Page 2 of His Secret Betrayal (Cedarwood Valley Duology #2)

“Fuck!” With a closed-mouth scream, I kick the leg of a nearby chair.

My lips curl into a grimace, my toes throbbing as the chair screeches across the floor.

If I could afford to put her in rehab, maybe the situation wouldn’t be so damn bleak.

Having a job that paid more than the scraps of minimum wage would sure fucking help.

After graduating a month ago with a degree in graphic design from Crestwood Heights University, I’ve been job hunting nonstop.

I’ve had a few interviews, but no call backs.

If somebody would just give me a chance, I could turn shit around. I could fix this, and then maybe Jax won’t be so upset I’ve hid this from him. Maybe it won’t feel like a betrayal of the worst kind. I could get Evelyn into a rehab, and she could be the person she’s meant to be.

I pause in front of the oversized window, peering through the blinds as the sun rises over the asphalt parking lot.

There is one option I haven’t wanted to consider yet.

Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I pull up my contacts and stare down at Caleb’s name.

I’ve been best friends with Caleb since freshman orientation, and I don’t want him to think I’m using him, but his endorsement could help secure me a job at his dad’s company.

His dad, Alek, owns a graphic design company in Cedarwood Valley specializing in book covers.

The extra wages would cover my bills with enough left over to save for Evelyn's rehab.

Well, the down payment anyway. I’ll worry about the rest when it’s time to cross that particular daunting bridge.

Taking a fortifying breath, I swipe my thumb over the green call button.

“Holy shit on a cracker, why are you calling me at the ass o’clock of dawn?” Caleb’s sleep-addled voice is groggy and thick as he yawns .

My shoulders sag. Being impulsive, jumping into action without thinking about consequences or repercussions for myself or others, seems to be my thing. “I’m sorry, are you still sleeping?”

“Not unless I’m sleep-talking,” comes his amused reply.

I chuckle. “Right. Sorry. Can I ask you for a massive favor?”

“Of course. Is everything okay?” He’s more alert now, rustling bed sheets and clothes as he presumably moves around.

My words come out in a jumbled rush. “I was wondering if you could put a good word in for me with your dad? I put in an application, but I never heard anything back. I’m not sure if it got lost with all the others or maybe I don’t have enough experience, but I was hoping you could talk to him for me. ”

There’s a short pause and then a breathy chuckle. “Shit, dude, take a breath.”

My responding laugh is stilted and awkward.

His voice is soft when he speaks again. “Yeah, of course. Like you said, it probably got lost in the pile. I’ll talk to him today, okay?”

A whoosh of air is dragged from my lungs. “Thank you, Caleb. Thank you, I…appreciate it more than you can know.”

“Is everything okay? You sound stressed, and you’ve been kind of MIA lately.” Of course, Caleb would notice something like that, and of course he would care. I hate having to lie to him. My life has been one lie after another lately.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Great.”

“Okay, but like, you know you can always talk to me about anything right?”

“Yeah, I know.” The words almost get stuck in my throat.

We hang up shortly after, some of the tension seeping from my body as the sun continues its ascent. The sunlight spills between the cracks of the white blinds, casting a bright glare across the room .

Maybe this will be the answer to all of my problems. But the idea of being around Caleb’s dad every day has my mouth going dry.

I’ve only met Alek once, at my brother’s engagement party about eight months ago, just as I was about to start the last few classes I needed for graduation, and the memory of it makes my stomach swoop.

Surely, I imagined the way his icy-blue eyes heated as his gaze roamed over my body, right?

I imagined the way his big hand enveloped mine as we shook, the way it lingered just a moment longer than strictly necessary.

Shaking my head, I blink the thoughts away.

I can’t go there for a multitude of reasons.

Sure, I’ve been questioning my attraction to Alek since I first met him, wondering what it means for me.

My daydreams often leaving me breathless.

But it doesn’t matter—shouldn’t matter—how I thought about those broad shoulders and the well-defined muscles later that night when I went home.

It doesn’t matter that I drank away my woes following a very messy, very public break up to my ex-girlfriend by driving to the nearest club and grinding up against a strange man with a similar body type as Alek.

And it definitely doesn’t matter that I fantasized the hard body pressing up against mine was his. Because I have bigger problems to worry about.

The image of Eve’s face, her lips tipping into a disappointed frown pops into my mind. So does my brother’s face, his eyes lit up with anger. Even if this works out—even if I can finally manage to help get her sober—I don’t know how I’ll ever break the news to Jax.

And despite the fact he’s the one person I want to call right now, I can’t because Eve swore me to secrecy.

When I crossed paths with her a year and a half ago, she begged me not to tell him yet.

Said she wanted to get sober first, so she could be the mother she was meant to be.

Maybe I should have taken that for the red flag it was, but even then, I knew if I didn’t agree she would most likely disappear again .

Nausea churns through my stomach when I picture how much this will hurt my brother. Bile burns a path up my throat, and my fingers dig into the metal encasing the window. My eyes flutter shut, and I drag in a lungful of air as my foot begins tapping.

How would that conversation even go?

“Hey, big bro, remember how Mommy Dearest died—supposedly—while laboring with me?

Psych! Dad’s a lying liar, pants on fire and all.

She’s definitely alive.”

Mother. That’s the word I hate.