Uncovering His SECRET

by Crystal Perkins

“You’re not, Teeg,” Stella tells me.

  I smile at my best friend. “Even after all these years of lying to you? Of telling you I only liked country music and clothes, but didn’t know the life?”

  “Hell, yeah. I don’t care where you were born. You’re my best friend, and I love you.”

  “Will you tell us what happened, Tegan? Can you?” Reina asks me, and I see the compassion in her eyes, so I tell her the truth. She’s known me the longest and may deserve it more than Stella, even.

  “I-I can’t tell you everything. I want to, but it’s too hard.”

  “Then just tell us what you can.”

  “Cal and I dated for three years. When we were sixteen, some of his friends decided he should be taking advantage of all the pageant queens throwing themselves at him instead of dating the poor cowgirl. They…,” I take a deep breath and continued. “They did something to make it seem like I cheated on him with one of them, and he believed it. Just like that. He didn’t even ask me. He just called me a slut, among other names. He said he never wanted to see or speak to me again. That I was dead to him, and he wished…he wished I really was dead. I had just found out I was pregnant with Ethan and was planning on telling him the night it all went down.”

  “Why the fuck are we protecting this asshole?” Ellie asks.

  “He’s Ethan’s father. E knows who he is and that we haven’t spoken for almost eleven years. He doesn’t think he needs Caleb because of all the great guys he’s surrounded with, but one day he may change his mind. I can’t let his father die.”

  “I don’t have to be nice to him, though,” Jade says.

  “No,” Reina agrees. “You just have to protect him. Knee him in the balls daily if you want, just make sure he doesn’t get killed.”

  * * *

  Caleb

  My mom’s new “assistant” is starting today. I still don’t think I need some bodyguard, but whatever. It’s not worth the trouble of arguing with her. I have too much work to still do for the sale and launch of my new fuel system. I’ve been dreaming of making this a reality for over ten year now, and I almost can’t believe that it’s finally going to happen. I should be celebrating, and although I technically will be, it’s going to be bittersweet.

  All those years ago, when I was beginning this dream, I had Tegan by my side. She was my one person cheer squad, and better than any of the girls who danced on the sidelines for me at games. We had plans, plans for me to get this formula right and her to be next to me with a business and communications degree. As smart as I am with science, she’s smarter with writing and research. She’s also the savviest business person I’ve ever met—and she was sixteen the last time I saw her. So yeah, I’m excited, but while conquering the formula is a dream come true, doing it without her is somewhat of a nightmare.

  It’s a variation of the nightmare that began when half the high school saw her coming out of the bedroom Greg Dean was using at his cousin’s house in Houston. She only had a bra and panties on, along with her boots. The calls and texts started immediately—I was on a beer run with some of the other guys at the time so I missed the live show. I didn’t want to believe it, but everyone saw her. And I saw the guilt in her eyes when I went to confront her the next day. She didn’t even need to open her mouth—I could see that what was being said about her was true. That’s when I lost it, and lost her. Nothing’s been the same for me since.

  “There you are, Caleb,” my mom says, coming into the old barn I’d converted into a lab years ago.

  “Where else would I be, Mom?” I ask her over my shoulder, not trying to hide the affection in my voice. I’m a mama’s boy, and I own it.

  She smacks me on my ass before answering. “Enough sass from you. I brought my new assistant for you to meet.”

  I turn and take in the woman before me. She has long, reddish-brown hair, and curves any lingerie model would die for. She’s about medium height and glaring at me like I’ve wronged her somehow. Since I’ve never seen her before, I’m not sure why she’s so angry.

  “Don’t you mean my bodyguard? The one I don’t need, or want. She doesn’t look like a bodyguard.”

  “We need to keep up appearances, Cal. I need you to be safe. Jade will keep you safe.”

  “Delia’s going to have a fit if she sees her near me.”

  “Stop talking about me like I’m not here, please, and who’s Delia?” Jade asks.

