Star-Spangled Secret

by Caroline Lee

  Maybe, one day, if he was lucky, he’d be able to join them. Maybe he’d be able to bring his wife here to family dinners, and see her cheering for him as he creamed his big brother at the push-up challenge.

  And the only woman he could imagine being here with him was Alyssa.

  “Daddy! Daddy!” Little Kalli Jo slipped off Wilfred Weston’s lap and threw herself on top of her parents. Coop pretended she was too heavy to lift, while Jackie tried and failed to get to her feet.

  “Papa! Wook Daddy!” the little one squealed as she pointed.

  From his spot in his favorite recliner, Dad nodded with a twinkle in his eye. “I see him, “Kalli. Do you think he’s hurt?”

  “Hur?” the almost-two-year-old repeated as she turned her concerned gaze to her father. “Daddy?”

  “No, sweetheart,” Coop laughed as he scooped her into his arms. “Daddy and Mommy are just playing.”

  Kalli Jo nodded, her concerns alleviated, and toddled over to Tripp. He shifted to sit cross-legged just in time for her to turn around and back herself into his lap. He wasn’t sure what to do other than place his hands on his knees and rest his chin on her head.

  What would it have been like to hold Jeremiah at the same age? His stomach tightened at the thought, the familiar feeling of guilt eclipsing the anger.

  “Careful,” Mack said blandly. “Kenneth will be irritated if you usurp his role as favorite uncle.”

  He didn’t seem too worried about it, and Tripp found himself exchanging a grin with this taciturn brother-in-law of his.

  Tonight was the first time he would see Kenneth since that explosive encounter almost seven years ago. These weekly dinners had become something of a tradition in the weeks since Tripp had been home, and he’d begun looking forward to them. But Kenneth had been out of the country on one of his fancy business dealings, then down in Boise, then... Well, he always seemed to have an excuse. But tonight, Kenneth would be here for dinner, even though his wife Katie wasn’t feeling well enough to come, and actually, Tripp wasn’t dreading it as much as he’d expected.

  Maybe I’ve changed more than I thought.

  Cooper had finally made it to his feet, when little Kalli Jo jumped up from her seat on Tripp’s lap and toddled over to “help” pull her mother upright.

  Laughing, Coop held out his hand. “Well, little brother, when I challenged you, I didn’t actually expect you to be able to keep up.”

  Tripp snorted as he shook his older brother’s hand. “Keep up? Old man, I could have gone for three hundred more. “

  “Three hundred!” Jackie sounded impressed as she nudged her husband. “I thought you were going to pass out from just the fifty you did!”

  “Well, how was I supposed to know?” Coop defended himself. “Last time I saw him, he had arms like toothpicks!”

  Just to rub it in, Tripp rolled up his T-shirt sleeve and showed off his muscles. “I didn’t get these digging in the dirt, you know.”

  Coop burst into laughter. “Digging in the dirt, huh? That’s what you think I do?” He shook his head, chuckling. “I have got to get you an interview with Murray Pulaski. You need to see just how tough construction work really is.”

  “Yeah, but if you do that,” Tripp teased, “once he sees my resume, he’ll give me all the demolition work, and then what?”

  Coop’s eyes went wide with feigned fear. “I wouldn’t get to blow anything up anymore!”

  From his armchair, Dad was chuckling right along with the rest of them. “Sometimes I’m not sure where you two came from. Nobody else I know likes to blow up stuff as much as you boys.”

  “Yeah, but I like it more!” Coop was quick to defend.

  Even Marybeth rolled her eyes. “You’ve never been arrested for it!”

  “Yeah!” Then Tripp reconsidered. “Wait a minute, I’m not sure I should be proud of that.”

  They all burst into laughter at the same time, and man, it felt good. It felt good to be part of this family once more.

  Chuckling, Marybeth shook her head. “I’m going to check on the casserole. If somebody could please track down my niece and make sure she washes her hands, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Track down...?” Jackie looked around for her daughter. “Where’d she go?”

  That’s when Mack groaned as he realized his prize husky was missing as well. “Star? Star, come here girl.” He sighed. “What do you want to bet they’re someplace together?”

  He and Jackie moved off towards the back of the house, calling for their errant charges.

