Long Way Home

by HelenKay Dimon

  That left her only minutes to make her point. Since she hadn’t been able to catch Walker since Marc’s visit yesterday, either on the phone or at the rental place he was staying, she’d had to turn to drastic measures. She texted saying there was an emergency, suggesting they meet at the diner. He showed up at the house instead.

  “Baron? He’s unhinged.” Walker shrugged. “So?”

  She had no idea how he could write off the destruction of his career and the prospect of being in the vengeful crosshairs of a very angry man as no big deal. “I can think of a few other words to describe that guy.”

  “I’m sorry about the scene in the diner, but I got him out of there as fast as possible.” Walker had the nerve to treat her to a second shrug. “Just stay away from him and you’ll be fine.”

  Walker was not understanding the situation or her desperation at all. Maybe he couldn’t see it in the way she transferred her weight back in forth. He definitely couldn’t feel the anxiety bouncing around inside her. But he should get a hint, and soon. They’d been trained to pick up clues, after all.

  Pretending not to know he was in trouble had to be a wicked case of denial, because his superiors would have called by now. The phone chain from Darber to the office would have set off alarm bells and led to meetings. She was half surprised Walker hadn’t been summoned back to the office to give an explanation.

  “Walker, listen to me.” She grabbed his hand and was surprised when he didn’t shrink away from her or wave her off. “Marc complained to Chief Darber, who called your supervisor.”

  “I know.” The response was so distant and cold.

  She thought about shaking him but ignored the howling wind and chill seeping into her bones and focused on getting through to him instead. “How much trouble are you in?”

  “A lot.” He took a few steps and looked around. “Is that why I’m here?”

  “I wanted to warn you.”

  He nodded but didn’t face her. “Too late.”

  That the men in her life could push away feelings and ignore emotional jolts frustrated her. She consisted of a bundle of raw nerves. Every new twist in her life or Callen’s or Walker’s sent her zooming to the edge and holding on with all her might.

  “Walker, listen to me.” She grabbed for his arm, but he was already walking, which forced her to call after him, “I want to help you.”

  He came even with the back corner of the big house and scanned the yard behind. His gaze went from the outbuildings to the mounds of dirt-turned-mud scattered throughout the area.

  His eyes narrowed. “What happened here?”

  This is exactly what she didn’t want him to see. She’d kept him off the front porch and out of the house. The side yard seemed safe, but she’d missed his ability to spot the slightest change from how things should be—in this case, the mud piled over a newly filled-in hole that was visible from the side yard, but really only if someone was looking for it. Once he’d seen that, his curiosity clearly pulled at him to investigate.

  And now she had a disaster on her hands and a racing heartbeat she couldn’t slow down.

  “That’s not important.” She stepped in front of him, knowing she wasn’t tall enough to block his view of all the covered holes but desperate to keep the conversation on his work and away from anything relating to the Hanovers. “Look at me.”

  A smile lingered on his mouth as he kept his body stiff and his gaze traveled over every inch of Hanover land. “What are they hiding?”

  “Nothing.”

  He finally looked at her. “Strikes me like it was something pretty big.”

  “You brought him here?” Callen’s voice rang out.

  It carried over the wind and the steady hammering of blood in her ears and had her glancing around to search him out. It didn’t take long. His footsteps thudded against the wet grass as he flew off the porch and down to stand next to her.

  Anger had seized him. She could see it in every line of his body and the sharpness of his tone. He didn’t shout and cause a scene. No, his rage boiled. It festered under the surface as he judged and mentally wiped you clear from his memory.

  Something shattered inside Grace’s head. She heard the crashing sound but seemed to be the only one. In that second she watched all their hard-earned progress as a couple fall in pieces around her feet. She wanted to run to him and explain. She hadn’t tried to spring this on him. She wanted to bring them all together, but there was so much stubbornness to wade through and exhaustion tugged at her every muscle.

  Tom guided Kim across the lawn with a hand on her lower back. Leah and Declan followed close behind. But Callen was the problem. The force of his presence nearly knocked Grace over. His fury clamped like a vice around her heart.

  With a reassuring nod to Tom, Kim broke from the crowd and stepped up beside Callen. Grace couldn’t read her expression. She didn’t wear her feelings of betrayal like her son did. But the cocoon of tenderness Grace had come to depend on in the last few days didn’t wrap around her. She sensed she was on her own and running out of time to fix this before being escorted back to the motel.

  “This is Walker Reeves.” Grace tried to hold on to some form of normalcy in the least normal situation she’d ever known.

  Kim nodded. “I know who he is.”

  For a second, Walker’s gaze shifted. Before turning back to Grace, he studied Kim with the same blank look she’d worn when she walked over. “What happened out here?”

  Grace had nothing else to lose. The choice to send one stupid text might mean raising her baby alone with only random visits from Callen instead of building a life with him. The life hiccupped out of her at the thought, but she couldn’t break down or beg for a chance to explain now. She needed strength to get through the next few minutes.

