Never to Keep (Accepting Fate #1) (6 page)

“Tate and I can autograph a few things for you to auction off as a fundraiser.”

“That’s very generous; I’ll keep it in mind. I don’t want to take advantage of either of you, so I’m going to try other methods first.”

Marina nodded and pulled a file folder from her giant purse that was probably worth more than I made in a month. “I found out recently that my mother had a baby boy about a year before I was born.” She fiddled with the corner of the folder as she spoke. “She was pregnant with you when she met my father. He didn’t want to raise another man’s child, so he forced her to give you up.” Her sad, blue eyes were strikingly similar to mine. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be—my parents are great. I still live with them. I have no regrets.” I could have done without Thomas’s drama over the years, but, for the most part, my life had been wonderful. “I have two brothers. Thomas is three years older, and Finn is seven months younger. Mom didn’t realize she was pregnant with Finn when they adopted me.” I knew it wouldn’t have changed anything if she had known. “I actually just got back from Finn’s wedding in the Midwest.”

“Let me get this straight,” she giggled, “your parents named their kids Tom, Sawyer, and Finn?”

“Yeah, Mom’s a retired middle school English teacher and a big fan of Twain. She used to introduce us that way: Tom, Sawyer, and Finn. That’s why Thomas refuses to go by Tom.” I’d always been grateful she didn’t name me Huck.

“What about your dad, what does he do?”

“He’s a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. He’s probably worked on most of your co-stars.” Marina listened attentively as I told her more about my family and my childhood.

“It sounds as if the adoption was a blessing for you,” Marina said when I paused. “I’m so glad you grew up in a happy home.” Tate took her hand in his as her eyes fell. She obviously hadn’t been as lucky. Marina and Tate were the biggest movie stars in the world, yet she’d looked at me wistfully when I told her the tale of my ordinary life. Something was haunting her. Something unspeakable had happened to my baby sister, and I hadn’t been there to protect her.

“Can I meet our mother sometime?” My stomach churned at the thought that she had also been hurt.

“She died a long time ago.” I could see in her eyes that she wasn’t ready to go into details, so I didn’t press. “I have something of hers I want to give you. I can tell by looking at you that you’re my brother; however, my lawyers insist on a DNA test first.”

“You don’t have to give me anything, though, I think it would be nice to know for sure.”

“She would’ve wanted you to have it, and I don’t want or need it. Once we get the test results back, I’ll get it all set up.” Marina slid a photograph across the table. “This is our mother.” There was no doubt she was my mother, even though her eyes were golden brown.

“She was beautiful,” I said. My eyes were locked on the image of the woman who gave me life.

“I agree.” When I looked up, she was silently begging me to move on to another topic of conversation. Unfortunately, she beat me to it. “So, you want to tell me why you were so grumpy earlier?” My cheeks burned at the thought of my one-night stand. I’d enjoyed the distraction Marina provided, but she couldn’t erase the memory of waking up alone.

“Ah, a girl,” she said knowingly. She’d only been my sister for a couple of hours and was already sticking her nose in my business.

“It’s nothing.” I shrugged, trying to play it cool. “Just weren’t on the same page.” We weren’t even reading the same book. I was trying to figure out how I could keep fucking her for the foreseeable future without my brother finding out while she was planning her escape.

Fuck her; she was the same as the women Thomas warned me about. I’d dodged a bullet and would never make that mistake again. From now on, I would fuck ’em and leave ’em. I wouldn’t get my hopes up and sure as hell would never get attached.

“I’ll get over it,” I lied.

Sawyer

A month after we first connected, I met up with Marina for lunch on the set of her latest movie. “I got the results of the DNA test last week. I couldn’t believe it,” she said. She took a bite of her salad and pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose. The weather was absolutely perfect.

“Are we not related?” I asked. Disappointment crept in. I’d really grown attached to her over the past few weeks.

“We are related, just more so than I thought. I had my private investigator do some research, and I think I have it figured out,” she said.

“What does that mean?”

“It turns out you are my half-brother, full-brother, and cousin.” Her eyes lit up as I tried to figure out her riddle.

“How on earth is that possible?”

“The DNA test said we are full siblings, but I know that isn’t true because of the circumstances surrounding your adoption. There is no way my father would have given up a son.” She paused to take a sip of her diet soda. “My father was an identical twin. My PI found evidence that my uncle knew our mother around the time you were conceived. My father was estranged from his family at the time, so he never knew about the affair. They didn’t reconnect until after I was born, so my uncle never knew about you.”

“That explains the eyes.”

“Exactly. The report says we share a little over fifty-five percent of our DNA, which is fairly high, even for full siblings.”

“Is my father still alive?” I wasn’t sure how I would feel about meeting him. There wasn’t a hole in my life I needed him to fill because I already had a dad, and I had a blood relative thanks to Marina.

“He passed away when I was in college. He was my favorite person in the entire world. He raised me after my parents died. I still have all of his things; you can come over and look through them to see if there’s anything you want. I’d love to tell you all about him.”

“Hey, bro,” Tate said as he took a seat next to Marina on the picnic table bench. I nodded my greeting to my sister’s long-time boyfriend because my mouth was full.

“What time do you wrap tonight?” she asked Tate. “I want to have Sawyer over for dinner.” She turned her attention back to me. “If you’re free, that is.”

“I don’t have any plans,” I said. I never had any plans that didn’t involve my sister or teaching dyslexic kids how to read.

“We’re making good progress, so I should be done around five,” Tate said. “They’re filming the fight scene with the stunt guys tonight.”

“Perfect. How about you come over around seven?” she asked me.

“Sounds great.”

