“Callie, what has you so deep in thought?” her mom asked.
Her sisters paused their gabbing and looked in her direction. They’d decided to stay in and play cards since Georgia’s friends wouldn’t be in for her bachelorette party until later that night. Upsy/downsy was a favorite in the Chapman household, and it had been too long since they’d played.
Callie licked her lips as her gaze went from Vivian to Georgia to Rachel to Michelle and landed on her mom. “Nothing. I’m sorry. What’s been played?”
Georgie laid her cards down and said, “Uh-uh. Spill.”
“Yeah, you need to talk,” Michelle said, putting her cards down too.
What should she do? Could they keep this big of a secret? “You can’t tell anyone. Ever. Do you understand? No one.”
Her sisters looked at each other and then nodded. “Okay,” they said in unison along with her mom.
Callie’s heart pounded. Once she told them, it would be out. There’d be no going back. It would be done and over. But the weight of lying was too much anymore. “I don’t work at an accounting firm. I’m a reporter with Country Music Weekly. My pen name is Jamie Pearson.” The words rushed out, and she waited for it to sink in.
All of a sudden, an eruption of gasps made it sound like a breeze rushing through trees. “Oh, my stars, Cal,” Vivian said. “You’re famous.”
Georgia smiled. “You always did like writing. Are you doing fiction too?”
“You remembered I liked to write?” Callie asked Georgia.
Her sister nodded.
Michelle snorted. “Who didn’t know?”
“I didn’t,” her mom said, shutting down the conversation. “I didn’t know at all. You’ve been writing this whole time? Not practicing accounting? Lying?”
Callie felt like dirt as she slumped against the table. “I’ve wanted to tell you, but you’ve always been so disappointed in me. Nothing I’ve ever done has been good enough.”
“But lying?” Her mom’s voice held such a deep level of hurt that it broke Callie’s heart.
Michelle touched their mom’s arm. “Mom, Callie was a writer in high school. She won poetry and short fiction contests all the time.”
“And every time she showed you one, you’d brush it off,” Georgia said.
Her mom looked around the group. “I did that?”
Vivian leaned forward. “It wasn’t on purpose. You loved us, but you had dreams for each of us. I mean, for the four of us,” she said waving her hand at Michelle, Rachel, and Georgia, “it was just good that we liked what you were pushing us to do, but Callie never liked accounting.”
“Was I really like that?” her mom asked as her face seemed to fall. Almost as though she was horrified by the revelation.
Each of Callie’s sisters nodded.
When Clementine turned her wounded eyes to her, Callie’s heart filled with empathy. “It’s okay, Mom. I just wanted to make you proud.”
Silence filled the air as Clementine took each of her daughters in, as if seeing them for the first time. That’s when it dawned on Callie too. Her mom really had no idea how pushy and opinionated she’d been. She hadn’t meant to be so demanding. She only wanted her girls to be successful, and in her mind, she’d pushed them to professions considered solid and respectable.
Clementine lifted out of her seat and rounded the table for Callie with open arms. When Clementine pulled Callie from her chair and hugged her, she said, “I am proud of you, sweetheart. I am so sorry for the way I’ve made you feel. I really had no idea I was like that.”
Callie let herself relax into the hug. “I’m just glad you know now.”
“Me too.” Clementine leaned back. “And you are a brilliant reporter. I’ve read many of your articles. You’re gifted, sweetheart.”
Callie’s heart was so light she thought she might float away. “Thanks.” She paused. “Just keep it to yourselves, okay?”
“But Tucker knows, right?” her mom asked.
This was the next big part, telling them the truth about what was going on with her and Tucker, but she was done lying to them. Over the next hour, she spilled everything, pausing to answer questions and take the heat for doing something so crazy.
“I just can’t believe you did that.” Vivian shook her head.
Michelle snorted. “I’m not. She’s in love with him. Always has been. I’ll put money on the table that she never even intended to write those exclusives.”
Callie rolled her lips in to hide her smile.
Rachel gasped. “She does love him.”
“The moment Gil said they were talking to Petra, I was in. I wasn’t letting that woman get near him again,” Callie said.
“Do you know what happened?” asked Vivian.
“No.”
Her mom let out a heavy sigh. “This is all just too much. And he doesn’t know who you are? Your pen name?”
“I could get sued just for telling you this. If it gets out to the press, Tucker’s fans will crucify him.”
Georgia touched Callie’s arm. “But you do love him, don’t you?”
Well, Callie had decided she wasn’t lying anymore. That included herself, right?
Callie nodded, saying, “I followed him around for several months before we started dating. It started off as hanging back after his concerts. It was a big group at first, and over time it led to me and him dating.”
“How long did you date him? Really?” asked her mom.
“A couple months.”
Georgia grinned. “I knew it.”
“We all knew it,” Michelle said.
Her mom gasped. “That’s why you wanted to stay in Nashville after college. You were dating him.” Her mom paused. “But he wasn’t at your graduation.”
