Uncovering His SECRET (15 page)

“Did you call that
Greg dude the ‘S’ word?” Ethan asks from behind me.

“The ‘S’ word?”
my mom asks, a look of confusion on her face.

“The one that no real
man ever calls a woman,” he explains.

She gets it then. “Do
you think your dad should’ve called his friend that?”

“No. No one should be
called that, but if he was already using that word on my mama, I want
to know if he used it on his friend, too.”

All three of the people
in the room look at me. I sigh and tell the truth because I’ve
promised myself that I will never lie to my son again, no matter
what. His words earlier cut me a little too deep.

“No, Ethan. I didn’t
call Greg that. In fact, my friends and I thought he was lucky, that
it was cool.”

“So you wanted to be
with other girls besides Mama?”

“What? No. Definitely
no. I only wanted her.”

“Then why did you
think your friend was cool, but call her the ‘S’ word and the ‘W’
word, too?”

The kid’s pulling
another hidden truth from me. “Pride. Knowing she had to go to
someone else because I wasn’t enough for her hurt my pride.”

“She told you that
you weren’t enough? She said that to you when you were her
boyfriend?”

No. When I let myself
get past that damn pride, and think about it, I remember how she
always told me I was everything to her, and she wanted to be with me
forever. She told me she loved me at least ten times a day, and she
never looked at Greg like anything more than my friend.

“No. She never told
me that,” I admit.

“Then why would you
believe that she was with your friend?”

I remember something
before answering him. “Your mom told me she didn’t tell you
details about what happened.”

“I’m not dumb. I
hear things,” he says, blushing.

“You mean you’ve
been eavesdropping.”

“I needed to know
what made you so mad that you’d hurt her. Because you hurt her so
bad that she was afraid to tell you about me. Even when she was
telling me how great you were and showing me news articles…and,
umm, pictures of you, she didn’t want you in my life. I didn’t
think I wanted you, either.”

Something was off about
what he just told me, and I think it’s important. “Why did you
hesitate when you mentioned seeing pictures of me?”

I see the war going on
in his head, as emotions flash across his face. He doesn’t want to
answer me, but he won’t lie to me either. I’ve learned that about
my son. He’s a straight shooter. It’s my uncle who saves him.

“The pictures of you
that were normally online showed you with other women. Tegan showed
him because she wanted Ethan to see you, but it cost her.”

“Cost her how?” I
see Ethan still struggling. “Please tell me, Ethan. I promise I
won’t use whatever you tell me to hurt her.”

“The nights when she
showed me those pictures are the nights when she stayed out really
later Or Stella would come over and eat ice cream on the couch with
her while they watched girl movies. I could hear her crying in her
room when she thought I was sleeping.”

Damn, I’m such an
idiot. And a major asshole. “I’m going to see your mom now. Be
good for your grandma and Brad, okay?”

“I’m always good.”

“I know, you’re the
best.”

“Dad? You’re going
to be nice, right?”

“Yes. E. I’m going
to be nice. Your mom may punch me, though.”

“You deserve it, but
I’ll put some ice on it for you later.”

“You’re right.
Thanks for offering to take care of me. I’ll see you soon.”

Tegan

I have to admit that
this shower feels good. Although I won’t admit it to Wayne, who
practically threw me in here, and I also won’t tell him he was
right. I need to be in top form and looking my best when working to
get Ethan back. Looking good does make me feel better, and I need
whatever I can get as I mourn the loss of Caleb again, while figuring
out how to defeat him. Especially after my good friend, the sheriff,
brought me a restraining order earlier, happily telling me that he’d
throw me in jail if I set foot on the Hall ranch.

I’ve just wrapped
myself in a giant towel when I hear yelling coming from downstairs. I
grab a gun and run, skidding to a halt when I see that it’s Caleb
arguing with Wayne. And that Wayne has no shirt on. Shit.

“Really, Teeg? I’m
out of your bed for less than 48 hours and you’re already back with
him.”

“Why are you here,
Cal?” I ask, ignoring what he said.

“I thought I might
have been wrong about you, so I came here to talk. Obviously, I
wasn’t wrong.”

