We Thought We Knew It All (Invincible Book 2)

by Michelle Lynn

  “You watch Riley King?” she asked.

  “This is a rerun, but yeah, I never miss it.” It was true. It'd been a tradition in my platoon - to watch this show together. Riley King was an Army Ranger turned talk show host. I'd kept up the tradition on my own. “Cal.” I turned away to escape from her penetrating eyes. “Just get on with it.”

  “Will you talk to me first?” she asked as some of the strength seeped from her voice.

  I closed my eyes with my back still facing her and breathed out a painful sigh. I couldn't do it. I had so much anger and it scared me. I didn't want to hurt her so it was best we got this over with before I said something really harsh. “No.” I finally turned back around. “You came here for a reason. Tell me.”

  Silent tears slid down her cheeks. As she shook her head, her dark hair hung forward to cover her face. “I'm sorry, Jamie.” She hiccupped a sob. “Oh God, I'm so so sorry.” She hunched forward and wiped furiously at her damp face as her facade of fearlessness shattered on that hotel room floor.

  “Jackson is Dylan's.” My voice cracked on the words. I shouldn't have been surprised. I didn't have the right to be disappointed. Dylan raised him. I didn't. Callie chose Dylan to be Jackson's father and it seemed she chose right.

  The hope I hadn't dared acknowledge cracked like a fractured vase that could be put back together, but would never truly be the same.

  I sat on the arm of the couch and wanted in that instant to reach out to Callie, to mourn the son who could have been ours. But she wasn't mourning, only regretful, sorry. She felt sorry for me, not herself. We weren't in it together. We never had been. All these years. I realized then that she hadn't failed to get Jackson tested sooner because of me. It really had nothing to do with me. It was so Dylan would never lose his son.

  “You should probably go,” I said, getting to my feet once more.

  “Jamie.” She stood and rushed towards me. “Tell me what I can do.”

  “Cal.”

  “I love you,” she sobbed. “Don't you get that, you big idiot. I've never stopped loving you.”

  When she kissed me, I let her. I let her push herself up against me and wrap her arms around the back of my neck. My head clouded and I began to forget all the reasons I shouldn't be doing this. When she started pushing my shirt up, I stopped her, placing my hands over hers.

  “Cal.” I pushed her back. The hurt flashed across her face and I couldn't stand that I put it there, but there was no helping it. “California, I'm not coming back.”

  “What?” She stumbled back.

  “I'm taking a contract job at my old base in Georgia.”

  She narrowed her now dry eyes. “You're just leaving?”

  I nodded slowly.

  She shoved me with both hands and I wasn't prepared. My back slammed into the wall. I reached out to grab her as she stormed by, but she swung her arm out of my reach.

  “Coward,” she accused. She was yelling now. “You're running. Again! I never should have let myself believe in you again. The only thing you ever do is let me down.”

  “Me?” I yelled. “You've been lying to me for ten freaking years.”

  “Oh, you mean the ten years you didn't speak to me? Those ten years?”

  “Yeah, the ones when you were raising a boy you thought could have been my son. With another man!”

  “Maybe I knew you too well, Jamie Daniels.” She lowered her voice to plunge the final dagger into my flesh. “Maybe I did what was right for my son. I couldn't count on you then and it looks like nothing has changed.”

  She turned as if to storm away, but didn't go.

  “I would have married the hell out of you,” I admitted.

  She turned to face me.

  “Maybe not back then, but we're older now and I thought we were on the same page. Callie, you fell in love with another man and that's okay. But you chose that love over ours when you decided he was the father. Now you know that he really is and I know what that means for me. You'll never be free of what made you marry him. It'll never be me, not anymore. And I can't take that. You're right. I'm a coward, but I don't know how to be anything else.”

  Tears shone on her face as she looked up at me once more and gave her head a little nod. She smiled sadly, her lips quivering, before leaving the way she had come. I was starting to think Callie and I were always destined to be at odds.

