Everything in the past few weeks had built that trust brick by brick. Even when he wouldn’t touch me as I craved because I was injured. He’d put my well-being above all else.
I’d have to be blind and a fool not to see that.
“Yes.”
Cal’s heartbeat thumped against my back. I was surprised by my answer too, but if we were going to make this mess work, we had to trust each other.
This isn’t a happily ever after forever, Beau.
No, it was a this man has done everything I’ve needed and more lately and I wouldn’t forget that.
“I agree that we can’t let down our employees, but maybe we can figure out a way to force him into early retirement,” Lincoln said.
“I’ve spent so much time with the man, trying to find anything. There’s nothing.” I threw my hands up helplessly.
“He knows who killed our mother.” Lincoln spoke so quietly I almost didn’t hear him. “But I’m not sure if he’s responsible.”
I was grateful Cal was behind me. I leaned against him for support. This was more than Lincoln had said about our mom in years. He avoided the subject no matter how I pressed.
And this nugget wasn’t exactly what I’d been looking for. I was more curious about what she was like.
But I’d take anything I could get.
As I stared at Lincoln, I realized I was more shocked he’d actually told me than what he’d said. Our father was capable of anything. Even murder.
Chapter Nine
Cal
“Cal, you gotta get me out of here.”
I huddled in the corner of Daniel’s study with the phone pressed to my ear. Joe’s desperate voice nearly tore me apart.
I’d been so focused on Beau, I’d neglected my brother. But if I were honest with myself, he’d needed the time in jail to sober up and hopefully get himself straight.
As pained as he sounded, this was more like the man I recognized. One who was responsible and did the right thing.
“I’ll do what I can, but it may take me a little time.”
I had no idea what I could do. There hadn’t been a hearing yet. I wasn’t sure they’d set bail. I hadn’t even found a lawyer.
I yanked on my hair.
“Can you put up bail money?” He lowered his voice. “You know those fertility treatments wiped me out.”
He’d refinanced their house three times. I’d made more payments on it than I cared to admit because I wanted my brother to have the family he wanted, money be damned.
My gut twisted. “Yeah. I’ve got you.” Where the hell was I going to come up with the cash for bail?
“Thanks.” He was quiet a minute. “I’m sorry. I . . . I screwed up.”
“We’ll figure it out. Just don’t hurt Ma or yourself anymore.”
“My time is up. Will you come see me?”
I glanced at Beau surrounded by her family. Except we were family now. And I had people that needed me too.
“Yeah. I’ll come see you.”
I hung up the phone and stared at the wood paneled walls a minute. I rubbed my face, the weight of all of it catching up.
I didn’t know what time it was, but I had a twenty-four-hour shift starting tomorrow morning. There was so much to get done. And how was I going to watch Beau?
I couldn’t leave her on her own in case her father came after her. What was I gonna do? Tether her to me?
Damn it.
“Everything okay?”
I couldn’t get used to her kindness. I’d been the target of her anger for all these weeks. This was the tone reserved for others. And I wasn’t fool enough to believe some vows had erased the past.
But I’d take it.
I’d take her happy, mad, whatever.
She had enough to shoulder. I didn’t want to burden her any more than she already was. But I wasn’t going to have a marriage—real or fake—based on secrecy.
“Joe, my brother, he’s—“ I scrubbed my face again. “He’s, uh, he’s in jail.”
She thumped me in the chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“When exactly was I supposed to do that? We’ve kinda had a lot going on and you don’t particularly like talking to me all that much.”
She leaned against the mantel. “I’d rather talk about your problems than face mine.”
That I understood. Maybe I’d been doing the same thing.
“His wife cheated on him—”
“Christina?” she asked incredulously.
I lifted a brow, surprised she remembered them from so long ago. Especially since they’d never met.
“Yeah. Knocked up by his best friend too.”
Her lips parted. “They’ve been married forever.”
“I know.” I dumped my phone back in my pocket. “Joe’s had a real tough time with it.”
“Rightly so.” She snorted, sounding pissed off on my brother’s behalf.
“I’m pretty sure she burnt their house down, but they’ve pegged it on Joe.” I tapped my pocket. “That was him. He asked me to come see him.”
“What’s his lawyer say?”
Guilt seeped into me. “I haven’t found him one yet.”
She whistled. “Lincoln, what’s Zegas’s number? I know you have it on speed dial.”
“Have you come to your senses about prosecuting Davenport?” he asked, his arm wrapped tight around Lexie.
“We’ll get to him, but right now Cal’s brother is in trouble.”
“Who?” Teague asked. “I heard some stuff about Joe but wasn’t sure if it was true.”
“What did you hear?” I frowned. Teague and I hadn’t exactly been on speaking terms lately, but I expected him to set all that aside when it came to important things. There were a million rumors about Joe going around. I thought Teague wouldn’t participate in gossip, especially about my family.
“That he beat the shit out of Stanis. And rightly so.”
“Anything else I need to know about?” I had my hackles up. We’d been friends for a long time, but I was out of sorts. Everything was upside down.
“That’s it.” Teague folded his arms. “Now that we’re all cozy, why don’t you start telling me about you and my sister?”
“It’s none of our business,” Pepper said quietly, even as she laced her fingers though his.
“She’s—”
“A grown woman who knows when she needs us,” she finished for him.
He clamped his mouth shut.
“If you want an apology from me, you aren’t gonna get it.” I had nothing to be sorry for. Maybe we shouldn’t have snuck around. And maybe I had broken some sort of bro code I didn’t know about. But Pepper was right. Me and Beau . . . we were our own business.
“Considering you’re really related now, you two had better patch things up.”
Everyone but me looked incredulously at Lincoln.
“What?” he asked. “It’s true.”
“Where did you pick up that phrase? Patch things up?” Lexie asked.
I was lost. The guy seemed formal, but it was common enough language that most people probably knew it.