Uncovering His SECRET (3 page)

I can’t say no to my
son, just like I could never say no to his father. “Fine. One week
only, though. And you have to listen to me. You’ll do whatever I
tell you to do.”

“I always do.”

I give him a look, and
he gives me a sheepish smile. “I’ll ask Luke to get your homework
from your teacher.”

“Don’t forget to
call Miles and tell him I won’t be at Little League. Oh, and let
Ryan know I can’t help with his new building model. And tell Scott
I can’t…never mind. I’ll text them all.”

I ruffle his hair and
kiss his cheek before he runs back to his room. I wasn’t sure
bringing him here from Chicago would be a good idea. He’d lived
there his whole life, and all his friends were at the school he’d
gone to since kindergarten. I visited him at least three times a
month, but it was really hard to leave him there when I had to come
here to Vegas. He was in good hands with Cyndi, but I missed him so
much, and I was so happy when he asked to move here with me a couple
of months ago.

My friends all stepped
right up to help—just like they’d done when we were all in
Chicago together. Now it’s more fun for them since he’s becoming
a little man instead of just a boy. The Griffin and Corrigan men have
taken him under their wing, teaching him everything he needs to know
about computers, architecture, art, hockey, baseball, and business.
My friends Kace, Wade, and Brett from the band Storyside have been
teaching him how to play different instruments when they’re in
town. Zack plays football with him, Gavin cooks with him, and Nate
teaches him how to fight. Isa’s boyfriend, Jake, will have
something to add to the mix as well, I’m sure.

Cyndi, Jane, Maggie and
Gary Griffin, Helen Wilson, and Mallory and Jeff Daniels have stepped
in as honorary grandparents. He even calls the women his “Grams.”
The Griffin women babysit for me sometimes; although I rarely go out
anymore. They also make sure I know I can count on them for anything.
And my girls, well, they’ve taught him how to respect and treat a
woman. The Society women—past and present—have shown us so much
love and support since I joined them all five years ago. I can never
thank them all for what they’ve done for me and Ethan. He has a
plethora of strong male
and
female role models. I couldn’t ask for a better life. Well, I
could. But that’s a whole other story. A dream that will just never
come true. For me, at least.

“I’m ready,”
Ethan tells me as he comes back into the room with his duffle bag
over his shoulder. “Hey you didn’t pack anything else, Mama.”

“Sit down a minute,
‘kay?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just need
to talk to you.”

“Okay,” he says as
we both sit on my bed.

“If you want to meet
him, I’ll make it happen.”

“I don’t.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, I want
to see him in person, but I don’t need him. I have you.”

“I know there’s a
father and son sports night at your school soon. I’d go, but that
might be weird.”

“Miles said he’d
take me. Actually, all the guys offered. I’m covered. Really. And
if I didn’t have them, I’d be happy to have you go. You’re my
mom and my dad, too. The best anyone could ever have. As long as I
have you, I don’t need some jerk in my life.”

“He’s not a jerk,
baby.”

“He hurt you, so yeah
he is.”

“He got hurt, too. By
what happened.”

I haven’t told him
the details, but he knows that someone lied about me and his dad
believed it. I told him I had to leave my family because they weren’t
going to let me keep him. That’s the easy version. The details are
so much worse, and not something I ever think about sharing with him.
He doesn’t need to know what I went through.

“He should have
believed you.”

I can’t really argue
with that, but I try to because my son should one day know his
father. “He was young, and what he believed hurt him too much to
think straight. I don’t want you to think badly of him, E.”

“Well, I do. No one
hurts my Mama and gets away with it.”

I pull him to me and
hold him tight as tears fill my eyes. His father used to get that
same look of fierce protectiveness in his eyes when he talked about
me. Seeing it on our son is more than I can take right now.
Especially when I’m about to walk back into the town I left all
those years ago with no real intention of going back so soon. Thank
God my scarlet letter’s still in place since they’ll all be
looking for it. It doesn’t matter that I never really earned it
until a lie tore my soul apart.

