This Much Is True

by Anna Albo

  This Much Is True

  The Senator's Son, Volume 2

  Anna Albo

  Published by Anna Albo, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  THIS MUCH IS TRUE

  First edition. July 8, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Anna Albo.

  ISBN: 978-1999102517

  Written by Anna Albo.

  Also by Anna Albo

  The Senator's Son

  The Senator's Son

  This Much Is True (Coming Soon)

  Watch for more at Anna Albo’s site.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Also By Anna Albo

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  EPILOGUE

  TEASER | On the Rebound

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  About the Author

  For my dad and wishing you were here.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Emma

  “Your mother called.”

  Three words I never wanted or expected to hear. My mother, a woman I hadn’t seen in nearly eight years. Who’d dumped me on my dad and never looked back. “She did?”

  “She wanted to know how you’ve been. I know you’re surprised. I was too.”

  I pushed my breakfast dish away. Thankfully, Dad had waited until I’d finished my Eggs Benedict before giving me indigestion. “I find it a bit odd that she’s asking about me all of a sudden. Don’t you?”

  I looked at Dad and fixed my gaze on his. He pursed his lips and shrugged. “I have my suspicions as to her timing.”

  “So, who told her about Zach?” I asked, rising and taking away our empty plates.

  “I’m guessing one of her old friends from around here. They saw him around this summer, made inquiries and that was that. Meredith had a lot of questions. She seemed sincere.”

  “Why didn’t she call me?”

  Dad’s face softened, like he was about to tell me the dog we’d never had just died. “Kiddo, she doesn’t have your number.”

  Point taken. “She could have asked you for it and then called me.”

  I’d moved onto washing dishes. Dad came over and put his arm around my shoulder. “I think she’s scared to call you. Worried you might not talk to her.”

  I grunted. “She’s right.”

  “I took her number, if you do decide to call. She gave me her email address too, in case you’re more comfortable communicating with her that way. And you might decide you never want to speak to her again. That’s all up to you.”

  I looked at Dad. Meredith was his Achilles’ heel. Why? I didn’t know. The woman had left him with a baby to raise. No calls, no support, nothing. She graduated and moved on with her life. Eight years and not a call from her. No visits. Nada.

  “Let me get this straight: she finds out I’m dating Zach Walker and suddenly she wants back in my life? I think I’ll pass on giving her a call or shooting her an email.”

  “Okay, that’s your decision. I don’t want to sway you either way. I will leave the info for you. I’d hate to lose it.”

  Dad lose something? He kept everything from my first day in nursery school to my last day of high school. He may have been a kid himself, but Dad was meticulous about keeping what was important to him. “Sure, I’ll hang on to it.”

  “One last thing, because I know you want to get the hell out of here and to that boyfriend of yours. She asked me for your email address. She wants to send you something. I didn’t give it to her because I told her I’d ask you first. So, I’m asking. Can she have it?”

  I took a long time mulling it over, the two of us standing in silence in the kitchen. Did I want her to have it? Did I want to hear from her? Maybe I was curious, but this was the same woman who’d abandoned me. “Sure,” I said. I didn’t expect those words to leave my mouth, but I didn’t take them back either.

  Dad smiled. “Remember that you’re in control. You can cut off communication at any time.”

  Who’d said anything about communication?

  “HELLO, GORGEOUS,” ZACH said, scooping me into his arms and planting a kiss on my lips.

  “Hello to you too! You’re happy to see me.”

  “It’s been one long week. Can’t a guy miss his girlfriend? The girlfriend he’s celebrating his six-month anniversary with.”

  I grimaced. “Are we celebrating those kinds of anniversaries?”

  “For me, six months is like six years.”

  “Six glorious years,” I said, playfully pinching his arm.

  “Where is your dad?” Zach asked, picking up my backpack and throwing it over his broad shoulder.

  “At the shop. He’d like us to stop by before we go. He doesn’t want to miss seeing you.”

  Zach beamed. “I like your dad. He’s a cool cat.”

  We drove the short distance and I couldn’t help but lament. Nearly a year ago I was going to this same cabin with Jake, my former best friend, where I would meet Zach for the first time. The only friendly face, he’d taken me under his wing, made an uncomfortable situation tolerable, and now I was going to this same cabin not only as his girlfriend, but without a care in the world.

  “Zach!” Dad said, giving my boyfriend a man hug.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Paul.”

  “Where are the two of you off to exactly?” Dad asked, ignoring the lone couple in the shop.

  “My buddy Brett’s cabin in the Lake Sylvia area.”

  “Ooh, Lake Sylvia. Very nice. I’ve done some deliveries there. You drove all this way to pick Emma up just to drive back that way?”

