Uncovering His SECRET (6 page)

They’re both in the
boy band Storyside with Kace. We met when Stella was undercover.
Wayne and I had sex a few times, but while it was just a distraction
for me, he fell for me a little. I’m making it my mission to find
him a worthy girl now that we’re good friends.

“Hi Brett, I’ve
missed you.”

“Now that our tour is
over, you’ll see so much of me I’ll make you sick.”

“Um, no. You’re
still going to be busy now that you’re home,” his boyfriend,
Kevin, tells him with a kiss.

“Just try and stop by
at least once while you’re here. Both of you.”

“We will, Miss T. You
know we love you,” Kevin tells me.

I wander around and
visit with everyone else, laughing and eating food. Tomorrow we get
back to the business of trying to figure out who wants Caleb dead,
but tonight is for fun. Or at least it is until I realize that Cal is
nowhere to be seen. I excuse myself, and head upstairs. I knock on
his door, and when he answers, I walk inside.

“Hey, what are you
doing up here? I’ve never known you to not fit right in with anyone
you meet.”

“We don’t really
know each other anymore, though, do we?”

“I don’t believe
that either one of us has fundamentally changed who we are.”

“What? You think
we’re like this apartment you’ve decorated to be modern, but
still have some touch of country in it?”

I look around at the
light blue walls with black and white photos of the Hall Ranch that
Candi gave me, then at the steel bed with a comforter covered in
spurs and horseshoes. The rest of the apartment
is
like it, too.

“I guess. Kind of. I
didn’t think of that when I decorated. I just like modern things,
but I missed…well, you. I wanted a piece of Texas here with me.”

“All I wanted to do
was try and forget you. It never completely worked, but I tried.”

“That’s why you
dress like you’re from the city.”

“Yeah.”

“Anyway, you’re
more than welcome to come and hang out. My friends will be cool with
you.”

“I-I’m just really
confused right now. For so long I tried to hate you while still
loving you so much it made it hard for me to breathe. Then, when Jade
said she was your friend, all I could think about was seeing you and
being with you again. Until I found out about Ethan. I am so fucking
angry about you keeping me from my son that I can barely see
straight. But when I saw you hugging and whispering with
Wayne
,
I wanted to rip him apart. I was ready to forgive you for what you
did years ago, but I don’t know if I can forgive you for now. I
just don’t.”

“I get the Ethan
part. The rest…well, you’ve never known the whole story, and I
guess if you can’t forgive me, you never will. I’ve asked Ryan
and Chloe Griffin to transform one of the empty apartments here into
a lab for you. I figured you’d want to work. They can add in a
bedroom for you if it would make you more comfortable to be out of my
apartment while we find whoever’s after you.”

“I need to be near
Ethan. I can’t imagine being away from him for even a night.”

“Then make yourself
at home. Whatever you need, you just let E know, and he’ll have
someone get it for you. I’ll stay away from you as much as
possible.”

“Thank you.”

I just nod before
walking out the door. I manage to make it down the hall and into my
room before falling over. My body is shaking hard as I sob, and this
time, it
is
my fault.

Caleb

It’s been almost a
week since Tegan came home, and she’s kept her word about staying
away from me, except for dinner. We spend every dinner together, like
a normal family. She cooks, making sure to never make anything we ate
as kids. I know she’s doing it on purpose because Ethan’s been
asking for barbeque, but she keeps saying no. Which is why I’ve
decided to take over dinner for tonight.

I’ve got the meat
marinated and ready for the grill on her balcony. Well, balcony’s
an understatement. You could probably fit a small apartment out here.
This whole building is pretty much a structural masterpiece, and I’ve
been exploring as much of it as possible while I wait for my lab to
be done. That’s coming along at record speed, and honestly, Tegan
wasn’t joking when she said I could ask for anything. I’m frankly
in awe of her and her friends. Well, mostly her. Which is why I
wanted to make dinner tonight.

“Mama’s going out
tonight,” Ethan says as he comes out onto the balcony.

“What? Going out
where?”

He shrugs. “Dancing
or something.”

“Does she do this a
lot? Go out?”

“No, I don’t,”
Tegan answers me as she walks outside.

