AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This is too much. “Why would he lie? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Saxon looks wounded as he confesses, “Because he wanted to ensure that I stayed here and looked after the farm with Dad while he went off to college and lived the dream. If not both, then one of us was expected to stay—no guessing which child my parents preferred. Sam wanted to make sure there was no hope of me getting into college and moving away. He was looking after himself. Better I stay here than him.”
I shake my head. “But he didn’t accept the scholarship. He stayed here, and he did what your father wanted anyway. And your mom and dad, they seemed so proud of him. I don’t understand.”
“I told him if he didn’t tell mom and dad what we did, then I would. He always feared the wrath of Kellie, so he finally agreed. Deep down, I think he knew she’d never believe me. But Greg did. He knew Sam wasn’t a good student, and that his top marks must have been my doing. Kellie and Greg feared what this would do to the Stone name if I ever spilled. And they knew that I would. So behind my back, they made a deal. Sam was to graduate, but as punishment for his actions, he would no longer be offered a scholarship.”
“And your punishment,” I whisper.
“I was to graduate bottom of the class, with no hope of ever getting into a decent college. My mistake was their reward as I had just doomed Sam and my future. To their friends on the school board, they looked honorable, teaching their sons a lesson. But in reality, they were only doing this for themselves. Yes, they were proud he was a great basketballer. But that stopped the minute high school ended. It was always expected Sam and I were to work with Greg. ‘I can’t haveStone and Sonswithout my sons,’ Greg would state, saying he would be the laughing stock in Big Sky County and beyond. And this was his way to ensure we never left. All hope for the future was gone. Sam at least had a chance at going to college. But me, I was stuck regretting the biggest mistake of life.”
“Why didn’t you fight them?”
“Kellie and Greg would have no doubt manipulated the situation to work in their favor. There was no point fighting them. I did that my entire life and lost. My parents fixed the system so their kids failed. How messed up is that? Loving parents would want the opposite for their kids. But my parents are one of a kind. The results were kept secret, of course. Couldn’t tarnish the Stone name. It appeared that Sam and I stayed here by choice. But we never did have a choice.”
This explains Kellie’s hatred for Saxon. In her eyes, he was trying to take Sam away from her.
“That’s why you left?”
“Yes. It was time I made my own destiny,” he says with conviction.
“Sam ruined your life,” I cry, gripping the edges of the blanket, huddling beneath it. “You could have gone to college. You could have been anything you wanted to be.” Sam was right, Saxon was the smart brother. But because of one simple mistake, his future was taken away from him.
No wonder Sam never wanted to talk about college or the scholarship. Always brushing it off like it was his choice. But in reality, there was never a choice to be made.
Kellie, Greg, and Samuel were happy to see Saxon gone, as he took their secrets with him. “None of them deserved your help,” I exclaim, outraged at them. “But yet, you still came.”
“I came because you asked me to,” he simply replies. “I stayed because I knew how much you loved him. As much as I didn’t want him to remember, I was going to try because I couldn’t stand to see you cry.”
This man has always had my best interests at heart—it’s too bad I was blinded by something that was all lies. “I don’t even know w-who Sam is. He never l-loved me. It explains why he doesn’t remember me,” I stutter, choking on my grief.
His face turns soft, affectionate as he looks at me. “Yes, Lucy, he does. How can anyone not love you? At first, he did it because he was curious. But then he saw what a compassionate, extraordinary person you are, and he fell in love with you. And you fell in love with him.”
I choke back my sob. I don’t know what the truth is anymore.
A weight appears to be lifted off his shoulders, but I can still see his pain. “So that’s the Stone family secret. You now know it all. I wouldn’t blame you if you went running for the hills. I did. When I finally stopped feeling sorry for myself, I packed up my shit and moved from town to town. I got a job at a garage in Oregon, working for a guy named Gus. He was like a father to me. When he passed away to lung cancer, he left me the shop. Nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
I’ve missed so much of Saxon’s life. But I’ve also missed so much of mine. I can’t help but think what person I would have grown into if I had spent my life with Saxon and not Sam. Would I still be the same person I am now? Would I live where I do? Go to college where I did?
I could have been an entirely different person, and I suddenly feel cheated that the decision was taken away from me. I know Saxon had my best interests at heart, but he took away my choices. He made a decision for me which wasn’t his to make.
“You should have told me,” I press, my lower lip trembling.
My words appear to crush him. “I know. I’m sorry, Lucy. I was a dumb kid, angry at the world. And when I got older, it was too late. Looking in on your life, it was perfect, and I wanted that for you. You deserved that. I couldn’t offer you that. I still have nothing to offer you,” he confesses, lowering his eyes.
“Don’t say that.” His sadness hurts my heart.
“Regardless of what Sam did, you loved him. If I had told you, would you have believed me?” he poses.
Now I’m the one to avert my eyes, as I’m afraid to face the answer.
Remembering Sam’s comment about his good grades has me thinking he remembers bits and pieces. But I’m certain he doesn’t remember his parent’s sabotage—lucky for him. “Does he remember he did this?”
Saxon raises his shoulders. “I don’t know. I thought that he did, but now, I’m not so sure. He might have the luxury of forgetting, but I don’t. I live with the memory of what could have been, but never will, every day.”
Recalling Sam’s confession, I reveal, “He told me you spoke to him the night he woke up from a coma.”
“He heard that?” he asks, stunned.