  I shut the door slowly, closing that part of my life for good, and collapsed onto the bed.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Callie:

  I didn't go home that night. I couldn't face my boys with tears in my eyes and a broken heart. Aunt Kat and Noah's place was only a few minutes away, giving me barely enough time to pull myself together.

  Kat was surprised to see me, but waited for me to be ready to tell her what happened.

  Noah made us tea as we sat on the couch and I explained everything.

  “It's good that it was Dylan, right?” she asked.

  I nodded. “But, Kat, I don't think Jamie will ever forgive me.”

  “Oh, honey.” She smoothed back my hair. “That boy loves you.”

  “Sometimes that isn't enough.”

  The next morning, I left early, anxious to get home and see my family. Dylan and my dad both left the next day. They had to get back to work.

  Life tried to regain its normal rhythm, but nothing felt normal to me. The boys went to school. We made heaps of progress at the restaurant. Opening day was coming quickly and I had confidence we'd be ready.

  It was Friday morning and we were ahead of schedule so I gave the work crew the day off. It was the first time in a while that I didn't have any obligations. No book to work on, no kids to take care of, no business to start.

  I stood on the beach clad in my old wet-suit, with a board under my arm. It'd been a while and the waves were rolling today. My mind drifted back to Jamie teaching Jackson to surf and then even further to my mom teaching me. If there was anything that could make me feel like myself again, this was it.

  I ran into the water and paddled out, realizing how a lack of surfing had made me ridiculously out of shape. I scooped my arms through the water, relishing the burn that traveled the length of my biceps and into my back as I moved and stretched.

  When I was far enough out, I sat up and kicked around. There weren't many people out today so the waves were mine for the taking. I chose one deliberately and started moving furiously to stay ahead of it. When I pushed up, I tucked my legs underneath me and stood up, wobbling slightly before regaining my balance. It turned out to be an easy ride and I let it carry me in until it turned to foam.

  I almost turned to head back out when someone caught my attention on the beach. Morgan ran towards me, her arms spread wide. I walked up onto the sand and dropped my board moments before she lunged at me, not caring that I was sopping wet.

  “Uh, hi.” I laughed for what felt like the first time in days.

  She released me and was still grinning from ear to ear. Taking my hands in hers, she looked me in the eyes. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “It's perfect.”

  It clicked and I knew exactly what she was speaking of. I'd sent her the early draft of my new book. A warmth spread inside me, replacing the nervousness the thought of that book elicited.

  “It's okay?” I asked.

  “Cal, it's closure for all of us. You gave us such a gift.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I made my mom read it. Afterwards, I found her looking at pictures of my brother and smiling. Smiling. She's been in such a dark place for so long. The way you painted Troy - he wasn't just another nameless victim in a senseless shooting. Heck, the way you painted all of us. You made us, our friendship, seem … I don't know. Does invincible sound cheesy?”

  I smiled. “No, invincible sounds pretty damn good.”

  “You know what my mom did? She took me with her to Matthew's parents' house. Did you know I'd met his grandfather before?”

  I shook my head n
o, even though the image of Morgan and Seth sitting next to each other soon after the shooting wasn't one I'd soon forget.

  “Matthew was a victim in all of this too. I didn't see that before.” She paused. “Publish the book. I want the world to see us as you do. I want the world to know that even when we break, we can be invincible.”

  I grabbed my board and looped my arm with hers, knowing she was right. She led me to the parking lot and I followed her back to my house where she sat beside me as I sent the full draft to my editor.

  When I'd submitted Emma, I'd been terrified. Now I felt liberated, empowered.

  * * *

  Our opening went well, but every time I walked through the door, I was reminded of how excited Jamie had been for me. He'd been a part of this place. So had my mom. Neither of them were there.

  My dad called to wish me luck and to my surprise, so did Dylan.

  But the rest of my family was there.

