Uncovering His SECRET (16 page)

“I know.”

“And Ethan, my God,
that boy is just beautiful. Inside and out.”

“I know that too.”

“You know so much, do
you?” she asks, whacking me with a wooden spoon.

“Ow.”

“That girl’s too
smart to keep coming back to you when you act like you have no brain.
You better appreciate her this time around.”

“I do. My brain’s
fully functioning at the moment.”

“Good. Keep it that
way. Now, what are we making for tonight?”

“I was thinking
pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, homemade chips, and biscuits.
Definitely biscuits.”

“What about dessert?
That girl needs her dessert.”

“Brownies.”

She nods. “You better
get to working.”

“I need to have Ethan
call her first, and then I’ll be back.”

“Bring him with you.
He’ll want to cook for her, too.”

She’s right. He will.
“Be right back.”

I find Ethan in the
sunroom, reading a book while my mom plays solitaire. He didn’t
bring any books, so it must be an old one of mine. I like that,
sharing my things with him.

“What are you
reading, E?”

“Some book about
brothers who solve crimes.”

“Ah, The Hardy Boys.”

“Yeah. They’re
pretty cool.”

“They were my
favorite when I was your age.”

“Did Mama read them?”

“No, she read Nancy
Drew. Although, sometimes Nancy and the boys helped each other out.
We both read those books.”

“Mama has Nancy Drew
books on her shelf in her room. They look old.”

“They’re hers from
when she was little,” my mom tells him. “We bought them all for
her, and she had her own shelves in our library. When she left, Brad
took them to her.”

I’d forgotten that. I
hadn’t wanted her to have them, and I tried to stop him. It’s the
first time I ever thought he would hit me. The look on his face
scared me enough to let it go.

“We used to go around
the ranch trying to find a mystery to solve.”

“Now she does that
for her job.”

“Yeah, she does. It’s
the perfect job for her because she was always better at solving our
little mysteries than me.”

“Yeah, you’re like
a mad scientist, and she’s a superhero.”

“I wouldn’t
classify myself as ‘mad,’ but I can work with that. Speaking of
you mom, she would love it if you’d call her.”

“You had a good talk
with her?” he asks, immediately abandoning his book.

“I did. We’re
actually going to talk more later.”

“Is she okay?”

“She will be. Your
other grandmother came by while I was there, and that was hard. But
we took care of it together.”

“What did she do to
my mama?” he asks, his eyes blazing.

“She slapped her and
said some bad things.”

“You stood up to
her?” my mom asks, and I see murder in
her
eyes.

“Yes, and so did
Tegan.”

“Good. That woman is
a disgrace to the word ‘mother.’”

“I don’t think I
ever thanked you and dad for letting Tegan be over here so much when
we were younger. And helping her with clothes and stuff.”

“It was our pleasure.
I think your father—and grandfather—secretly hoped you’d marry
her just so she could one day run the company.”

“You may be right.”

“Phone, please,”
Ethan says, holding out his hand.

“After you talk to
her, would you like to help me and Betty make a picnic meal for her?”

“We’re going on a
picnic?”

“No. I’m taking
your mom on a picnic so we can talk.”

“And you can kiss
her.”

“That, too. If she’ll
let me.”

“Are you making
brownies? She loves brownies.”

“Yes,
we
are making her brownies.”

“She might kiss you
if they’re good.”

“Um, hello. We’re
making them. How could they not be good?”

Ethan makes his call to
Tegan, during which he looks both ecstatic and chastised. He’s on
the other side of the room, so I can’t hear what he’s saying, but
I’m a little intrigued by his conflicting emotions. When he hangs
up, he comes over and gives me a hug.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I
would never have talked to Mama like I talked to you. I should be
more respectful.”

“I would love it if
you respected me, but I also understand that she’s going to always
come first. I want you to defend her.”

“Even when I’m
being a little jerk?”

“Did she tell you
that?” I ask, holding back a laugh as he rolls his eyes and nods.
“Yes, even then.”

