Any Time, Any Place
Page 69
Cal remained silent. Dalton took a sip of beer. His breath strangled in his chest, and in that moment, he knew he needed his brothers.
“Raven’s father was Matthew Hawthorne. The man who ran away with Mom.”
Tristan jerked so hard, red wine sloshed over the rim of his glass and onto his pressed slacks. He didn’t even notice. “You’re fucking with me.”
Dalton shook his head, rubbing his gritty eyes. “Wish I was. I just found out last week. The night she stayed for dinner.”
Cal finally spoke up. “What did she say?”
Bitterness leaked through his words. “She was full of excuses. Said she’s been haunted for years about her father and the way we talked about him back then. Said she realized who we were the first night in the bar, but she didn’t say anything until she decided to use me to gain information.”
“Wait. She what?” Tristan asked in shock. “You mean Raven was dating you to get information on Mom? What the hell!”
“What was her plan?” Cal asked quietly. “To confront us? Confront you? What did she expect to find?”
“She said at first she thought Mom was the one who manipulated her father, but now she thinks they were in love. She planned to confront us when she learned Mom was some type of seductress—such a bunch of crap. But then she decided she’d been wrong, and she doesn’t believe Mom was at fault. I guess I told her shit along the way that she was filing in her head. I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming, or make any type of connection. Her father called her Bella—that’s how she was listed in his obituary—so that probably threw me off. And to be honest, we were so shell-shocked we never really cared about who Matthew was leaving behind.”
“Did she admit she slept with you to gather this information on Mom?” Cal asked gently.
His gut lurched. “No. But she was lying.” He studied Cal’s face, which reflected calm. “Why aren’t you freaking out about this?”
Cal met his gaze head-on. “Because I knew.”
His fingers gripped the beer bottle. Rage swept over him. “You knew she was lying and manipulating me and didn’t say anything? Do you still hate me for what happened years ago and want some revenge?”
Cal cut his hand through the air. “Don’t be stupid, it wasn’t like that. When you started crushing on her so bad, and she kept treating you like she’d known you before, I got curious. So I Googled her. Figured out he was her father. I didn’t want to tell you anything, because I was keeping watch, and you both seemed genuinely happy. I just got a feeling, Dalton, that she wasn’t lying about how she felt. I planned on confronting her if she didn’t tell you soon.”
Dalton jumped up from the chair, glaring. “Are you fucking kidding me? How could you not tell me the woman I was hot for was the daughter of a man I despised? He killed Mom!”
“What were you thinking, Cal?” Tristan asked.
Cal remained steady, staring back with an innate calm. “Because I agree with Raven. I don’t think this is about blame, or manipulation, or one of them seducing the other. I think they were truly in love and were trying to figure it out.”
“But she left,” Dalton said. “She took our baby teeth, remember? That proves she wasn’t coming back.”
“No, I thought that, too, but after this past year I changed my mind. I reconnected with you both, and it started me thinking about Mom again and what I knew about her. I think she took those teeth to keep us close with her, and I think she was coming back. Mom loved us too much. But she’d been miserable with Dad for so long, maybe when she met Raven’s father, she found real love.” He sighed and looked out into the dark, his voice sad. “Maybe I understand better because I now know what it’s like to love someone so much.”
“I can’t believe it,” Dalton muttered. His head throbbed. “You’re defending her.”
“No. What she did sucked, because it made you question if anything was real. But if she was like us, and obsessed with figuring out why her father left, don’t you think you might have done the same?”
“No,” Dalton said stubbornly. “I don’t lie.”
“What about when you decided not to tell me my fiancée was cheating on me? Instead, you kept the information to yourself and made this elaborate plan to prove it. That was a lie.”
“I told you—I was young and stupid, I wasn’t thinking.”
Cal shrugged. “Maybe she got wrapped up in trying to defend her father’s reputation. She was young when he died. Dad made sure he told everyone Hawthorne manipulated Mom, and gossip was fierce. Hell, stores wouldn’t even sell his paintings anymore. We’d dragged his name through the mud. Must’ve stung.”
His thoughts whirled, confused. “I don’t understand why you kept this from me.”
“Because I’ve never seen you so happy before,” he said simply. “You changed. It was like you found a piece of yourself, and that’s rare. I wanted her to tell you herself, in her own time, so you could both work it out.”
Dalton backed up, shaking his head. “There’s nothing to work out anymore. It’s over. I can’t trust her, and God help me, I don’t feel like I can trust you, either. I’m going to bed.”
He ignored his brother’s calls and headed to his room, running from the ghosts of the present and the past.
Raven checked her phone. Nothing. It had been an entire week since their night together, and he refused to return any of her calls or texts. Panic was beginning to set in. She’d never imagined they wouldn’t be able to work past their history, but now she realized her lies had damaged him on a deeper level. She’d broken his trust, and Raven wondered if he’d ever be able to give her another chance. Sick at heart, she went through the motions serving drinks at the bar and keeping orders moving from the kitchen. Should she try to go to his house? Did he need more time? Her mind spun with possibilities. She’d thought about reaching out to Morgan or one of his brothers, but that felt cowardly. No, she needed to deal directly with Dalton, because he was the one she’d hurt.
Through spending time with him the past weeks, Raven had reached her own conclusions about their parents. But Dalton never had the chance. Maybe if she gave him an opportunity to talk about her father, he’d understand more. She needed to convince him the only reason she’d slept with him was her body’s wracking demand and need for him to complete her.