She’s in a sexy black
dress that’s got me hard within seconds. It’s got a halter
neckline and hugs her curves all the way down to the asymmetrical
hemline. I want to peel it off her body with my teeth.

“Good.”

“Excuse me? If I
wanted to go out every night, it wouldn’t be any of your damn
business.”

“Uh, yeah it would.
You shouldn’t be just leaving Ethan here alone.”

“I’m not.”

“When I have my lab
up and running, I won’t be able to just run up here at the drop of
a hat so you can go whore it up at clubs.”

“Ethan, baby, please
go to your room. Ainsley and Zack are coming over to hang out with
you while I’m gone.”

“I can take care of
my son. I don’t need anyone else sleeping over with him.”

“Mama?”

“Go ahead, E.”

He hugs her before
glaring at me as he walks back inside. Tegan watches him go, and then
turns back to me.

“You will not—at
any time—speak to me like that. Whether Ethan is around or not. I
took it from you when I was sixteen, but I won’t now. Whether I go
out once, or a hundred times, I am not a whore.”

I should shut up. I
know I should. But it’s making me crazy to think about her going
out. Especially when she’s dressed like that. “Do you prefer
slut?”

“I will give you
until the morning to gather your things and get the fuck out of my
apartment. I don’t care where you go, but you need to be gone
tomorrow.”

“I thought it wasn’t
safe for me outside of this place.”

“It’s not safe for
you inside of this apartment any longer.”

“You’re just Mother
of the Year, aren’t you?”

I don’t even see the
punch coming, as Ethan launches himself at me. I fall with him on top
of me. He’s hitting me hard and screaming at me. It takes Tegan
less than a minute to pull him off me, but I can already taste the
blood in my mouth. The kid’s got a great arm.

“Ethan, calm down.
Why are you out here? I told you to go to your room.”

“I knew he was going
to say more bad things to you. He can’t do that. I want him to
leave tonight.”

Damn it. I really
fucked up this time. “Ethan, I’m sorry you heard that.”

“You should be sorry
you said it. A real man doesn’t call a woman the ‘S’ word, even
if she does like to kiss men.”

“Amen, E,” Zack
Taylor says as he walks in with his fiancée, Ainsley, and takes in
the scene. “I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that we have
a problem here.”

“Just a disagreement.
We don’t need you here,” I tell him as I get to my feet.

“Tegan hit you, so
I’d say it’s more than just a disagreement.”

“I hit him,” Ethan
tells him. “He was calling her names because she wants to go out
tonight.”

“Since you’re
staying here and letting yourself be protected, I didn’t think you
had a death wish,” Ainsley tells me, as she pulls a gun out of her
purse.

“Enough. I-I…can’t
do this. Ethan, you’re going to stay here with your dad tonight
while I go…somewhere and figure out a solution. I’ll be back in
the morning.”

“You can stay with
us, Teeg,” Ainsley tells her.

“Thanks, but I really
need to be alone.”

“I don’t want to
stay here with
him
.”

“I know, E. But no
matter what happens, he’s still your father. He deserves some time
with you. I’m going to go pack a bag.”

She apologizes to her
friends for having them come over for no reason and then goes
upstairs. Ainsley and Zack hug Ethan, and totally ignore me before
leaving.

“I
hate
you.”

“All kids say that to
their parents at some point, so I’m not going to take that
personally.”

“You should. You told
me you wouldn’t hurt her.”

“I said I’d try my
best not to.”

“That wasn’t
trying. Or your best.”

No it wasn’t, and I
need to own it. I was jealous, and I lashed out. I deserve what he
dished out to me, and more. I need to tell him that.

“I was jealous,
Ethan. It doesn’t excuse what I said, but that’s why I did it. I
don’t want your mom kissing anyone else when I’m right here and
she could kiss me.”

“Why would she want
to do that? So you can leave her again when another one of your
‘friends’ tells you some lie about her? You don’t deserve her
kisses, or anything else. Not when you’re taking her tears.”

Well, damn. Schooled by
my kid, once again. And I know he’s right. I’ve been looking to
punish Tegan, but I’m not entirely blameless, either.

