Caleb: You’re with Greg? In that dress?
Caleb: Too busy letting Greg grab your tits to answer me?
Caleb: Fucking answer me, Tegan.
Caleb: Answer your damn phone.
Caleb: You’re partying with some other guy, along with Greg and his latest fuck?
Caleb: Phil too? I’m done. Do you understand me, Tegan? DONE.
Caleb: I’ve got Ethan. I’m keeping him with me, and I’ll be fighting for full custody in our divorce.
I immediately call him, praying that he’ll answer.
“Well, if it isn’t my loving wife.”
“I do love you, Cal.”
“How was your threesome?”
“I told you not to believe everything you saw. I meant for that to extend to hearing things, too. You know I wouldn’t go off with Greg and Phil.”
“You did Greg before. Why not now? And we both know you like multiples.”
“For the last time, I. Never. Slept. With. Greg. And I never will. As for that last comment, well, that’s real classy.”
“Just bringing myself down to your level for a moment.”
I felt the verbal slap as if he’d really hit me. “You can’t take my son.”
“Our son. We’re married, and I’m on his birth certificate. Thanks for that, by the way. It’s going to make all of this so much easier.”
“I’ll find you.”
“I’m not hiding. We’re going to the ranch. Apparently they caught the guy behind the threats. He’s an oil guy from Houston, a competitor.”
“You think I can’t get onto the ranch? That my friends can’t?”
“You may think you’re above the law, but the sheriff hates you. He won’t let you near us.”
“That little prick couldn’t stop me. Nothing and no one can keep me from Ethan. If you don’t know that by now, you’re dumber than anyone thinks you are.”
“The only dumb thing I ever did was to let you back into my life.”
“I’m the stupid one. I thought you really cared about me.”
“Don’t you dare put this on me. You’re the one who married me one day, and then went out whoring it up the next.”
“I was coming home to explain it all to you, but there’s really no point, is there? You’re just going to believe whatever you want. Whatever makes it easy for you to walk away from me again.”
“Forget walking, I’m running.”
“I’ll give you some time with Ethan, because he needs you in his life. But make no mistake, my son will be with me. If you think I can’t make us disappear, you’re delusional. I would rather share him with you than take him away, but I’ll do whatever I have to do in order to keep my son.”
“I just recorded you saying that. The judge is going to love it. Judge Rawlins. You remember him, right? He’s hated you since you accidentally spilled your punch on him at one of my family’s parties years ago. Which is why I’m filing the custody and divorce paperwork at home. I guess I owe you another thanks for being a homeowner there. For a super spy, you really have made this too easy for me.”
“You will not win, Cal.”
“I already have.”
“Let me talk to Ethan.”
“No.”
“You think he’s just going to go along with this? That he’s going to stay with you?”
“He’ll have no choice.”
“You’re going to watch him night and day? Because he’ll run once he realizes you’re keeping him from me. And then you’ll have nothing but your fucking formula to keep you warm at night. All because you refuse to let me explain things to you. You did it to me years ago, and now you’re letting that cycle repeat.”
“I’m not going to indulge in your selective storytelling talents.”
“You don’t want the truth. I can’t believe I didn’t see that sooner. You want to be the victim, the martyr. Poor little Caleb who was tricked by Tegan. No matter what I say or do, it would never be enough. Because realizing you’re wrong about me would make you have to face the fact that you’ve persecuted me for things I never did.”
“Bullshit.”
“Prove it then. Prove me wrong. If you don’t want to listen to me, ask Brad. Tell him I said to tell you.”
“You’ve got him snowed. He’d believe anything you told him.”
“You just proved my point. Now put my son on the phone.”
“You’ve got two minutes. Ethan,” he yells. “Come talk to your mom.”
A few seconds later, he’s there on the line. “Mama, when are you getting here?”
“I’m not.”
“What? Why?”
“You dad doesn’t want me there. He wants a divorce.”
“You’re coming to get me then, right?”
“Not right away. Spend time with him. I’ll be at my house on the hill. I will come for you when I can, but I want you to behave until then.”
“I don’t want to be without you.”
“I know, E. Just pretend it’s like when you were in Chicago without me. Only this time it’s going to be your dad you’re with instead of Cyndi.”
“Why is he doing this?”
“He’s angry at me.”
“Did he call you names again?”
“Kind of, but you don’t need to worry about that.”
“He can’t keep me.”
“No. He cannot.”
“Time’s up,” Caleb says.”
“I love you, E.”
“I love you too, Mama.”
As soon as his last word is said, the phone goes dead. If Caleb thinks this is over, he’s in for a big surprise. After I tell Nate I’m staying, I call Reina and start to plan. He has a crooked sheriff and his family. I have all the major law enforcement groups in the country, and my family, too. I’d place odds on me.
* * *
Caleb
“You ready for your cowboy lessons?” I ask Ethan two days after we arrive at the ranch.
He just looks out the window, pretending that he didn’t hear me. He hasn’t spoken to me since we arrived; although, he let my mom and dad fawn all over him. Even my grandpa got in on the act. I know they’re excited, and so I let the fact that he was ignoring me go. I won’t do that today.