“Raven’s father was Matthew Hawthorne. The man who ran away with Mom.”
Tristan jerked so hard, red wine sloshed over the rim of his glass and onto his pressed slacks. He didn’t even notice. “You’re fucking with me.”
Dalton shook his head, rubbing his gritty eyes. “Wish I was. I just found out last week. The night she stayed for dinner.”
Cal finally spoke up. “What did she say?”
Bitterness leaked through his words. “She was full of excuses. Said she’s been haunted for years about her father and the way we talked about him back then. Said she realized who we were the first night in the bar, but she didn’t say anything until she decided to use me to gain information.”
“Wait. She what?” Tristan asked in shock. “You mean Raven was dating you to get information on Mom? What the hell!”
“What was her plan?” Cal asked quietly. “To confront us? Confront you? What did she expect to find?”
“She said at first she thought Mom was the one who manipulated her father, but now she thinks they were in love. She planned to confront us when she learned Mom was some type of seductress—such a bunch of crap. But then she decided she’d been wrong, and she doesn’t believe Mom was at fault. I guess I told her shit along the way that she was filing in her head. I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming, or make any type of connection. Her father called her Bella—that’s how she was listed in his obituary—so that probably threw me off. And to be honest, we were so shell-shocked we never really cared about who Matthew was leaving behind.”
“Did she admit she slept with you to gather this information on Mom?” Cal asked gently.
His gut lurched. “No. But she was lying.” He studied Cal’s face, which reflected calm. “Why aren’t you freaking out about this?”
Cal met his gaze head-on. “Because I knew.”
His fingers gripped the beer bottle. Rage swept over him. “You knew she was lying and manipulating me and didn’t say anything? Do you still hate me for what happened years ago and want some revenge?”
Cal cut his hand through the air. “Don’t be stupid, it wasn’t like that. When you started crushing on her so bad, and she kept treating you like she’d known you before, I got curious. So I Googled her. Figured out he was her father. I didn’t want to tell you anything, because I was keeping watch, and you both seemed genuinely happy. I just got a feeling, Dalton, that she wasn’t lying about how she felt. I planned on confronting her if she didn’t tell you soon.”
Dalton jumped up from the chair, glaring. “Are you fucking kidding me? How could you not tell me the woman I was hot for was the daughter of a man I despised? He killed Mom!”
“What were you thinking, Cal?” Tristan asked.
Cal remained steady, staring back with an innate calm. “Because I agree with Raven. I don’t think this is about blame, or manipulation, or one of them seducing the other. I think they were truly in love and were trying to figure it out.”
“But she left,” Dalton said. “She took our baby teeth, remember? That proves she wasn’t coming back.”
“No, I thought that, too, but after this past year I changed my mind. I reconnected with you both, and it started me thinking about Mom again and what I knew about her. I think she took those teeth to keep us close with her, and I think she was coming back. Mom loved us too much. But she’d been miserable with Dad for so long, maybe when she met Raven’s father, she found real love.” He sighed and looked out into the dark, his voice sad. “Maybe I understand better because I now know what it’s like to love someone so much.”
“I can’t believe it,” Dalton muttered. His head throbbed. “You’re defending her.”
“No. What she did sucked, because it made you question if anything was real. But if she was like us, and obsessed with figuring out why her father left, don’t you think you might have done the same?”
“No,” Dalton said stubbornly. “I don’t lie.”
“What about when you decided not to tell me my fiancée was cheating on me? Instead, you kept the information to yourself and made this elaborate plan to prove it. That was a lie.”
“I told you—I was young and stupid, I wasn’t thinking.”
Cal shrugged. “Maybe she got wrapped up in trying to defend her father’s reputation. She was young when he died. Dad made sure he told everyone Hawthorne manipulated Mom, and gossip was fierce. Hell, stores wouldn’t even sell his paintings anymore. We’d dragged his name through the mud. Must’ve stung.”
His thoughts whirled, confused. “I don’t understand why you kept this from me.”
“Because I’ve never seen you so happy before,” he said simply. “You changed. It was like you found a piece of yourself, and that’s rare. I wanted her to tell you herself, in her own time, so you could both work it out.”
Dalton backed up, shaking his head. “There’s nothing to work out anymore. It’s over. I can’t trust her, and God help me, I don’t feel like I can trust you, either. I’m going to bed.”
He ignored his brother’s calls and headed to his room, running from the ghosts of the present and the past.
Raven checked her phone. Nothing. It had been an entire week since their night together, and he refused to return any of her calls or texts. Panic was beginning to set in. She’d never imagined they wouldn’t be able to work past their history, but now she realized her lies had damaged him on a deeper level. She’d broken his trust, and Raven wondered if he’d ever be able to give her another chance. Sick at heart, she went through the motions serving drinks at the bar and keeping orders moving from the kitchen. Should she try to go to his house? Did he need more time? Her mind spun with possibilities. She’d thought about reaching out to Morgan or one of his brothers, but that felt cowardly. No, she needed to deal directly with Dalton, because he was the one she’d hurt.
Through spending time with him the past weeks, Raven had reached her own conclusions about their parents. But Dalton never had the chance. Maybe if she gave him an opportunity to talk about her father, he’d understand more. She needed to convince him the only reason she’d slept with him was her body’s wracking demand and need for him to complete her.