“I’ll try to be
better as long as you’re nice to her.”

“Deal.”

That’s an easy one to
make because I want nothing more than to be nice to my wife. I still
can’t believe we’re married—and almost got divorced already. I
need to check my insecurities at the door from now on. Or at least
tell her how I feel before flying off the handle. Now that I’ve
admitted them to myself, and part of my family, it should make it
easier to admit them to her.
Should
being the operative word. Easy or not, I’m baring my soul to her
tonight. She deserves nothing less than that.

Tegan

After talking to Ethan
earlier, I drove up to Houston to pick up a few things. Wayne brought
me some clothes Stella packed, but I wanted something just for Caleb.
I’m not going commando, but I do have on a new bandeau bikini
underneath my flowery sundress. I got a sexier bikini too, but I
don’t want to wear it yet. We aren’t back together, although
after this morning, things are looking pretty good. So for tonight
it’s a sundress, a cute bathing suit, and, of course, cowboy boots.

I see headlights
outside my front door and wonder if Caleb decided to come get me.
When I open the door, I realize that it’s definitely not Caleb.
From what I can tell, I’m looking at eight members of the high
school football team, all wearing their jerseys. I press my arm to
activate my distress signal because I’m not exactly sure what’s
going on, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. My friends are already
on their way here from Vegas, so if I don’t really need help, it
won’t be a terrible inconvenience.

“Hi boys. Is there
some reason you’re all on my property?”

“We wanted our turn
with the town slut,” the kid who steps forward says to me.
Apparently he’s the leader of the group. Probably the quarterback.

“First of all, I’m
not a slut. And second, I’m not interested. Thanks for stopping by,
though.”

“You act like you
have a choice.”

“I do.”

“There’s eight of
us.”

“I can see that.”

“I don’t mind if
you put up a fight. I’m not afraid to hit a girl.”

“Exactly how many
have you hit?” I ask, getting angry.

“A few.”

I glance around again,
trying to find the weak link. I think it’s the guy closest to me on
my left. He looks unsure about what’s going on. I turn slightly
towards him.

“You know you’ll go
to jail for this, if you live.”

“What do you mean, if
we live?” he asks, his voice shaking.

“I have some very
powerful friends.”

“The sheriff will
protect us.”

“From the FBI, CIA,
Homeland Security, and every other organization you can think of, not
to mention some men and women who like to shoot things? Because
that’s who I’m talking about.”

“You have friends
like that?”

“Yes.”

“How many of them
have you fucked?” the main one asks me.

“Less than I can
count on one hand.”

“Yeah, right. We’re
taking you regardless.”

“Your funeral,” I
tell him with a shrug.

“Let’s go, then.”

“You really think I’m
just going to go with you? That’s not gonna happen.”

“I told you I’d hit
you.”

“You wouldn’t be
the first guy to hit me, and you probably won’t be the last.”

“Eight to one odds
aren’t in your favor.”

“Maybe not, but I’ll
hurt a few of you at least.”

“Suit yourself,” he
says before charging me.

I move to the left and
take out the weak one with a chop to the neck. I take down a second
one before the shocks begin. Fuck—the little bastards are using
cattle prods on me. I still fight as best I can, but with five guys
prodding me, and one throwing punches, I can only do so much. As
darkness overtakes me from the latest punch to the head, I can only
hope that all that electricity hasn’t messed with my tracker too
much.

I wake up hours later,
and I know I’ve been drugged. I’m tied up on the floor, but since
I can’t open my eyes, I don’t know where. I can hear them
talking, but that’s mixing with flashbacks from my past. I can’t
even move my head enough to shake it, so I try and just piece
together what I can.

“What are we going to
do with her?”

“
Tegan,
let me get you a drink.”

“
Just
a soda or water, Greg.”

“We can’t fuck her,
that’ll leave too much evidence. If she really knows all those
people, they’d find us. Even with a condom. We shouldn’t even be
touching her.”

“
I
feel hot, Greg. Should I take off my shirt?”