  An arm wrapped around my shoulders and I looked up to see Colby grinning. He'd been trying to cheer me up for days. Jamie had once been his best friend, but I would always be his sister.

  Jay and Morgan joined us. When the four of us were together, it still felt like a fifth link was missing. I spent the opening talking to reviewers and people who'd come just to see the restaurant that was inspired by the enigmatic Emma Bay. We'd made it into a new South Florida guide book. This place was going to succeed, I could feel it.

  Every bite that came out of the kitchen was fantastic. The drinks were well made. All of the hard work and invested funds were paying off. But I still couldn't bring myself to be happy about it.

  Over the past week, Jackson and Liam both asked after Jamie. They'd grown fond of him and missed him. I didn't know what to say to them so I just said I didn't know where he was. In truth, I knew that he was back in Georgia, back in his old life - the one where he didn't talk to any of us.

  The time finally came for Morgan to rejoin her husband in London and I was sad to see her go. She brought a joy to life that I'd missed.

  I took the boys to Jay's for dinner on the Monday after opening since the restaurant was closed on Mondays. Amber greeted us and immediately took the boys outside to play. Jay hugged me tightly as he always did. I still had trouble believing him and Jamie were brothers. They were so different. For one thing, Jay was dependable.

  “How you doing?” he asked, leading me towards the living room where they had a bar set up.

  “Can I answer that once I have a drink in my hand?”

  “That bad?”

  “No. I have three beautiful and healthy boys, a restaurant that just opened successfully, and a new book with my publisher. I'm just peachy.” He handed me a whiskey. I took a sip, letting the burn soothe me. “People like me aren't supposed to complain.”

  He sat down with his own drink and motioned for me to sit beside him. “Everyone has a right to their own unhappiness.”

  The ice clinked together as I swirled my glass, entranced by the amber liquid. “I feel ungrateful. I have everything, but feel like I have nothing. Why can't it be enough? Why can't my kids be enough?”

  Jay jumped when I slammed my glass down on the coffee table.

  “He left, Jay. He didn't want to fight so he abandoned all of us, again.”

  Jay stayed suspiciously quiet.

  “Have you heard from him?” I asked.

  He set his glass down and looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “Yes.”

  “I guess that's something,” I said. “At least it's just me he hates.”

  Jay started to respond to that, but Jackson ran inside with Liam hot on his heels. “Aunt Amber says it's time to eat. She made meatballs.”

  I laughed at that. “Of course she did. That's your favorite.” I stood and left my drink on the table as I followed my son.

  Dinner was never a quiet affair with those three. They talked through the entire meal and ate their weight in meatballs.

  When it was time to leave, Jay held me back. “He doesn't hate you, Cal.”

  “You don't know that.”

  “He didn't take the job in Georgia.”

  I snapped my eyes towards his.

  “He's working for the team he interviewed for, but asked for one of the posts in Tampa,” he explained.

  “Why would he do that?” I whispered. “All he wanted was to go back to his base.”

  “That's not all he wanted.”

  I didn't know if Jamie was sending me a sign, or just realized he didn't want to go back to base as a civilian, but I felt hopeful for the first time since Dylan showed up.

  This wasn't over.

  “Mommy has to make a phone call,” I told the boys as we pulled away from Jay's. I dialed the number and was relieved when someone answered. “Scott,” I said.

  “California, hi. I've been waiting for your call.”

  “I know what show I want to go on. Think we can book Riley King?”

  “Callie, we can book just about anyone you'd like now that Emma is becoming a movie. You're a big story.”

  “Great. Let me know the details when you have them.”

  Monday morning I got an email. Riley King had a cancellation for the following week and needed to fill a spot. They'd already booked my plane ticket to New York and would send me the questions in advance. Now I just needed to come up with a plan.

  I was in love with a stubborn, foolish, control-freak of a man and he was going to forgive me because it was always meant to be us.

