by Taylor Hart
Jaycee looked up and saw Ms. Fairbanks standing on the edge of her porch with a cup of lemonade in her hand, looking like she’d been waiting for company. “Hi,” Jaycee said. “Sorry to interrupt your evening.”
“Not at all,” Ms. Fairbanks said. She waved a hand. “Come up here, girl. Let me look at you.”
Jaycee ascended the steps and found herself embraced by gentle arms and the scent of lavender. She hugged the lady back, feeling warmth pulse through her.
Ms. Fairbanks pulled back, touching Jaycee’s face. “I hear we have an engagement party tomorrow night.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jaycee answered. She looked around, finding herself in the middle of a garden. Plants were hanging from the porch ceiling and surrounded her feet. “Wow, this is amazing.”
Ms. Fairbanks grinned at her. “I do like my flowers.” She pointed to a chair across from the one she’d been sitting in. “Sit, child. I’m glad you’re here.”
She sat, wondering why being here felt so serendipitous. “Okay.”
Ms. Fairbanks sat, and Jaycee noted the heavy wrinkles and the wear and tear on her skin, even though the woman was very beautiful. “I loved your mother something terrible. When that fire took her life, it upset me greatly. When you were almost lost to us in a fire last summer … well, that forced me to do some other investigating.”
Jaycee frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Ms. Fairbanks reached out and put a hand over Jaycee’s. “Your mother wasn’t happy her last few years married to your father, but I assume you know that.”
Anger surged inside of Jaycee as she thought of her father’s mistress. “I do.”
Ms. Fairbanks scowled. “Your father …”
The silence hung in the air.
“I know,” was all Jaycee could say.
Ms. Fairbanks’s gaze was sharp. “What do you mean?”
“My father drove her to madness.” She flung a hand through the air.
“Yes, but that’s not all.”
Jaycee’s heart pounded against her ribs.
Ms. Fairbanks leaned in. “I think he is part of an organization that killed her, Jaycee."
Stunned, Jaycee leaned back in the chair, trying to process this information. She’d known her father had done some evil stuff, but she hadn’t thought he’d actually killed anyone. “What?”
The older lady lifted an eyebrow and pinched her lips in a straight line. She reached down, picked up a long envelope, and handed it to Jaycee. “I've been expecting you tonight. Millie and I talk and we agreed it was time."
This took her by surprise. "O-kay."
Ms. Fairbanks sighed. "Your mother told me to give this to you a year after she died—if and when she died.”
Jaycee stared down at the envelope, horrified.
“Take it, Jaycee. Please take it and go. I’ll help you if you decide to act on the information in this letter.”
Jaycee reached out and took the envelope. All of her previous fears were swallowed as she struggled to process this bombshell.
Ms. Fairbanks stuck her chin into the air. “Go, child. Read it, then let me know.” She nodded to the house. “Millie is on our side. She’ll help you, too.”
Chapter 5
It was dark, but the moonlight gave a glimpse of the lake beneath the cliffs. Shay had been waiting for over thirty minutes. He’d been tied up in knots the past couple of days, going crazy over what was happening with Jaycee.
It’d been hard to keep all of this to himself. Sure, he’d confided in his Navy SEAL brother and asked for help, but he hadn’t told the others.
His brothers and sisters were constantly in and out of his life, and he was constantly in and out of theirs. It wasn’t hard to pick up on a bad mood or worry. They were suspicious. Each of them had reached out to him in different ways. He'd never been good at keeping things from his family.
Their bus had pulled into Rutherford this morning. All day long, they’d been distracted by his mom and dad and their younger sister, Kira, who didn't tour with them. It’d been a good distraction.
When Shay had left the house a bit ago, Liam had emerged from the house at almost the same time. It was the twin sense. Of course he’d known something was up. He’d questioned where Shay was going and why, but Shay had deflected, saying that he just needed to get his head on straight and do some thinking.
“Don’t go to her place,” Liam had begged. “We don’t need drama, Shay. And I have a bad feeling about it all."
Right now he had the same bad feeling. He checked his phone again. It was twelve o’clock on the dot. Where was she?
He heard something on the path that led around the cliffs.
“Shay,” Jaycee whispered.
He sprinted down the path and saw her riding a bike. His heart stilled as her red hair, the kind of hair only spoken about in terms of goddesses, fluttered in the moonlight.
She got off the bike and rushed at him, already crying. “Shay!”
He caught her, stumbling back and unable to believe the relief he felt with her touch.
“I knew you’d be here. I just knew it.” She held to him, clutching his T-shirt.
“Of course I’m here.”
She looked up, pressing her lips to his.
Bam! It was like they were back in time. Everything that had separated them vanished. Her mouth moved against his in a way that was all love and truth. In this kiss lay everything that every hit song was written about.
She pulled back, grinning widely. “I can’t believe you’re here. I can’t—”
He didn’t let her finish; he dove back into those lips, letting his hands roam down her hair, drawing her closer, needing her against him. He kissed her jawline and then her neck. “Jaycee. Jaycee. Jaycee.”
She yanked his face back to hers and kissed him even deeper.
