by Sienna Skye
“He is the best big brother a girl could ask for.” I had a feeling the pictures Kyle took of the three of us at the wedding would end up on display here, too. I stood staring at the visual history of our lives for a few minutes before I blinked and remembered why I was there.
“I’m here to see Calliope. She is supposed to be taking me to Hunter’s house. I’ll be staying there while I am here for the summer. Oh, and I need to speak to Morgan, too.”
She frowned. “Morgan left this morning on a 5:00 am flight. He will be handling meetings in Europe for the next two weeks. Morgan’s been working on this software project for some time now. It’s going to be huge for the company.”
A sister would know he was gone, wouldn’t she? I tried to cover. “My brain must have registered it as a 5:00 flight tonight. I am so not a morning person.” I shook my head as if finding myself ridiculous.
“Would you like to see his office?”
I nodded, and we headed to the office next to Hunter’s. I looked at the door.
“Interesting. Two CEOs”
“Yes, Hunter wouldn’t have it any other way. It was somewhat uncommon for a start up, I think, but they make it work. Hunter handles most of the financial and more complicated business tasks. Morgan oversees our creative department and he still writes some of our most successful programs. That boy lives for creating programs. They both handle negotiations with corporations looking to buy our programming. That’s where Morgan is now.” She looked over her shoulder as a messenger arrived. “Feel free to look around. Let me sign for this and I will be right back.”
Morgan’s office did not have the array of pictures like Hunter’s office did. I walked around, my fingertips sliding across the top of his desk. The scent of his cologne lingered ever so slightly on his chair. I sat down, trying to imagine Morgan in his office. Did he wear suits or were things more casual? I caught a flash of red out of the corner of my eye and saw that Morgan had that same photo of the three of us at the gala. It wasn’t on display like Hunter’s. It was set back, more like a private memory.
Knowing it was out of line, I opened his top desk drawer. I wasn’t really sure what I was looking for beyond a connection to him. What I saw made me gasp. There, right on top, was a framed photo of me. It would be the first thing he saw every time he opened that drawer. I remembered complaining when he took it. We had just finished making love. I was sitting by the side of the pool and my hair wasn’t quite dry yet. It was the Fourth of July and I had just gotten over a stomach flu. I was looking a little drawn and pale and wasn’t wearing any makeup. It wasn’t exactly a look I wanted captured. Morgan had said that to him I was always beautiful, but never more beautiful than when we had just finished being together. Looking at the photo, I was surprised to see that I did look serene, the glow he put on my skin still evident. I looked full of life. I scoffed at that.
“The day that everything began to change.” I put my head back in the chair and closed my eyes. I was tired from my drive. Tired of the emotional roller coaster. Tired of hiding. Tired of lies. Just so very tired.
I heard Irene clear her throat and I opened my eyes. “Sorry. I’m just a little tired.” Understatement.
“That drive can do that. Especially on top of a busy weekend. I called Calliope. She is on the way up.”
“Excellent. Thank you.”
A few minutes later, a very pretty girl, with long auburn hair, and big grey eyes stepped off the elevator. She walked over and shook my hand.
“Hi, Julia. I’m Calliope, but please call me Callie.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Callie. Listen, I feel bad dragging you to help me get situated. If you would rather just give me the key, I’ll understand.”
“It is no problem whatsoever. Plus, Hunter was very specific about escorting you myself.” She giggled before she went on. “I am to help ‘Idgit’ with whatever you need.”
I laughed then and shook my head. “He has been calling me that forever.”
“I have always wondered where he came up with that.” I briefly explained the story of how Hunter came up with the name.
“And Morgan calls you ‘Jules’.”
“And Morgan calls me ‘Jules’.”
Callie offered me a tour. Most areas had the same design scheme, with the exception of the employee lounge and the room they called “The zone.” That was where all the creative types went to brainstorm new software ideas. It was a combination of a game room and a lounge. Callie explained that for the most part it was a pretty laid back atmosphere. Hunter and Morgan insisted on being called by their first names and were very generous with their employees. I was proud of them. They created something pretty incredible.