“You’ve decided
that just because I took a shower.”

“He was going to join
you, wasn’t he?”

“Yes,” Wayne says.

“No. Not unless he
wanted to get his ass beat,” I say, glaring at Wayne. I don’t
need him making things worse.

“Come on, Teeg. He
deserves this.”

“Go put a damn shirt
on Wayne, and stop trying to get me to shoot you.”

“You wouldn’t shoot
me, I’m one of your best friends and you love me.”

“She loves me more,”
Caleb says with a smirk.

“Yeah, we all fucking
know that,” he says, pushing past me to go up the stairs.

“Wayne.”

He stops with one hand
on the bannister, and the other running through his hair as he looks
at the ceiling. “This isn’t your fault. I always knew I wasn’t
who you wanted. I guess I just hoped that I’d be a good
substitute.”

“You’re a great
friend, Wayne. I need friends more than I ever needed a lover.”

He looks at Caleb,
then. “You don’t deserve her, you know. I mean, how can you not
see how amazing she is? How loyal, fun, sexy, sweet, kick-ass, and
just perfect she is.”

“I see it.”

“Yet you keep walking
away from her, and had some asshole serve her with a restraining
order this morning. And people tell me you’re smart.”

“Being around her
renders me stupid quite frequently,” he says as he looks at the
legal paperwork sitting on my hall table next to him. He picks it up
and avoids my eyes.

“Gee, thanks.”

“He meant that as a
compliment. I know exactly what he’s talking about.”

“We should hang out
while you’re here. If you want, I mean,” Caleb says, looking at
Wayne and not me as he tears the restraining order in two.

“You going to take me
to the local honky-tonk and be my wingman like you said you would?”

“Anytime,” he tells
him, as he continues tearing the pieces until they look like confetti
in his hand.

Wayne walks back down
the stairs and shakes Caleb’s other hand. I feel like I’m in an
alternate universe. I haven’t even made up with Cal, and yet
Wayne’s making nice. My doorbell rings again, before I can wrap my
head around what’s going on. I move around them to answer it.

I open the door, and
immediately reel back from the slap that’s delivered to me. “You
little bitch. You just can’t keep your legs closed, can you?
Everyone has finally stopped looking at me like I’m as bad as you,
and then you come home and make yourself the subject of gossip
again.”

“Hello, Mama. I’d
say it’s nice to see you again, but we both know I’d be lying.”

“You’re lucky your
daddy didn’t come with me. He wants to tan your hide after seeing
you in that dress yesterday.”

“He was there, huh?
Still looking for something better than you, right?”

“You’re just like
him. Every girl in this town wanted Caleb Hall, and yet he chose you
for some reason. Then you screwed it up. You could be living on that
ranch now.”

“You know nothing
about my life, and I think living in this house means I’m doing
pretty well.”

“Now that you’ve
unloaded your little bastard, right? I heard there’s a boy on the
ranch. He’s yours isn’t he?”

“Yes. Our son is at
the ranch,” Caleb says, opening the door wider to stand behind me.
“Not that it’s ever going to be any of your business.”

“Caleb,” she says,
smoothing down her hair. “I didn’t realize you were here.”

“Obviously. Why don’t
you run on back to
your
ranch—you know, the one that was paid for with my son’s life.”

“Are you sure he’s
yours?”

“You need to leave,”
I tell her.

“Ask for the
paternity test, Caleb. Before she gets you to buy more than this
house for her.”

“She bought the house
herself, and even if Ethan didn’t look exactly like me, I’d trust
Tegan enough to be honest about our son. Like she said, you need to
leave.”

I close the door in her
face before she can say more. Caleb starts massaging my shoulders as
I lean my head against the wood. I want to bang my head against it,
but I know she hasn’t left yet and I don’t want to give her the
satisfaction of knowing that she’s gotten to me.

“Mommy Dearest is a
bitch,” Wayne says.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t let her get
to you, honey. She’s just jealous of you. She always was.”

Caleb’s arms come
around me, and he rests his chin on my shoulder.

“Jealous of a
pregnant teenager? And you can’t call me honey while you’re
keeping my son from me.”

