Uncovering His SECRET (12 page)

“I didn’t really
think you would.”

“I’m sorry to break
this up…no, actually I’m not. But I was invited for dinner, and
not a show,” Wayne tells us.

“Behave, Wayne.”

“You never wanted me
to behave when we were
together
.”

“Wayne.”

“It’s just so fun
to mess with him, Teeg. I mean, he looks like he wants to murder me
right now.”

“If you don’t leave
him alone, I’m going to stop trying to find you a woman.”

“I already found
one.”

Shit. I may hate him,
but I can sympathize with him right now, too. “I’ll be your
wingman if Tegan’s not working out.”

“I’m an excellent
wing woman.”

“For another woman,
maybe. Wayne needs a guy’s help.”

“But I know what he
likes.”

“So do I.”

“Thanks, man. I might
just take you up on that.”

“Is anyone going to
introduce me to Caleb?”

“I’m sorry ma’am.
I shouldn’t have distracted them. Caleb Hall at your service, Miss
Cyndi.”

“Put away the
southern charm. I know too much about you for it to work on me.”

“You have the
advantage, but from what Tegan’s told me, I owe you for saving my
son’s life, and hers. My appreciation is genuine.”

“Gram,” Ethan
yells, running down the stairs before she can respond to me.

“Hi, E. How’s my
favorite boy?”

“Good. Wayne said I’m
doing a good job on my guitar, and my dad’s going to teach me how
to be a real cowboy. Isn’t that cool?”

“Let’s all sit down
and then we can talk a little but more about all of this.”

“Okay. You all sit
down while Dad and I get the food. We’re the hosts.”

“Well, this is a
change,” Cyndi says.

I can’t tell from her
tone whether she thinks it’s a good change or not. I didn’t like
the way she deflected Ethan’s comment about me teaching him things.
I have to remind myself that there may not have been an Ethan if it
wasn’t for her. I owe her more than I can ever repay, so I’ll
bite my tongue as much as I can tonight.

I think I may be off
the hook when nothing is said throughout dinner, but I should’ve
known better than to hope for a reprieve.

“Dinner was
wonderful, Caleb. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It
was my pleasure.”

“Yes, well, I think
it’s time for us to talk.”

“I’ll answer
anything I can for you.”

“What are your
plans?”

“For?”

“Once you’re safe
and can go back home. Are you going to do that?”

“If Tegan and Ethan
are going with me, I will. I don’t think that’s going to happen,
though, so I guess I’m hoping to stay here if they’ll have me.”

“We’ll have you,
Dad.”

“You won’t miss
your family, or your ranch?”

“I went to MIT for
four years of college and then worked in Boston doing research for
another four. I was just fine being away. I’m not saying that I
don’t want to visit, or maybe spend a holiday there, but I don’t
need to live in that town.”

“Even with this new
deal that’s causing so much trouble?”

“The deal is for my
formula and the two others I’m working on. I can work on those
anywhere. The lab Ryan and Chloe designed for me here is better than
any I’ve ever been in. So again, I’m hoping to stay here.”

“And when you and
Tegan fight?”

“We fight almost
daily. And then we make up.”

“Your answers are
great, Caleb, but all I can think of when I see you is how broken she
was when I met her. You did that to her.”

“If you’d met me
then, you would’ve seen that I wasn’t doing so well myself.”

“Again, something
that you did.”

“I’ll admit that I
share the blame, but I won’t take all of it.”

“Pride cometh before
a fall, young man. That’s not just a famous quote, it’s the
truth.”

“That’s enough,
Cyndi. I love you, but you know I love him, too.”

“It’s okay, Teeg.
She’s just looking out for you. I appreciate it, and I’m not
going anywhere.”

“I want to believe
you, but I’m going to have to see that happen before I can fully do
that.”

“No offense, ma’am,
but it’s Tegan and Ethan that I need to impress. Not you, or anyone
else. I’d love it if you accept me, but I can’t force you to, and
I won’t try. I’ve never been a kiss-ass.”

“I don’t want you
to kiss my ass, Caleb. I just want you to stand by Tegan this time.
No matter what happens. If you love her like you claim to, you’ll
stand by her.”