“Directly attached to this building is the gym they own. All of the employees get a free membership. It’s the best gym I’ve ever been to. Hunter already set you up with a membership and I will show you the app Morgan designed for it. It’s really cool. The personal trainer feature is pretty awesome. You enter your stats and what you are looking for as far as training and the hours you are available, and the app matches you with personal trainers that fit your needs. You pick from there. If you would like, I can go with you the first time, so you have someone there that you know. Kind of anyway.”
“I’d appreciate that. I’d love your input on the trainers they match me with too.”
“Absolutely. They’re all really great, but also very different. Hunter wanted to make sure there were a variety of trainers to appeal to a greater number of members.”
“Makes sense. I’m not surprised Hunter had that strategy.”
“They both want to make sure the gym appeals to hard core fitness buffs without intimidating those who are new to a fitness routine. Hunter thought the gym would be important to you. How long have you been working out?”
“Oh sheesh. I started back when we were teenagers. We had a gym in the house, I spent a lot of time down there.” I mentally rolled my eyes at the memory of the guys bedding their many conquests being the catalyst to my fitness routine.
A little while later we arrived at the house where I would be spending the summer. It was a nice place with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Plenty of space. One of the bedrooms even had an office set up already which would be perfect for working on my column. It was furnished with the exception of the third bedroom and there were only a few things I would need to get. I couldn’t ask for a better set up. Before I left, I had pretty much packed up what I thought I would need. It was going to be easier for Claudia than I had thought, and I was thankful for that. I already felt like I was putting her out with her driving up here. She had done so much for me already.
I put my bags in the master bedroom and walked out to the kitchen to survey what was in there. I was stunned when I found the cabinets and refrigerator full of food.
“How on earth did he manage to stock this stuff?” I waved my hand at the contents in the fridge. “This all looks fresh.”
“Hunter told me your favorites, the rest are staples and some guesses from the other stuff he told me. I picked it up for this morning.”
“You shopped for me this morning and put it away for me? Thank you so much. That was so not necessary. How much is my brother paying you anyway?”
She laughed. “No worries. I was happy to do it.”
“Let me at least take you to lunch.”
She waved what I assumed was a corporate credit card. “He said you would say that. Already taken care of. He said to bring you wherever you wanted.”
While at lunch, Callie took my phone and downloaded the gym’s app. I had loved the gym’s name when Hunter had told me about it. The Stepping Stone. I browsed through the app, impressed with what Morgan had accomplished.
“Pebbles?” I looked up at Callie.
“Yeah, it’s a really cool service. It’s not just a day care. There are age appropriate physical activities. So the kiddies can exercise like their parents.”
“Which one of them came up w
ith that idea?”
“From what I’ve been told, Hunter had conducted focus groups and there was a significant interest in a day care. But…” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Rumor has it that the activities idea came from one night when the guys were out drinking. They had created some kind of drunken obstacle course and their friend Kyle came up with the idea. Do you know Kyle?”
“Yes, quite well. So well, that it does not surprise me one bit.”
I was most interested in the personal trainer feature and navigated to it and started plugging in my information.
They matched me with three trainers and I read each of their bios and their philosophies on fitness. One stood out from the rest. This guy had been a Navy Seal. If anyone would be able to push me to my limits, it would be him.
“Ok, they gave me three possible choices. Adrianna, Rob, and Trey. I want to book Trey. What do you think?”
Callie’s eyes went wide for a moment and then she blushed. “Trey is a kick ass trainer.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, watching the blush on her face. “That hot, huh?”
“Uh huh. He is the definition of tall, dark, and handsome.”
“All the more incentive to go work out. Do you use one of the trainers?”
