Chapter Twenty-Five
After a horrible night of waiting for the phone to ring and cursing Beck for being an idiot, Sophie wanted to ignore the text the next day. Leah asked to meet at Gossamer. It sounded friendly, caring even, but she could blow, unload, yell.
After all the rounds of harsh words and accusations with Callen and Beck, Sophie didn’t know what to think or where to turn. Anything was possible.
She pushed open the door as an unexpected wave of sadness crashed over her. She remembered the girl lunch and the spot outside where Beck asked her on their first official date. The warmth of the shop and Mallory’s big welcoming smile.
Sophie took it all in, trying to savor every minute because it was over and that reality threatened to drive her to her knees. She’d started to find her footing and make friends in Sweetwater. She’d found a man who consumed her thoughts and made her want to stay. She hadn’t expected any of it and didn’t know how much she craved every piece of it until she teetered on the edge of losing everything.
Amazing how the world could change in a minute. It was a horrible lesson life kept throwing at her.
“Hey, I’ve been thinking about you.” Mallory stood by the cash register drinking out of the cup from the coffee shop down the street. “Come in here and sit down.”
Sophie just reached the counter when Special Agent Walker Reeves stepped out of the door marked “Employees Only” while straightening his tie. The visit seemed so out of context that she said the first words that popped into her mind. “Why are you here?”
His eyebrow lifted. “And good afternoon to you.”
Despite all that happened and Beck’s failure to back her up, Sophie couldn’t help the rush to protect him. The urge to come to the Hanovers’ defense was so ingrained it overwhelmed her. “I’m serious.”
Mallory looked at Reeves but gestured toward Sophie. “Answer the woman.”
“I’m having lunch with Mallory.”
“What?”
“He brought me a sandwich. Had the good sense not to walk in here with a lame salad or some other nonsense.” Mallory smiled at the agent.
Sophie felt a tic in her left cheek. That was new but she couldn’t stop it. “Are you two dating?”
The idea was too shocking. Sophie wanted to label it a betrayal, but for some reason she couldn’t. Mallory’s loyalty to Leah was absolute, starting way back in college. Sophie saw it in the way they joked and she envied their closeness.
For a few seconds, no one answered then Mallory piped up with an unusually short response. “No.”
“I needed to ask her some questions,” he said at the same time.
The anger in Sophie’s head continued to spew. She aimed it all at the FBI agent. Beck and Callen might hate her, but she would not allow people to hurt them. “About the Hanovers? My God, do you ever stop?”
Mallory tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “Uh, Sophie.”
“No, really. Enough. I get that you have some vendetta—”
“It’s called ‘a job,’” Reeves said.
The man never gave up with that line. No wonder none of the brothers trusted anyone. No one ever showed them the respect of trust. “We both know you’re here to hurt Callen Hanover.”
The agent opened his stance with his arms folded in front of him. “From the way I hear it, you might have some information on the man.”
“Excuse me?” Sophie practically screamed the phrase.
Mallory turned to stare at him, too. “Yeah, what she said.”
He shrugged. “It’s no secret you stormed out of the Hanover house yesterday.”
The pain hit Sophie’s temple in a lightning flash that had her blinking. “Wait a minute.”
“How in the world would you know that?” Mallory tugged on the agent’s arm until he faced her. “Don’t stare at me like your brain fell out. Answer me.”
“Surveillance.”
Mallory’s mouth fell into a flat line. “Define that.”
“Again, it’s my job.”
She slammed her coffee down on the counter. “You just ruined my lunch, Walker.”
Walker? Sophie had forgotten the man’s first name because she never thought of him in human terms. But with Mallory’s frustration, Sophie felt the world tilt back into position. The fury pulsed off of her like a live and angry beast.
Sophie wanted to say “Get him” but refrained. Barely.
Reeves tugged on his ear as he hid part of his face from Sophie and talked with Mallory. “I told you I was in town for work.”
“And I told you no Hanover talk.”
Reeves lifted his head and shot Sophie an expression that looked suspiciously like you ruined my day. “You started us down this road, which has me wondering why you’re here.”
“No.” Mallory shifted to stand in front of Reeves with her back to Sophie. “You don’t get to use your FBI voodoo on my friends.”
The word blew through Sophie. Who knew being called friend could feel so good. But a stab of pain came right behind the shock of happiness. Walking away from this town was going to smash her heart to pieces.
His eyes narrowed. “Mallory, I asked the woman a simple question.”
While Sophie liked where Mallory’s mind was on this and loved seeing the special agent verbally bobbing and weaving, Sophie needed to get in and out as fast as possible. Sinking deeper into the family and friendship dynamics would only make it harder to leave.
And any chance of running into a Hanover needed to be avoided until she’d found her emotional equilibrium again. Her emotions tossed from heartbroken to rageful. She took responsibility for not thinking through the trip to Callen’s bedroom. But part of her wanted to shake Beck for not listening. For letting Callen blow everything into a disaster. Callen didn’t know about the jewelry, but Beck did, and that should have made a difference in his reaction.