“
Yeah
darling, take off your clothes if you’re hot. Let’s go back to my
room.”

“We have to do
something. We can’t just waste this opportunity.”

“
Something’s
wrong with me. Where’s Caleb? I need Caleb?”

“
I
don’t know where Caleb is. Just lay down on my bed, and we’ll
have some fun.”

“I have an idea.”

“
I’m
going to be sick.”

“
Here,
throw up in my trash can.”

“In town square?”

“
What’s
going on? Why am I only in my bra and panties?”

“
You
wanted to have some fun with me, Teeg. You’re just sick now, so you
forgot or something.”

“
No.
I didn’t. I wouldn’t. I need to get out of here. Get out of my
way.”

“That could
definitely work.”

“
You’re
just a slut. Why I ever wasted all this time on you is beyond me.”

“What should we
write?”

“
You
will not have this baby. You’re already a disgrace to us. You
disgust me.”

“That’s perfect. We
need more words, though.”

“
You’re
the one who married me one day, and was out whoring it up the next.”

“Let’s put her on
the table, and get to work.”

I feel myself being
picked up, and I want to fight, but I can’t. Whatever they gave me
was strong enough to keep me too relaxed. I’m guessing it’s some
kind of animal tranquilizer. I just have to keep praying that my
friends get here soon, especially when I feel my dress being ripped
off of me.

The action clears my
mind enough that I can make myself focus on the here and now. Their
conversation is still confusing as hell, but at least I can hear it
all now. And maybe know what’s coming.

“Damn, it’s a
bathing suit. I was hoping for something lacy to show her off in.”

“Does it really
matter what she’s wearing?”

“No, I guess not.
Grab some sharpies, boys, and let’s have us some fun.”

They untie me, but I
still am too lethargic to move, even when I feel them writing on my
skin. What are they doing? I can make out a letter here and there,
but not what the actual words are. I’m glad no one’s raping me,
but whatever it is they
are
doing can’t be good.

* * *

Caleb

I’m starting to freak
out a little. It’s seven thirty and Tegan’s not here yet. She’s
not answering her phone, either. It can’t be anything I’ve done
because I haven’t talked to her since this morning. I know she was
excited about the picnic.

My phone starts to
ring, but it’s Brad’s ringtone, not Tegan’s. I answer, hoping
maybe he knows something. “Hey, Brad.”

“Is Tegan with you?”

I can hear the panic in
his voice, and it makes my heart race. “No. She’s half an hour
late.”

“Dammit. She
activated her distress signal at ten to seven. No one can reach her,
and her tracker’s not working right. It keeps cutting in and out.”

“Is everyone at her
house?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there in
five minutes. We’re going to find her.” We have to.

When I get to Tegan’s
place, I see Scott Griffin and Ainsley typing furiously on their
tablets. I know they’re trying to get her tracking device working,
and I pray that they’re successful. I had a horrible thought on my
way over here, and I hope I’m wrong.

“What if it’s the
guy who was after me? He can’t have been working alone.”

“He wasn’t. Didn’t
Tegan talk to you about it?” Reina asks me.

“No.”

“But you were going
on a picnic with her anyway?”

“What does one have
to do with the other?”

She looks at Cyndi, who
steps forward. “When the failed abduction of Brad occurred in
Vegas, we took a woman into custody.”

“Yeah, I know. She
was a beauty queen or something.”

“She was also your
friend, Phil’s, wife.”

“Excuse me.”

“Your other
friend
,
Greg, was working for the man who was arrested in Houston. That man
hired Greg and Phil to convince you not to release the formula.
Phil’s wife said she knew some girls who could shoot a gun that
were getting too old for the pageant scene. They figured that taking
you down would be easy. Obviously they were wrong.”

“My friends actually
tried to kill me. Un-fucking-believable.”

“After Tegan beat the
shit out of him, the one dude—Greg—said that he tried to talk you
out of it first, if that’s any consolation,” Nate tells me.

“Tegan beat the…oh
my God…the dress, the pictures…she was going after him.”