“I do. I train with Lucy. She suits me well. She is more…low key. Trey intimidates me a little. Maybe a lot. Would you like to meet Trey today? You could talk to him and see if your personalities mesh.”
“Sure, if he’s available.” And just like that, Callie whipped out her phone and let the gym know that the owners’ sister was coming and to make sure Trey was available. I was going to have to tell Hunter to turn it down a notch when he got back on Saturday.
We walked into The Stepping Stone and approached the front desk. The woman behind the counter had smiled at Callie and me, but her attention was on an incredibly gorgeous, mountain of a man who had walked up to the desk a moment before us. He had on a shirt with the gym’s logo and thinking back to Callie’s tall, dark, and handsome comment, I was betting my morning coffee that it was none other than Trey himself standing before me.
When he spoke, his voice was a smooth sexy baritone.
“Hey Patty, I heard you got a call that I should clear my schedule. The Stone Princess is coming for a visit.”
Patty’s eyes went laughingly large. She must have realized who I was. I turned to Callie whose jaw was practically on the floor.
Trey turned his attention in our direction.
“I’m sorry, ladies.” He tried to be subtle, but I saw him make a perusal of my body, before his eyes met mine. I bet women threw themselves at him. “I’m Trey. Welcome to Stepping Stone.”
I smiled as I shook his hand. “Hello Trey. You may call me ‘Her Royal Highness’.”
He smiled and shook his head as he momentarily looked down at the floor. He lifted his eyes to mine and his smile was part sheepish, part amused.
“No worries. Hunter tends to go a bit overboard and is kind of over protective when it comes to me. Train me well and I will have no reason to lock you in the dudgeon. Deal?”
“Deal. You are going to be a handful, aren’t you?” Damn those eyes were something else.
“Pretty much. But, something tells me you are up to the challenge.”
We talked schedules and workout plans for a bit. The banter and laughter came easily. I had a feeling I was going to enjoy training with that man.
Chapter Twenty Three
Julia
I couldn’t sleep. I glanced at the clock. It was 12:00 late Sunday night. Or early Monday morning. Whichever. I should have been sleeping, but I had too much on my mind. I had managed to avoid overthinking for most of the week. I had been busy getting settled and hanging out with Jenna and Callie. Claudia had driven up on Friday with what was most precious to me. On Saturday, Hunter texted that they were back and wanted to make sure that I settled in okay. His text reminded me that I had just over a week before Morgan came back. Not that I really needed a reminder. There was a very loud mental clock ticking in my head. I had been so restless Saturday night, I thought for sure I would crash when I went to bed. Instead, I watched the clock change minute by minute while I thought about what I wanted to say to Morgan. I imagined a dozen different scenarios of how it would go. For the most part, none of them were all that pleasant.
Finally, with exhaustion taking over, I pulled out my iPad and found a white noise app to lull me into sleep. I awoke thinking I was hearing sounds from the app. I blinked groggily and saw it was 1:00 in the morning, but then I recognized the sound and startled awake. That wasn’t nature sounds. That was crying. I bolted out of bed and ran to the other bedroom.
“Hey baby girl, what’s wrong?”
“I’m hot, Mama.”
I walked over to the bed and scooped my little girl up in my arms. She was burning up. She was flushed red and her hair was wet and clinging to her face. One hand cupped her ear. When she looked up at me, her big emerald eyes were glassy. “My froat hurts. And my ears.”
I carried her into the bathroom and ran some water to wet a washcloth. Then I grabbed a thermometer and ran it across her forehead. “104.2.” I poured some children’s ibuprofen and had her drink it. Then I carried her back to the bed and put the wash cloth on her forehead.
“I’m going to get you some juice, love bug. I will be right back.”
In the kitchen, I poured some orange juice into a sippy cup. Damn, I hadn’t even located a pediatrician yet. It was on my list for the next day. I ran back to the room and had her drink the juice.
“Try to sleep, baby.”
“Will you stay with me, Mama?”