That and the fact they were sleeping together. You’d think that would buy a woman a bit of trust. Apparently not.
Sophie exhaled, trying to lower her suddenly spiking temperature before she mentally went off on Beck . . . again. “I’m here to meet Leah.”
The bell above the door chimed as the door slammed opened. Callen threw out blame as he closed the short distance to the cash register. “I knew you’d go looking for a way back in with my family.”
“Isn’t my shop popular this afternoon?” Mallory elbowed the agent, putting him behind her. “Hello, Callen.”
Callen glanced at Mallory and stopped. His gaze went behind her shoulder then morphed into a glare. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Lunch.” Reeves made the comment as he picked up Mallory’s abandoned coffee.
This was an issue—maybe the only one—where Sophie agreed with Callen. She stood next to him in a joint stare at the odd couple in front of them. “He brought Mallory lunch.”
Callen clenched his teeth as he aimed his venom straight at Reeves. “You don’t fucking give up for a second. Now you’re going through Mallory?”
The agent didn’t ruffle. If anything, the agent looked more amused than he did a second ago. “I’m just standing here. And, for the record, I was invited for lunch. You?”
Mallory waved a hand and almost knocked Reeves in the face. “Technically, you called and said you were coming, but let’s not belabor the point. But I am going to ignore the suggestion that someone would want to eat with me only to get to you, Callen. Thanks for that.”
Callen’s mouth dropped open. “Wait, you’re really seeing this guy?”
His anger whipped around him and crashed through the shop. Sophie was grateful not to be the target this time.
“That kind of controlling bull might work on other people, not me. I can eat with whomever I want.” Mallory being Mallory, she didn’t back down. She took a step around the counter and to
ward Callen. Would have gotten in his face if Reeves didn’t put a restraining hand on her shoulder. “Though I’m not particularly hungry right now.”
In a flash, Callen turned. That swirling wall of tension crashed right into Sophie as he talked. “What’s your plan, make Leah feel guilty and get her to talk on your behalf?”
This guy had no right to complain about other people not stopping. He kept singing the same tune no matter how annoying it was. “She called me.”
He scoffed. “Right.”
“Okay, that’s just about enough.” Mallory held up a hand as she talked. Instead of ushering Callen out the door, she glanced over her shoulder at Reeves. “You need to leave.”
He scowled at her. “Why me?”
“Well, you clearly make Callen here more unpleasant than usual, so go.”
No kidding. Of course, to be fair, a lot of things made Callen unpleasant. Sophie knew because she sat at the top of that list.
Didn’t matter anyway since Reeves was already shaking his head. “I’m not leaving you here without help.”
Callen swore under his breath. “Give me a break.”
“Sweet but misplaced.” Mallory tapped her chest. “Big girl. Besides, I need to wade through whatever Hanover craziness is happening right now. Your presence will not make that go faster.”
Sophie admired the way Mallory handled difficult men. Sophie thought the shop should give a class in that. She’d take it. Well, she would if she were staying, which she now wasn’t. Forget the idea of finding a job nearby and keeping the apartment over Tom’s garage.
Her welcome had been rescinded and it was time to go. She had no idea what she’d say to her aunt, but the suffocating stress of being so close to Beck, of wanting him and missing him, moved up the timetable for leaving. That’s what happened when you were stupid enough to fall for a guy with a mountain of personal baggage.
“Go. I’ll call you.” Mallory also whispered something to Reeves that no one else could hear.
Whatever it was worked. “Fine.”
With even clicks, Reeves walked toward the shop’s front door.
Callen waited until the other man was almost out. “Reeves? You can stop sending Kristin Accord after me.”
Confusion showed in the special agent’s eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“I know.”
His hand dropped from the door handle. “What do you think you know?”
“About my mother. My real mother. The secret is out.”
The color washed out of Reeves face. Then he was gone.
“Interesting reaction,” Mallory mumbled.
Sophie couldn’t keep up. Anxiety zipped around the room, touching every one of them and ramping up the already off-the-charts tension as it went. But there was one comment that stuck out and wiped out everything else. “What is this about your mother?”
“Why are you still here?” Callen asked with a snap in his voice.
Enough. “You know, Callen. I get you don’t like me. Really, there’s no need to amp up the jackass.”
“You were snooping through my room. You lied to Beck.” Callen ticked off her alleged sins on his fingers.
“He knows why I was searching.”
“I’m sure he does now that you’ve blown it. I bet you’d do anything to get him to stay.”
Mallory held up a finger. “Warning. You’re getting close to the line where I need to kick you out of my store.”
“Want the truth? Fine. I was searching for my aunt. She slept with your dad and woke up poorer. Sound familiar? Apparently that was your father’s great skill, along with charming the pants off vulnerable women.” Sophie didn’t hold anything back. She ignored the stunned expressions and let it all fly. “Well, it worked. My aunt, the woman who raised me after my parents died, needed my help, so I stepped in. I promised her I’d find her jewelry, the jewelry Charlie stole. I messed it all up, but I tried.”