  * * *

  New York City was much bigger than I'd imagined. I'd seen the movies, and the immensity couldn't be felt through the screen.

  But nothing felt quite so important to me as Jamie and the family we were going to be. It was going to be big and public, but I was out of apologies. They'd all fallen on deaf ears. Now it was time to make a fool of myself. The boy I knew would get a kick out of it. He'd once cussed at a gaggle of reporters at a campaign press conference for his father. That night, I'd told him I loved him for the first time.

  How had it gone so wrong? Those two kids had so much hope, so much faith - even after everything they'd been through. Life beat you down and it was finally time to get back up.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket and I ducked into a coffee shop to answer it. “Hi, baby.”

  “Mom,” Jackson said. “When do you go on?”

  “Not for a little while.”

  “Moooom …”

  “Are you behaving for your Aunt Kat and Uncle Noah?”

  “Duh.”

  “Jackson, a yes or no will do.” I was glad he couldn't see my silent laughter.

  “I'm always good.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Then tell Kat I said you can watch.”

  “Good because she already said we're going out to a late dinner and will watch it there.”

  “She spoils you. I expect you in bed straight after you get home.”

  “Fine. I've got to go, mom.”

  “Okay –“ He hung up before I was finished and I just shook my head.

  The coffee shop buzzed around me. The door chimed as I pulled my coat tighter when a gust of cold air was allowed to enter. I walked up to the long counter, eying the pastries underneath the smudged glass.

  “What can I get you?” a young man behind the counter asked politely.

  I didn't take my eyes from the glass case. “A vanilla steamer please. And I'll have a blueberry scone.”

  I took it to go as I was expected soon at the studio for the taping of the Riley King show. I'd declined a car, instead opting for the walk in the brisk winter air to work out my nerves. Yep, they weren't worked out. My hand shook as I shifted my scone so I could open the door.

  I was greeted by two women, one of which I knew.

  “Nicole.” I nodded towards her.

  She smiled as if she wasn't engaged to my ex-husband. We had been friends back in L.A. “California.” She hugged me, trying her best not to spill my steamer. “This is Amelia. She works for
the show. She'll show us to the dressing room.”

  “Us?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “There are things to discuss.”

  I nodded and turned to Amelia. “It's nice to meet you. I'm Callie.”

  She smiled and pushed a perfectly straight lock of black hair from her shoulder. “I'm a big fan, Ms. Bay. Your mother was an icon.”

  I returned her smile. “She sure was to me. Lead the way.”

  The formalities reminded me that I wasn't only here for Jamie. C. Bay, my penname, had never given a video interview. Readers knew very little about me, only that I was the long-lost daughter of Emma Bay. Tonight was my coming out party and I decided I wanted to enjoy it.

  Not even Nicole could ruin this.

  My life of obscurity was ending, but it needed to. My new book was being published under the name Callie McCoy, because that was who went through those events. But I wanted people to read it, I needed them to know our story. The only way for that to happen was for them to connect C. Bay and Callie McCoy. My two lives were merging and I only hoped I'd always remember which one of them I was.

  Amelia left us in a dressing room that was stocked with food. She promised that hair and makeup would be there soon. An outfit hung on the back of the door in a garment bag.

  A thick silence descended upon us as I filled a plate.

  “Okay,” Nicole finally started. “We need to talk about some things.”

  “You're fired,” I said impulsively, shoving a cookie into my mouth.

  She sputtered. “Excuse me.”

  I waved a finger, asking her to wait until my mouth was empty. “It's not about all that crap with the movie rights or even Dylan. If he makes you happy, go for it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. Dylan and I should have never been married, but he gave me my boys, so I can't say I regret it.”

  “Then why am I fired?” She twisted her low blond pony-tail around her finger.

  “Oh, that. I'm quitting. I'm not a writer.”

  “What are you talking about? You're fantastic.”

  “But I don't love doing it.”

  “Wait, really? Your words are so passionate.”