“He was already getting kind of famous. He was in California that day, meeting with the president of a record label. I didn’t want him to miss that.” Callie hadn’t felt so good in years. It was as if she’d taken a flashlight and aimed it at her life.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” asked Vivian.
Callie shrugged. “He was a musician, and I knew how that would have gone over. And I knew he was going places. I never thought it would last, and I was right. Keeping it from you just kept me from having to explain it when it was over.”
“Aw, Callie,” Rachel said. “You should have told us. We could have been there for you.”
“I know, and I promise I won’t keep anything from you again.” Callie smiled.
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest. “You know you have to tell him, right? It’s not okay to keep this from him.”
“I can’t. If I do, they’ll sue me, and Tucker’s fans will be furious if they think he’s duped them. They’re working on a tour for him. His manager says it’s the largest tour ever. If I tell him, he’ll be angry, and there will be no way we can fake this long enough to get his singing career back on track.” Callie looked from sister to sister, hoping they could hear how desperate she was.
Vivian nodded. “She’s right. I follow him on Twitter. His fans were ticked with his drinking and womanizing and partying. There’s even a few that already believe it’s a stunt. If this gets out, it’ll kill his tour.”
“What are you going to do?” asked her mom.
“For now, I’m going to support him the best I can.”
Georgia sat back. “And tell him you love him?”
Callie vehemently shook her head. “No. No, I won’t tell him that. Not while he doesn’t know the whole truth. I’ve decided I’m not going to let him tell me any details about what happened, just so I can’t write about it. When it comes time for me to turn in an exclusive, I’ll have nothing of substance to write.”
Yep, it’d be one short article if they wanted Tucker’s life story. She wasn’t giving them anything. Not without Tucker’s willing participation. His record label CEO could take a flying leap. If he wanted a spy to get the inside scoop, he’d have to hire someone else.
The re
st of the night, she and her sisters and mom discussed her situation. Before long, they were all in agreement with keeping it from Tucker, and she was grateful. It felt like one of those trust exercises where someone falls back and is caught by a group. For once, Callie had people ready to keep her from falling, and it felt amazing.
Chapter 20
Tucker’s phone rang, and he ducked away from the rest of the guys and went to the back deck.
“Hey, Stacey,” he said as he put the phone to his ear. The guys were gathered in the living room for the final check for the wedding. Then, the rest of the evening would be spent hanging out on the water.
Heath’s idea of a bachelor party wasn’t much different than Tucker’s, except Heath wanted a cookout without staying up all night. Georgia had given him marching orders. There would be no dark circles pointing to new-husband-dead-on-his-feet ruining her wedding photos.
“How’s it going?” Stacey asked.
“Actually, it’s going well. I like her family. They’re all pretty welcoming. I even won over her mom.” He was still trying to let that soak in. When he’d helped Mary, it was because he liked seeing her smile. Not to get something out of it.
Stacey laughed. “Like your charm wouldn’t work on someone?”
Tucker grunted and smiled. He did have a little bit of charm. “What are you calling about?”
“The tour is almost set. Your largest ever, and you’ll be on the road for the next year.”
A year? “Does it have to be a year?”
“I didn’t think it’d be a problem.”
“It is a problem. I don’t want to be on the road that much. It’s exhausting. Plus, how will I be able to maintain my fake marriage if I’m never with my fake wife?” Although, the fake was feeling less and less lately. He enjoyed being with Callie, even if she seemed determined to keep him at arm’s length.
It sounded like Stacey shuffled the phone to her other ear. “I can take a few dates off.”
“Take half off. I can maybe handle six months, but a year? Stacey, I want to be successful, and I want to sing, but the way we’ve been doing things has me burnt out.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I didn’t know what the problem was until…” Until he’d landed at a vacation home with a woman he cared about and who cared about him. “Since being with Callie and her family, I’ve realized that I want to slow things down. I’m writing songs again, and it’s because I don’t feel rushed.”
Stacey stayed quiet a little longer than Tucker liked. He pulled at his collar and leaned his hip against the railing.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing, but I’m getting a weird vibe that it’s more than the house and the beach.”
Tucker hated how well she could read a situation, even over the phone. “What makes you think that?”
“There’s something in your voice. You sound different.”
He pushed off the railing and walked to the farm table, taking a seat on the bench. “I dated her before I was famous.”
He heard a gasp. “You did?”
“Yeah, and I found out that Trent talked to her.”
“Your first manager?”
Tucker nodded. “Yeah, and I haven’t been able to talk to her about it yet. I overheard her telling her dad. Trent told her that if she really cared about me, she’d let me go. All this time, I never knew.”
“Is she the one who got away?”
“What?” Tucker chuckled.
Stacey scoffed. “The first few months we were working together, you talked non-stop about a girl that got away. Don’t you remember?”
“I did?” He sure didn’t remember that before now, but after hearing it, more memories flooded back. “I did, didn’t I? What is wrong with me, Stacey? It’s like I’ve blocked things out.”
She laughed. “Darling, you were in love with her, and your heart broke when it ended. You may have said you were focused on your career, but deep down, you felt something missing. We all have coping mechanisms to protect ourselves. I’d say you shoved those memories down so you could move on because you thought she had. Plus, you were so driven back then. Trent may have gone about it the wrong way, but you didn’t have time for a relationship, and you know it.”
