by J. L. Leslie
“Who in the world is going to feed you when you go back to Dallas?” I ask, half-joking, nuzzling her ear.
My mom walks in the living room, and I hear her sigh. “You two are just like me and Daniel were. So in love, we just couldn’t get enough of each other.”
I stiffen at her words and shift uncomfortably on the couch, not because my mom is talking about my dad, but because she just said Lilly and I were in love. That’s not true. I’m not in love with Lilly.
“Mom, don’t start talking about dad. It’s been a good night,” I say, not wanting her to get upset and hoping I didn’t sound too harsh.
“I can talk about your dad without getting upset, Brady,” she scolds, but her eyes glisten with tears.
“Fine, I’m going to get a beer,” I concede and get up from the couch.
I head into the kitchen and open the fridge but hear a noise from outside. I know Jack and Ruthanne have already gone, and we’re not expecting anyone else. I put my beer back and don’t say anything to Lilly and my mom as I go to the door and push it open. They’re both engrossed in the movie and don’t notice that I’ve slipped outside.
“Kelly?” She jumps so bad she drops the carton of eggs she’s holding. “You were going to egg my mom’s house? My mom’s fucking house? Are you kidding me?”
She drops to her knees and begins picking up the broken eggshells. “Screw you, Brady,” she hisses.
“Screw me? Kelly, are you serious right now? Look at what you’re doing! First my truck, then the picture, and now this? What the fuck?”
“You deserve it!” she says between clenched teeth. “You deserve all of it and more!”
I run a hand through my hair and approach her as she stands up. “I’m sorry, Kelly. I’m sorry for the way I treated you.”
She opens her mouth to say something but then closes it. She looks down at the carton of eggs in her hands, and a tear rolls down her cheek.
“I didn’t treat you properly and I know that. You were good to me, and you would have done anything for me. I know that and I apologize. I didn’t realize how much I meant to you, and I shouldn’t have treated you that way.”
“We can make things work, Brady,” she whispers.
“Kelly,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m with someone else now, and I’m trying to do better, I really am, but you have to stop this. You can’t continue doing these things to me.”
She slowly nods, accepting that what she’s been doing is wrong. “I know. I was just so angry, and I wanted us to be together, but you started hanging out with that waitress.”
“Lilly.”
She glares at me. “I don’t understand.”
I shrug. “I don’t either, Kelly. I really don’t, and I can’t explain it, all I can do is apologize to you.”
Kelly looks toward my mom’s house and sucks in a deep breath. “Tell your mom I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. Everything was so good between us and then suddenly...” she sighs. “I’ll stop. I will, and I won’t bother you again.”
I watch her walk away and feel a surge of relief that her antics are finally over. I can’t believe she was going to egg my mom’s house. That was definitely taking it too far. She can attack me all she wants but leave my mom out of it.
“Brady? You out here?” Lilly walks outside and slips her arm around my waist. “What are you doing outside?”
“Oh, I was just going to call Caleb and wish him a merry Christmas and check in,” I say, not wanting to bring up Kelly when we’ve had such a good night.
I lead her over to the porch swing, and we sit down together while I get my phone out. I dial him, but he doesn’t answer. We’ve barely spoken at all since he left. I leave him a quick message and then try Avery, who answers on the third ring.
“Hey, what’s that asshole brother of yours up to?” I ask, and for a moment, I think she’s hung up. “Avery?”
“Did you try his phone?” she answers, and I can tell by the tone of her voice that something’s up.
“I did, and he didn’t answer.”
“Oh, well, I don’t know where he is, Brady. He’s barely here, so he’s probably with his friends. But he’s been good. Honestly, he has.”
I don’t admit to her that the thought that Caleb has made new friends bothers me a little. I’m happy he’s getting over Casey and having a good time, but I’m a little jealous at the thought of being replaced. Childish, I know.
“That’s good to hear,” I say. “Just tell him to call me.”
“Brady, I don’t know that bringing him here was the best idea,” Avery admits.
“What are you talking about?”
“I thought it was. I mean, getting him away from Casey and Hollis, I was all for it, but now, I don’t know. He really is doing good. He’s not drinking, which is great. But he’s different. He’s not the Caleb I left in Hollis before,” Avery says, and her words bother me. They really bother me. “I’ll tell him to call you, but don’t be surprised if he doesn’t. Merry Christmas, Brady.”
She hangs up, and I stare at my phone a moment before shoving it back into my pocket. He’s different. What does that even mean? He left at Thanksgiving with Avery to go to Los Angeles and get his life back on track. Not to become an entirely different person.
“You okay?” Lilly cuts into my thoughts.
“Yeah, babe, I’m good. I have somewhere I’d like to take you.” I stand and hold my hand out. “Let’s go tell my mom goodbye first.”
We head back into the house, and we both give my mom hugs. She’s teary-eyed and tired as she says goodnight. She says she misses Caleb, and I tell her I do too. I don’t tell her or Lilly about what Avery said.
When we leave, I don’t tell Lilly where we’re headed. I just know it’s time I brought her here. I open her door and hold her hand as we maneuver our way around the headstones until we reach the one I’m familiar with. I feel her hand squeeze mine, and I smile.
