A Forever Family (Forever #6) (8 page)

Connor

“You need to stop at the nearest bar. I need a drink,” I said as Collin pulled away. “And really? You asked her for cookies?”

“Dad, they’re amazing. Wait until you try one. Amelia will love them.”

“I have a good mind to slap you right now. I just found out I have a brother who my father kept secret and all you’re doing is thinking about cookies.”

“Sorry, Dad. I’m just trying to lighten the mood. I know how rough this is on you. It is on me too. Are you going to tell Grandma?”

“No. She is to never find out about this. I will tell your mother and Julia and that’s as far as it goes. No one else is to ever know.”

He pulled into the parking lot of the Westminster Hotel.

“What are you doing?” I asked in irritation.

“You said you needed a drink. I’m sure there’s a bar in this hotel.”

“Good thinking, son.”

We made our way inside the hotel and sat down at the bar inside the steakhouse restaurant. I ordered a double scotch and Collin ordered a whiskey sour. We sat in silence for a few moments as I thought about how to tell Ellery all of this. I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Julia.

“I need you and Jake to come by the penthouse later.”

“Okay. Any special reason?”

“I just have something to talk to you and your mom about.”

“Okay. See you later.”

“Julia said she and Jake will be by later.” I took a large sip of my scotch.

“They’re going to freak out. Like I am, Dad. I can’t believe Grandpa.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not surprised.”

After I had another drink and Collin had coffee, we headed back to New York.

The elevator doors opened and Ellery and Amelia walked to the foyer to greet us.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Ellery asked with concern as she wrapped her arms around me.

I kissed her head and held her tight. I didn’t want to let go.

“What are those?” Amelia asked.

“Probably the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. Try one?”

I reached over and lightly tapped the back of Collin’s head.

“Ouch, Dad.”

“Connor!” Ellery snapped.

“Where are Julia and Jake?”

“Upstairs putting Brayden down for a nap. He’s really cranky,” Ellery replied.

“Collin, go up and tell them to come downstairs.”

I walked into the living room while Amelia and Ellery took seats.

“You are freaking me out, Connor. You better tell me what’s going on right now!” Ellery said in a stern voice.

I pulled the picture from my pocket and handed it to her as Julia, Jake, and Collin walked in the room.

“I know that’s your father, but who’s the baby?”

I stood there and looked away. I was angry. So angry that I couldn’t force the words out.

“That’s Lucas. Dad’s brother,” Collin spoke.

“Your father doesn’t have a brother, Collin.”

“He does now.”

I heard the gasps of my family, and when I looked at Ellery, she had a shocked look on her face.

“Connor?”

I took in a deep breath. “It’s true. My father has another child and his name is Lucas. His mother’s name was Charlotte and he bought them a house in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.” I cleared my throat for it felt like my heart was trying to escape through it.

“How did you find this out? Did you talk to them?” Ellery asked.

“No. We talked to the neighbor, Flora. She invited us in for iced tea and these amazing cookies,” Collin replied for me.

Julia got up and walked over to me and gave me a hug.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. I just can’t believe this.”

“You and me both, princess.”

“Does your mother know about this?” Ellery asked.

“No, and we’re going to keep it that way. Nobody outside this room is ever to find out about this.”

“What about Cassidy?”

“Elle, I can’t tell her. She’ll be crushed and devastated. You know how close she and my father were.”

“Secrets always come back to haunt you, Connor. You know that,” she spoke.

“This is different because today never happened. Do you all understand me? We never went to Cherry Hill and we never heard of Charlotte or Lucas Oaks. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go upstairs.” As I began to walk away, I looked at Collin. “You are to forget about those damn cookies.”

He frowned at me as I went upstairs and changed into my sweatpants and a t-shirt. I walked into the nursery and smiled at Brayden as he stared up at me and giggled. I picked him up and took him to my room, where we lay on the bed together. We both fell asleep.

I opened my eyes and Ellery was sitting on the edge of the bed, running her fingers softly through my hair.

“Did you have a nice nap?”

I stretched and looked over to see that Brayden was gone. “Yeah. Where’s the baby?”

“Julia and Jake took him home. Everyone left a while ago. I didn’t want to wake you.” She leaned over and laid her head down on my chest. I wrapped my arm around her and softly caressed her back.

“I can’t believe him, Ellery. I can’t believe all of this.”

“I know, baby. I can’t either. Collin said that Lucas is about twenty-eight now. My God, he’s not much older than our children.”