  If she’d blown it for the final time, she would at least go out knowing she did everything possible to heal the Hanover family and help Walker navigate the emotional minefield he’d steered his life into.

  She asked the question plaguing her, the one she decided lay at the bottom of everything. “How do you know Kristin Accord?”

  Walker shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe that’s what she’d chosen to say. “What?”

  Grace hadn’t planned on an audience for this, but no one was leaving. If anything, they crowded in closer, so she was stuck. She’d expected shouting and storming off. She got quiet attention.

  “That’s what I texted you to ask. About Kristin,” she said, hoping Callen would understand what that meant, that she hadn’t actually betrayed him in any way.

  “You said there was an emergency.” Walker’s gaze bounced to Callen, then back to her. “I thought . . .”

  Sputtering was not usual for Walker, and it threw her off stride. “What?”

  Declan pushed his way to the front of the crowd. “He thought Callen did something to you.”

  “You did?” When Walker didn’t deny it, she rushed to make him understand. With a hand on his arm, she leaned in and willed him to listen. To believe. “Walker, no. Callen would never hurt me.”

  The calculated way he switched between ignoring her and treating her to loving attention made her sick with dread. And his words. He had the power to land the perfect killing blow with the right angry comment. She feared she’d get another taste of that as soon as the brothers kicked Walker out of there.

  “Answer her question,” Callen said. He hadn’t moved or come over to support her. He stood there, stoic and drawn, across from her.

  Not that Walker appeared impressed. “I don’t take orders from you.”

  Callen swept a hand over the landscape. “You’re on our property.”

  “Then tell me about the dirt mounds.” The rain started to fall, light but more than a mist, and Walker ignored it. “I’m seeing more than one, and I’m guessing they don’t cover dead bodies, so wha
t do you have buried back here that you don’t want anyone to find?”

  Callen studied Walker. Their intense gazes matched, neither looking willing to compromise. Grace knew from experience each could go hours without talking. It was the ultimate punishment even though the men in her life insisted it meant nothing.

  After a quick look in Declan’s direction and a subtle nod, Callen turned back to Walker. “If you answer Grace’s question I’ll answer yours. No backtracking—the truth.”

  The comment knocked the air out of Grace. She’d made the same suggestion and he’d knocked it down. Crushed it before it could take hold. Never would she have guessed Callen would step up with the same basic offer now. Not when it smacked so hard against his need for privacy.

  She put a hand on her stomach to keep from doubling over. Then she felt the baby, and her emotions tumbled. So sure and strong a second ago, now she wanted to go upstairs and forget all of this.

  The quiet dragged out for a few seconds before Walker answered, “No.”

  That snapped her back to reality. “It’s the perfect deal, Walker.”

  She couldn’t understand why he didn’t take it. If he could bring in some of the stolen items and help compensate Charlie’s victims, Walker might be able to prove his obsession had been well-founded all those years. Not that he knew what was in the holes. But he was smart enough to have an idea.

  As if he read her mind, Declan offered his advice. “It might help you keep your job.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Walker snapped back.

  Callen nodded. “We heard you’re in trouble.”

  Grace didn’t want to go down that road. Callen didn’t rub it in or offer a snide remark, but he could, and this, today, needed to focus on trying to fix and repair. “Did you interview Kristin? Is that the connection? Maybe you felt bad and made her promises you’re trying to keep.”

  “No. None of that.” Walker didn’t even spare her a glance as he answered. He did step back, just out of the circle of people, but Tom shifted to block any attempt at a quick exit.

  “Are you related to her?” To Grace that was the only other rational explanation, but what that meant in terms of the woman tracking Callen down Grace couldn’t fathom.

  None of it mattered, because Walker kept answering the same way. A terse denial in some form. “No. And stop.”

  “Did Charlie steal from your family?” Declan asked. “Is that what this is about?”

  As each person asked a question Walker’s head turned. His eyes grew more and more wild, until he looked cornered and ready to spring. “That’s enough.”

  Grace looked at Declan and Callen and could see the joint attack coming. They wanted to demand answers and push Walker to the breaking point. She wanted to cool things down.

  “Walker, I’m begging you.” Ignoring the way her foot slipped in the mud under her and the rain pelted her face, Grace reached out and tried to turn Walker so he would face her straight on and answer. “I love Callen, and I love you. Not in the same way—but I can’t stand this division. It’s ripping me apart.”

  Walker threw his hands up as the raindrops dripped off his suit jacket and dampened his hair. “Then leave him.”

  “Jackass,” Callen grumbled.

  “Get back to Kristin.” That’s all Declan said.

  “Yes, exactly. Is she a friend?” Kim asked.

  The orchestrated attack had started, and the Hanover men, then their mom, moved in for the kill. Grace didn’t even think they realized how in sync they were, with each one taking a turn and unloading a theory in rapid succession. If she hadn’t been sucked into the whirlwind she might have found it fascinating.

  Only Tom and Leah hung back. Neither inflamed the situation but neither stepped in to calm it either. It was as if they knew the explosion was long overdue and needed to happen.

