bad spot, Teague.”

His brother’s eyebrows furrowed as he leaned his arms against the table. “What kind of bad spot? The public found out a couple years ago you had a son. She can’t hold that over you anymore.”

Max shook his head in frustration. “No, just other stuff on our family. I don’t know if I said shit that night we hooked up, or if she dug it up on her own, but she’s been threatening to air all of it at any given moment. And that video in the limo. It’s the worst display of drunken ridiculousness ever.”

“She’s got that, and she’s got information on McCallan business deals?”

The answer was yes, but there was more to it. For now Max just nodded his head. “How do people live their lives like that? Manipulating people, blackmailing them… I mean I know this family has a lot of history, but goddamn it, why did she have to go to that level? And why did she have to use an innocent kid?”

“Please don’t tell me she fucking used Chase against you, too,” Teague groaned. He looked straight at Max. “Did she?”

“Of course she did. Said she would keep him from me for good. She had that damn video to air if I didn’t give her what she wanted.”

“Which was?”

“Money. What she craves. And the power she feels from keeping me from Chase. It’s thrilling to her. It makes her feel like she’s not only up on our level, but has the upper hand. But I don’t want her to have that control. My money…doesn’t matter. But she’s divided our family in half and I’m not okay with giving her that. And I’m not okay with having a public war with her. It’s what
she’s
goading me into. She wants that. She wants Chase to see us as horrible people.”

“She doesn’t give a shit how bad it’s going to hurt him? Does she not know what you and I have been through growing up?” he scoffed.

“I’m sorry, Teague. For everything. For thinking I had things handled on my own, for listening to people I shouldn’t have, for the time I spent not having you in my life… I’m sorry, man. I know it doesn’t fix everything, but I just want you to know I love you and I need your forgiveness. I understand if you can’t, but if you could at least consider it…”

Max drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. He propped his elbow on the table and leaned his forehead onto his hand. There was no going back from this point. The majority of it was out in the open. And he didn’t even regret it, not like he expected he would. He’d kept one little detail to himself—he still needed time to process it—but Max felt it was necessary for now.

Teague seemed troubled, like the idea of forgiving him was completely impossible, but Max couldn’t blame him. He’d fucked up way too many times he’d lost count. And he could tell by the way Teague was looking at him that his brother was still trying to figure out what to say.

Finally he slowly shook his head. “I think you need to get away for a while,” he sighed. “And right now. I don’t want you to argue with me, Max. Please just take my advice, get out of town for a bit, have some downtime or whatever, and regroup. You honestly look stressed out as fuck. Like seriously, your pretty face is getting wrinkles.”

Max barely caught the joshing because he’d been thinking about getting away for a while now, and since the movie was done with his father, it might be the perfect time. He wanted some time away. He
needed
it. Maybe he’d have a clearer head while he finished his screenplay.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed. “Maybe I could take a few days in Maui or—”

“No,” Teague cut him off, shaking his head. “No, not there. Not Tahiti, not the Bahamas, not anywhere like your usual spots.”

Max narrowed his eyes in thought. “Where are you thinking? Like fucking Montana at a cowboy camp?”

Teague laughed out loud. “Maybe that would be a nice rustic change for your spoiled ass, but I have the perfect place for you.”

Max didn’t know if he liked the look on Teague’s face. He seemed way too excited to ship his ass out of town. But at this point, he was willing to swallow his pride and take a risk. If it meant taking one step closer to regaining his brother’s trust, he would do it.

“Okay,” he replied slowly. “Tell me what you have in mind.”