  “My fiancée. She has a jealous streak.”

  I swear I see her nostrils flare. “I don’t see why. You’re nothing special. You don’t even dress like a cowboy.”

  No, I don’t. That’s something else Tegan took from me. Hats and boots were so much a part of our daily life that I couldn’t look at mine any more. Once she was gone, I transformed myself into somewhat of a hipster, complete with some scruff on my face and a peak in my hair.

  “Jade! Reina said this wouldn’t be a problem.”

  “I will protect your son because one of my best friends has asked me to keep him safe. But I will not, at any time, be friendly towards him. He can go to Hell and never come back for all I care.”

  Whoa. “Who’s this friend of yours?”

  “That’s not really important,” my mom says, wringing her hands nervously.

  Jade just smirks at me before hopping on top of one of the counters in front of me. “Tegan Kelly. She’s my friend. And you’re the piece of shit that she wants to keep alive regardless of how badly you’ve hurt her. Your mommy didn’t think you could handle her being your bodyguard, so you got me instead. Lucky you.”

  I stumble backwards. Tegan’s friends with my bodyguard? And she’s part of this secret organization my mom had to beg her friend to find? Just who has she grown up to be? And why do I want to know so badly? Because I still love her, that’s why. And I’m supremely fucked.

  Chapter 2

  Tegan

  “I want to go with you,” Ethan tells me, coming into my bedroom as I pack.

  “What? No, E. It’s too dangerous.”

  “You said if I ever wanted to see him, you’d take me to him.”

  “Is-is that what you want? To meet him?” I ask as my hands shake a little.

  I expected this day to come. Sometimes, I’ve even longed for it. Those are the days I’ve felt guilty for keeping them apart. Not too guilty to contact him and risk losing my son, but guilty nonetheless.

  “Hell no.”

  “Language.”

  He gives me his smile. The one that makes him look even more like Caleb. He’s basically a mini him, but with my red hair instead of Cal’s dark brown locks. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little ache every time I look at him. It hurts to see the man I love staring back at me every day in our son, especially now that he’s already as tall as my shoulders. But it also fills me with happiness.

  “Heck no, Mama. I just want to see him. I know the house you bought there is on a hill near the ranch. I bet you’ve got a telescope, too.”

  He’s definitely my kid. “Yes, and yes, E. But if anyone saw you, they’d know you’re his. You look just like your daddy.”

  “My father. He hasn’t earned the right to be called my ‘daddy.’ I’ll stay in the house, I promise. Please.”

  I can’t say no to my son, just like I could never say no to his father. “Fine. One week only, though. And you have to listen to me. You’ll do whatever I tell you to do.”

  “I always do.”

  I give him a look, and he gives me a sheepish smile. “I’ll ask Luke to get your homework from your teacher.”

  “Don’t forget to call Miles and tell him I won’t be at Little League. Oh, and let Ryan know I can’t help with his new building model. And tell Scott I can’t…never mind. I’ll text them all.”

  I ruffle his hair and kiss his cheek before he runs back to his room. I wasn’t sure bringing him here from Chicago would be a good idea. He’d lived there his whole life, and all his friends were at the school he’d gone to since kindergar
ten. I visited him at least three times a month, but it was really hard to leave him there when I had to come here to Vegas. He was in good hands with Cyndi, but I missed him so much, and I was so happy when he asked to move here with me a couple of months ago.

  My friends all stepped right up to help—just like they’d done when we were all in Chicago together. Now it’s more fun for them since he’s becoming a little man instead of just a boy. The Griffin and Corrigan men have taken him under their wing, teaching him everything he needs to know about computers, architecture, art, hockey, baseball, and business. My friends Kace, Wade, and Brett from the band Storyside have been teaching him how to play different instruments when they’re in town. Zack plays football with him, Gavin cooks with him, and Nate teaches him how to fight. Isa’s boyfriend, Jake, will have something to add to the mix as well, I’m sure.