  Walker wasn’t as accommodating. He eased back, stepping around a line of bushes and putting a few feet between him and everyone else. “I’m not doing this.”

  “They found some of the things Charlie stole.” At her words, Walker stopped moving. “That’s what the mounds of dirt are about.”

  Callen’s gaze flew to her. “Grace, no.”

  “Do you mean they found the items, or they finally unburied them now that they thought it was safe?” Walker let out a rough laugh, one completely devoid of amusement, as he looked at Callen. “I’m thinking the latter.”

  She knew his mind would rush there. “That’s not true.”

  Walker glanced at Callen. “How else are you paying your expenses?”

  “Money from a lifetime of construction jobs while living in shitty places so I could stockpile enough to never have to depend on anyone again.” Callen’s comment earned a questioning look from Declan, but Callen ignored it and continued. “What are you going to do once you get fired, Reeves?”

  “I’m not.”

  Being unsure what his response meant, Grace tried to move the conversation in another direction. “You’ve been in town for personal reasons.”

  Something in Walker snapped. He went from a looking attacked to being in control. He pulled up, taking on the confident stance and familiar stoic affect as he launched into his lecture. “The victims deserve to be compensated.”

  “We agree,” Declan said.

  Walker greeted that with a snort. “Oh, please.”

  “You’re ignoring the original question.” Kim stopped studying Walker, but she kept staring at him. “Kristin is older than you, but not old enough to be your mother.”

  “His mother died.” Grace thought she had filled in that piece, but at this point she didn’t remember. So much had happened.

  Callen’s gaze zipped to her. “When?”

  The rain fell and Leah cuddled closer to Declan, but Grace couldn’t break eye contact with Callen. Something ran through him. Those intelligent eyes gave him away. He was thinking and analyzing.

  “She was in a hospital.”

  “What kind?”

  Walker turned to leave. “I’m leaving. I can come back with a team and take the house and this yard apart and—”

  “Sophie Jenkins.” Callen called out the name and everything stopped.

  Declan’s eyes grew wide and his mother went pale.

  “What about her?” Leah asked, speaking up for the first time.

  Walker stopped but didn’t turn around. “You don’t get to say her name.”

  “It can’t be,” Kim whispered.

  They were outside, in the open, with fresh air to keep them sharp. Still, Grace felt like she was drowning. Clawing and kicking and not getting anywhere. “I don’t understand.”

  “Sylvia didn’t have one son.” Callen closed in on Walker. “She had two, didn’t she?”

  Then the haze cleared. Grace remembered how both Callen and Walker had been abandoned by their fathers. How Callen’s birth mother had been in a hospital, as had Walker’s. The similar personalities. The comparable builds. The way they handled problems. Hell, even the way they fought with her.

  The answer settled in as if it had been at the back of her mind the whole time. Callen had two half brothers—Beck and Declan—and one older brother he never knew about. Until now.

  Reality crashed in on her. She had no idea how she didn’t see it before. Now it seemed so obvious, and her heart broke a little for all of them. So many lost years. So much hating. All because of Charlie.

  A harsh kick of air got caught in her chest. “Oh, Walker. No.”

  “This . . .” He held up a hand as he shook his head. “We’re not . . . No.”

  “How old are you?” Kim asked.

  Grace didn’t wait for Walker to brush them all off. She understood now the personal vibe of Walker’s investigation and the way he focused so hard on destroying the family he’d been shut out of. “He’s elev
en months older than Callen.”

  Kim kept blinking. When Tom went to her, she leaned back against his chest. “It can’t be.”

  Callen nodded. “It is.”

  “Holy hell.” Declan grabbed on to Leah’s hand where it rested on his arm.

  Through all the talking and deciding and wading through it, Walker stayed quiet. Now he practically vibrated with sick energy. He took another step away as he fumbled with the car keys in his pocket. “I’m leaving.”

  Kim eyes stayed wide and worried as she approached Walker. “I didn’t know.”

  He put his hands up as if fighting off her attempts to placate him. “You picked Callen. You did and Charlie did.”

  “That’s not true.” Pain moved through Kim’s voice.

  The enormity of the conversation smacked into Grace with the force of being pummeled by a prize fighter. She felt weak and sick and so desperately sad for everyone. “Oh my God.”

  “Fucking Charlie.” Declan said it once, and then a second time.

  The waves of shock kept punching through Grace. She rubbed her stomach and tried to soothe her frayed nerves, but nothing worked.

  And one question kept bumping around in her brain. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Walker didn’t hesitate. “You picked him, too. Not in the same way Charlie picked, but you did. When it came between your loyalty to me and your feelings for Callen, he won. Again.”

  Desperation clawed at Grace. She hovered on the verge of losing Callen and she watched Walker retreat into himself; she was losing him, too. “You never said anything.”

  “About being the forgotten son?” He scoffed. “I wonder why.”

  Kim tried again. “Walker, we honestly didn’t know.”

  “Fine.”

  With every step forward she took, Walker took another one away from her. The crazy dance kept the chasm between them wide and seemingly unbreachable. “If I had known—”