“I think Lucas was the one I saw at the funeral. I told you I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was strange and it was the way he looked at me. He knew who I was.”

She lifted her head and ran her hand down my cheek.

“You want to know what the worst part of all of it is? Denny knew. He knew about my father’s affair and Lucas and he didn’t tell me. He was my best friend, Elle.” A tear started to form.

She got up and took my hand, pulling me into an upright position. “Come on; we’re going to take a long, hot bath together and talk.”

“I don’t want to take a bath.”

“Of course you do.” She smiled as she lifted off her shirt and removed her bra.

“Fine. We can take a bath.”

Ellery went into the bathroom and started the water while I got undressed. I climbed into the bubbly water first and she followed, snuggling into me with her back against my chest. The hot water felt good, but it felt even better holding her naked body in my arms. She knew this would relax me and she was right.

“I keep thinking about that letter Denny wrote me and how he said that I need to forgive my father as he grew older and all that shit about how people make mistakes and need to be forgiven. He was referring to Charlotte and Lucas because he knew that I’d eventually find out. Why didn’t he tell me?” I ran my fingers up and down her arm.

“Because it wasn’t his place to tell you. It was your father’s place and you need to respect that.”

“It still hurts, Elle.”

“I know it does, baby.” She kissed my arm. “Aren’t you even curious about him?”

“No. I’m not. Not in the least. Life will go on as normal as if we never found this out. As for my dad’s office, there’s nothing I want in there and it can all be trashed, with the exception of the books that I’ll have donated to the library. I’ll call a company first thing in the morning. I’ll be honest with you, Ellery, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at a picture of my father again.”

She laid her head back and stared up at me, bringing her hand to my face. “We will get through this together, and I respect your decision whatever it may be. I love you, Connor.”

“I love you too, baby. Let’s get out of this tub. I want to make love to you all night.”

She smiled as she got out of the tub, grabbed the oversized white towel, and wrapped it around both of us. I stood there in a warm embrace and became harder by the second as her beautiful body pressed against mine. Bringing my thumb to her cheek, I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers. Taking the towel from us, I dried her off before picking her up and carrying her to the bed, laying her down and hovering over her while my fingers dipped inside her. Soft moans escaped her lips as I explored her breast and took her hardened nipple between my teeth. Even after all these years and two kids later, her body was the most amazing and beautiful body in the world. She took great care of herself and so did I. Our sexual appetite for one another never diminished and it never would. I still wanted her every second of every day, and no other woman had ever caught my eye.

When I pressed my thumb down on her clit, she let out a moan and thrust her hips up, begging my fingers to go deeper inside of her.

“Come for me, baby. You’re not getting my hard cock until you come for me.”

Moving my thumb in circles against her clit and my fingers exploring every inch of her insides, her body shook and her legs tightened as she climaxed while calling out my name.

“That’s my sweet girl.” I smiled as I kissed her passionately.

I thrust myself inside of her and gasped. The warmth of her felt incredible as I moved in and out of her at a rapid pace. I didn’t want to come yet, but she had me so hot that it was hard to hold back. I pulled out, rolled on my back, and pulled her on top of me.

“Ride me, baby. Make me come inside of you,” I spoke with bated breath.

And that she did. She rode my cock fast and hard until we both climaxed at the same time. I thrust my hips up into her as I filled her insides. She threw her head back as I grabbed her breasts while she came down from her orgasm. Smiling, she leaned down and kissed me passionately before collapsing on top of me.

Ellery

A month had passed since Connor’s father passed away, and even though he seemed fine on the outside, I knew he was still torn up on the inside about the secret his father had kept. As I was getting ready for a family dinner at his mother’s house, Connor walked into the bedroom and set his briefcase down on the bed.

“Hi, baby.” He walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the lips.

“Hi. You need to hurry and change so we aren’t late for your mom’s dinner.”

“I don’t even want to go tonight. I don’t know why she insists on having the family over. She’s only going to be gone a month.”

“She wants to see all of us one last time before she leaves. Is that so terrible?” I walked into the bathroom to check my makeup.

“Don’t you think she’s traveling a little too much since my father died? She doesn’t even seem to be mourning him.”

“Everyone handles death differently. Maybe she mourns in hiding.”

“Who knows?” He sighed as he changed into a pair of khakis and a short-sleeved black polo. “Let’s just get this night over with. I have some work to do when we get back home.”

After finishing a nice dinner, we all gathered into the living room for a drink.

“Did you see the nice tribute
Forbes Magazine
did for your father?”

“No. I didn’t,” Connor replied in a stern voice.