  Chuckling, Tripp sank down in the armchair across from Dad.

  But when he met his father’s eyes, he was surprised to see tears shimmering in their depths.

  “Dad?” Tripp asked worriedly. “What’s up?”

  Dad shook his head, and blinked rapidly. “Your mother…” he began gruffly. “She’d be so proud to see you like this. So happy to know you’ve come back safe.”

  As they always did when he spoke about Mom, Dad’s words caused Tripp’s throat to tighten. He nodded in acknowledgment.

  “I’m just…” he began in a rough voice, then cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m just so sorry it took me this long to figure it out. If I’d gotten home sooner…”

  Then Dad reached across the space separating them and wrapped his hand around one of Tripp’s. “You got here as soon as you could, my boy, and that’s what matters.”

  He probably could have sat there for the rest of the evening, basking in contentment. This wasn’t at all how he’d imagined his homecoming, but without Mom here, this was as close to perfect as he could imagine.

  Then a commotion by the front door had both of them turning.

  Tripp heard Coop greet his twin, and knew Kenneth was here. He waited for the familiar burn of anger in his gut, and was surprised by how mild it was.

  When Dad hoisted himself out of the armchair, Tripp followed. He felt almost as if he was going into battle. But when Kenneth stepped into the room, his expression wary, the analogy disappeared.

  For all his life, Tripp had been compared to Kenneth. At least, he’d felt that way. The last few weeks here had allowed him to see his parents’ point of view. They hadn’t been comparing Tripp to Kenneth, or telling him they expected him to be like Kenneth. They’d just been pointing out how hard Kenneth had worked to apply himself, and how successful he’d been.

  So when Kenneth stepped into the middle of the room, Tripp met him there.

  “The prodigal son returns, huh?” Kenneth asked in a rough voice.

  Irritation flashed briefly in Tripp’s stomach, but he took a deep breath to dispel it. “Yeah. I’m glad to be back.”

  Kenneth stared at him with the Weston ice-blue eyes, the eyes they shared, the eyes Tripp had given to Jeremiah.

  After a long moment, Kenneth nodded. “Welcome home, little brother,” he said gruffly.

  And then, to Tripp’s surprise, Kenneth opened his arms. For a hug?

  Tripp hesitated only briefly before stepping forward, and Kenneth’s arms closed around him.

  A hug! His big brother, the one who’d given him so much grief about his lack of control and effort, was hugging him?

  Guess I’m not the only one who has changed.

  Tripp exhaled and hugged him back.

  Dinner was really nice, which Tripp wasn’t sure he’d expected. With all the bickering he’d remembered between him and Kenneth, he would have guessed dinner would be full of anger. At least on his part. But instead, he was able to take the teasing the way it was intended. Maybe it was the nearly seven years of control he’d learned, or maybe it was the weeks he’d spent with Alyssa, but his family’s banter didn’t bother him like it used to.

  In fact, he liked it.

  “So then, Cooper, who—remember?—had been entrusted with the River’s End Ranch credit card, and the entire Fourth of July fireworks celebration, exploded the whole thing!”

  Tripp gaped. “You mean he flubbed the cue? Or
like, he messed the whole thing up?”

  “No,” Kenneth said with a head shake. “I mean, he hit the trigger, jumped off the dock, and wasted the whole show.”

  “Hey now,” Cooper said, with more seriousness than Tripp had ever seen in his older brother’s expression, “It was worth it to keep Jackie safe.”

  He reached out and took his wife’s hand, and she smiled softly in return.

  “What happened to the guy?” Tripp asked.

  Coop glanced at his daughter, who was happily chewing on a breadstick, then cut his eyes back in Tripp’s direction and shook his head. Tripp exhaled and, having spent enough time in war zones, knew what his brother meant without him having to say it out loud in front of Kalli Jo.

  “Oh, man,” Tripp whispered under his breath.

  At the head of the table, Dad cleared his throat. “Yeah, anyhow, that’s why this particular branch of the Westons are going to do something low-key this year to celebrate the Fourth. I know Wade understood the reasoning behind it, but that was a lot of money wasted.”

  Across from Tripp, Cooper’s eyes lit up. “Dad says I can be in charge of fireworks for our family celebration!”

