We Thought We Knew It All (Invincible Book 2)

by Michelle Lynn

  He didn't love them enough either. That fact broke my heart more than anything. He didn't even fight for them.

  * * *

  I stood on the edge of the water at Venice beach with the pier looming nearby. It was crowded as it always was on a Saturday. Heck, it was packed pretty much every day of the week. Such was Los Angeles.

  When I arrived ten years ago, it was all so new, exciting. I'd come as a scared and broken girl and let the thrill overwhelm me. My dad turned out to be more than I was expecting and my grandma took me under her.

  Then there was Dylan. I met him the day I met my father and that time was all such a blur. I'd used him to make me feel better; to ground me in this unknown city. I'd used him to forget.

  I never meant to fall in love.

  Glancing back to where the boys played in the sand, my eyes stayed on Jackson's face. I hadn't meant to get pregnant either. That came before the love. Way before. But it was the part I didn't regret. If it hadn't been for him, I might have gone home.

  Home. That was what Florida was. Never L.A. I didn't fit here. It was Dylan's city. I guess that was one of the many reasons he forced me to walk away.

  The saga of the divorce was over. I'd gotten over Dylan's affair. I had full custody. My book was out. Now was the time. I'd been preparing to take my boys away from here for months. That was why Colby came. My brother. My twin. Always there when I needed him. It was time I returned the favor. He wanted me back.

  I felt a presence beside me before I saw him.

  “You're here,” I said, harsher than I'd intended.

  Before he could respond, Liam came running. “Daddy!”

  Dylan dropped his board and scooped Liam up. “Hey, little man.”

  “I miss you, daddy.”

  A tear escaped from my eye, but I chalked it up to sweat from the hot sun.

  “I miss you too, buddy.” He put Liam down and gestured to the other boys. “Go tell your brothers I'll come over in a minute. I need to talk to mommy.”

  Liam flashed a smile and darted off. Dylan turned back towards me.

  “I'm always here surfing on Saturday mornings,” he said. “You know that. We used to come together.”

  “I must have forgotten, you know, with taking care of three kids and all.”

  He raised a tanned hand to scratch his chin. “Jesus, Cal. Don't be such a-”

  “Such a what? Girl? Wife? Mother? Which term were you going to use to tear me down?”

  Silence stretched between us before he started laughing. “God, I've missed that tongue of yours.”

  “I'll bet.” A smile formed of its own accord. “Look, Dylan, I did know you'd be here. I thought you'd want to see them before we leave this week. I'm not here for you. This is for them.”

  “You're really going, huh?”

  “Already finished my work at Hendrick's. We're packed. My brother came to drive with us.”

  “I don't know why anyone would leave this city.”

  And that was one of the many reasons we didn't work out. He didn't understand a thing about me.

  “I left all the info on your desk at work. Address. Phone numbers for my people there. I may not want the boys growing up here, but they'll still need their father.”

  “I'll always be here, Cal,” he said.

  I know. That's the problem. You'll always be here. Not where we need you to be.

  After I'd initially left him, I waited for him to come after me, after us - even after I found out he'd been sleeping with an extra on a movie he was working on. When I told him months ago that we were leaving, my eyes had begged him to ask us to stay; be the family we were. He'd nodded sadly, knowing before I did that we weren't meant to last forever.

  I left him to spend time with the boys, gesturing for Colby to join me. He hooked his arm through mine.

  “Colby and Callie McCoy, together again.” He grinned. “It'll be good to have you back.”

  I looked back over my shoulder at Dylan who was wrestling the boys in the sand.

  “It'll be good for you too,” Colby went on.

  “I just hope it's the right thing for them.”

  * * *

  “I'm sure going to miss you around here, sweetie” Grandma said, hugging me tightly. “And those boys of yours. They do tend to put the life in you.”

  “I know what you mean,” I said. “Thanks for everything. I'm expecting you to visit. Both of you.” I turned to my father and hugged him as well.