  Cyndi, Jane, Maggie and Gary Griffin, Helen Wilson, and Mallory and Jeff Daniels have stepped in as honorary grandparents. He even calls the women his “Grams.” The Griffin women babysit for me sometimes; although I rarely go out anymore. They also make sure I know I can count on them for anything. And my girls, well, they’ve taught him how to respect and treat a woman. The Society women—past and present—have shown us so much love and support since I joined them all five years ago. I can never thank them all for what they’ve done for me and Ethan. He has a plethora of strong male and female role models. I couldn’t ask for a better life. Well, I could. But that’s a whole other story. A dream that will just never come true. For me, at least.

  “I’m ready,” Ethan tells me as he comes back into the room with his duffle bag over his shoulder. “Hey you didn’t pack anything else, Mama.”

  “Sit down a minute, ‘kay?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I just need to talk to you.”

  “Okay,” he says as we both sit on my bed.

  “If you want to meet him, I’ll make it happen.”

  “I don’t.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah. I mean, I want to see him in person, but I don’t need him. I have you.”

  “I know there’s a father and son sports night at your school soon. I’d go, but that might be weird.”

  “Miles said he’d take me. Actually, all the guys offered. I’m covered. Really. And if I didn’t have them, I’d be happy to have you go. You’re my mom and my dad, too. The best anyone could ever have. As long as I have you, I don’t need some jerk in my life.”

  “He’s not a jerk, baby.”

  “He hurt you, so yeah he is.”

  “He got hurt, too. By what happened.”

  I haven’t told him the details, but he knows that someone lied about me and his dad believed it. I told him I had to leave my family because they weren’t going to let me keep him. That’s the easy version. The details are so much worse, and not something I ever think about sharing with him. He doesn’t need to know what I went through.

  “He should have believed you.”

  I can’t really argue with that, but I try to because my son should one day know his father. “He was young, and what he believed hurt him too much to think straight. I don’t want you to think badly of him, E.”

  “Well, I do. No one hurts my Mama and gets away with it.”

  I pull him to me and hold him tight as tears fill my eyes. His father used to get that same look of fierce protectiveness in his eyes when he talked about me. Seeing it on our son is more than I can take right now. Especially when I’m about to walk back into the town I left all those years ago with no real intention of going back so soon. Thank God my scarlet letter’s still in place since they’ll all be looking for it. It doesn’t matter that I never really earned it until a lie tore my soul apart.

  * * *

  Caleb

  I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Tegan is back in my life. I mean, she’s not here, but she sent a friend to protect me. And from what I gathered earlier, she would’ve come here and done it herself. She was willing to come back here to the town that shunned her in order to make sure I was safe. Even though they all shunned her because of me. I can still remember her first day back at school after she cheated on me.

  “Well look at this. The slut decided to show her face today,” Greg told her. “Did you want more of my dick in your mouth?”

  “Go to Hell, you bastard.”

  “You’re the one going to Hell, whore,” Delia said.

  Tegan looked our way then, seeing Dee practically wrapped around me. “Well at least you got your wish, bitch.”

  “I did. Come on, Cal, we have to get to class. Maybe the janitor will take out the trash while we’re gone.”

  I feel the shame overtake me again as I think about that day, and the days after before she left town. I stood by and let them all say those things to her. I said things to her. Whether they were true or not doesn’t really matter. I’ve had years to realize that staying friends with Greg while condemning her was wrong. Hell, all of what was said and done to her was wrong. I still did it, though.

  I can’t go back and change it, but I honestly wish I could. I know I should’ve asked her for her side of the story because a part of me knows she loved me. But I was young, and let’s face it, stupid. Hell, I’m still stupid if the woman walking into my lab is any indication.

  “Who is she?” Dee asks with a sneer on her face. Why I hooked up with her when I came home a year ago is beyond me. She’s toxic and evil.

  “This is my mom’s new assistant, Jade.”