A long-dormant passion ignited, and he found himself forcibly holding himself back from breaking every barrier he’d set for himself. He pulled back, gasping for air.
She reached up, tracing his face with her fingers. “I missed you, Shay. I missed you every day.”
“What happened, Jaycee?” He was desperate to know it all, to hear what had kept her from him.
Jaycee related full the tale. "After the fire and the fake I letter I got from you." She hesitated.
He clutched a hand into a fist. "I can't believe it…" he trailed.
She sighed. "I know. I … well, I told you there were drugs and shock therapy. I was kept in a facility where everyone told me I was getting the 'best care.' At first, I was heart broken and I didn't even notice how many days passed by. Then, when I started the therapy, I started to wonder what was real and what wasn't real. I would talk about you all the time and then my therapist started asking me if I made you up. They tried to convince me that what we shared never happened."
More adrenaline filled him, but he pushed it away and tried to focus on her.
"I did online school for my final year at Harvard, but I can honestly tell you that I don't know how I graduated. It wasn't until Tauni came to see me and then she helped me understand what was happening to me, that I was able to pretend that the past was over." She sucked in a long breath. "The truth is that I had to pretend I was falling for Kurt. I had to say the right things. Then I was able to get out of the facility, get my own apartment. My father thinks Tauni is safe and I was allowed to spend time with her."
He stroked her hair, worshipping the fact she was here with him, wishing he could change the months of worry, pain, and fear.
Tears were in her eyes as she linked her fingers to his. “I love you, Shay. I’ve never stopped loving you. I’ve never stopped hoping there would be a way to get back to you, even when I wasn’t sure if it was real or not.”
He stopped running his hand through her hair and moved it to her face, touching her soft, lush, beautiful skin. He leaned into her neck, brushing his nose against her cheek. “Strawberry jam,” he whispered. “You have always smelled like strawbe
rry.” His mind raced with everything she’d told him. She was in his arms, and he would do everything to fight for her. “We’ll figure this out. We’ll figure it out together.”
Jaycee frowned and put her head down. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope.
“What is this?” he asked.
“I got that today from Ms. Fairbanks, the lady that used to have lemonade with my mother in the summers. We met her briefly at the party last summer—I don’t know if you remember her.” She held the letter out to him with a trembling hand, and her voice broke.
"I know who that is."
"Anyway, Ms. Fairbanks gave it to me just a bit ago." She held him tighter. "Shay, she told me my mother asked her to give it to me one year after her death. She told me that my father might have … killed her."
"What?"
"I haven’t even opened it yet. Will you open it with me?”
Shay took the envelope gingerly, like it was cursed. He didn’t drop it. He had to be strong for her. “Okay.”
Her lip trembled. “I’m scared.”
Chapter 6
This moment was unreal. Jaycee had dreamt of reuniting with Shay, of finally being free, but now she stared at the envelope, unsure of the right thing to do. The only good thing about the past year was that she’d been able to put some time between her and her mother’s passing, but now it felt like she was right back there again.
“You want me to open it?” he asked.
She nodded.
He pointed to a large rock. “Let’s sit, and I’ll turn my flashlight app on.”
They sat together. He turned on his flashlight app and gave her the phone to hold while he opened the letter and pulled out a single sheet of paper. “‘Dear Jaycee,’” he began. “‘If you’re reading this, then I’m dead. And it’s been a year.”
She sucked in a long breath and her whole body had begun to tremble.
Shay put his arm around her. “Jaycee, are you okay?”
She thought about all she'd been through the past year. She knew something hadn't been right with her mother's death, but she hadn't been able to figure it out. The journalist part of her wanted answers. “Yes, I need to know the truth."
“‘Sweetheart, first I want you to know that I love you so much. I’ve always loved you.’”
She blinked back instant tears.
“‘I’m sorry to tell you this, but your father has done some bad things—things that I found out about, and things that he’s been hiding for a long time. Things that he has to hide and he doesn’t care what it costs him to hide them.’”
Jaycee’s mind raced. Was she talking about his mistress?
“‘Your father is in league with a group of powerful men who cover things up for each other. A group that I won’t even name in this letter, just in case.’”
Jaycee gasped. “In case of what?"
She took her hand, squeezing it. “We’ll figure this out, Jaycee.”
Pressure built inside of her chest, like a ton of elephants stomping through an African forest. “Please, just read me the rest.”
He cleared his throat. “‘I’ve put all the information I gathered with a Mr. Stetson in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He’s an attorney, but he is instructed not to talk to you on the phone. You must show up with this letter if you want him to give you the folder of all the things I gathered as evidence.’”
“Oh my gosh.” The trembling in her hands was back.
“‘I wouldn’t blame you for walking away from this, sweetheart. If you can get away from your father, then do it and don’t pursue all of this. My greatest worry is that if you pursue it, it could mean your death.’”
Shay cleared his throat, giving her a tentative look. “‘Remember, be careful, Jaycee. Pray, ask for help, and most of all, believe in yourself. If you get to Mr. Stetson, he’ll help you. He’s a friend of mine. He has contacts that can keep you safe. Contacts I didn’t use because I had you and Duke to think about, but contacts that you can use. Please, never forget that I love you. I love you so much. Love, Mom.’”