  “Christmas in Florida,” he said. “Sounds perfect. I'm going to need some face to face time to convince you to give me those movie rights.” He winked.

  “For that, you should be talking to my agent. Then you won't have to come so far for another no.” I smiled sweetly, patting his arm. He knew that if I let anyone tell mom's story, it'd be him, but writing the book was hard enough. I wasn't ready for it to be on screen.

  When I'd set out to find my father all those years ago, I wouldn't have even hoped for it to turn out like it did. We missed a lot of time, and we still had a lot to make up for, but we were working on it.

  They both hugged Colby and then the boys. Most of our things were being shipped, so we all crammed into a single car and left the city behind us.

  I fiddled with the radio as Colby drove, settling on NPR.

  “Senator Daniels was a well-respected man in Washington,” the man said.

  “Turn that up.” Colby didn't have to tell me twice.

  “Such a tragedy,” a woman spoke this time.

  “For those just tuning in, Senator Mark Daniels was in a car accident yesterday evening that claimed his life. His services in Washington will take place in two days' time. In five days, there will be services in Gulf City Florida. Our condolences go out to his family. He leaves behind a wife and two sons.”

  I turned off the radio and didn't speak.

  “Mommy,” Jacks called from the back seat.

  “Yeah, honey?”

  “Are we there yet?”

  “Not yet, but can we be quiet for a minute. Mommy needs to make a phone call.”

  How did you call your best friend right after they lost their father? Especially when your first thought was that the world was better off? I looked back into Declan's sleeping face, Liam's inquisitive eyes, and Jackson's warm smile. Guilt at that thought slowly melted away. I felt better raising my sons in a town without that man.

  Jay answered on the first ring. “We're on our way,” I told him.

  That was the only thing I could do. I wouldn't be there to mourn Senator Daniels, I'd be there to comfort his son. Sons? No, I was sure Jamie wouldn't come. I wasn't sure I could handle it if he did.

  * * *

  Four days later we were pulling into the driveway of the house I'd grown up in. It belonged to me now, well to me and Colby, but he didn't want to live there. Kat was living with her husband Noah about an hour away. She'd come to meet us and came running out of the house with such a huge smile it made me forget about everything else.

  I met her halfway and let her hug squeeze the air from my lungs.

  “It hasn't been the same around here without you, Callie.” There were tears in her eyes as she spoke.

  “I haven't been the same without you,” I responded, knowing just how true that was. Kat raised me through my teenage years. She'd been everything to me when I felt like I had nothing.

  “Let me at those nephews of mine!” She pushed by me as Colby was releasing the boys from their seats.

  “Aunt Kat,” Jacks yelled.

  “And just who would you be?” She bent down to look him in the eye. “The Jackson Ryan I know is at least a foot shorter.”

  “It's me, Aunt Kat.” Jacks bounced nervously. “Can't you tell?”

  “Come here.” She pulled him into a hug, reaching her other arm out to snatch Liam into the hug as well. Liam didn't know Kat quite as well as his brother because she hadn't been out to California in a year or two and he was almost too young to remember. But she'd win h
im over.

  Declan toddled over. “The last time I saw Dec, he wasn't even walking.”

  “Hello there,” Declan said in his serious way.

  Kat muffled a laugh and picked him up. “Hello, I'm your Auntie Kat.”

  We walked inside to where Noah was preparing dinner and it was as if I'd never left.

  Chapter Three

  Jamie:

  I never thought I'd be back in Gulf City. That first year gone, all I'd wanted was to come back and regain what I'd lost. My friends. My girl. Then I got used to being away. It became easier with each passing day, until it lost its power over me.

  I became a part of a new family. Had new friends. Even a new girl. My platoon. They were the ones I wanted to be with now, but they were back on base in Georgia and I was here.

  It was the first leave I'd taken where I'd gone home instead of on some trip. Now, I had no choice. There was a funeral and no matter how I felt about it, this was where I was supposed to be. And it wasn't like I could go back. My hand cramped, as if sending me a reminder. I massaged it until it loosened up.