  Tripp joined the rest of the family in shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

  “So what’s the plan?” he asked. “Are we doing it here, or what?”

  Dad nodded. “We’ll do something low-key, probably out back. So, if you know of anybody you’d like to invite…”

  When he winked, Tripp flushed. Dad knew how much time he’d spent with Alyssa recently. Basically, whenever Alyssa could talk her brother or parents into babysitting, or on her lunch breaks. So many times, Tripp had wanted to suggest she just bring Jeremiah with her to dinner, but each time, he held back. He’d meant it when he’d told her he had the utmost respect for everything she managed, and as much as he wanted to meet Jeremiah, she knew the kid best.

  And then, she’d finally suggested they meet! Tripp felt as if he’d been walking on air since then.

  She’d asked if he wanted to meet Jeremiah! Heck yes, he wanted to meet his son. He wanted so badly to see the kid again ever since he’d run into Jeremiah and Dusty before that very first date. And now, it was actually going to happen.

  The teasing continued throughout the rest of dinner, and Tripp was happy to participate. Happy, that is, until they were all cleaning up, and Marybeth asked Dad about his earlier comment.

  “So, Dad?” She nudged the older man with her hip while sending a smirk towards Tripp. “You think our little brother here is going to bring a date to our Fourth of July party?”

  Tripp’s instincts kicked in, and he jerked his head around, wondering what she was fishing for. But Dad just shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess that’s up to him. All I know is he’s been spending an awful lot of time with this Alyssa girl.”

  “Alyssa?” Marybeth repeated.

  But before she could say anything else, Kenneth growled, “Alyssa?”

  Tripp turned to his oldest brother, brows lifted in surprise at Kenneth’s angry tone when he asked again, “Alyssa McIver?”

  There were a lot of Alyssas in the world, so what were the odds Kenneth would put two and two together?

  “Yeah,” Tripp said cautiously.

  Kenneth carefully set down the bowl he’d been carrying to the sink, and Tripp was reminded of his brother’s careful control.

  “Katie has mentioned more than once how Alyssa seems so much happier lately. And with all the dates she’s been going on, we thought that might have been the reason.”

  Cautiously, Tripp shrugged. “Yeah? We’ve seen each other a few times.” More than a few times, but he didn’t want to admit that until he knew his brother’s reaction.

  “Alyssa…” Marybeth was now drying the dishes while Mack washed, but she pursed her lips and propped her hip up against the counter as she thought. “Weren’t you dating an Alyssa right before you left?”

  Tripp frowned. “How do you know that?”

  His sister lifted one shoulder. “I was home once, you were talking to her on the phone. I just heard you mention a date and her name.”

  This time there was no mistaking Kenneth’s growl. “So you don’t deny it? You dated Alyssa McIver before you left?”

  When Kenneth began to stalk towards him, Tripp backed up, his defensive instincts kicking in, and his hands curling into fists. What was wrong with his brother? Why was he reacting this way?

  Kenneth jerked to a stop right in front of Tripp, and leaned in close. “You were dating Alyssa McIver seven years ago.”

  It wasn’t a question, but Tripp nodded anyway, meeting his brother’s glare head-on.

  With a snarl, Kenneth reached out and grabbed the front of Tripp’s shirt, yanking him closer. “Alyssa McIver’s six-year-old son has Weston eyes! I don’t know anyone else in the area with eyes that color, and Katie and I have both wondered about it.” He shook Tripp. “Is Jeremiah McIver your son, Tripp?”

  They were only inches apart, and Tripp’s eyes were wide with surprise. Not because he couldn’t handle the attack; in fact, he was fully confident in his ability to not just break Kenneth’s hold, but also both of his brother’s arms, and take him down to the floor if he wanted.

  No, what surprised Tripp was the attack itself.

  “Since when do you let anger get the better of you, Kenneth?”

  Kenneth’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared. He released Tripp and stumbled back as if he’d been burned. “Why aren’t you hitting me?”

  Lord knows Tripp had hit his brother often enough when they’d been kids. The two of them had fought often, especially when Tripp’s anger at Kenneth’s control had become too much to handle.

  But this time, Tripp simply smiled. “I learned control, big brother. Looks like you forgot it. I guess loving Katie really has changed you.”

