Uncovering His SECRET (5 page)

I look over to see him
on a chair next to my bed. Ethan’s sleeping in the recliner by the
wall. They’re both safe. Thank God. I don’t know what I’d do if
either one of them had ended up with even a scratch on them tonight.

“I’m out of danger.
You can unleash your anger on me now.”

“He said you told him
I’m a good guy.”

“I did. I knew he
would one day want to meet you. I needed him to know that you’re
usually pretty decent.”

“You called me
perfect before you passed out.”

“I used to think you
were.”

“I thought you were,
too.”

“And then we
weren’t.”

“You still should’ve
told me.”

“You said you never
wanted to see or talk to me again.”

“This is different.
If you’d stayed, I would’ve been there for him. Even if I
couldn’t have been there for you.”

“If I’d have
stayed, my parents were going to make me have an abortion. I loved
him, Cal. Even when he was just the size of a pea, I loved him. I
left to save him. I’d do it again. Every damn time.”

“Fuck. I didn’t
know, Teeg. Why couldn’t you have at least told me?”

“When? While Delia
was draped over you? Or when you were with Greg or one of your other
asshole friends?”

“If he didn’t look
exactly like me, I’d have to ask if he was Greg’s son,” he
tells me, practically spitting the words at me.

“Get out.”

“No.”

“Get the fuck out of
my room, you bastard.”

I jump from the bed,
not caring that my I.V. just ripped out. All of the machines in the
room start beeping as the night team rushes in, along with Nate.

“Teeg, what are you
doing out of bed?”

“He needs to leave,
Nate.”

“Got it. Out you go,
Texas.”

“No.”

“That wasn’t a
request.”

“I’m not leaving my
son.”

“Yeah, you are. He’s
staying here until he’s ready to leave. But she wants you gone, so
you’re going.”

“Please, Teeg. Don’t
make me leave him.”

I walk over and shake
Ethan awake. “Mama,” he says, jumping up to hug me. “Why aren’t
you in bed?”

“Your father and I
were having a disagreement. I need him to leave. I want you to go
with him.”

“No.”

“Yes. He needs to be
protected, and the apartments are the most secure place in the city
next to here. Show him the guest room, and then stay there with him.
I should be home soon.”

“I don’t want to
leave you. You need me.”

“Always, baby. I
always need you. If I’m not home tomorrow, I’ll have one of the
girls bring you back here, okay?”

“I don’t think I
have a choice,” he grumbles.

I lean close to whisper
in his ear. “He loves you already, E. I can see it. I had ten years
with you all to myself. It’s only fair that he has at least one
night.”

He hugs me tighter,
before nodding and letting me go. “I love you, Mama.”

“I love you more, E.”

“Let’s go,
Father
,”
he says, rolling his eyes at Caleb. Oh yeah, he’s definitely our
kid.

* * *

Caleb

It’s not a fun ride
to where Tegan lives. Not only is Ethan ignoring me by listening to
music with his headphones on, but so is the person sitting next to me
in the driver’s seat. “I thought we were kind of friends, Jade.”

“You pissed Tegan off
enough to have her rip out her I.V.”

“I’m pissed, too. I
have a son I was never told about.”

“I get that, Caleb,
but attacking her is only going to make things worse for you with E,
and all of us, instead of helping you build a relationship with him.
He will never choose you over her.”

“I’m not trying to
take him from her. I just don’t want to miss anything else in his
life. And I want to get to know him. Know all about him.”

“He’s an amazing
kid,” she says, glancing at me briefly. “He’s never lacked
anything, including good male role models.”

“You mean the guys
Tegan sleeps around with?”

I ask it before I can
stop myself. Before I can keep the bitterness out of my voice. Jade
slams on the brakes so fast, I almost get whiplash. Luckily there’s
almost no one on this stretch of road.

“I may kind of like
you, Caleb, but I will not hesitate to hurt you. I thought I’d made
that clear. Do not speak about—or to—Tegan with anything less
than respect, or you’re going to be really sorry.”

“What did he say
about her?” Ethan asks from the backseat.

