A Simple Twist of Fate (10 page)

Then Leah took over. “What about you, Sophie? How did dinner go at your house when you were a kid? What did you talk about?”

Sophie had known the question was coming. The shared looks between Beck and Leah warned her. The only question was what she would say when Leah found the right combination. Sophie didn’t rehearse or plan. She vowed to let the conversation flow and answer in the moment. “Nothing.”

“Sounds quiet,” Beck said.

“What I mean is, I don’t remember.”

His eyes narrowed. “How can you—”

Leah stopped the question with a gentle touch of her hand against his forearm. “This might be too personal.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” Sophie could have stopped there, but the words tumbled out when Beck continued to stare at her, those blue eyes reassuring and calm. “My parents died in a car accident when I was ten. Nothing was really normal after that.”

Beck dropped the bacon strip he was holding. “Damn, Sophie. I’m sorry.”

Sadness moved over Leah’s face. “So am I.”

Sophie didn’t have every piece of information, but she knew Leah had lost her mother young as well. They belonged to the same awful, life-defining club. “You figure out a way to survive.”

Leah nodded. “You do.”

They were quite the trio. Lost parents and childhoods cut short with adult tragedies. Sophie knew she didn’t have to give a drawn-out explanation or hide behind trite phrases about moving on. They knew. All three of them knew that there were things you survived but never truly got over.

The cell on the table hummed and the table vibrated. Leah picked it up then put it right back down without saying a word.

Something about the vacant look on her face and the way the life rushed right out of her had Sophie about to reach her hand across the table to offer comfort.

Beck beat her to it.

“Speaking of family, that was my dad.” Leah swallowed as the light left her eyes. “He’s letting me know I can come to dinner on Sunday if I’ve ‘come to my senses.’”

Beck blew out a long breath. “I wish he’d ease up.”

Sophie knew the town gossip. The news of the family feud spread faster than the flu. Everyone heard about how town icon Marc Baron wanted his daughter away from “that Hanover boy” and that was the nicest quote Sophie had heard. Knowing Declan, seeing him with Leah, Sophie didn’t get the response at all.

Leah turned to Sophie. “My dad hates Declan and thinks I’m disloyal for living here and dating him.”

“Your dad hates anyone with the last name of Hanover.” Beck gave Leah’s hand a squeeze then sat back again.

“He also hates that I’m in this house and he lost it as part of Charlie’s infamous con.”

Beck shook his head. “Charlie Hanover strikes again.”

They acted like she didn’t live in the town and didn’t know how Charlie screwed his best friend Marc when he screwed the town and left with all its money. Sophie decided not to point out how everyone knew the story, even people like her who just moved in.

“Yeah, gotta love family dysfunction,” Leah said.

“I know it doesn’t make it any easier, but almost everyone I’ve heard talk about the situation thinks your dad is out of line.” Sophie regretted the words as soon as she said them. She made it sound like she was going around gossiping about the family when she really did everything she could not to talk about them, including ducking questions from police chief Darber who just last week tried to turn a friendly greeting into a fact-finding mission.

“I appreciate that but, honestly, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. I know Declan. I know these brothers, and I know my father. This isn’t even a close call. I love my dad and miss him, but I would be miserable if I weren’t here.” Leah waved her hands in front of her face and some of the darkness cleared from her expression. “Never mind all that. I want to get back to our conversation.”

“Sounds like we’re about to get hit with a big idea,” Beck joked.

“Exactly. It’s time for us to start a new tradition. Starting next week I’m instituting family dinner night. Every Wednesday, if we can manage it.”

Beck smiled. “Should be interesting.”

“Right. Forget that. If I give you guys a way out, you’ll take it, so consider the meal mandatory.” Leah made the pronouncement with the surety of someone who knew her place in the family and reveled in it.

“Forced togetherness?” Beck asked.

Leah nodded. “Exactly.”

Sophie felt a kick of envy. Leah had come through awful times, found Declan and together they thrived. Any sane person would want that level of love and acceptance.

“I’m in,” Beck said.

Leah shot Sophie an oh-no-you-don’t glance. “And before you think about skulking out of here or making up an excuse why you can’t come to the inaugural dinner, you’re invited.”

Sophie knew she had to put the brakes on before they careened out of control. “I don’t think that’s a great idea.”

“I can make your attendance mandatory as well, you know,” Leah said, smiling around her piece of toast.