“I already told you
that I’m not going anywhere.”

“Then we won’t have
a problem.”

I see her nod to Tegan,
who gives her a shaky smile. Why do I have a feeling that more is
going on here than I know about? I try to catch Tegan’s eye, but
she looks away. I need our guests to leave so I can just be alone
with her and Ethan. Cyndi asked me about being away from my family,
but while I love my parents and grandpa, these two people are the
ones I can’t leave. I wasn’t lying about that.

* * *

Tegan

Cal passed Cyndi’s
test, but we both know the true test will be when he wakes up to find
me gone tomorrow, and how he deals with what he’s going to see
after that. I have to follow through with the plan, though, because I
need him to be safe. That’s more important than love and romance.

I know he wants to talk
to me, but I can’t do that right now. I distract him by shoving my
hands down his jeans once we’re in his room. “Tegan, honey, stop
trying to get out of talking to me.”

I ignore him and drop
to my knees before he can stop me. He makes one more half-assed
attempt to stop me, but once I have him in my mouth, he gives in. I
knew he would, which is why I insisted on this. I love doing this to
him, making him crazy, but this time it’s different. It’s a
distraction, but also a reminder to him that I want to please him. He
pulls me up before he finishes and lies down on his back with me on
top of him.

“You offering me a
ride, Cowboy?”

“Only if it’s hard
and very, very wet.”

“It is,” I say with
a smirk as I look down at his cock, and then swipe a finger over
myself.

I’m glad I took off
my panties earlier, and that I decided to wear a dress today. I offer
my finger to him, and he sucks it into his mouth. He moans as he
looks me in the eye. “We
are
going to talk tomorrow.”

I don’t answer as I
lift myself up and plunge down on him. My eyes practically roll back
in my head at how good he feels inside of me. “Cal.”

“Yeah, that’s it,”
he tells me as I start to move. “Fuck me hard, honey.”

He pulls the sides of
my wrap dress apart, and twists my nipples in his fingers through the
lace of my bra. I arch my back as I lean forward to grab his
headboard. The angle pushes him deeper inside of me, and I get one of
the growls I love out of him. His fingers are a little frantic as he
pushes my bra cups down and starts to move his mouth back and forth
between my breasts. I’m going to have marks from the bites he can’t
stop giving me as he goes a little crazy.

“God, I love it when
you mark me.”

He bites harder, as I
grind down onto his cock. It pushes me over the edge, and I come as
quietly as possible because I don’t want to wake up Ethan. A few
hard pumps later, and Cal comes too, jerking me up with him as he
bites the underside of my right breast one last time. We both just
lie there, breathing hard, for a few minutes.

“Damn, it just gets
hotter and hotter with you.”

“Same.”

“All those years when
we were apart, I used to tell myself that I was just imagining it was
better with you than it was with anyone after. But I wasn’t.
There’s nothing like being inside of you, making love to you.”

“Right back at ya,
Cal. It’s never been like this except with you.”

“Even with Wayne?”

I smile against his
chest. “Yes, you crazy jealous man. I never really enjoyed being
with anyone else, including him, because I only wanted you.”

“You’ve got me,
Teeg. For as long as you want me, which I hope is forever.”

“Careful. That almost
sounds like a proposal.”

“It’s whatever you
want. I’d marry you tonight.”

I want to grab him and
take him down to a chapel right now. We could take Ethan, Cyndi,
Brad, and Stella, and get married in a matter of hours. But I can’t
do that. Not before what I have to do tomorrow. If we were married,
it would make things worse.

“You’re thinking
about it, aren’t you? Should I go get Ethan?”

“You don’t want
that, Cal. Your parents aren’t here.”

“I
do
want it. Do you have something you can wear?”

“Um, yeah. I think I
do.”

“Go call your
friends, then. One request, though.”

“What is it?”

“Can we have Elvis
marry us?”

I burst out laughing.
“Yeah, we can do that.”

“Then get moving. I
want to get my wife back here as soon as possible.”

“You’re really sure
about this? I mean, what if something happens to make you angry at me
again?”

“I’m not a teenager
anymore. If I get really angry at you again, we’ll talk. Now stop
worrying and get a move on.”