“Lilly, it’s time you met my dad,” I say quietly. “I was young when he died, but I know he would have loved you. He had this way about him that made everyone love him. And God, his laugh, his laugh was so loud that it just filled the room. People always wanted to be around that laugh. Sometimes I hear myself laughing, and it’s nothing like his laugh, not like I remember, but I wish it was.”
Lilly kneels down. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Thompson. I wish you could have been here longer because your son is amazing.”
I laugh a little at her words. Maybe my mom is right. Maybe I am in love with Lilly Benson.
Chapter Forty
Lillian
I am officially making my last rounds in Hollis before heading home for Christmas. While I’m ready to see my parents because I’ve missed them, I don’t look forward to the conversation I know we have to have.
It’s crazy how my entire life was turned upside down over a piece of paper. Had I not found it, there is no telling how different my life would be right now. I may actually be in Europe.
“This is it,” Brady says, turning off his truck. “Our last get-together with everyone.”
“I’m glad we’re getting to spend Christmas together.”
“Me too.”
He gives me that sexy smirk and kisses my lips, briefly making me yearn for more before turning and opening his door to climb out. He helps me out and we walk up to the front door together.
Madden greets us with a big smile on his face and welcomes us into his home. We are the last ones there, and the house is just as packed as it was on Thanksgiving. Casey is here with Derek, and they both greet us when we come in. Amelia and Keegan are sitting on the couch in the living room, cozied up as usual.
“Is Landon here?” I ask.
“Oh yeah,” Keegan answers. “He’s out back on the phone. Some business he said he had to take care of.”
I look around the room at the group of people I’ve come to call my friends. I had a few friends in Dallas, but none I was really close with. None I felt
like this about. These friends are my family. Yes, three of them are my brothers, but Jade and Casey are like family too.
The only one missing is Caleb, and I don’t miss the sense of sadness coming from Brady at that fact. I know how badly he misses his best friend. Hopefully the time away will do him good, though, and he will be able to return to his old self, which apparently, I’ve never seen. I also didn’t miss that something was going on when he called Avery. He didn’t talk about it, but it was obvious in his tone that things aren’t quite right in Los Angeles, and if that’s true, I know he’ll blame himself for getting Caleb to go. Now I have to accept that I won’t be here to help him with the aftermath.
Not wanting to linger on those thoughts, I head into the kitchen to see if I can help Jade with anything. She goes from one side of the kitchen to the next, preparing food in a frenzy.
“Need any help?” I ask.
“Oh, yes, that would be great.”
She gives me instructions on what she needs done, and I get to work. Casey joins us after a few minutes and starts helping as well. I know it’s a relief for Jade, who looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown when I first walked in.
Once we have everything ready, Jade takes a look around, and I can’t help but notice the sad expression she has.
“This is our first Christmas without Caleb. It feels weird.”
Casey snorts. “Yeah, no drunken antics this year.”
“Sorry,” Jade says. “It just feels strange not having him be a part of this. I haven’t celebrated a Christmas without him here, being with all of us, since I moved here.”
“Well, time for new traditions,” Casey says, trying not to show how shaken up she is as well. “Let’s go eat.”
Jade doesn’t say anything else about Caleb, and since I wasn’t here when they were together, I don’t harp on it either. We carry the food out to the dining table and get ready to eat.
“What kind of party did we miss at your folks’ place?” Brady asks, directing the question at Madden.
“Same kind of Christmas party they throw every year. Catered food, lots of alcohol, and shitty company.”
We laugh at that, and then Landon directs his attention to me. “Lilly, you’re from Dallas, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Did you ever come to one of our parties?”
I shift in my chair and pick at my food a little, unsure why he’s asking me this. “I don’t think so.”
“Really?” he asks, reaching into his pocket. “Not one party?”
“Not everyone comes to those parties, Landon,” Keegan says, reaching for the rolls.
“I’m aware of that,” Landon replies and tosses a photo toward me. “But not everyone lies about it.”
My throat goes completely dry as I pick up the photo and stare at it. It’s a group photo, one taken at every single Steele party. And I’m right there with my parents, well, the parents who raised me.
Brady leans over, taking a look, and then he whispers, “You just need to tell them.”
“I wanted to tell the three of you sooner.”
Madden frowns. “Tell us what?”
“I, um, I recently found out I was adopted,” I say.
“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?” Landon demands.
“The parents listed on my original birth certificate are Stanton and Elizabeth
Steele. I’m your sister.”
Chapter Forty-One
Brady
All eyes shift to Lilly, including the suited-up professor, and I just know she’s ready to bolt. I reach over and take her hand in mine, anything to try and give her some comfort or reassurance that everything is going to be okay.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Landon says, confusion clear on his face.
I’m pretty sure when he was accusing her of hiding the fact that she knew them, he wasn’t expecting her to be his sister. I mean, who would jump to that conclusion? He stands up and runs a hand through his blond hair.
“You’re lying.”
“Landon,” Keegan warns, “let’s hear her out.”