  “Anything for Em,” he said and winked at me.

  “Well, you better get off then. Text me when you get there.”

  I kissed Dad on the cheek and in minutes we were on the road.

  “Dad laid a bombshell on me this morning,” I said, fishing though my bag for a bottle of water.

  “What’s that?”

  “Meredith called. She wants to reach out to me.”

  “Your mom? That’s kind of cool.”

  “No, not cool at all, and calling her my mom is a stretch.”

  Zach rolled his eyes only half way
and stopped when I glared. “Could she have had an epiphany?”

  “Yes, and it has to do with her long-forgotten daughter dating a certain senator’s son.”

  Zach groaned. “Oh, I see now.”

  “Right. Does she think she can worm her way back into my life because she asks? And she’s so transparent. Obviously, I know why she called.”

  “Could you be wrong?”

  I pffted him. “Not a chance in hell.”

  “Forget about her and let’s enjoy this weekend,” he said, reaching over and patting my thigh. “It will be our last before school starts.”

  Yes, school. Zach’s senior year of college. He already had all his law school applications ready to be sent, which meant he’d be leaving me behind. Off he’d go to Columbia, Harvard or whatever Ivy League school his dad wanted him to go to. I dreaded the prospect so much that on occasion I’d have the odd panic attack. I didn’t tell him about it and he didn’t need to know. It would only be a year, not even a full year, and I could deal with it. I’d have to. I’d also have to deal with all his new friends and worse, the new girls he’d meet. Nora, my therapist after Grandma died, always told me to confront my bad thoughts by saying, So what? She also told me to lie down and do twenty minutes of meditation, but there was no time for that now. I pushed away the anxiety for now and focused on deep breaths and other thoughts.

  I decided to think about the cabin and my weekend there. I wouldn’t know anyone except for Zach and his best friend Brett. They’d invited along some of their hockey buddies and their girlfriends. There was no possible way this weekend could go any worse than the previous year’s. So much had changed and now I had a lot more confidence.

  “Are these girls going to be Bianca types? Because if they are, I’m spending the weekend in the kitchen or the bedroom.”

  Zach’s eyebrows arched. “That sounds so 1950s of you. And I really like the bedroom part.”

  “Okay, not what I meant!”

  He laughed and playfully poked me in the side. “You’ll have a good time. I’m going to take you fishing and maybe we can do a little late night skinny dipping.”

  I shook my head. “Try again.”

  “Prude.”

  After an hour and a half in the car we reached Brett’s family cabin. For a split second a wave of nausea came over me. The place didn’t exactly hold warm and fuzzy memories, but this time was so different. I had Zach with me, a man who loved me, who defended me and who watched out for me. Jake and Bianca were distant memories.

  “You’re late,” Brett said when we walked through the door. “Tell me you brought beer and food.”

  “I got everything you asked for.”

  Brett looked at me, his blue eyes still a little apprehensive. We were still getting to know each other and after my performance at the cabin the previous year, he had good reason to keep me at arm’s length. “Hey, Emma. I hear you’ll be feeding us all weekend.”

  “If you’ll let me.”

  “You’re an awesome cook, so we’re giving you full control of the kitchen. We’re having a pizza night, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “My same room?” Zach asked.

  “You bet. Settle in and meet us at the dock. We’re swimming and trying to fish.”

  “Give us a few minutes.”

  Brett left out the massive patio doors and Zach turned to me. “Want to meet my bed?”

  As hard as I tried, I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. “Maybe later? I think if we don’t make an appearance they’ll know what we’re up to.”

  “Such a prude.”

  At Zach’s insistence, I put my bathing suit on under my shorts and T-shirt. We grabbed a few towels and headed out to the dock. It was after lunch and everyone was sitting around soaking up the sun with a few beers. Zach did a quick introduction and, other than Brett, I was happy to see no returnees from the previous year. I knew I’d have trouble remembering names, but I made a concerted effort to memorize as many as I could: Kaitlyn, Julia and Avery. Like the girls last year, these three were perfect right down to their beach hair and makeup. I could only hope their attitudes were different.

  “Why is no one in the water?” Zach asked. He peeled off his shirt to the enjoyment of the ladies. Even though I’d seen him shirtless a million times, my heart fluttered a bit. He was in fantastic shape with strong, broad shoulders and chiseled abs. How could anyone with a pulse not notice? He threw down his shirt and did a cannonball into the lake.

  All the guys joined in along with two of the girls. Julia stayed behind. She took a couple of beers from the cooler and handed one to me. I guess that meant we were going to hang out together. I took a seat in the lawn chair next to her and watched everyone splash around in the water. The ladies had taken residence on two floating plastic loungers and were sunning themselves.