“You will be respectful and speak when spoken to.”
Still nothing.
“Ethan, I love you.”
“Those words mean nothing to you.”
I reel back like I’ve been slapped. And I guess I have. “They mean everything to me.”
“You said them to Mama.”
“I meant them when I said them.”
“Liar.”
“Ethan, I understand that you’re upset, but there is only so much lip I will take from you.”
“You made me a promise, and you broke it. That makes you a liar.”
“For God’s sake kid, give me a break here. I’m trying.”
“No. You promised you would never try and take me from her, and now you’re doing it. I will never forgive you if you try and make this permanent. And I’m not learning some stupid cowboy stuff unless my mama’s here to watch.”
“She wasn’t going to watch everything. She’s a busy person.”
“She would’ve for me. She always makes time for me. If I need her, she’s always there. Even if she’s on a mission somewhere. All I had to do was tell Ainsley I needed her, and she got her on a Skype with me. Always.”
“We can videotape the stuff I teach you and send it to her.”
“You don’t get it. All I want from you is to let me see her. I don’t want to ride a horse, or anything else. Not when I know how sad she is.”
“I can’t let you be with her. She’s lied to me too much.”
“Just because you say it, that doesn’t make it right. Or true. My mama loves you. She doesn’t lie to people she loves.”
“We’ll just have to agree to disagree about her.”
“Whatever you say, Father.”
Damn it. We
’re back to square one. Or more than likely, negative squares. Maybe I do need to just talk to my uncle. He arrived last night, at her request I’m sure. I head downstairs to see what he has to tell me. But when I walk into the kitchen, the conversation between him and my mom stops, letting me know they were discussing me.
“Caleb, where’s Ethan?” my mom asks.
“Sitting in his room, cursing me.”
“Did you really think he’d be okay with you taking him from his mother?” Brad asks me.
“Yeah. She’s a liar.”
“Really? She’s the liar? When you had Ethan pack a bag and get on that plane with you, did you tell him you were planning on divorcing his mother and going to fight for full custody of him?”
“No. He wouldn’t have gone with me if I’d told him that.”
“So you lied.”
“He did what he had to, Brad,” my mom says.
“No, he didn’t. What he had to do was trust Tegan.”
“You didn’t see the pictures,” I tell him.
“Actually, I did see them.”
“She was letting him put his hands on her.”
“For good reason. You’d know that if you actually asked her. But I believe she’s correct in her assessment of the situation. You don’t want to know—about the past, or now.”
“Of course he wants to know.”
“Really? Because Tegan said she told him to ask me.”
“You must have misunderstood. Or Caleb did, right sweetie?”
“No,” I say, dropping my head into my hands. “She told me that, but I don’t know if I’m ready to hear it.”
“Because she’s right. You’ll no longer be a victim once you know what really happened. Both times.”
“Caleb Hall, I did not raise you to be like this. I didn’t raise a coward. Or a man who would give up the woman he loves just because he doesn’t want to be wrong.”
“You think I’m wrong?”
“I think we all may be wrong. I’ve been focused on supporting you and going along with whatever you decide, but when I actually stop and think about everything, I have doubts. I remember how Tegan used to look at you like you hung the moon. Why would she sleep with your friend?”
“Because I wasn’t good enough,” I blurt out without meaning to. I’ve never admitted my biggest fear to anyone, not even myself.
“What?”
“Greg was always sleeping with different girls. He had more experience pleasing them. Obviously I was doing something wrong, so Tegan went looking for what she was missing with me.”
“Did you call that Greg dude the ‘S’ word?” Ethan asks from behind me.
“The ‘S’ word?” my mom asks, a look of confusion on her face.
“The one that no real man ever calls a woman,” he explains.
She gets it then. “Do you think your dad should’ve called his friend that?”
“No. No one should be called that, but if he was already using that word on my mama, I want to know if he used it on his friend, too.”
All three of the people in the room look at me. I sigh and tell the truth because I’ve promised myself that I will never lie to my son again, no matter what. His words earlier cut me a little too deep.
“No, Ethan. I didn’t call Greg that. In fact, my friends and I thought he was lucky, that it was cool.”
“So you wanted to be with other girls besides Mama?”
“What? No. Definitely no. I only wanted her.”
“Then why did you think your friend was cool, but call her the ‘S’ word and the ‘W’ word, too?”
The kid’s pulling another hidden truth from me. “Pride. Knowing she had to go to someone else because I wasn’t enough for her hurt my pride.”
“She told you that you weren’t enough? She said that to you when you were her boyfriend?”
No. When I let myself get past that damn pride, and think about it, I remember how she always told me I was everything to her, and she wanted to be with me forever. She told me she loved me at least ten times a day, and she never looked at Greg like anything more than my friend.
“No. She never told me that,” I admit.
“Then why would you believe that she was with your friend?”
I remember something before answering him. “Your mom told me she didn’t tell you details about what happened.”
“I’m not dumb. I hear things,” he says, blushing.
“You mean you’ve been eavesdropping.”