* * *

I have the perfect
outfit to wear when getting married in a Vegas wedding chapel. It’s
a white lace cropped shirt, with a matching skirt. It’s from a
classy store, even though it’s a little “club.” I saw it in the
store a couple of months ago and just had to buy it for some reason.
All my girls are here with me, while Ethan and Caleb are downstairs
in Stella’s place with the guys.

“If you’re sure,
Teeg, I have a gift for you. I saw these and knew you had to wear
them for your wedding one day.”

“I’m sure, Stell. I
know this is fast, and probably a little crazy, but I’ve wanted to
marry Caleb since I was thirteen.”

“Not in a Vegas
wedding chapel,” Cyndi reminds me.

“No. I was hoping for
our creek on his family’s ranch. But it’s the marriage, not the
place, that matters.”

“Jade’s going to
replace you tomorrow,” Reina tells me.

“What? No. I need to
be the one to do this. You know that.”

“Caleb isn’t going
to be okay when the pictures surface. Because you’ve already told
us that there will definitely be pictures. It would be hard enough if
he was your boyfriend, but now he’s going to be your husband.”

“He said that if he
ever got really angry at me, we’d talk it out.”

“It’s easy for him
to say that now, before a really bad situation occurs. You know this
is going to be bad,” Cyndi tells me.

“It may be the only
way to end this, to save him. That has to be more important than
protecting my heart.”

“I can’t argue with
that, but just know that I’ll be here to hold you up if he won’t
listen to you.”

“We all will,”
Stella says, coming back into the room with a gorgeous pair of boots.
They’re cream colored satin cowboy boots with gold embroidery.

“Oh my God. Those are
perfect.”

“I knew you’d like
them.”

“I love them. You’re
the best bestie ever!”

“Aww, thanks babe.”

I slip them on and
check my hair once more in the mirror. I put it in a big, loose bun
with a few curls hanging down in front. I smooth down my dress and
smile. I’ll be Tegan Hall in just a couple of hours. And with any
luck, I’ll have taken down the man who’s behind the threats on my
husband tomorrow night.

* * *

Caleb

“You need a hat and
boots, Dad.”

“No, this suit is
fine, E.”

“Nu-uh, Mama’s
going to want you to look like a cowboy.”

Shit. I know he’s
right. “I don’t know if any stores are open.”

“It’s Vegas, man.
We’ll find something that’s open, or they’ll open it for me,”
Wayne tells me with a smirk.

An hour later, I not
only have a hat and boots, but also rings for us. I got her a large
pink diamond with white diamonds running along a twisted black band,
paired with another black band studded with white diamonds that fits
underneath the first one. Mine is just a plain black band. I don’t
need anything fancy, but I know she’s going to love hers. Ethan
gave his stamp of approval, too.

We have to get our
marriage license before the ceremony, so Tegan’s meeting me at the
courthouse. I’m waiting nervously at the counter when she walks in.
I forget how to breathe when I see her. What she’s wearing
shouldn’t look like wedding attire, but paired with the fancy
boots, and the fact that it’s her wearing it, I think she looks
like the perfect bride. Especially with the big smile that breaks
over her face when she takes in my hat and boots.

“You look so good,
Cowboy.”

“You look even
better, honey.”

“Thanks for wearing a
hat and boots.”

“Our son reminded me
that you’d want me like this, and Wayne helped me make it happen.”

“I want you however I
can get you, but I like this. A lot. I’ll have to give Wayne a
thank you kiss.”

“On the cheek,” I
tell her as she laughs. “He also helped me get this.”

I pull out the ring,
and she lets out a little gasp. I drop to one knee so I can ask her
properly. I know we’re already here, getting our license and all,
but I want her to look back and remember that I asked. “I’ve
loved you for more than half my life, Tegan Kelly. Will you please
marry me?”

“Yes, because I’ve
also loved you that long.”

I slide the ring on her
finger and stand up to pull her to me for a kiss. I’m stopped
before our lips touch, though. “You can kiss her when Elvis tells
you to. Until then, she’s off limits,” Stella tells me.

“Fine. But it’s
going to be one of those kisses that makes all the guests feel
awkward, so be prepared.”