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I want to hate him, but it’s not in me. I want to distrust him, but I can’t do that either. He’s saving my and my dad’s lives.
I think maybe I blame Callum for my current predicament. He dumped me and left me vulnerable to his insidious brother. In my mind, that could make complete sense, but then my heart tells me I’m being ridiculous. I’m the one who got involved with Joshua.
But damn it… Callum abandoned me. He told me he loved me in one breath but in the next, he wasn’t ready to commit. My life turned out the way it did because Callum said “never” to me.
“I’m fine,” I assure him, shoring up my resolve. I can be brave and strong.
And I’ve had to do that so often over these last fifteen years, I don’t need Callum’s moral support. It’s enough that he’s taking me away from here. I’ll find a way to pay him back and then I’ll figure out how to make my own way in the world.
CHAPTER 11
Callum
My nerves are already frayed as I help my mom from the passenger seat. While she’s made a remarkable recovery, she’s still a bit weak and leans heavily on my arm as we slowly walk along the stone path that leads to the front portico.
Juniper lags behind us looking incredibly uncomfortable. I have Preston’s assurances that Joshua will not be here, but Juni looks like he might jump out from behind the bushes to grab her. Of course, if he did, I’d stomp his ass.
While I’d love to put my arm around Juniper to comfort her, I can’t let go of my mother, and besides… it’s not my place to provide that to Juni. No matter how much I’d love to pull her into my arms and feel her against me, that’s not something I can have.
Frankly, I don’t deserve it.
The front door opens and Preston stands there with a woman at his side—supposedly the nurse he hired. Preston spares a glance at Juniper, then me and finally a smile breaks out on his face as it lands on his wife.
“Lila,” he murmurs, stepping across the threshold and taking her from my grasp. She willingly goes into his arms and they hug. I’m not sure if the act is a show for the nurse, but Preston murmurs words of comfort and welcome. Mom just snuggles into him more and it makes me want to vomit.
Juniper comes to stand beside me on the porch as Preston introduces the nurse, who immediately takes my mom to whisk her away to the master suite in the first-level west wing of the house.
“I’ll come say goodbye before we leave,” I tell my mom as I kiss her cheek.
“You come say goodbye too,” my mom says to Juniper.
“Of course I will,” Juni promises.
We’re all silent as the nurse and Mom disappear, then Preston turns to face us. We’re still on the porch and he crosses his arms over his chest.
“I don’t like this one bit,” he says.
“What’s that?” I clasp my hands before me. “That your wife survived the fall or that Juniper is moving out?”
“You ungrateful brat,” Preston seethes. “I took you in as my own… provided for you.”
I’m not going to argue with him about that. He’s fucking lying through his teeth. He might have provided me with a room, but I got nothing from this man. I’ve worked for what I have while Joshua had everything handed to him on a silver platter.
Not that it really bothered me because I never expected anything. The only thing I wanted him to do was keep his fucking hands to himself.
Preston turns to Juniper. “If you’d come to my office, I’d like to talk to you privately.”
I move forward and slightly to the right to put myself in front of Juniper. “Not going to happen. If you have something to say to her, say it now. Otherwise, we’ve got some things to pack. I assume Joshua is not in the house.”
“He’s not here,” Preston clips out before facing Juni. “Please reconsider this. Joshua wants to work this out. You two just need some time… maybe a vacation together. He works long hours and he can change—”
“Your son beats me,” Juniper snaps, causing me to turn to look at her. Preston’s mouth slams shut as his eyes widen. “There is no working it out. I would have left a long time ago if I wasn’t so worried about my dad. But now that he’s safe, I’m done with this family. Unless you have fond farewells and good luck to offer me, I’m going to my room to start packing.”
Preston’s face is mottled red with anger but to my surprise, he merely offers a curt nod. Pivoting on his foot, he heads off toward the main suite, presumably to check on his wife.
When he’s out of sight, Juniper lets out a huge sigh. She offers me a lopsided smirk. “That went much better than I expected.”
Smiling, I lift my chin toward the door. “Head up to your room and get working. I’ll grab the suitcases from the car.”