  The church was packed with mourners, but I paid little attention to any of them. They didn't recognize me. They wouldn't. My scraggly blond hair was buzzed short. My lean frame had bulked up considerably. I wasn't the Jamie Daniels they knew. This new Jamie had seen things, done things, that changed a person.

  I kept my head up, catching the attention of quite a few people with my dress uniform, but managing not to be pulled to the front.

  I watched as my brother, looking just as he always had, sat in the front pew. His mother, having had a service in Washington D.C. wasn't there. Two people joined Jay and I recognized them at once. Colby, dressed in a stylish suit, was greeted by each person he saw. His face had grown leaner, losing the softness of youth. Callie stood beside him, standing tall in her elegant black dress. Her hair was different - dyed dark chocolate and sitting just above her shoulders in soft layers. Gone was the simple long braid. This version of Callie was older, yet still mesmerizing.

  The confidence I'd been cultivating for ten years started to slip.

  She put her arm around my brother and I wanted nothing more than to feel her touch, see her smile.

  I slid out the back after the funeral, needing to drive around for a little while to regain control before I saw all of them.

  Control. It got me through my missions. I became a Ranger because I wanted to do something big with my life. I was damn good at it. We ran into the situations everyone else ran from.

  How did Florida feel more like a mine field than that?

  He's dead, I told myself. My dad was gone. So why did the thought of him still make me feel so inadequate?

  After a while, I pulled to the side of the road in front of a house that held too many memories and a street that was overflowing with cars. The place looked the same as it always had. That porch was the first place I'd ever gotten my heart broken when Cal and I recognized our different futures. My face had been broken by my father's fist in that entryway. Hell, pretty much every room held a memory like that. His anger felt like it was seeped into the walls.

  I stood by the open door, watching the people who only knew the face my father put on, not the real man.

  A young boy was sitting on the bench by the door and I stopped, not quite ready to go in.

  “Hello,” I said, stalling the inevitable.

  He looked at me with wide eyes. “Are you a soldier?”

  I laughed, the sound seeming foreign in this place. “I am. What's your name?”

  “Jackson,” he said, puffing out his chest. “You can call me Jacks. I'm nine!”

  “Well, hello Jacks, I'm Jamie and nine is a very good age.”

  “Jackson, your mother is looking for you” a familiar voice called, coming outside. Kat looked at me in astonishment. “Jamie Daniels.” A grin formed. “I didn't know you were coming.”

  I stood to give her a hug. “No one did.”

  “Oh, this is gonna be good. None of them have talked to you in ten years. Boy, you have some explaining to do.” Her face softened. “It's so good to see you. I'll handle Jacks. You go on in.”

  I breathed deeply, pulling open the door. The place was packed, but as I walked through, only one person caught my eye.

  She was standing in the kitchen, putting out dishes of food with the help of a few other ladies from town. Grabbing a pot of coffee, she glanced up, letting out a yell as she dropped the pot to the floor. The glass didn't break, but coffee spilled everywhere. One of the other women immediately started cleaning it up as Callie stepped out of her way.

  I rushed forward, crushing her to me. In my dreams, I'd held her so many times over the last decade. But now, here, this was real and for the first time, I knew coming home was the right thing to do. The only thing to do.

  Callie sucked in a shaky breath, pulling away as she did. Before I knew what was happening, I was kissing her and her fist was connecting with my jaw. I fell back against the counter and saw Colby and Jay nearby with matching stunned looks on their faces.

  “We'd do the same if she hadn't beaten us to it,” Colby said. “Ten years, man.”

  Callie looked from her brother to Jay to me. She shoved me once more and stalked away.

  “Mom,” Jacks yelled trailing behind her. “Why are you beating up the soldier?”

  Chapter Four

  Callie:

  My hand stung with the reminder of what I'd just done as I pushed through the doors to the back deck, leaving the sounds of the wake behind.

  I sucked in the fresh air, hating myself for my shaky legs.