“No. Jealous of an
amazing girl—and now woman—who was smarter, sexier, more
compassionate, and just plain better than she’ll ever be. And I
want to talk about Ethan…and us. I faced some hard truths about
myself earlier, and I think I’m finally ready to hear your truths,
too. I don’t want to hear it all from Brad, though. I want you to
tell me everything. About the past and what went on a few days ago.”

“Let me put some
clothes on, and then we can talk.”

“I have a better
idea. How about we have an evening picnic at the creek later? I’ll
help Betty make all your favorite things.”

“That sounds like a
date. What about talking? And the restraining order? Just because you
tore it up, doesn’t mean it’s not valid. Is this just a plan to
get me thrown in jail?”

“I’ll take care of
that damn thing. I should never have done it in the first place. I’m
sorry, and I swear to you that this isn’t some crazy plan to hurt
you anymore than I already have. We can talk, or you know, not.”

“I feel like I’m
getting whiplash from the two of you,” Wayne says. “On, off, on.”

“Which is why we need
to talk. Just talk, for tonight at least. Because I can’t keep up
anymore, either. Either we’re going for it, or it has to be over
for good. Shared custody and acting like a real divorced couple.”

“See you at seven
then?”

“Yes, and tell Ethan
that I love him, please.”

“You can tell him
yourself when I have him call you.”

“Thank you.”

“I know we’re
talking tonight, but I need to tell you how sorry I am. I don’t
know everything, or really anything, but I do know you. And I
should’ve trusted you. Then and now. It’s too little, too late,
but I need you to know that. Even if I don’t like what you have to
tell me later.”

“I think I’m going
to throw up.”

“Shut it, Wayne. I’ll
see you later, Cal.”

He leans down to
whisper in my ear, so Wayne won’t here. “Clothing’s optional,
of course.”

“Talking
only
tonight” I whisper back.

“So we’ll stay out
until midnight, and then I can use my mouth for other things when
it’s officially tomorrow.”

“Go home before I do
something that needs to wait until after we talk,” I tell him,
smacking him on the arm.

“Yes, please, because
I can only take so much of this shit.”

“Bye, Wayne,” he
says, winking at me as he walks out the door.

“Other than the slap
from your mom, I’d say that went really well for you.”

I walk over to Wayne,
and try to hug him. “Put some clothes on first, lady. I only have
so much self-control.”

“I don’t mean to
hurt you, or make things difficult for you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. I do.”

“We’re going to
find you a girl who’s going to knock your socks off. I just ruffled
them a little.”

“You really think
so?”

“Yes.” Tough love
time. “I think you love the idea of me. I mean, I know you love me
like a friend, but I think seeing Stella and Kace so happy makes you
want that too. And I’m convenient because we had sex.”

“Sex we had because
you were using me in Stella’s mission.”

“You know I feel like
shit about that.”

“Don’t. I enjoyed
it. But seriously, maybe you’re right. I would do anything for you,
but I’m pretty sure I could live without you. You can’t say the
same about him, can you?”

“No. I wasn’t
living when we were apart. Getting by, yes. But not really living.”

“I’ll still take
part in killing him if things get any worse between the two of you.”

“Well let’s just
hope they get better.”

* * *

Caleb

“Hi Betty,” I say
as I walk into the kitchen. I try to grab one of the cookies she just
pulled out of the oven from the baking sheet, but she slaps my hand.

“Those are for
Ethan.”

“He won’t eat them
all. You could let me have just one.”

“I’m not feeling
too charitable towards you right now.”

“So you won’t help
me put together a picnic for Tegan?”

She turns towards me,
hands on her hips. “You’ve come to your senses, then?”

“Maybe.”

“That girl was the
best thing that ever happened to you.”

I know Betty loves
Tegan. When I brought her in here for the first time when we were
just little kids, Betty took one look at my girl and made her up a
heaping plate of food. And when Tegan was too shy—or embarrassed—to
eat like she needed to in front of me, I was shooed outside. They
baked in here, and Tegan always had a meal waiting for her when she
came over on weekends. I heard Betty cursing her parents to my mom on
more than one occasion.