* * *

Caleb

I’m still trying to
wrap my head around the fact that Tegan is back in my life. I mean,
she’s not here, but she sent a friend to protect me. And from what
I gathered earlier, she would’ve come here and done it herself. She
was willing to come back here to the town that shunned her in order
to make sure I was safe. Even though they all shunned her because of
me. I can still remember her first day back at school after she
cheated on me.

“
Well
look at this. The slut decided to show her face today,” Greg told
her. “Did you want more of my dick in your mouth?”

“
Go
to Hell, you bastard.”

“
You’re
the one going to Hell, whore,” Delia said.

Tegan
looked our way then, seeing Dee practically wrapped around me. “Well
at least you got your wish, bitch.”

“
I
did. Come on, Cal, we have to get to class. Maybe the janitor will
take out the trash while we’re gone.”

I feel the shame
overtake me again as I think about that day, and the days after
before she left town. I stood by and let them all say those things to
her.
I
said things to
her. Whether they were true or not doesn’t really matter. I’ve
had years to realize that staying friends with Greg while condemning
her was wrong. Hell, all of what was said and done to her was wrong.
I still did it, though.

I can’t go back and
change it, but I honestly wish I could. I know I should’ve asked
her for her side of the story because a part of me knows she loved
me. But I was young, and let’s face it, stupid. Hell, I’m still
stupid if the woman walking into my lab is any indication.

“Who is she?” Dee
asks with a sneer on her face. Why I hooked up with her when I came
home a year ago is beyond me. She’s toxic and evil.

“This is my mom’s
new assistant, Jade.”

“Why is she here with
you if she’s your mama’s assistant?”

“’She’ is right
here and can answer for herself,” Jade says, hopping down from the
counter.

“Well then, go
ahead.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

I see the vein at Dee’s
temple start to throb and I have to fight to hold back my laugh.
She’s not used to being told “no” by anyone. Especially not
someone who works for her family or mine.

“I said no. I’m not
going to tell you why I’m here. It’s none of your business.”

“Caleb is for sure my
business. We’re engaged,” she says, flashing the big diamond she
insisted on.

“I almost feel sorry
for you, Caleb.
Almost
.”

“Look, bitch. Maybe
you don’t understand how things work since you’re obviously not
from around here, but the
help
respects their employers around here.”

“You’ve definitely
downgraded, dude. Like big time.”

“Get out.”

Jade just starts
laughing at her, and I’m kind of in awe. I mean, damn is she good.
She pushed every one of Delia’s buttons in less than five minutes.
Only Tegan was better. I remember what I was thinking of earlier, and
realize that while I can’t make what I did better for her, I
can
stand up for her friend.

“You get out, Dee,
and don’t come back until you can act like a decent human being.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. I’m over
this mean girl act you’ve been playing since high school. It got
old then, and it’s disgusting now.”

“You weren’t
disgusted when you were making love to me last night.”

“Screwing, Dee. I
screwed you. There was no love involved last night, or any other
night for that matter. We both know it.”

“Then why are you
marrying me?”

“You know.”

“Say it,” she
screeches, looking more than a little crazed. I’ve gone this far,
though, so why not go all the way.

“Because you’re
nothing like
her
.”

She lunges for me, but
Jade steps in and tosses her back. Literally fucking tosses her
backwards. Dee’s eyes are as wide as mine before she storms out.

“Damn, Jade. That
was…just, damn.”

“It was honestly my
pleasure. She was mean to Teeg, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah. She was one of
the worst.”

“Then I’m glad I
could do that. Who was worse than her, though? Maybe I need to pay
them a visit, too.”

“Me,” I tell her,
looking her in the eye. “I was the worst.”