“Of course I will. Close your eyes now. I’ll be right here.”
While she slept, I kept feeling her to see if the fever was breaking. She still felt just as hot to me a couple of hours later, so I took her temperature again. Her fever hadn’t budged. I grabbed some acetaminophen and woke her up to give it to her. I wet the cloth again and ran it over her head and her belly.
By the time morning rolled around, she had her second dose of ibuprofen and that fever hadn’t gone below 103.8.
“Okay baby girl, Mama is going to get dressed and then we will take you to the doctor’s. You can wear your jammies.”
I knew the local hospital had a special pediatric clinic and since she didn’t have a doctor yet, I took her there. We were taken in by a very sweet older nurse. It was clear she was a very good nurse and she was great with kids. I was still kicking myself for not having found a doctor before she came up with Claudia. Feeling guilty, I explained to the nurse that we had just moved up for the summer.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Mom. You did everything right last night and you brought her here today.” She gave me a comforting pat on my shoulder. “She’s in good hands. One of our Nurse Practitioners will come to see her in a few minutes. If you need me, just ring.”
“Thank you, Carol. Thank you so much for taking care of us.”
She smiled and left the room. I sat on the edge of the bed and held my little girl’s hand. “She was very nice, wasn’t she? They are going to take care of you baby and you’ll feel better really soon.” She nodded and closed her eyes.
A short time later, I heard the door open.
“Hi, I’m Sarah Collins...Julia? What….?” Sarah’s eyes darted back and forth between me and my daughter, who had fallen back asleep.
“My daughter is sick.”
She looked at me in disbelief. When she spoke it was so low I could barely hear her. “I didn’t know…”
“Nobody knows. Please just take care of her. Then we’ll talk. I promise.”
“Mama, is that the doctor?”
Sarah turned to smile at my daughter. Realization dawned on Sarah’s face as she saw Morgan’s eyes looking back at her.
“Nobody knows,” I repeated.
I watched as Sarah took care of my baby. She listened to her lungs, looked in her ears, and swabbed her throat. W
hen she was done, Sarah ruffled her hand through my daughter’s hair.
“She has a double ear infection and strep throat. I am going to start her on some antibiotics. No allergies, right?”
“No, no allergies.”
“Okay. I am going to get Carol in here to give the first dose. Then we can talk.”
A few minutes later, Carol came back in the room.
“Carol, will you stay in here with our little patient for a moment, while I speak to Mom out in the hallway?”
“Sure thing.”
Sarah cocked her head toward the door and I followed her out.
“That’s why you stayed away, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s so unbelievably complicated, Sarah. I went to talk to Morgan the other day, but he had left to go to Europe. It was the reason I came back for the summer. To tell him.”
“You can’t ask me to keep this from Hunter, Julia. I know you want to talk to Morgan first, but this changes things. I don’t want to lie to him about something so big, even if it is a lie of omission.”
I grabbed the sides of my head. Christ this was such a mess. It was all catching up with me like I always knew it would.
“No, I won’t ask you to do that. But, can you give me a few days until she gets better?”
“I can do that. But, only until Saturday, Julia. No longer.”
I nodded at her. Morgan was getting back in late Friday night. It would all come crashing down around me on Saturday.
“Go ahead and take my niece home. I’ll call you to check in to see how she is doing. She’s a beautiful little girl, Julia. Just like her parents.” She leaned in and gave me a hug.
I went to get my baby and bring her home. Five days. Four years of hiding and lies would come to an end in five days.
Chapter Twenty Four
Julia
I paced back and forth across the living room. My little girl was napping. Sarah had called and said she was coming over to talk. It’s not like I didn’t know this was coming, but I was still nervous. Sarah was going to tell Hunter and the thought of him being disappointed in me was more than I could take. I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment in his eyes. My chest felt so damn tight and this was just Sarah. I would probably go into cardiac arrest when I talked to Morgan.