His pulse jumped. Stacey had said that so many times back then that it became his mantra. At the time, she’d felt no different than Trent. The only difference was the way she approached Tucker. Where were all these thoughts coming from? Stacey had just done what he wanted, right?
“I remembered us dating the moment I heard her name. I just didn’t let her know it. It was like seeing a ghost from my past.”
“That thing with Petra messed you up. I think once you tell someone what happened, you’ll be a lot happier and lighter.”
Tucker hated what happened. That he’d been used. He hated the idea that Derek might have been behind it too.
“Hey, Stacey, you think you could do me a favor?”
“Depends on the favor,” she said with a chuckle.
“Find out who invited Petra to that party. That I can recall, no one remembered inviting her, and it was an exclusive party hosted by Derek. And we know how controlling he is. There’s no way she got into that party just by showing up and being pretty.”
Stacey coughed. “Sorry, that water went down the wrong way. Sure, I can do that. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Should he tell Stacey his theory? A weird sensation tickled deep in his gut. They’d been working together a long time, but did he trust her enough to divulge that he thought Derek had staged it so that Petra would be at the party? Stacey signed a contract with Tucker that included confidentiality, but Tucker never saw Stacey’s contract with Derek. Why would Derek need her to sign something else?
“Nothing, just trying to find some closure,” he said.
“Well, it’s about time. I’ll get right on that.” She paused. “Oh! Another thing. I managed to convince Derek to let you have a day with your parents.”
“Good thing. I was going anyway.”
“I know, but it’s nice not to be at war with the CEO. The label already has a press conference set up for the moment the plane lands. You’ll be doing it from home, and you’d better be prepared to lather it on thick. Derek’s words, not mine.”
Tucker exhaled heavily. “Okay. I’ll tell Callie.”
“You really like her, don’t you?”
Again, something in his gut told him to keep his mouth shut. “Yeah, but that’s a good thing. It’ll make it easier to lay it on thick like Derek wants.”
“True. I have to give it to Derek. He put this together pretty well.”
“Yeah, he did. Thanks for calling, Stacey.”
“See you in LA Monday.”
They said their goodbyes, and Tucker remained seated at the table. So many things just didn’t add up anymore. While he was in his haze, drinking and partying, he never took the time to really think about anything. It hurt too much, but now, away from Stacey and Derek and everyone else who seemed to put their interests ahead of his, he wondered just how long he’d been blind.
“Hey, Tuck,” Will said, sticking his head out of the door. “Francis got Heath a deep sea fishing adventure. We’re leaving in thirty.”
“Okay, sounds fun.” Tucker smiled.
Will started to duck back inside when Tucker said, “Hey, Will.”
He peeked his head out again. “Yeah?”
“You’re a lawyer, right?”
Will walked onto the patio and stopped at the table. “Yeah, why?”
“You think you could look over a contract for me?”
“I’m family law. Not sure I’d be of any use.”
Tucker knitted his eyebrows together. “But you can speak legalese, right?”
“Well, I can, and if I can’t, I have some guys at my firm that I trust. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but I’m hoping that with a little help, maybe I can
find out.”
Will grinned. “Whatever it is, we’ll tackle it.” He nodded his head in the direction of the kitchen. “Come on. We’re getting changed. If we mess up these tuxes, Georgia will kill us dead.”
Tucker laughed as he stood. This family. It felt like he’d been waiting for something like this to feel welcomed and seen for more than his fame. Will, Ethan, Denver, and Heath, and even Callie’s dad, were great guys. People he could see spending holidays and vacations with.
How many other things had he missed? Now that he had his eyes open, he wanted to make sure nothing else was missed. And the things that were missed, he wanted fixed.
Chapter 21
If it weren’t for the makeup, the entire wedding party would have looked like actors in an apocalyptic thriller. They’d danced late into the night and stayed up entirely too late, and Callie felt about as good as the poor skunk they’d passed on their way back to Carolina Beach.
The church her sister had rented on Carolina Beach was familiar. It was the one all her sisters had used, and nothing in Carolina Beach changed much except the dunes. Even the number of homes stayed the same because of a city resolution passed a few decades before. The city council didn’t want the landscape to be filled with anything but homes and buildings.
Tucker had tried to talk to her again, but she wasn’t going to give him the opportunity. His secrets were his until she could figure out a way to get out of that stupid contract. She’d told her sisters she’d just deal, but she was done with just dealing.
She had to figure out how to do it. Maybe she’d get Will to look at it. If she hired him as her lawyer, he’d have to keep it confidential. Although, she could already hear him musing aloud that she was crazy to have gone along with the plan in the first place, and she wouldn’t argue. But the second Gil said Petra’s name, Callie was in. It was as though her heart knew what she wasn’t willing to admit even then. That she loved Tucker.
A knock came at the door. As her sister Vivian answered, she heard from behind, “Wow, don’t you look nice.”
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