Love and Lies (Sunshine & Shadow Book 4) (4 page)

Lex watched Violet
breathing. He matched his breath with hers, holding her hand, careful not to
wake her.

Dr. Grey knocked on the
door and poked his head inside.

“Lex…can I speak to you
for a moment?”

Lex stood and glanced once
more at Violet before following the doctor down the hallway and into an office.
He sat in one of the chairs and frowned.

“Is everything okay?” he
asked.

“Lex…the meningitis
research that I’ve been doing over the past years had led me to believe that the
percentage of infertility for meningitis patients was close to one hundred.”

“Until me?”

The doctor pressed his
lips together.

“What?” Lex said.

“I’ll be honest, I
thought it odd that your case was one of the most severe I’ve ever seen, and
yet you remained fertile in adulthood. I didn’t think it was possible, so I
wanted to examine your specimen immediately; call it, powerful curiosity.”

“And?”

“And…Lex…I was right all
along. You are not the medical marvel you would have to be.”

“What are you saying?”

“You’re infertile.”

“What?” Lex’s mind was a
blank. He collapsed back into the chair.

Dr. Grey scratched his
head. “You can’t have children.”

“But...I have a child...Violet
is carrying my child!”

Dr. Grey shook his head.
“No, I’m afraid she’s not.”

“You’re lying!” Lex spat
out. “This is some sort of sick joke! Did Cash put you up to this?”

“Mr. Mitchell, this is
not a joke.”

Lex’s mind was reeling.
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Could he have suddenly become
infertile since Violet got pregnant? Or was it true that he had been betrayed
and tricked, and the child Violet was carrying wasn’t his after all?

He gritted his teeth.

“It’s not my child...”
Lex said, clenching his fists.

The doctor shook his
head.

“Are you sure?”

“We are now. You are infertile
and you’re not the father.”

“Then who is?” Lex stood
up, staring Dr. Grey in the eye. “I have to talk to Violet...” He rushed past
him and into the hallway.

“Mr. Mitchell, wait!” The
doctor followed him, grabbing his arm.

Lex stared at him again,
studying his expression. Dr. Grey looked away. Lex’s eyes fixed on the manila
folder in the other man’s hands. He reached for it. The doctor jerked it out of
his reach.

“Tell me who the father
is!” Lex shouted.

Holding the file behind
his back, Dr. Grey said, “We don’t know who the father is.”

“So what am I supposed to
do now? Pretend like I still give a damn about
her
and her kid?”

“I just deliver the
results, Mr. Mitchell.”

Lex looked at the ground.
“...Infertile? I’m infertile?” He leaned against the wall, sure his legs would
fail. He didn’t understand. It was made worse by the fact that he had believed
for a second; he had believed that he could have a family. He had believed
Violet’s
lie.
And what was the lie for? Some stupid publicity stunt?

Lex’s blood began to
boil. She had cheated him out of the child he had begun to love. He had to find
out who the father was.

“I’m gonna find him...”
he said. His voice sounded softer than he intended; a quiet fury, like demons
running when a good man went to war.

Dr. Grey stepped in front
of him. “Mr. Mitchell, you need to calm down first.”

“Get out of my way!” Lex
shouted in his face. Kudos to the doctor; he didn't even flinch. “You don’t
understand what Violet has taken from me. She’s lied to my face for months.
Probably longer! Who knows how long she’s been sleeping with him.”

“Mr. Mitchell, I need you
to calm down, or I will contact the police.”

“No need,” Lex said,
lowering his hands to his sides, suddenly calm. “No need...I’ll go...” He
backed away from him, his mouth pressed into a grim line. He still couldn’t
believe what he was hearing. He had to get out of there. Turning around, he
strode out of the building and jumped in his car, glad no-one was around, and
he screamed.

Lex punched the steering
wheel until his hands ached, yelled his rage until his throat burned. His heart
stung. He had thought he was going to be a father. In the toughest time of his
life, the only thing that kept him going was thinking about that little baby,
and wondering if it would look like him, or act like him as it grew up. And now
that was all gone. Lex felt like he was missing a part of himself, a part he
had opened up just for that child.

The hardest part was the
lie. Violet had known all along. She had used Lex for publicity and to cover up
her own sick agenda.

He leapt from the car and
stormed back into the hospital, jumping the stairs three at a time and searched
the doors he passed until he saw Violet’s.

He froze when he heard
voices inside.

“It’s okay,” Cash said.

“I want her fired! I want
her out on her ass so fast...”

“Shh.” Cash’s voice was
soft, gentle, like he was speaking to a baby. “Accidents happen. The main thing
is that you are safe. And this little peanut in here is safe.”

Violet didn’t answer for
a moment. Then she said, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Where else would I be?”

She made a contented
noise and Lex’s mind started to spin. A sudden thought hit him. Memories
flashed in front of his eyes.

Stolen glances. Smiles. A
twinkling of the eye when looks were shared. Small remarks that seemed
perfectly innocent at the time, but could have been holding some sort of sealed
intimacy.

“What are we going to do
about Lex?” Violet said.

Lex wanted to press his
ear against the door, but stopped himself.

Cash grunted. “Let me
handle it. Lex is...Lex will be fine. He’ll be pissed, but he’ll get over it.
The arrangement benefits him too.”

“I guess so.”

“Like I said, my main
concern is your safety, and our child’s.”

Lex rushed in, shoving
the door so hard it bounced on its hinges. He stopped dead in his tracks at the
sight of them sitting together and grabbed onto the door jam, fuming.

“It’s you...” he
whispered. “It’s...you?”