  Jamie f-ing Daniels.

  Damn.

  It took me a long time, but I'd finally been able to stop thinking about him. When I married Dylan, it'd only been a year since I said goodbye to the first boy I'd ever loved. The boy I still loved. But my son needed a father - if that was what Dylan was.

  Oh God. I sat on the edge of the deck and buried my face in my arms.

  Why did he think he had the right to kiss me? That right ended when we both walked away and I didn't hear from him for ten freaking years. An entire decade. He was just gone, abandoning me, Jay, and Colby in the process.

  Ass.

  Little arms wrapped around my shoulders from behind. “Are you okay, Mom?”

  I smiled despite the overwhelming desire to cry. Clasping Jackson's hand in mine, I pulled him around to sit beside me and put my arm around him.

  “I'm going to be.”

  His warmth soaked into my side. Since I left Dylan, Jacks had seen himself as my protector. Even when my father was around, he acted as man of the house.

  “Can you teach me how to hit like you?” he asked.

  I barked out a stunned laugh. “Sweetie, you shouldn't be hitting anyone.”

  “But if I could, then you wouldn't have to. Girls shouldn't hit people.”

  “I don't know who has been spinning tales, but girls can do whatever boys can. Remember that.” I paused, thinking about what I was teaching my son. “But neither boys or girls should be hitting people.”

  I rested my chin on top of his soft brown curls. It was instinct, but all everyone in that house saw was me punching a grieving son at his father's wake. Honestly, I'd never expected to see him again, but he was here and I couldn't avoid it forever.

  A few minutes more. I needed time to absorb the unlimited amounts of strength my son seemed to have at all times.

  * * *

  Jamie was in the kitchen where I'd left him. Colby and Jay watched him warily, speaking in short clipped sentences.

  I wasn't the only one his disappearance had hurt.

  Jay's wife, Amber, walked in, eying the stranger curiously. They'd been married for four years now, meaning she'd never have met his brother.

  I watched the introductions, envious as Amber's pale face brightened. I wish I could feel anything but dread. I knew what being around that boy did to me and I wasn't sure I could take it.
<
br />   “Callie,” Amber called cheerily, oblivious to the tension in the room. “Have you met Jay's brother? Oh, wait. I keep forgetting, you must have grown up with him too. This is such a surprise.” She turned back to Jamie. “Jay didn't tell me you were coming. I'm so glad you could make it. Your father was always so good to me at family dinners. I'm sure this is very difficult for you and here I am blabbing away.”

  Jay leaned in and said something to her. Her smile faltered, but didn't drop. I'd grown to like Amber over the years, but right now I wanted her to shut up and go away.

  Jamie's eyes locked on mine and I couldn't breathe. I gripped the counter for support, my knuckles going white with the pressure.

  “We're going to find those kids of yours,” Jay said. “I could use some nephew time right away.” I flinched when he said it, hoping no one noticed. He'd never said he suspected anything about Jackson, but it would be an easy leap to make.

  Amber squeezed my arm as she passed and slipped out of the room.

  “I'm going to bring a few of these dishes out to the dining room,” Colby said, grabbing casserole dishes with each hand and darting from the room with the subtlety of a battering ram.

  I broke eye contact, refusing to look at him any longer. Moving to the fridge, I opened it, enjoying the cool blast. “I have to finish preparing the food. I promised Jay I'd help today and I was so rudely interrupted before.” Finding what I was looking for, I slammed the door and threw the plate of deviled eggs on the counter. “If you're just going to be in my way, I suggest you go.”

  A low chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Still the same Callie, I see.”

  I finally allowed myself to stop and look at him, taking note of the differences to the boy I'd known. He was bigger, more muscular. The army had been good for him it seemed. His uniform fit him well. He was all clean lines and perfect posture. It was a far cry from the relaxed surfer he'd been. His shaggy blond hair was buzzed, giving his face a more defined look.

  But those eyes and the mischief they held - well, those would never change.