I turn to look at him,
trying to look apologetic, even though I’m not. What I said was
true, whether anyone wants to acknowledge it or not. “Just
something dumb that I shouldn’t have. Sorry, E.”

“Ethan. To you, I am
Ethan.”

“Until I earn
anything else, right?”

He doesn’t answer,
just puts his headphones back on while glaring at me. Jade pulls back
onto the road and finishes the drive. Once we’re past all the
security in the building, and I’ve had my fingerprints and retina
scanned in so I can move around the building by myself, I finally see
where my son lives for the first time. Of course it comes complete
with a non-welcoming committee, but I should’ve expected that.

Ethan is immediately
engulfed in hugs by all the men and women who are waiting for us in
the apartment. The women are gorgeous, and the men, well, I recognize
some of them and my mouth drops open. These are Tegan’s friends?

A Latina woman who
looks to be in her early thirties—and is sexy as hell—starts to
step towards me, but stops. “Go ahead and fangirl, Audrey. He needs
to see one friendly face before we get started,” a woman I
recognize from recent news reports as Reina Corrigan tells her.

Fangirl? She looks
familiar, but I can’t remember meeting her before. “Hi, Audrey.
Why would you fangirl me? Do you know my family or something?”

“I could give two
shits about your family. It’s your brain I’m in awe of. I’ve
been following your progress on the alternate fuel system for years.”

Then it clicks for me.
“Wait. You’re Audrey Sanchez, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. And if you’ve
heard of me, you’ve probably heard of Isabelle Carlton, too.”

A sweet looking girl
with a long blonde braid gives me a half-wave, as my mouth drops
open. “Holy shit. You’re Tegan’s friends?”

“I don’t think I
like the way you said that. Why are you so shocked that Tegan has
smart friends? She’s pretty damn brilliant herself,” Matt
Corrigan tells me.

“I am well aware of
how brilliant Tegan is. I just didn’t know she knew so many
academic people, and well, athletes.”

“Slow down on the
attacks for a minute, everyone, and let him have a moment to
breathe,” a voice I recognize says.

“Candi! Oh my God,
it’s great to see you,” I tell her as she comes forward and hugs
me. I look around and see another friendly face. “Liv? You’re
pregnant?”

“How’d you guess?”
she asks with a laugh. “I’m due any day now.”

“Wow. That’s great.
Really great.”

“How do you know this
asshole, Candi?” a woman with hair that’s even brighter than
Tegan’s asks.

“I shot family
portraits for him and his family last year, Darcy. I didn’t know at
the time how he was connected to Tegan.”

“At the time? Don’t
you mean today?” I ask her.

“No. Teeg came by the
studio while I was going over your shots. She turned white as a ghost
and told me who you were. When Ethan moved in, I let him pick his
favorite photo of you, and we hung it in his room here.”

“You have a picture
of me in your room, E-Ethan?” I ask, my heart soaring.

“It was my mama’s
idea. She said I should see you every day, even if it was just in a
picture.”

I feel like my heart
just stopped. I’m humbled, truly humbled, that Tegan would make
sure I was a part of his life. She kept him from me physically, but
she let him know about me. She didn’t have to do that, but she did.
I’m not sure that I would’ve done the same thing.

“I’d love to see
your room.” I tell him, swallowing past the lump in my throat.

“Whatever,” he
says, heading towards the staircase.

“He’ll come around,
Caleb. He’s just protective of Tegan. We all are.”

I nod at Candi, say
goodbye to everyone else, and then follow my son up the stairs. He
points to a door on the right and tells me I can sleep in there. I
throw my bag inside before moving along the hallway. He stops outside
another door, and I know it’s his room. Not just because his name
is spray painted in a cool design on the outside, but because I see
the war inside him playing across his face. He doesn’t know if he’s
ready to let me in—to his heart,
or
his room.

And as much as it hurts
me, I get it. I really do. I may be his biological father, but I’m
also a stranger to him. It’s not fair, but I have to accept that,
and try to earn my way to more with him.

“Why don’t you just
go on to bed, Ethan. We’ll talk in the morning.”

“I won’t ever leave
her. You have to know that. If you try to take me, I’ll fight. Or
run away,” he tells me with tears in his eyes.