  “I’m Dylan’s girlfriend,” she said.

  “Nice to meet you.” I stared off at the boys swimming to a large floating platform. They were in deep discussion about something. Likely sports.

  “How long have you and Zach been dating?”

  “Six months.”

  “That’s a record for Zach. What’s your secret?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  She laughed and took a gulp of her beer. “I heard about that whole Bianca thing.”

  I bristled at the sound of her name. “Oh, yeah? Water under the bridge.”

  “I’m not going to lie; Bianca and I know each other. We aren’t super friends or anything. I don’t want you to think I’m picking sides.”

  I presumed Julia was another rich kid and I decided to be cautious. “I have no hard feelings towards her, and I’m not going to say anything bad about her. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over with.”

  “I heard what she did to you. Aren’t you pissed off?”

  I glanced over at Julia. I couldn’t figure her out. Was she sincere or not? Her tone betrayed nothing. She didn’t sound entitled or that she was on a fishing expedition. It was like she was making simple conversation, but I couldn’t be sure.

  “No, I’m not pissed. I don’t want to be that person who holds grudges or has to get my revenge. I hope she feels the same way.”

  “I think she does. I think she got caught up in what you’re saying: revenge. And once she had time to look back, she realized how crazy she was. She lost her boyfriend over it, but I think they were on the outs anyway. And Zach’s video is certainly a deterrent.”

  I looked at her now, my gaze intense enough for Julia’s grey eyes to grow wide. “Zach’s video?”

  She shrank back a bit. “Yeah, didn’t you know about it?”

  What would I do now? Pretend that I knew, and see what I could get out of her? Of course I assumed it was a video of some kind, that had been clear before Julia confirmed it, but how many people knew about it? I had to tread carefully. “I know it’s a video, but I haven’t seen it. I thought a lot of people didn’t know about it.”

  “I think a lot of people forgot about it since Zach’s the only one with a copy.”

  “Have you seen it?”

  “No, but Dylan was there that night. He told me about it. To be honest, I’m not surprised he hasn’t shown you. It’s not very flattering.”

  Either Julia was a masterful manipulator, or a straight shooter. Since I’d only known her a whole five minutes, I didn’t know which . . . yet. “How so?”

  She squirmed in her lawn chair. “Look, that was the old Zach. I hear he’s changed and from what I can see, that’s true. You can’t judge him on his past.”

  I nodded. “And I don’t. So how is it unflattering to him?”

  “He’s taking the video.”

  The words hit me like a baseball bat to the face, but it explained how he had the video. “Oh.”

  “I can see you didn’t know that. I think I should shut up now. I think you should ask him about it.”

  “Where was the video taken?”

  “I’m not sure. His
old frat house? I think you should talk to him. I don’t feel comfortable and I haven’t even seen the video, and Dylan hasn’t seen it either. He’s only heard rumors.”

  “But you know what’s on it, more or less?”

  “Look, only a few people know or remember it. I think for Bianca’s sake, that’s the way she wants it. Zach, for his own personal reasons, has kept the video. The point is, he should get rid of it.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Is that what this is about? You want me to tell Zach to get rid of it?”

  Julia sank further into her chair. “No, I didn’t mean it that way. I just—I don’t get why he keeps it. I figure he thinks he needs to keep it to protect you or something . . . I don’t know.”

  “What’s on it that’s so vile?”

  She took a few deep breaths. “Emma, you seem like a nice person, and I don’t want to start on the wrong foot with you. I probably shouldn’t have brought the stupid thing up in the first place. If you want to know more about it, you have to ask your boyfriend. I don’t want to say things that are on it and then you find out that they aren’t. I don’t want trouble.”

  My initial thought was to go on the attack, to tell her she’d done just that, but I thought better of it. I had another two days with her. “Okay, let’s drop it.”

  I looked over to Zach who was preparing to dive off the floating platform. Now more than ever I wanted to know what he was hiding.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Emma

  As I finished making dinner, the guys hovered around the kitchen. I hadn’t made anything too exciting, just pork chops with artichoke hearts and a celery root and potato gratin. I had a light salad to go with the meal. I insisted on working alone. Prepping food gave me comfort. I reveled in it. I could spend hours in the kitchen, playing around with ingredients, making new sauces, experimenting on an unsuspecting Zach. I loved it and that’s why the subject of culinary school kept coming up. Zach was going away to law school the following September; the only problem was which Ivy League school. And I had at least another year before I’d finish my psych degree. I’d finally declared my major, and after all the crap Bianca and Jake put me through, psychology seemed like the appropriate career path.