“Can you go ask her
to stay? I’ll finish making dinner for all of us and apologize to
her. I know I was wrong.”

“I’ll ask, but
don’t hold your breath.”

* * *

Tegan

It shouldn’t be
taking me this long to pack one stupid overnight bag. I know it’s
not about the bag, though. I’m trying to calm down enough to go
back out there without freaking Ethan out even more than he already
is. I’m a strong, powerful woman, yet when Caleb called me those
names, I felt like I was a scared and pregnant sixteen year old girl
again. I won’t let him break me this time. I can’t.

There’s a knock at my
door, and Ethan walks in. “Mama, don’t go. Please. He said he’ll
apologize and make us all dinner. It’s your favorite. Barbeque.”

“I know, baby. I saw
the food when we were outside.”

“He wants to kiss
you.”

“What?” I ask,
finally turning around to look at my son.

“That’s why he was
so mean. He was jealous. I don’t want you to kiss him. He doesn’t
deserve it.”

“If and when I let
your father kiss me, it will be my decision. I love you, E, but I
have to make that choice myself.”

“That means you’re
going to.”

“You can’t hit him
again. That’s unacceptable.”

“He can’t talk to
you like that.”

“I mean it, Ethan.”

“So do I.”

“I’m the parent
here. This isn’t a negotiation. Or a democracy.”

“We were fine without
him.”

“Maybe I’d believe
that if I hadn’t seen the two of you together.”

“Whatever. So I like
having him here. But not if it hurts you.”

“He has a right to be
angry at me.”

“And you have a right
to be angry at him. You’re not going around calling him bad names,
though.”

“I did that for a lot
of years. I don’t have the energy to do it now.”

“You never did it in
front of me like he did.”

“If you’d gone to
your room like you were told, you wouldn’t have heard it.”

“He said the ‘W’
word before you told me to leave.”

“You’re still being
punished. No video games for a week.”

“Fine,” he says
with his arms crossed and his expression still stormy.

“I know it is. Now go
downstairs and help him with dinner. I’ll be down after I change.”

“You should leave
your dress on. He likes it.”

“I thought you didn’t
want me to kiss him.”

“I don’t, but since
you’re going to anyway, you might as well look pretty.”

“I don’t look
pretty in jeans and a t-shirt?”

“This is one of those
life lessons about talking to girls, isn’t it? I’m supposed to
say you look pretty no matter what, right?”

“Yes, that’s
exactly what you’re supposed to say.”

“Mama, you are the
most beautiful girl ever,” he says, batting his eyes at me.

I pull him to me and
hug him tight. “Go on, now. And you’re still on punishment.”

“I know, but it was
totally worth it.”

He laughs all the way
out of the room. I debate for another ten minutes, deciding whether I
should keep the dress on or not. I finally decide to change despite
knowing I’m probably going to kiss him eventually if he starts
acting like the decent man I know he is; I also know that’s not
going to be tonight. Tonight, my anger’s still running through my
veins, so sweats and a t-shirt it is.

“That smells good,”
I say as I walk downstairs.

“You changed, Mama.”

“I did.”

“I liked the dress,
Teeg. Ow.”

Ethan’s glaring at
him, after elbowing him in the ribs. “You’re supposed to tell her
she looks pretty no matter what she’s wearing.”

“I am, huh?”

“Yep. I told her she
was the most beautiful, but I’m still on punishment.”

“What’s the
sentence?”

Oh, shit. “I’m
sorry, Cal. I should’ve consulted with you. I’m just not used to
having someone do this with me.”

“Your choice, not
mine.” He reminds me, having to get another dig in. The look on my
face causes him to backtrack a little. “But it’s okay. Just let
me know what he can’t do.”

“No video games for a
week.”

“Got it. Can I add
something, though?”

“Sure.”

“You’re going to
keep your room and bathroom clean from now on.”

“Marta cleans up
after me.”

“Not anymore. You
need to learn to clean up after yourself.”

“He knows how,” I
say with a little more bite than I should.

“I’m not attacking
your parenting skills. He’s just got it easy. He should know about
hard work. You and I both had to keep our own rooms clean growing up.
I’d like him to do that as well.”