  The kitchen was silent as the two of them stared at one another, Kenneth breathing heavily, and Tripp secure in his control.

  Finally, Dad broke the silence. “Is this true, Tripp? Are you the father of Katie’s nephew, Jeremiah? He walked her down the aisle, you know.”

  Tripp didn’t know. He’d made a point not to know much about whatever Kenneth had been doing.

  Tripp turned to his father. Whereas he didn’t mind taunting Kenneth, he wouldn’t do that to Dad. Besides, he wasn’t ashamed. With a proud lift of his chin, Tripp nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  Dad exhaled mightily and plopped back down at the kitchen table. He murmured something under his breath Tripp didn’t hear. Then he lifted his gaze once more. “Truly? Everyone in town has wondered, but I never thought…”

  Tripp nodded once more to his father, then turned to meet Kenneth’s eyes. “I loved her back then, but she was smart enough to say no when I asked her to marry me. I didn’t know about Jeremiah until I returned, but I’ve never stopped loving her. I’m going to do my best to build a future with both of them.”

  Echoing his father, Kenneth slid wide-eyed into the chair opposite the older man. “All this time…” he whispered. “Her family doesn’t know. When they find out—”

  “No.” Tripp’s denial was immediate, but then he second-guessed himself. If Kenneth and Katie were married, he couldn’t ask either of them to keep secrets from one another. He winced, then corrected himself. “It’s not up to you or me, or any of us” —he spread his gaze around the room— “to tell the McIvers anything. Alyssa is the one who gets to make that decision.” He nodded to his oldest brother. “If you tell Katie, please ask her not to tell the rest of her family.”

  After a long moment of holding his gaze, Kenneth finally nodded and swallowed. “You’re right. This is between you and Alyssa.”

  Dad’s hands shook as he placed them on the table. “I have a grandson. Jeremiah McIver is my grandson.”

  Tripp met his father’s eyes. “He is,” he said firmly, punctuating his words with a nod. “And one day, he’ll call you Papa.” He looked around the room, meeting each of his family
members’ eyes. “He’ll call all of us family. I promise.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Alyssa didn’t work Sundays, unless a mama went into labor unexpectedly. Today, she was fairly certain that wouldn’t happen, and she knew she had all the time she wanted to spend with Tripp...and their son.

  She’d told Jeremiah they were going to the park today after church, with a friend, and the little boy’s eyes had lit up.

  “The park in town? With the cool swings?”

  She smiled at his enthusiasm and nodded. But it wasn’t until right before Tripp was due to arrive that the boy thought to ask about their companion.

  “Is it one of my friends? Is Eowyn coming?”

  She shook her head gently. “One of my friends, honey. I think…” She swallowed, suddenly nervous. “I think you’ve met him once before.”

  Jeremiah shrugged the same moment the doorbell rang. Alyssa had already told her mother she’d be taking Jeremiah out for the day, so she didn’t have to worry about Mom rushing to see who was at the door. Not that Alyssa would mind her mom discovering she was dating Tripp. But she could only take so many major revelations at a time.

  She took a deep breath and pulled open the door. Although her instinct was to reach for Tripp, she had to remind herself they hadn’t reached that point in their relationship. At least, not yet. Still, it felt totally natural to grab him by his hand and pull him into the house with a smile.

  “Hi,” he said, beaming. Then he turned to Jeremiah. “Hey, buddy! Remember me?”

  The solemn little boy was sizing Tripp up. Finally, he nodded and stuck out his hand for a shake. “You’re Uncle Dusty’s friend.”

  A flicker of surprise crossed Tripp’s face before he recovered and nodded. He cleared his throat and took Jeremiah’s hand.

  “My name is Tripp Weston,” he said, shaking the little boy’s hand. “And it is very nice to meet you, Jeremiah. I’ve known your mom a really long time.”

  Jeremiah might not have understood or cared about Tripp’s comment, but Alyssa could see the way the man’s eyes hungrily skimmed over their son’s face, looking for similarities and differences. Over the last weeks, she’d told Tripp so much about the boy, she was sure he felt as if he knew him. But this was momentous. This was the time they were officially meeting one another. This is the moment Tripp would always remember.