Page 131
Story: Things Left Unsaid
It’s pissing me off how I can always find him out there. Whenever I stand up from my desk, I manage to see him somewhere. He’s like Where’s Waldo?
Now that we’re married, he owns the largest ranch in North America. Four-hundred thousand acres are his to roam, and yet, whenever I look outside, he’s goddamn there.
“Zee!”
“What?”
He grabs my arm. “You can’t leave when you have his baby.”
“Part of the contract was that he wanted an heir.”
“Don’t make it seem like he was behind the verbiage. My father wrote it. As did your grandmother. Don’t tar Colt with the same brush, not when you signed identical agreements.”
That has me squirming.
I hate it when he’s right.
Which he is.
A lot.
“But I don’t understand. What’s this about leaving when you have his child?”
Ah—did he only read the initial contract and not the amended one?
It’d make sense that Colt would keep that on the DL, considering what I know of Callan’s childhood.
Shit, why didn’t I think of that before I opened my mouth?
“Do you know how hard it was for me to sign that damn thing?”
“As hard as it was for him!” he growls. “Do you know what Colt’s life’s been like? Do you? The one thing he deserved was to have a choice about who he’d spend the rest of his days with, but Pops, I mean, Father can’t even give him that!
“Do you know he practically raised me? He had four years of independence when he went to Saskatoon. Four years out of thirty-two of blood, sweat, and tears, Zee. And do you know how he spent most of those four years?” He barks out a laugh. “Studying his ass off. No parties for Colt. No fun. That wasn’t allowed. He had to get back here, you see. To us. Because Cody was only sixteen when Mum left and he knew what Pops would do when he wasn’t around.
“He drove up every weekend. It’s the only reason he studied in Saskatoon. My brother might not have my IQ, but he has the brains to be a Harvard alumnus. Instead, he went to a tiny university in an off-the-wall city in Canada so that he could drive home as often as he was able.
“You think Father’s a dick now? That’s nothing to what he was like when he was drinking. Mum left us with him and as much as that hurt, Zee, to be left with a monster, we all knew what would have happened if she’d stayed.”
He’s breathing heavily by this point, and my voice is soft as I inquire, “What would have happened, Callan?”
“He’d have killed her. She’d have been a statistic. And knowing Colt’s luck, he’d have been the one to find her.
“Father didn’t want us. He doesn’t like us. But he made sure that he gained custody to hurt her. Just because he could.” His nostrils flare. “Ever since, Colt’s been like both my parents. So bet your damn ass I want him to be happy and I don’t want him to have to raise another kid on his own when you two are freakin’ perfect for one another!”
What?!“Perfect for one another?”
“Yes! And neither of you see it! I’m surrounded by idiots!” he snarls, then he stuns the hell out of me—his hand pounds into the wall.
Once.
Twice.
I grab his shoulder when the drywall gains a crevice I’ll have to cover with a picture frame. “Callan, you will stop that right this second.”
He twists around to glower at me, but his fist immediately drops. “I’m so tired of idiots,” he screams, then he shoves his back into the wall he damaged and he slides to the floor, hands shifting to cover his face.
The bloodied knuckles of one are like an exclamation mark as I study him, uncertain what to do next.
Now that we’re married, he owns the largest ranch in North America. Four-hundred thousand acres are his to roam, and yet, whenever I look outside, he’s goddamn there.
“Zee!”
“What?”
He grabs my arm. “You can’t leave when you have his baby.”
“Part of the contract was that he wanted an heir.”
“Don’t make it seem like he was behind the verbiage. My father wrote it. As did your grandmother. Don’t tar Colt with the same brush, not when you signed identical agreements.”
That has me squirming.
I hate it when he’s right.
Which he is.
A lot.
“But I don’t understand. What’s this about leaving when you have his child?”
Ah—did he only read the initial contract and not the amended one?
It’d make sense that Colt would keep that on the DL, considering what I know of Callan’s childhood.
Shit, why didn’t I think of that before I opened my mouth?
“Do you know how hard it was for me to sign that damn thing?”
“As hard as it was for him!” he growls. “Do you know what Colt’s life’s been like? Do you? The one thing he deserved was to have a choice about who he’d spend the rest of his days with, but Pops, I mean, Father can’t even give him that!
“Do you know he practically raised me? He had four years of independence when he went to Saskatoon. Four years out of thirty-two of blood, sweat, and tears, Zee. And do you know how he spent most of those four years?” He barks out a laugh. “Studying his ass off. No parties for Colt. No fun. That wasn’t allowed. He had to get back here, you see. To us. Because Cody was only sixteen when Mum left and he knew what Pops would do when he wasn’t around.
“He drove up every weekend. It’s the only reason he studied in Saskatoon. My brother might not have my IQ, but he has the brains to be a Harvard alumnus. Instead, he went to a tiny university in an off-the-wall city in Canada so that he could drive home as often as he was able.
“You think Father’s a dick now? That’s nothing to what he was like when he was drinking. Mum left us with him and as much as that hurt, Zee, to be left with a monster, we all knew what would have happened if she’d stayed.”
He’s breathing heavily by this point, and my voice is soft as I inquire, “What would have happened, Callan?”
“He’d have killed her. She’d have been a statistic. And knowing Colt’s luck, he’d have been the one to find her.
“Father didn’t want us. He doesn’t like us. But he made sure that he gained custody to hurt her. Just because he could.” His nostrils flare. “Ever since, Colt’s been like both my parents. So bet your damn ass I want him to be happy and I don’t want him to have to raise another kid on his own when you two are freakin’ perfect for one another!”
What?!“Perfect for one another?”
“Yes! And neither of you see it! I’m surrounded by idiots!” he snarls, then he stuns the hell out of me—his hand pounds into the wall.
Once.
Twice.
I grab his shoulder when the drywall gains a crevice I’ll have to cover with a picture frame. “Callan, you will stop that right this second.”
He twists around to glower at me, but his fist immediately drops. “I’m so tired of idiots,” he screams, then he shoves his back into the wall he damaged and he slides to the floor, hands shifting to cover his face.
The bloodied knuckles of one are like an exclamation mark as I study him, uncertain what to do next.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192
- Page 193
- Page 194
- Page 195
- Page 196
- Page 197
- Page 198
- Page 199
- Page 200
- Page 201
- Page 202
- Page 203
- Page 204
- Page 205
- Page 206
- Page 207
- Page 208
- Page 209
- Page 210
- Page 211
- Page 212
- Page 213
- Page 214
- Page 215
- Page 216
- Page 217
- Page 218
- Page 219
- Page 220
- Page 221
- Page 222
- Page 223
- Page 224
- Page 225
- Page 226
- Page 227
- Page 228
- Page 229
- Page 230
- Page 231
- Page 232
- Page 233
- Page 234
- Page 235
- Page 236
- Page 237
- Page 238
- Page 239
- Page 240
- Page 241
- Page 242
- Page 243
- Page 244
- Page 245
- Page 246
- Page 247
- Page 248
- Page 249
- Page 250
- Page 251
- Page 252
- Page 253
- Page 254
- Page 255
- Page 256
- Page 257
- Page 258
- Page 259
- Page 260
- Page 261
- Page 262
- Page 263
- Page 264
- Page 265
- Page 266
- Page 267
- Page 268
- Page 269
- Page 270
- Page 271
- Page 272
- Page 273
- Page 274
- Page 275
- Page 276
- Page 277
- Page 278
- Page 279