Jaycee collapsed into sobs, covering her face.
Shay wrapped her in his arms and held her for a long time, until the trembling stopped. He rubbed soothing circles into her back and pushed his fingers through her hair. “It’s okay.”
Even though she was overwhelmed by her mother and the letter, she still found herself getting lost in his touch, in the way he carefully worked his way up through her hair, undoing the knots. She’d forgotten how he’d done that.
He pulled back. “Are you okay?”
“Better with you here. But Shay …” Her voice broke as dread rose within him again. “I can’t have you do this with me. I can’t. It’s too dangerous, and I don’t want to drag you into it all.” She tugged her hand out of his. “I never should have come to you. I didn’t know what I was doing. This whole thing isn’t fair to you.”
He clasped his hand back with hers. “I’m past caring about fair, Jaycee. Way past that.”
She stopped crying and stared into his eyes. He looked so handsome, the wind swept his hair out of his face. His face looked thinner, and his whole body seemed wiry and strong, but leaner. "Do you mean that?"
Lightly, he put his hand to her cheek. “I’ve been in this since the day some princess stood in the middle of the road and dared me to hit her."
Warmth filled her and then she let out a light chuckle.
“I’m in this, and we’ll go to Mr. Stetson and we’ll get the evidence and we’ll …”
“Take down a powerful organization that wants to take down the government,” she said, filling in for him. It sounded insane when she put it like that.
He hesitated, then cursed. “Yeah, I guess so.”
She couldn’t believe that all of this was about her father. Acute sadness weighed on her heart.
Shay touched her chin. “Chin up, we’ll work this out. I promise.”
She stared out at the lake, watching the moonlight shine brightly against the surface.
“Tragic, furious …” he began singing their song softly.
Tears welled up, but she looked up at him and joined in.
When they finished singing, he traced a finger slowly down her cheeks, then kissed her. His kiss was intoxicating, like a drug. She let herself kiss him with more passion and found herself reaching for his shoulders, pulling him closer. How she’d longed to be with him like this for so many months.
He broke from kissing her, his gaze intense. “I want to marry you. I should have eloped with you last year. You don’t know how many times I’ve regretted it.”
His words touched a part of her that had lain dormant for so long. She’d pretended to be in that place with Kurt, but it had been just that: pretend. She’d never planned on going through with it.
Shay brushed a hand down her hair. “Do you love him, Jaycee? You can tell me if you do.”
“What?” She jerked back. Had he really just asked that?
Shay didn’t reply. "Just tell me."
“Do you really think I have any feelings for Kurt?”
“I saw the footage of his announcement on Instagram.”
Her mind flashed to that scene. "Kurt literally staged it. And I’ve had to pretend. But it wasn't real."
Shay nodded, his hand linked with hers. "Were you … with him? Intimately?"
“I’ve never slept with him. I hate even kissing him.” She could understand how hard it would be, watching that proposal scene as an outsider. "And believe me, Kurt doesn’t love me, either. I am a showpiece for him. The senator’s daughter, potentially the president’s daughter. A great political piece.” It made her sad to think of how they were both pawns in a game. She’d gotten over it all a long time ago, but it still sounded horrible. “It was all so cold and fake, and I never crossed boundaries with him. Please believe me.”
“I do believe you. I believed you from the second you walked back into my arms in Vegas.” He sighed and held her close
. “It’s always been you, Jaycee, and even after all of these months, it’s still you. Forever."
"Forever," she echoed.
He bent and kissed her.
She got lost in his lips, lost in this man, lost in all of the things that she realized she could never hurt.
And she realized she never should have brought him back into her life, she had to protect him.
Chapter 7
“Furious, tragic …” Shay tinkered with the song in the rebuilt studio attached to their parents’ house the next morning.
“Please tell me we’re not singing that song,” Shar growled as she and her siblings walked into the studio.
“Of course we’re singing it,” Shay muttered, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “It’s our number one hit single; everyone will be expecting it.” He kept fiddling with the acoustic version on his guitar, trying not to think about everything he’d learned about Jaycee’s father last night. Sleep had evaded him. He and Jaycee had stayed at the cliffs for a long time, and then she’d ridden her bike home. He’d hated that she had to leave him.
He wanted to be with her, keeping her safe.
Shar walked over and pushed him in the shoulder. “Why the heck are we doing this whole shindig anyway? It's ridiculous and you know it."
The button on the intercom sounded, and Leah said, “Because he’s still whipped, guys, okay? We’ve established that.”
Shay turned to face Leah.
She pinched her lips in a look of disapproval. “We all know that it’s stupid, idiotic, and shameful, but we’re doing it because we have our brother’s back, right? He has some demon he has to work out.”
The rest of them went silent.
Shay strummed a few more chords. He wanted to tell his siblings everything, but not yet.
Liam walked past him, bumping him hard in the shoulder and picking up his guitar. “I told you all, I’m taking a month break from this family after this. The beach. Australia.” He pointed at them. “No one had better follow me.”
Noah shook his head. “Would you stop pouting, Liam? None of us care about following you to Australia, either.”