* * *

Tegan

There’s no airport in
my hometown, unless you count the Hall’s private air strip, so I
have to drive in from Houston. Ethan is looking around, just taking
it all in, when we approach the “Welcome” sign. I pull over to
the side of the road before we reach it. I close my eyes and take a
few deep breaths. I thought I was prepared to come back. I know I
have to be here in order to make sure both Caleb and Jade are safe.
But for some reason, I can’t make myself put the car back in drive.

“It’s okay, Mama. I
won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“I’m supposed to
take care of you, baby, not the other way around.”

“You take care of the
world already, and you’ve raised me better than anyone else ever
could have. I want to protect you now. I’ve got your back.”

I burst into tears
then. Hearing my little boy wanting to protect me does me in. No one
in this town ever stood up for me, not even my own parents. But Ethan
will, and so will my friends. I know it without a doubt, and that’s
what makes me shift the car into gear and drive into town.

I suppress the urge to
crouch in my seat as we drive through the main street of town. It’s
not “Main Street” because there’s no one named Main living
here. You guessed it—it’s Hall Street. Which I belatedly remember
means this is part of Ethan’s legacy as well.

“This is Hall Street,
E. It was named for your great-great-great-great-grandfather, who
founded this town.”

“Woohoo.”

“Sarcasm isn’t
going to change who you are.”

“I’m Tegan Kelly’s
son. That’s all.”

I want to argue with
him, but I realize now is really not the time. I’ve worked hard to
keep my bitterness towards Cal from Ethan, but he’s a smart kid. He
knows what I’m doing, and he’s called me on it more than once. We
pull up to my house before I can think any more about the two men I
love, and how to handle them both.

I bought this house
about a year ago, with Matt’s help. He created a fake corporation
for me, so it can’t be traced. I wasn’t sure I would ever be able
to come back here, but because Caleb is here, I’ve kept my eye on
the town. For Ethan’s sake, of course.

When I saw that this
house was for sale, I had to have it. It’s been my dream house
since I was a little girl. It’s a light blue Victorian with white
trim. It has five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a small barn, and enough
land for a horse or two. I used to stare up at it and imagine Cal and
I would live here. I don’t have the man, but I
do
have the house.

It’s the only house
higher on the hill than the Hall’s, and I was part of a bidding war
with Colonel Hall—that’s his real first name, not a title—for
it. He just didn’t know it was me. I can only imagine how angry he
was that I won. That’s what he gets for investing most of his money
back into the family business. I know he tried to get some money from
Brad, but he knew I was the other bidder, so he refused. I’m just
lucky it went up for sale before Caleb’s invention went live.
They’ll all be richer than God once that formula starts making them
money.

I unlock the door and
tell Ethan where to find his room. Chloe Griffin took care of all the
decorating for me. I picked everything I wanted, and she had her crew
come in here to put it all where I wanted it and make the updates I
asked for. I’ll admit to a sense of satisfaction from knowing that
no one in this town was hired to work on my house. Chloe wouldn’t
allow it, and I’ll be forever grateful to her for that.

“I see him, Mama. I
see him with Jade.”

I run up the stairs and
over to the office where the telescope is, seeing the look of wonder
on my son’s face. I didn’t think Ethan would go there so fast,
but I should’ve known better. Despite his indifference, I know deep
down that he wants to know his father. Maybe I just need to make a
meeting happen, whether he wants it or not. He needs to see that his
father is more than the boy who left me. So very much more.

Caleb

My hate mail has
increased over the last few days. I don’t know how they know I’m
almost ready to go into production this weekend, but they do. Which
makes Jade sure that it’s someone here on the property. I don’t
know who it could be, though.

“There’s no one who
was embarrassed or something by your family, but still works here?”

“No. My family treats
everyone well.”

“Even your
grandfather?”

“He’s…difficult,
but not mean.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

“What did they think
of Tegan?”

“They loved her,” I
tell her without hesitation. “We all did.”

“Until you didn’t.”

I don’t feel like
lying anymore, and she’s probably the only one I can be honest
with. “I never said I didn’t love Tegan.”