Sitting there with all of them, talking and laughing as they did when they got together was so very tempting, yet so wrong. One meal and a bit of background was one thing, but Sophie knew getting sucked into their lives would destroy her when she left. “Family means—”

“You’re going to be there.” From the stark lines around his mouth to the stiff way he held his body, intensity pulsed off Beck as he stared Sophie down. “Remember what I said. No more talk about being an employee only.”

Every time he said that phrase, the words chipped away at the shield she wanted to build against him. “That doesn’t make me family. There are a lot of relationship types between employee and family member.”

“Until we figure out where you fit in, I say you join us for dinner.”

If it were possible for a heart to dance, Sophie’s just did. She felt the flutter and then fought to hide the pickup in her breathing. Her hand shook as she put the last piece of bacon back on her plate.

“What are your brothers going to say to that?” And by “brothers” she meant Callen.

“That’s easy,” Leah said, breaking into the spiraling tension. “Speaking for Declan? He’ll say it’s about damn time we took you in.”

Chapter Ten

Callen sat in the middle of the couch in the television room with his elbows balanced on his knees. He turned the sealed envelope end over end in his hands. Most days he didn’t care what information waited inside. He didn’t rush headfirst into bad news. Not after a lifetime of wallowing in it.

But life had taken a new turn. After a shit storm of a year, ending with a woman he wanted to forget, he had a home. A place to return to each day. Brothers he respected and who made him laugh. The kind of things that seemed so out of his grasp for most of his life but defined stability for other people. He no longer worried about how he would buy food or where he would sleep. He knew if he needed Declan and Beck, they would be there without question.

Even Leah had wormed her way into his heart. He now couldn’t imagine a household without her in it, trying to boss him around.

He smiled at the thought but it fell away again as his mind zoomed back to the run-in with Chief Darber at the post office a half hour before that ended with a “watch your step” warning. The unwanted lecture and the paper under Callen’s fingers were a reminding jolt of an imperfect past. Whatever was in there
could
change everything. Leah warned him, but he’d known before she said a word. He saw it in her eyes, felt the dark clouds rolling in even though he fought to hold them back.

After years of running and fighting and wondering if the police waited on the next street, things were normal. Or what he guessed to be normal. He had no experience with that world or that kind of life.

He spun the envelope one last time then let it slip to the coffee table. He slumped back against the couch cushions and closed his eyes. The soft murmur of voices reached him from the kitchen. He thought about going in but couldn’t stand the idea of another egg-based meal courtesy of Beck. The guy needed a cooking class.

“Hey, Tom’s here.” Declan’s voice boomed through the room. “Are you ready?”

Callen opened his eyes and sat up. “Yeah.”

Declan wasn’t exactly hiding his look of concern. He frowned as he slid around the doorframe and further into the room. “You okay?”

“Better than I have been in a long time, actually.” Callen skipped the part about the police still sniffing around, because Declan didn’t need to worry about that. The investigation the police chief and FBI Special Agent Walker Reeves cooked up centered on Callen, and he was determined to keep the attention off his brothers.

“That’s good to hear.” Declan laughed as he sat on the edge of the table and stared down at the envelope. “Maybe a bit surprising.”

“How so?”

For all Callen knew, Leah filled Declan in on what was in that envelope. He never threw out the pity or acted like anyone other than Declan—strong, smart and sturdy. With Shadow Hill, he thrived as if he’d waited his entire adult life for a home. It, along with Leah, proved to be the balm to keep him settled. He was decent to the bone and hard-working, and Callen admired him.

Callen also wanted to stick around and see how long it took Declan to put a ring on Leah’s finger then watch them build a life together. Callen doubted it would be a lengthy wait.

“I didn’t expect you to say something like that. You’re not exactly a hang-around type, but if that’s changed . . .” Declan shrugged. “I like it.”

“Frankly, liking it here surprised me, too. I came to Sweetwater weeks ago to sign papers and bolt.” The same pattern he’d been repeating for years. Get in and get out even faster.

“Then you fell for the town.”

“Fuck that.”

They both laughed. When they stopped, Declan grew serious. “Then why did you stay?”

Callen didn’t see a reason to duck the question. The answer wasn’t a mystery. Wasn’t a secret either. “You and Beck. A place to settle. Something to finish together.”

“My reasoning was about the same. Chalk one up for family.”