“Let me go get it for you. It’s a wonderful article.”

“NO!” Connor spewed.

Even the mere mention of his father lately sent Connor into a rage. Nobody in the room said a word except for Cassidy.

“What the hell is your problem, Connor?”

“Nothing. I just don’t want to see it.” He walked over to the bar and poured himself a scotch.

He was going to lose it if they kept pushing. Collin and Julia glanced at me with concerned looks. They both saw what was coming too.

“It’s a beautiful and respectful article, Connor. You should be proud that they would honor your father’s memory.”

“Maybe next time, Jenny,” I spoke. “Connor, I’m not feeling well. I think we should go.”

“Okay, Ellery.” He set his glass down and walked over to me as I got up from the chair. He knew what I was doing and I could tell he was grateful.

“Your father would be very disappointed in you right now,” his mother scowled.

Connor stepped dead in his tracks and I knew this was it. I braced myself for what was to come.

* * * *

Connor

I balled my fist and pressed my lips together to keep from saying anything, but it didn’t help. The anger of what my father had done and kept secret grew inside me every day. I turned around and looked at my mother as she stood there with her arms crossed.

“Disappointed? Him?”

“Dad, come on. Mom’s not feeling well,” Collin interrupted.

I held my hand up to him as I stared straight at my mother, my eyes burning into hers.

“Did the article go on to say what a respectable family man he was? How much he loved his wife and children? And how he’d be dearly missed?”

Her lips were twitching and I could see the anger grow within her eyes.

“Connor, that’s enough. You’re tired. We all are. We should go.” Ellery grabbed my hand.

She was right. I needed to leave. We began heading to the foyer.

“How dare you disrespect your father that way!” she screamed.

I yanked my hand away from Ellery’s and turned on my heels. “How dare I disrespect him? How dare he disrespect this family by having a love child with his mistress and keep him hidden away for the past twenty-eight years!” I yelled.

“What?!” Cassidy screamed. “Connor, that’s enough!”

My mother looked down for a moment and didn’t say a word. It was at that moment that I knew she had known about it. I stepped closer to her.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“Mom. What’s Connor talking about?”

“We’re going to go. Come on, Julia,” Collin said. They all scurried out of the house.

My mother took a seat in her favorite wing-backed chair and refused to look at me. I paced around the room.

“Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?” Cassidy yelled.

“Despite his shortcomings, he was a good man who provided well for his family,” my mother spoke in a soft voice.

Cassidy walked over and knelt down in front of her. “So what Connor said is true? Daddy had another child?”

“Yes, Cass. We have a brother named Lucas and he’s twenty-eight years old,” I replied before my mother could even answer her.

My sister was hurt and tears started to fall down her face. Ellery walked over and wrapped her arm around her, leading her to the couch to sit down.

“Why didn’t you ever tell us?” I asked calmly.

“Because it was nobody’s business and I wasn’t having this family’s name ruined. Your father took care of the situation so no one would ever find out.”

“He’s my brother! Don’t you think Cassidy and I had a right to know?”

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “How did you find out?”

“The day I came over to clean out his office for you. I first found a picture of him holding a baby outside a house. Then I found the purchase agreement for the house. Collin and I took a trip to Cherry Hill to find out what the hell was going on. That’s when the neighbor next door told us everything. Lucas was at Dad’s funeral. Did you know that? Do you even know him?”

She took in a sharp breath. “I saw him at the funeral and I spoke to him. I told him to leave and never come back. He had no business being there.”

At this point, Cassidy was sobbing and Ellery was trying everything she could to comfort her.

“What the hell do you mean? That was his father! He had every right to be there!”

“Your father did what he had to do and made sure they were taken care of financially. That was the deal he made with Charlotte and she accepted. So now you know and it will never be discussed again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going upstairs to bed. I’m leaving in a couple of days and I need my rest. Good night.”

She left the room and I walked over to Cassidy and grabbed her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry? You should have told me the minute you found out.”

“I know. But I didn’t want you to hurt the way I was and still am. I was trying to protect you, sis.”

“Protect me? I don’t need protecting, Connor. I’m a big girl and I can handle what life throws me. I’m pissed off at you,” she said as she got up from the couch. “I’m going home and I suggest you do the same. I’ll talk to you when I calm the fuck down, but I don’t know how long it’ll take.”

She left the house and I took a seat next to Ellery. She placed her arm around me and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“She pushed me, Elle. I had no choice but to say something.”

“I know. It was bound to come out sooner or later. Let’s go home, Connor.”