“I needed to know what made you so mad that you’d hurt her. Because you hurt her so bad that she was afraid to tell you about me. Even when she was telling me how great you were and showing me news articles…and, umm, pictures of you, she didn’t want you in my life. I didn’t think I wanted you, either.”
Something was off about what he just told me, and I think it’s important. “Why did you hesitate when you mentioned seeing pictures of me?”
I see the war going on in his head, as emotions flash across his face. He doesn’t want to answer me, but he won’t lie to me either. I’ve learned that about my son. He’s a straight shooter. It’s my uncle who saves him.
“The pictures of you that were normally online showed you with other women. Tegan showed him because she wanted Ethan to see you, but it cost her.”
“Cost her how?” I see Ethan still struggling. “Please tell me, Ethan. I promise I won’t use whatever you tell me to hurt her.”
“The nights when she showed me those pictures are the nights when she stayed out really later Or Stella would come over and eat ice cream on the couch with her while they watched girl movies. I could hear her crying in her room when she thought I was sleeping.”
Damn, I’m such an idiot. And a major asshole. “I’m going to see your mom now. Be good for your grandma and Brad, okay?”
“I’m always good.”
“I know, you’re the best.”
“Dad? You’re going to be nice, right?”
“Yes. E. I’m going to be nice. Your mom may punch me, though.”
“You deserve it, but I’ll put some ice on it for you later.”
“You’re right. Thanks for offering to take care of me. I’ll see you soon.”
Chapter 13
Tegan
I have to admit that this shower feels good. Although I won’t admit it to Wayne, who practically threw me in here, and I also won’t tell him he was right. I need to be in top form and looking my best when working to get Ethan back. Looking good does make me feel better, and I need whatever I can get as I mourn the loss of Caleb again, while figuring out how to defeat him. Especially after my good friend, the sheriff, brought me a restraining order earlier, happily telling me that he’d throw me in jail if I set foot on the Hall ranch.
I’ve just wrapped myself in a giant towel when I hear yelling coming from downstairs. I grab a gun and run, skidding to a halt when I see that it’s Caleb arguing with Wayne. And that Wayne has no shirt on. Shit.
“Really, Teeg? I’m out of your bed for less than 48 hours and you’re already back with him.”
“Why are you here, Cal?” I ask, ignoring what he said.
“I thought I might have been wrong about you, so I came here to talk. Obviously, I wasn’t wrong.”
“You’ve decided that just because I took a shower.”
“He was going to join you, wasn’t he?”
“Yes,” Wayne says.
“No. Not unless he wanted to get his ass beat,” I say, glaring at Wayne. I don’t need him making things worse.
“Come on, Teeg. He deserves this.”
“Go put a damn shirt on Wayne, and stop trying to get me to shoot you.”
“You wouldn’t shoot me, I’m one of your best friends and you love me.”
“She loves me more,” Caleb says with a smirk.
“Yeah, we all fucking know that,” he says, pushing past me to go up the stairs.
“Wayne.”
He stops with one hand on the bannister, an
d the other running through his hair as he looks at the ceiling. “This isn’t your fault. I always knew I wasn’t who you wanted. I guess I just hoped that I’d be a good substitute.”
“You’re a great friend, Wayne. I need friends more than I ever needed a lover.”
He looks at Caleb, then. “You don’t deserve her, you know. I mean, how can you not see how amazing she is? How loyal, fun, sexy, sweet, kick-ass, and just perfect she is.”
“I see it.”
“Yet you keep walking away from her, and had some asshole serve her with a restraining order this morning. And people tell me you’re smart.”
“Being around her renders me stupid quite frequently,” he says as he looks at the legal paperwork sitting on my hall table next to him. He picks it up and avoids my eyes.
“Gee, thanks.”
“He meant that as a compliment. I know exactly what he’s talking about.”
“We should hang out while you’re here. If you want, I mean,” Caleb says, looking at Wayne and not me as he tears the restraining order in two.
“You going to take me to the local honky-tonk and be my wingman like you said you would?”
“Anytime,” he tells him, as he continues tearing the pieces until they look like confetti in his hand.
Wayne walks back down the stairs and shakes Caleb’s other hand. I feel like I’m in an alternate universe. I haven’t even made up with Cal, and yet Wayne’s making nice. My doorbell rings again, before I can wrap my head around what’s going on. I move around them to answer it.
I open the door, and immediately reel back from the slap that’s delivered to me. “You little bitch. You just can’t keep your legs closed, can you? Everyone has finally stopped looking at me like I’m as bad as you, and then you come home and make yourself the subject of gossip again.”
“Hello, Mama. I’d say it’s nice to see you again, but we both know I’d be lying.”
“You’re lucky your daddy didn’t come with me. He wants to tan your hide after seeing you in that dress yesterday.”
“He was there, huh? Still looking for something better than you, right?”
“You’re just like him. Every girl in this town wanted Caleb Hall, and yet he chose you for some reason. Then you screwed it up. You could be living on that ranch now.”
“You know nothing about my life, and I think living in this house means I’m doing pretty well.”
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