Cash stood up, planting
himself between Lex and Violet. He took Violet’s hand.

Lex looked at them with
his lips pressed together. “You lied to me,” he said, his voice cold.

 “We did,” Cash said.

“Why?” Lex shook his
head. He flexed his fingers against the white trim.

“It’s for the best, Lex!”
Violet said.

Lex moved further into
the room and stood by the window, trying to appear non-threatening so that his
brother would relax.

“How is this for the
best? How was lying to my face –
for months –
better for anyone?”

“Sit down.” Cash gestured
to the stiff armchair. “Let’s talk.”

“I’ll stand,” Lex said.

Cash returned to his spot
beside Violet.

“I’m listening,” Lex
said.

“Think about it, Lex,”
Violet urged, “Think about what would have happened to my career if everyone
found out? I’d be ruined.”   

“How is that my problem?
I wouldn’t be!”

“Really?” Violet sat up
straighter, the sheets crinkling as she moved. “You’d look like an idiot. And
not only that, but you’d lose that stable, family-man persona you have going.
You’d be just another famous bachelor. You’d disappear.”

“I wouldn’t!” Lex slammed
his fist against the window sill. “You lied to me!”

“For the greater good!”
Cash said.

Lex scoffed.

“Listen, Lex. We lied,
yeah. And we shouldn’t have. But now, you have an opportunity. Your career will
be
on fire
once the baby is born. You won’t have a free night once the
talk shows start calling.”

“What about April? What
am I supposed to tell her?”

“Don’t tell her anything!
She doesn’t need to know! Look, Lex. It’s not that hard. You were fully
prepared to stay with Violet and raise the baby. April wasn’t even in the
equation.”

“Yeah but I wasn’t happy
about it! I wanted to be with April!”

“You can be, if you want!
Just keep it a secret!”

“You’ve been doing it all
along, right?” Violet said.

Lex shook his head. “Not
since she came back. We agreed to stop seeing each other, because it wasn’t
right, with the baby coming.”

“Well now you don’t have
to worry about your moral dilemma. You get to be with April.
And
keep
your career. You get the best of both worlds. All you have to do, is
not
tell April
.”

Lex looked from Cash to
Violet. He was still angry at their lie but what they were saying made sense.
April didn’t have to know about the infertility. She didn’t have to know about baby
not being his. She could be blissfully ignorant, and they could be together, as
long as no-one found out.

“Just think about what’s
important here, Lex; your career.” Violet raised her eyebrows.

“Is that all you ever
think about?” Lex snapped at her.

“It’s all you think about,
too! Admit it.”

Lex shook his head,
looking at the ground.

“Fine,” he said.

“It’s your decision,
Lex,” Cash murmured.

“I said, fine!” Lex snarled.
“I’ll do it. But I’m not doing it for either of you.”

He stood up, walking
towards the door, and saw Cash and Violet share a smile.

Prime Time stood staring
at April from across the arena. She had let him go, let him choose where he
wanted to be in the corral, and he had chosen the farthest spot from her, more
proof of his disrespect and distrust of humans. She couldn’t blame him. Why
would he trust humans, when all they had ever done was disrespect him and treat
him like he was worthless?

April stared at him,
stepped back, and then looked at the ground. She could tell he was intrigued by
her odd behavior; he took a step towards her. That was what she was trying to
do, remind him that he was the one with all the choices. But she would make one
choice more desirable by offering him a good deal, and it was completely up to
him whether or not he took it.

“Good boy,” she cooed as
he took another step.

She inched backwards
again, drawing him towards her by making her energy inviting. His steps were
larger than hers and every time she moved, and he followed, he got closer and
closer to her.

Ten more small steps back
for April and the horse stood within arm’s reach. She didn't try to touch him.
She turned her back and walked away from him. Footfalls sounded behind her and
she breathed a sigh of relief; she had him. She had accomplished a join-up
without the use of a round-pen.

Turning around to face
him, she stroked him once down the face, being sure to state in her energy that
they were still working. Usually the only reward the horses got while training
was the removal of pressure, but she was too overjoyed in the moment to stick
to her own rule.

April slid the halter
Prime Time still wore over his ears and dropped it into the dirt. She practiced
stepping towards and away from different areas of his body and he responded
perfectly, yielding or coming closer, following the direction of her energy.
She had an idea.

“Whoa,” she murmured,
stepping to his left side and placing her hands on his back.

The horse’s skin quivered
under her touch and his left ear was glued on April, his eyes suspicious.

“Whoa,” she said again,
louder and firmer this time.

Again this was a choice
for the horse. He could have moved if he wanted to; April didn't have a rope or
reins to stop him. But he made the choice and stood still, watching her from
the corner of his eyes, questioning her actions carefully.

April hopped a couple of
times, only lifting a couple of inches off the ground, then pushed off hard and
slid herself onto Prime Time’s wide back almost effortlessly. She breathed
deeply to calm herself as a sudden burst of excitement hit her stomach. The
horse hadn’t moved a muscle.

“Good boy,” she said,
stroking down his mane to find a good amount to use as a handle. She found what
she was looking for and touched her heels to the horse’s sides, shifting her
weight forward.

“Walk on,” she said.

Prime Time began to move,
slowly, towards the edge of the arena, stepping as if he was unsure of what was
going on. April relaxed.

She clicked her tongue
and he picked up the pace and trotted to his left, responding to her leg cues.
She pressed with her inside calf and he moved to the rail, gliding smoothly
over the ground as if he wasn’t even touching it. She clicked again and sent
him into an easy lope, beaming from ear to ear as she felt his footfalls, easy
and controlled, hit the soft sand.