It was as if Declan had forgotten about Callen’s front row seat to the Declan and Leah Dating Show. “Nice try. We both know what body part led you, since what you wanted was Leah.”

“I don’t deny she’s the main draw, but the idea of building something with you and Beck feels right.” Declan thumped his hand against the sturdy doorframe. “And having an actual home instead of an apartment on a military base or tent in the desert doesn’t suck.”

Callen stood up. “Then let’s get outside and repair the rest of it.”

***

Sophie stood at her car later that afternoon and watched Tom circle the side of the Hanover house and head straight for her. The day turned cooler than usual for summer. Not surprising for Oregon where the rain and wind could kick up out of nowhere, but she craved summer. She loved the mild temperatures by the coast and wanted to shout for joy whenever the sun stayed out, warming everything it touched.

But today wasn’t that day. It wasn’t even six yet and a chill moved through the air. She knew because she’d spent hours out in it, clearing out the cottage now that the skunk family had been evicted. And thank you to Tom for that.

She wanted to take a hard run at the kitchen or sneak around Callen’s third-floor space, but Leah and Beck hovered around all afternoon, walking up and down the stairs and talking with each other. They ruined all Sophie’s plans.

This family really needed to work outside of the home a bit more. This office-in-the-house thing was killing her desperate search. With the real work cut off, she had to come up with an excuse to be there, which meant falling back on the fake stuff—cleaning. And that sucked.

“You’re still here?” Tom smiled as he dumped his toolbox in the back of his pickup. “What a surprise.”

Sophie decided to ignore the unspoken Beck-related hint. “You ended up working all day.”

Tom had told her he wanted to do some initial work. Make a list of necessary and emergency repairs then work down to those that might be nice to have, provided one or all of the Hanover brothers had a pile of money somewhere. And despite the rumors about that, Sophie had never seen any signs of extra cash.

Tom rolled down his long sleeves as he came around to lean against the side of the car next to her. He buttoned the ends. “Those two are pretty eager to learn.”

She had to smile at that. “I notice you reference two and not three Hanover brothers.”

“There’s some noise about Beck being the brains behind the family operation.”

At the mention of his name, she felt his presence. She glanced up at the library window expecting to see him standing there, but the curtain stayed closed. “I believe he’s mentioned that once or twice.”

“Speaking of Beck.” With a loud exhale and all the shifting to fold his arms across his chest, Tom likely didn’t need to say what was on his mind.

“We’re not.” She got the gist of Tom’s thoughts and tried to avoid it all. If they weren’t blocking the door to her car, she’d bolt out of there before Tom broached any sensitive topics.

He pushed on anyway. “You should tell Beck.”

“What?” It was an automatic response, the one where she pretended not to get it. Her gaze went across the large expanse of land running along the side of the house. All of that struck her as more fun than looking at Tom’s knowing smile.

“You know what I’m saying. Beck has a right to know what’s behind you ripping his house apart.”

“I’m being careful.”

Tom’s eyebrow lifted. “With stuff, maybe. I’m not sure you’re handling the people part of this all that well.”

The man had a point. He always had a point. From the start Tom told her not to fight Aunt Angela’s battles. He insisted that’s what landed her in trouble to begin with.

Sophie got it but she couldn’t take that route. “I meant why should I tell Beck now.”

Tom tipped his head and stared down at her. “You’re too smart to ask something so dumb.”

The heat of his attention burned into her. It wasn’t as if he said something she hadn’t argued in her own head. The position warred inside her and every time she saw Beck, the “tell him” side inched closer to a win.

But one fact remained. “It’s not my secret to share.”

“Your aunt slept with Charlie, not you.”

If only it were that simple. “I get that.”

“Do you?” Tom’s teeth clenched as he hissed out a long breath. “Angela invited Charlie into her house. Into her bed. Before the sheets had cooled, he took her jewelry, including the heirloom pieces from your uncle’s family. Now he wants them appraised, and she’s run out of time to produce them.”

The whole list of sins and deceits made Sophie’s stomach flip. “She made a mistake.”

“It’s her mistake. Her bad choices. Her affair. Her marriage. But you’re paying for it. She’s got you walking away from your life, running to all of Charlie’s known addresses and sticking you with a promise not to tell anyone even when you are dying to be honest with Beck.”