*

Marina’s house was beautiful, but it was not at all what I’d expected. This was the kind of house a lawyer would have; it wasn’t grand enough for Hollywood’s golden couple.

“What were you going to tell me about your sister-in-law?” she asked. I had told her all about Kristy during our chats over the past month. I had started to tell Marina about the latest drama on the phone earlier, but was cut off when she was unexpectedly called to the set.

My fury came rushing back as I began to tell her the story. “I got home after lunch and found a moving truck in the driveway. Finn and the bitch are moving in with my parents while they remodel their house. Said it could take the better part of a fucking year. I’m going to have to move out.”

“I’ve never met her, but based on what you’ve said, I think that’s the best thing to do. I’ll help you find a place.”

“I think I need a change of scenery. I kind of liked Indiana when I was there for Finn’s wedding. Maybe I’ll get an apartment in LA until the school year is over and then look for a place there.”

“I’d hate for you to leave, but I understand the feeling of needing to get away.”

“That was delicious, Del,” Tate said as he cleared his dishes.

“Thanks, Tater,” she smiled up at him. In this house, they were just Marina and Tate—well, Del and Tater—two ordinary people with stupid nicknames for each other. Someday, I’d have to ask him why he called her Del.

“That was really good,” I said to my sister. “Let me help clean up.”

“No, it’s Tate’s turn to do the dishes. I want to show you something.” She took my hand and led me down one of the hallways to a spare bedroom.

“Oh, before I forget. Remember how I said I wanted to give you something from our mother?”

“Yes. Remember how I said you didn’t have to?”

She waved her hand in the air to dismiss my question. “Mom left me some money when she died. I lived off of it until I started making money of my own. I used it to pay for college and bought this house with it. I haven’t touched it since I got my first paycheck. I want you to have what’s left of it.”

“She may have given birth to me, but she was your mom, not mine. She didn’t even know my name.”

“If I stopped working now, I could maintain my lifestyle for the rest of my life and the next three generations would never have to work. That’s not taking into account any interest it would earn. I would never be able to spend my money, let alone hers.” She looked at me with the same blue eyes I saw in the mirror every morning. “I really want you to have it. It’ll make me feel better knowing you don’t have to worry about finances. Plus, you can use some of it to help you move.”

I didn’t think there could be very much left, and it would make it easier to get away from Kristy as soon as humanly possible.

“Just how much money are we talking about? Maybe I can borrow it from you until I get on my feet.”

“Close to fifty; I forget the exact number. Give me a minute, and I’ll find out for sure.” She sat down at the computer desk and began typing.

“Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money. There’s no way I can accept that much.” I hoped she didn’t see me as a charity case. I could figure out a way to move out of my parents’ house without her help.

“Looks like it’s slightly north of fifty-two.” She continued to type for another minute and then logged off.

“I could help a lot of kids with fifty-two thousand dollars, but I’m seriously not interested in taking money that isn’t mine. Maybe you can just donate it to some of the non-profits that serve the kids in my class.”

“It’s too late; I had my financial advisor transfer the money to your account this afternoon.”

I was stunned. “How did you get my account information?”

“My private investigator is the best in the world—didn’t take him long at all.” She grinned at me. “And it’s fifty-two million, not fifty-two thousand. Don’t spend it all in one place.”

Madison

“Earth to Mads, did you hear a single word I said?” Ethan leaned over the table and waved a hand in my face.

The din of the busy diner came rushing back to my ears. “Oh, sorry, I must have spaced out for a minute.” I blinked a few times to dislodge the memories of being here with him in happier times. It had been ten months since I’d seen Ethan at Ryan’s funeral and nine years since we’d sat in this booth wearing fancy clothes after Ethan’s senior prom.

He took my hand in his. “It’s okay. I know this is hard for you.” He stroked his thumb across the back of my hand. His touch was almost foreign. It didn’t comfort me like it had a year ago. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you agreed to meet with me.”

“I’m grateful to you for helping Olivia get the treatment she needs. I shouldn’t have gone back to school after Ryan’s funeral.” I took a bite of bacon and wiped my fingers on the paper napkin that rested on my lap. “I told myself I was doing the right thing by taking heavy course loads in the fall and spring, so I could graduate sooner. Looking back, I think I did it to distract myself from the pain. I guess I drowned my sorrows in schoolwork while Olivia was drowning hers in alcohol.”

“You graduated?” he asked around a mouth full of eggs.

“Almost, I still need to do my clinicals.”

“What about grad school?” he asked before taking a sip of coffee.

“I’ve decided not to go for an advanced degree.”

“But what about your dream?” Ethan asked with a deflated tone.

“It was
our
dream. I don’t know if I feel the same way about it now that there’s no longer an ‘us’. I need time to figure out what
my
dream is. Besides, taking care of Peyton is more important than anything.”

Ethan and I had planned to become doctors and open a family practice that would provide affordable medical care to low-income families in our hometown. I’d modified my part of the plan a couple of times over the years.

“Besides,” I continued, “I’m at least five years behind you. I can still help people as a nurse.”

“I wish you wouldn’t have taken time off after high school. You’d be only a year or two behind if you’d gone straight to college.” He’d made his opinion on that matter very clear over the years.

“I don’t regret it. Ryan and Olivia needed me to help with Peyton.”

“You basically raised her for the first three years of her life.”

“That’s not true. Ryan was busy with the police academy and adjusting to life on the job, and Olivia needed to finish college. They were still excellent parents during that time.”

“She calls you ‘Momma’ for goodness sake,” he argued. She’d always called me ‘Ma Ma’ because she couldn’t pronounce ‘Madison’ when she first learned to talk. When I became her guardian last month, it started to sound more like ‘Momma’ and less like a failed attempt at my first name.