AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“House. Now.” I pointed in the direction and continued my way down the path without waiting to see if she’d follow. I wasn’t going to air any of our private matters out in the open. I took out my phone and texted Drew to meet us there. Or at least me there. I still couldn’t bring myself to check behind me to make sure Tori was following. If she wasn’t, then I’d just tell him what I’d heard, and we’d decide how to handle it. If she was there, then we’d speak about it together.
Andrew was climbing up the steps of the front porch when I passed the big cottonwood tree near our house. The clapboard structure appeared peaceful and serene from the outside, with its hidden oasis behind it that we’d set up—a private sanctuary for this to all blow over, possibly.
Andrew held the door open, first for me, and then Tori. When I glanced behind me, I caught the two of them exchange a questioning look. Tori just shrugged. I hated to be the one to have to break this news to my brother. He may be calm now, but he wouldn’t be in a few seconds.
“Caleb, what’s going on?” Andrew asked, the first to break the silence after we all piled into the living room.
“Ask Tori.” I jerked my chin in her direction. She had the audacity to cock her head and scrunch her forehead.
“Caleb, you’re the one who was upset when I left the main house. I don’t know what’s wrong.” Her innocent voice grated on my nerves.
“What’s wrong is the lack of trust around here. I should have known better, but I let myself and Andrew get played.” I wiped my hand down my face. “You clearly have no respect for us if you think we would be okay with you using us in whatever lie you’re working on telling your family.”
Tori’s face sheeted white. She knew exactly what I was talking about now.“I don’t know what you heard, Caleb, but I had no intention of using either of you.”
“Don’t lie to me,” I growled. “You’ve already lied to us from the very beginning, haven’t you? You lied to Andrew the night you met him at the bar, by faking your voice like you did.” I peaked at Drew to see if he was following. He wrapped his hand around the base of his neck and averted his eyes.
“I only did that to protect myself. Ask the girls, if you want. I did that every time we went out. It had started off as a joke and then it stuck. I was tired of people taking notice of me because of my accent.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at me. “I dropped it as soon as I saw you on the ranch.”
“You did, I’ll give you that,” I admitted. “But what about why you’re here? From what you’ve told us, you don’t want to go home because you don’t want to fulfill your family obligations. Yet, you’ve been cagey about what those obligations are. I’d assumed it was taking over the family business, since you mentioned it a time or two, but that’s not what I overheard you say today.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have been listening outside the door,” Tori shot back. Anger made her hand tremble, and she popped them on her hips.
“I was only listening because I came to your office to surprise you. Instead, I was the one surprised. You seem to tell the girls everything about yourself, but we get kept in the dark. Was it all a lie? The helpless act you portrayed, the going on and on about wanting to be treated differently and learn new things? I never noticed how you haven’t once really opened up to us.”
“That’s not true.” Her voice trembled, and her arms shifted to wrap around her waist.
“What do we really know about you Tori? You know Andrew loves to cook and I have a dominant side to me no one else will ever see, but what did we get to learn about you?”
Tori’s eyebrows drew together, and she bit her bottom lip. If she had to think that hard, then the answer was obvious. “I’m sorry. What do you want to know?” Her eyes found mine again.
“Why don’t you fill us in on everything?” Andrew chimed in. His voice strained with tension. He was still in the dark and kept flashing me looks I interpreted as him telling me to get on with it—to tell him what had upset me so much.
“Maybe tell us why you’re so set on lying to your mother about being pregnant,” I growled.
Andrews eyes narrowed, a hint of pain flickering in them. “Is that true?”
Tori sighed. “Yes, but let me explain.”
My brother shook his head and paced the living room. “Fine. Talk.”
“I came here after I graduated from University. If you didn’t already know before, I was promised to Thomas and Declan by our parents, but when they found Alex, I was released from that arrangement. I was forced into a new one my parents concocted for the benefit of our family’s businesses and charities. The men they practicallysoldme to are a horrible group of assholes who want me under their thumb and will never see me as an equal.” Tori forced the last bit out through clenched teeth.
As much as I wanted to feel bad for her, I was still torn apart by her betrayal. By her lies. She could have told us all this in the beginning. We would have supported her and stood by her. Things might have gone a little differently, and maybe we could have worked out a plan instead of buying time until she had to leave us.
“No one has ever shown me the kind of love you two have. I’m so sorry. I didn’t tell you because I was scared I was going to lose this.” She gestured at the two of us. “Lose you two.”
I grunted and leaned against the nearby wall.
Tori sat down on the couch. “At first I thought this was just a fling. I was amazed to have both of you treat me the way I had always dreamed of.”
Her gaze met my hardened one and quickly skittered away. “And then as time went on, I thought if I told you, then you would be upset and leave me. I know I should have come to you about what I was planning, but you have to understand I can’t go home to those guys. I have to think of something.” Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, turning her blue gaze glassy.
My heart ached for her. And while a logical side of me understood, the emotional side was howling in pain. No matter her reasoning, I still felt like I’d been betrayed.
Andrew held up his hand, calling attention to himself so he could speak. “Do I have this right? You were going to lie to your family, tell them you were pregnant by a total stranger, all because you think it’s the one and only way to get those other men to let you go?”
Tori nodded.