  “Why is she here with you if she’s your mama’s assistant?”

  “’She’ is right here and can answer for herself,” Jade says, hopping down from the counter.

  “Well then, go ahead.”

  “No.”

  “Excuse me?”

  I see the vein at Dee’s temple start to throb and I have to fight to hold back my laugh. She’s not used to being told “no” by anyone. Especially not someone who works for her family or mine.

  “I said no. I’m not going to tell you why I’m here. It’s none of your business.”

  “Caleb is for sure my business. We’re engaged,” she says, flashing the big diamond she insisted on.

  “I almost feel sorry for you, Caleb. Almost.”

  “Look, bitch. Maybe you don’t understand how things work since you’re obviously not from around here, but the help respects their employers around here.”

  “You’ve definitely downgraded, dude. Like big time.”

  “Get out.”

  Jade just starts laughing at her, and I’m kind of in awe. I mean, damn is she good. She pushed every one of Delia’s buttons in less than five minutes. Only Tegan was better. I remember what I was thinking of earlier, and realize that while I can’t make what I did better for her, I can stand up for her friend.

  “You get out, Dee, and don’t come back until you can act like a decent human being.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. I’m over this mean girl act you’ve been playing since high school. It got old then, and it’s disgusting now.”

  “You weren’t disgusted when you were making love to me last night.”

  “Screwing, Dee. I screwed you. There was no love involved last night, or any other night for that matter. We both know it.”

  “Then why are you marrying me?”

  “You know.”

  “Say it,” she screeches, looking more than a little crazed. I’ve gone this far, though, so why not go all the way.

  “Because you’re nothing like her.”

  She lunges for me, but Jade steps in and tosses her back. Literally fucking tosses her backwards. Dee’s eyes are as wide as mine before she storms out.

  “Damn, Jade. That was…just, damn.”

  “It was honestly my pleasure. She was mean to Teeg, wasn’t she?”

  “Yeah. She was one of the worst.”

  “Then I’m glad I could do that. Who was worse than her, though? Maybe
I need to pay them a visit, too.”

  “Me,” I tell her, looking her in the eye. “I was the worst.”

  * * *

  Tegan

  There’s no airport in my hometown, unless you count the Hall’s private air strip, so I have to drive in from Houston. Ethan is looking around, just taking it all in, when we approach the “Welcome” sign. I pull over to the side of the road before we reach it. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. I thought I was prepared to come back. I know I have to be here in order to make sure both Caleb and Jade are safe. But for some reason, I can’t make myself put the car back in drive.

  “It’s okay, Mama. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  “I’m supposed to take care of you, baby, not the other way around.”

  “You take care of the world already, and you’ve raised me better than anyone else ever could have. I want to protect you now. I’ve got your back.”

  I burst into tears then. Hearing my little boy wanting to protect me does me in. No one in this town ever stood up for me, not even my own parents. But Ethan will, and so will my friends. I know it without a doubt, and that’s what makes me shift the car into gear and drive into town.

  I suppress the urge to crouch in my seat as we drive through the main street of town. It’s not “Main Street” because there’s no one named Main living here. You guessed it—it’s Hall Street. Which I belatedly remember means this is part of Ethan’s legacy as well.

  “This is Hall Street, E. It was named for your great-great-great-great-grandfather, who founded this town.”

  “Woohoo.”

  “Sarcasm isn’t going to change who you are.”

  “I’m Tegan Kelly’s son. That’s all.”

  I want to argue with him, but I realize now is really not the time. I’ve worked hard to keep my bitterness towards Cal from Ethan, but he’s a smart kid. He knows what I’m doing, and he’s called me on it more than once. We pull up to my house before I can think any more about the two men I love, and how to handle them both.

  I bought this house about a year ago, with Matt’s help. He created a fake corporation for me, so it can’t be traced. I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to come back here, but because Caleb is here, I’ve kept my eye on the town. For Ethan’s sake, of course.