“I wouldn’t try and
take you from her. I promise. I just want to be part of your life,
too.”

“You can’t hurt
her, either. Everyone thinks she’s tough, or just lots of fun. But
I hear her crying sometimes when she thinks I’m asleep. I know
she’s crying for you.”

Just gut me why don’t
you, kid. “I promise you that I will do everything in my power to
not hurt your mama.”

“She’s the best
mama ever.”

“I don’t doubt that
for one second.”

“You can see my room
now.”

He opens the door, and
we walk inside. I see the photos first, maybe because I was looking
for them. There are black and white pictures of me and Tegan
dominating the wall across from his bed. The picture he chose is also
my favorite. I’m wearing a cowboy hat, which is rare for me, and
staring out at the fields. Tegan’s photo takes my breath away.
She’s also wearing a cowboy hat, and she has a big smile on her
face. She’s so damn beautiful that it hurts to even see her like
that in a picture. I can’t stop myself from moving forward and
touching her face.

“She’s the
prettiest girl ever.”

“Yeah, buddy. She
really is.”

I give myself a mental
shake, and then take in the rest of his room. It’s really big and
about the coolest kids room I’ve ever seen. He’s got a normal
platform bed, but his desk is pretty high-tech and covered in several
computers that are in different states of repair. He’s got a
basketball hoop and even a batting cage in one area. The other walls
are either brick covered in graffiti or plain walls full of signed
sports memorabilia. There’s even a signed movie poster from the
latest big action movie.

“Your room’s really
cool, Ethan. I love it.”

“Me too. Mama said I
could have whatever I wanted, and her friends made it happen.”

“Your mom has some
pretty great friends.”

“Yep. They love me,
too.”

“I’m not
surprised.” There’s something I need to ask, though. “Does your
mama bring her boyfriends here?”

He cocks his head to
the side before answering. “She doesn’t have boyfriends. She
kisses boys sometimes, but not here. I never meet them. Well, except
for Miles, but she only kissed him once, and now he’s married to
Alex who’s one of her best friends. Oh, and Wayne. They’ve kissed
more than once, and I know he wants her to be his girlfriend. You’ll
meet him tomorrow when he comes to give me a guitar lesson.”

Miles Corrigan, huh?
Damn. He’s one of the best baseball players ever. I’d be lying if
I said I wasn’t jealous, even if he is happily married to someone
else now. And who the fuck is this Wayne guy? I guess I’ll find out
tomorrow. All I know is that he can’t have her. Not when I have the
chance to make all my dreams come true. I won’t let
anyone—including me—stand in my way this time. Which means I
better stop pissing her off, even if I do have a right to be angry.

* * *

Tegan

Stella and Kace
insisted on driving me home today, even though I told them I’m
fine. Yeah, I lost a little blood, but the bullet didn’t do any
other real damage, and I’ve got most of my strength back already.
But I know better than to argue with my best friend, so here we are,
all arriving at my place together.

I walk in to see most
of my friends, along with balloons and tables of food. “Welcome
home, Teeg,” Wayne says as he walks up and envelopes me in his
strong arms.

I hug him back, but
when he tries to kiss me, I give him my cheek. “Don’t, Wayne.”

“Oh come on. Mr.
Uptight needs a little show.”

Shit. I was so excited
to see everyone that I almost forgot Cal was here, and I
definitely
forgot that today was a guitar lesson day. “What did you
say to him?”

“I might have led him
to believe that we’re currently more than just good friends. E had
already told him that we’ve
kissed
,
which I’m sure he figured out is code for banged each other’s
brains out.”

“Damn it.”

“He’s the one,
right? ‘
The One
?’”

“Yeah.”

“He’s jealous as
hell of me. So like I said, let’s give him a show,” he says as he
turns his head again.

“No. I’m not
playing games. If he wants me, then he needs to say it. I’m not
going to pretend that I’m with you just to get a reaction out of
him.”

“You know I wish it
wasn’t pretend.”

“And you know I’d
make it real if it was in me to do that.”

“Yeah, I do. He
better make you happy this time around, or he’s a dead man.”

“Hey, quit hogging
the woman of the hour, dude,” Brett tells him.