That was the right word. She ached with the need and every day it grew stronger until it thumped with a life of its own. She wanted him. Maybe just a few days without the promise or the search hanging over her head and guiding her every move. None of that could happen with the mess of lies and deception dragging her down. But still . . .

“This could destroy their marriage.” And the only true family Sophie had left.

It all came down to that. Her aunt and uncle weren’t perfect, but they took her in, raised her. They gave her love and she owed them something, maybe everything. If that turned out to be a relief from the burden of her uncle knowing a truth that could rip their marriage apart, Sophie would run that risk.

Her head spun and her throat strained from the desire to shout the truth. Every morning she woke up determined to march into that house, grab Beck’s hand and sit him down. Let the truth flow out of her and accept whatever anger he aimed her way. But then her aunt would call for a status update and somewhere between begging to explain it all to the Hanovers and her aunt’s hysterical crying at the suggestion, Sophie lost the ability to break her word.

“It’s not okay Angela put you in this position, and I told her that. She knew how dangerous Charlie was and what he had done to my family. Yet, she raced headfirst and fell for every line.”

The truth sucker punched Sophie, robbing her breath. Aunt Angela stepped away from a twenty-year marriage for a fling with Charlie. She knew the dangers, had heard the warnings, but she walked right into the con. And now Sophie was stuck trying to find the evidence before her aunt lost everything.

What really made Sophie sick, like double in half, was the reality she wasn’t the only one hiding information from Beck and his brothers. She wasn’t playing the Hanover brothers. Neither was Tom. But without intending to, they were both running the brothers around.

Sophie decided Tom needed a reminder “My aunt isn’t the only one with something to lose here.”

Tom leaned his head back against the car. “Meaning?”

“As you just pointed out, you have ties to this family and I didn’t hear you laying that on the table before you signed the house rehab contract.” Sophie knew the rough sketch, that Tom somehow accidentally pushed Aunt Angela right into Charlie’s path.

“Yeah, I’ve had my own Charlie issues.”

Sophie wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. She always suspected Tom’s guilt and his role in the mess extended past him introducing Aunt Angela to the man who would shake her confidence, but Sophie couldn’t work up the strength to ask. She just didn’t want one more burden to carry, one more secret to hold.

But none of that forgave Sophie’s ongoing subterfuge. She couldn’t figure out how to fit all those pieces together and make everyone happy. “There are times, separate from all the stuff with Beck, when I think the brothers deserve to know everything from both of us right now, regardless of what that does to Aunt Angela. They’re Charlie’s sons and they’re inviting people into their home who have direct connections with their dead father.”

“Maybe from both of us.” Tom stared at her again. “Definitely from you.”

She snorted. “Oh, so just I should come clean. You’re fine as is?”

“I’m not the one searching their house. That’s you, and it’s messing up your relationship with Beck.”

That’s what—who—it all came down to. When she was searching the house for her aunt’s property without anyone there, she could disconnect the physical structure from human emotion. Then the brothers moved in and Sophie thought she’d buzz through her task, finish it and sneak away. Her unlucky streak survived and she got the sequence all wrong. The brothers moved in, she got sucked in further, and the tie to Beck tightened every day.

She was in such big trouble. She glanced at the house again . . . such big freaking trouble.

“I don’t know what’s happening with Beck.” And that was the truth. She thought she knew after the library, now nothing made sense.

“Yeah, you do.”

“He turned me down.” A fact that dug into her belly and left her aching and raw.

Tom snorted. “What?”

She was thrilled someone found this funny. She sure didn’t. “I made a pass and—

“Hold up.” Tom put up a hand and made a hissing sound through his teeth. “Do I want to hear this?”

“My point is, I gave Beck an opening and he walked away.”

First came the head shaking then the tsk-tsking sound. “Poor bastard.”

As far as Sophie could see Tom’s sympathy was sorely misdirected. Beck stood in the kitchen just that morning whistling—
whistling
, damn him—and appeared just fine. She was the one who had to crawl out of that library and face a guy across the table while her cheeks burned in horror at the memory of his kiss-off.

Yeah, sucked to be her.

“Actually, if you want to be technically correct, I was the one who suffered an ego implosion over the whole scene. Not that he remembered that at breakfast when he changed his mind completely.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing.” If she spent even ten seconds trying to figure out Beck’s wild emotional swings from day to day she’d go insane. It was better to ignore the sexy, sweet side of him for fear of misinterpreting . . . she just didn’t know how to make her head and her heart do that.