The air whooshed out of her with the last word. Exhaustion set in a second later. Her muscles went weak and her hands shook.
“Jewelry?” Callen wasn’t yelling now. He just stood there staring.
“Yeah, Callen. I was in Sweetwater, in your house, for her. Not for you. I’ve never transferred Charlie’s actions to his sons, but I tried to keep it quiet for her. I didn’t know you guys or how you would react, but I knew she could lose her marriage if I didn’t find the jewelry.”
“You were helping her.”
“Yes.”
Callen shook his head. “Shit, you’re just like him.”
Sophie didn’t know what that meant and didn’t want to spend one second analyzing it. Not when the information tumbled out of her and the telling gave her some relief. “I walked into your room yesterday to stop you from throwing boxes away because of her. You want to call me names for that, fine, but I will not apologize for loving my aunt and trying to pay her back for taking me in when I had no one else.”
Mallory cleared her throat. “Sounds reasonable to me.”
“And the envelope?” Callen asked, as if Mallory hadn’t spoken.
“Beck texted and said your mom had a tense run-in with that Kristin woman. My mind went to the envelope and it was lying there. I picked it up, but I never would have opened it.”
“And I should believe you.” He didn’t ask a question. Didn’t even load the comment with sarcasm. He put it out there in a flat tone.
“I no longer care if you do. But I’ve been in your house for more than a month, and for weeks before that when Nanette was still alive. Don’t you think if I really cared about that envelope, or if I was really there to ruin your family or find out information, that I would have opened it a long time ago?”
“Again, not to sound all know-it-all or anything, but the woman talks sense.” Mallory folded her arms across her stomach and stared at Callen.
“Beck.” That was it. Callen threw the name out there then clammed up.
Just hearing his name started a thudding in Sophie’s chest. “What about him?”
Callen groaned as he rubbed a hand over his face. “This is all about him. You stuck around for him.”
“I thought you believed I was a lying, conniving bitch. Why would someone like that care about a guy?”
She had to bolt. Tears blurred her vision and the trembling in her hands moved all over her body. Much more of this and she’d have to lie down. With a mumbled “thanks” she headed for the door.
Callen beat her to it. He slapped a hand over her head and held it closed. “Wait.”
Her hands slipped on the handle as she tried to tug it out of his grip. “Go to hell, Callen. Really.”
“Stop.” Callen turned her around to face him.
She glanced at Mallory. “You could help me.”
“Not when it looks like Callen’s brain finally jump-started.” She walked up to stand beside Callen. Didn’t reach out or do anything but smile. “Figure it out, big boy?”
“Getting there.”
Sophie’s heartbeat took off on a wild run. Her gaze went back and forth between Callen and Mallory then stayed on the woman Sophie had hoped would become a lasting friend. “Why are you talking to him at all?”
Callen answered her. “You’re in love with Beck.”
No, no, no. Callen would not do this to her. Not here. Not after all the horrible things he had said to her. “We’re done talking.”
“Sophie.” His voice softened and the hardness left his expression. “Say it.”
Her mind rebelled and the last of her strength seeped out of her. “Why should I tell you anything?”
“Because it changes everything.” From the sudden smile and the relaxed stance, he actually looked like he cared.
She had no idea what changed or why knowing about the jewelry and her aunt made a difference to him when it m
eant nothing to Beck. She was so confused and turned around that she didn’t know what to do or say. “Like you’d even believe me.”
“That’s a yes,” Mallory said.
But Callen didn’t let up. “Sophie . . .”
“Yes, okay? Yes. I think I do.” The ringing in her head stopped as soon as the words were out. She tasted them, felt them, believed them.
It had been that way from the beginning. She saw Beck and the connection clicked. It happened too fast and without warning, but now she loved him and it was over. She just wanted to crawl off somewhere and cry.
“There you go.” Mallory smacked Callen in the arm. “I’m betting Beck’s big brain got in the way with this big fight.”
Callen nodded. “No doubt.”
Sophie couldn’t listen to one more word. “I’m going home.”
Callen let go of the door. “I’ll let Leah know you’ll see her later.”
Sophie doubted she’d see any of them again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Beck stomped on the concrete pad under the swing set. He’d been staring at the thing for weeks, trying to figure out where it fit in with all he knew about his grandmother and Charlie. He needed something mindless to focus on. Something that kept his mind off the beautiful brunette who had occupied his thoughts almost from the first day he saw her.
At the sound of crunching grass, Beck looked up and saw Callen walking toward him. Shirt untucked and hair looking like he’d combed it with his fingers. With the dark circles under his eyes, it looked like he hadn’t slept since Mom gave them all the news.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked as he stopped on the edge of the concrete.
Beck ignored the question and the dark clouds rolling in. “When did you get home?”
“Are we just going to exchange questions?”
“Apparently.” Beck laughed for what felt like the first time in forever but sobered just as fast. “Look, Cal—”
He held up a hand. “I can’t talk about it. I can’t even deal with the whole birth-mother thing yet.”
A Simple Twist of Fate Page 25