Lilly glances over to me, and I give her a nod. She looks back to her brothers, who are all anxiously waiting to hear her full explanation. Landon even sits back down.
“A few months ago, I found a box in my dad’s office. It had documentation proving that I was adopted by them and that Elizabeth and Stanton Steele are my biological parents. There was my original birth certificate and adoption papers.”
The brothers all look at each other as they take in her words, obviously unsure if she’s telling the truth or not. Hell, I would be too if some woman showed up out of nowhere and told me she was my sister, so I can’t really blame them.
“I can’t say why they did it or what their reasons were, but Keegan, I’m pretty much one-hundred percent certain that I’m your twin.”
“You died,” Landon chokes out. He says it so quietly, I barely even hear him. His face is pale, and he’s shaking his head in disbelief.
“I what?” Lilly questions.
“You died,” he repeats louder. “I remember finding a picture of mom with two babies when I was nine, maybe ten, and asking about it, and she said Keegan had a sister, but she’d died. She made me swear not to tell him or Madden about her and I never did. It was you, wasn’t it?”
“It was me,” Lilly confirms.
“I have a twin,” Keegan mumbles. “Shit, I have a twin sister. Why didn’t you say anything, Landon?”
Landon looks as though he could vomit at any second. “I don’t know. Mom said it would make you and Madden sad to know our sister had died, so I never said anything. I was upset when she told me, and I didn’t want that burden on my little brothers.”
Amelia grips Keegan’s hand and squeezes his knee with her other hand. Jade seems just as shocked as everyone else but hasn’t let go of Madden’s hand. Casey and the professor are tight-lipped for once.
“Fuck guys, we have a sister, and our parents never said a damn word to us about it,” Madden states angrily. “Not one fucking word. They hid her from us our entire lives. It’s obvious she didn’t fucking die!”
“I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to change everything,” Lilly apologizes, a sob catching in her throat.
“Hey, don’t do that,” I say, rubbing her hand with my thumb.
“It’s not that, Lilly,” Keegan assures her. “You did the right thing by telling us, and I can’t imagine how hard this must have been for you or how your parents must have felt when you found out.”
“I confronted my mom, well, somewhat, but I haven’t spoken to my dad about it,” she admits.
Landon laughs a little. “So, both sets of your parents are liars.”
“That’s not fair,” Lilly defends. “My parents are good to me. They are really good to me, and I would never trade them in, not for anything. I don’t blame them for not telling me who my real parents are, especially knowing that they’d rather tell everyone I died than bring me home with them.”
Lilly gets up from the table and storms out, Jade and Casey quickly following behind her. I decide to let the two of them console her, knowing she needs girl time and that possibly the guys need to vent a little after the bomb that was just dropped on them.
“Jesus Christ, we have a sister,” Madden says and looks over at me. “And she’s fucking Brady Thompson.”
“Hey...”
“Penis pic extraordinaire,” Landon grumbles with a half-smile.
“Maybe we should kick his ass,” Keegan tosses in.
“Guys...” I put my hands up. “In all fairness, we were together before I knew she was your sister.”
“And he didn’t even have the decency to tell us she was our sister!” Landon complains.
“Not my place!” I argue. “But I did encourage her to tell the three of you, so there’s that. You should feel lucky she’s with a guy like me.”
This gets a laugh out
of all of them, and I laugh too. I don’t admit to them that I’ve changed a lot for Lilly. That I’m not the same person I was before I met her.
“Yeah, you guys are lucky. You know me, and you know that what we have is temporary,” I explain, telling them and reminding myself that what I have with Lilly is about to be over. “Lilly will go off and marry some doctor or rich guy in Dallas that you three can be proud of.”
“You’re damn straight she will,” Madden agrees.
“There’s no way in hell our sister is marrying the likes of you, Brady-Playboy-Thompson,” Landon adds jokingly, and I cover up how hard his words hit.
Keegan grins. “Now that we know we have a sister, and she’s my twin, you can bet your ass we’ll be taking care of her.”
“I know you guys will. Now you just have to figure out how to take care of those conniving parents of yours,” I remind them. “That was some pretty fucked up shit they pulled.”
“Oh, we will. I assure you, we will,” Landon promises me.
I don’t doubt that they will confront their parents and probably even take Lilly with them when they do so. What I’m worried about is everything else that was said.
Lilly will go back to Dallas and meet someone else. She’ll find someone that her brothers can be proud of.
There’s no way in hell she’ll wind up with someone like me.
Chapter Forty-Two
Lillian
“You sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Brady offers again. He’s lying in my bed, only the sheet covering up his nakedness.
Although I’m already dressed and ready to go, I walk over to the bed and crawl in beside him. He instantly wraps his arms around me, and I snuggle into his warmth.
“I would love for you to be there, but I think it’s probably best to go take care of this with my brothers.”
When I told the three of them the truth last night, they insisted on confronting their – our – parents immediately. As in today. Since I was already going back to Dallas for Christmas, I didn’t protest. I got one night of reprieve, and I spent it with Brady. When I leave today, I’m not returning to Hollis.
