Secret Indiscretions (Carson Cove Scandals 2)

“Damn…” I shook my head and chuckled under my breath.

“Maybe we should try to catch a game next year. It might be fun…” Bryant gave me a nudge. “They might even bring us out on the field and introduce us as legends.”

“Fuck man, I’m too young to be a damn legend,” I exhaled sharply.

Even if I don’t feel that young these days…

The ceremony got underway, and Taylor was one of the first ones called across the stage since her last name was Abernathy and they went alphabetically. The entire section got up and cheered, myself included, even though she wasn’t the one I was actually there to see. I literally didn’t know anyone else, but I clapped to be polite. Victoria seemed to know a few people that walked across the stage, just based on her reaction. Bryant’s oldest daughter, Shaina seemed pretty damn bored the whole time, and his son, Dylan—oddly enough, seemed to be paying closer attention to Anna than the people on the stage. I couldn’t tell if Bolt noticed that Bryant’s son was eying his girl or not, but I certainly did.

“Remember…” Bryant’s youngest daughter, Victoria, leaned forward. “We’re going to cheer for Taylor’s friend Melanie too. She doesn’t have anyone here except for her mom and her little girl.”

Right—I haven’t met them, but they would obviously be here to see her graduate. Maybe sitting here will give me some cover if I clap a little louder than I should.

“You know Melanie, right?” Bryant looked over at me. “You met her at the engagement party. I think Taylor was trying to get you to hire her.”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “She started a couple of weeks ago.”

She’s also my date for your wedding?

? I guess I need to mention that at some point.

“Awesome, well then you can cheer on your newest employee.” Bryant chuckled under his breath. “She seems pretty nice—a little secretive though.”

“What do you mean?” I raised my eyebrows in concern.

“Oh, nothing you have to worry about.” He shrugged. “Taylor’s been her friend for years and just found out that she has a daughter.”

“Ah.” I nodded.

They called a few more names, and I followed along in the program guided until I saw that Melanie was going to be next. Her name was called—she walked across the stage—and I was the first one on my feet. I probably clapped a little louder than I should have. I might have even cheered. Luckily, Victoria had convinced all of the people that were there to see Taylor to do the same, so I wasn’t the only one on my feet. I noticed that everyone else was politely clapping like I had been doing when other people walked across the stage—except a woman in the front row with a little blonde-haired girl—they were cheering even louder than us.

That must be her mother and Charley. Wait—her mother looks familiar…

I sat down, and I was a bit perplexed. I couldn’t figure out why Melanie’s mom looked familiar, but she did. I couldn’t get a good look at her face before everyone sat back down, and I didn’t have a great vantage point from where I was sitting. I brushed it off—Melanie said her mom wasn’t from Carson Cove, so there was no way that I would have known her. I couldn’t remember anyone with the last name Monroe, and Melanie mentioned that her father was never in the picture, so I doubted that she had his last name.

“You weren’t really here to see Taylor, were you?” Bryant leaned over and gave me a suspicious glance.

“Was it that obvious?” I looked at him and sighed.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of, man.” He gave me a nudge. “I know she works for you, but I don’t give a fuck. It’s still your company, even if you decide to burn it to the ground.”

“Hopefully dating one of my employees doesn’t lead to that.” I raised my eyebrows and was about to say something else, but my phone lit up, and I saw Leo’s number. “Hey—I need to take this.”

“No problem. You already saw the person you came to see anyway.” He chuckled under his breath as I got up and tried to make a quiet exit.

I had to let Leo’s call go to voicemail, but as soon as I got out of the gymnasium, I called him back. His news wasn’t good—Jackson had returned to Carson Cove. He picked up his credit card being used at a gas station on the edge of town and a pharmacy on Main Street. It didn’t sound like he had kicked his pill habit. Unfortunately, despite having confirmation that Jackson was in town, he didn’t know where he was staying—all he could do was let me know that he was there. He promised that he would call as soon as he knew more.

Fuck… If I did want to tell Melanie, tonight is the worst possible time—she deserves to be able to celebrate her graduation.

I couldn’t help being worried. I had no idea what Jackson would do. I called Leo back and told him that I wanted to hire every guy he could spare. I wanted someone following Melanie at all times—I wanted someone following her mother—and if that bastard came anywhere near Charley, then I wanted him in a shallow grave. I didn’t go as far as telling Leo to kill him—despite having the thought run through my head. I just told him to make sure that Jackson didn’t get anywhere near Melanie or her family. After the conversation was over, I walked to my car. The call might not have been a good one, but it did give me an opportunity to make my escape.

I’ll just go home and get ready to see Melanie tonight. I’d hate to put her in a bad spot by forcing her to have to introduce me to her family when she wasn’t expecting to see me.

I kept checking my phone on the way to Alcott Manor. I kept hoping that I would get a call while I still had time to deal with Jackson, but at least the situation was contained. I passed by the entrance of my neighborhood—and something caught my eye. There were several pink carnations laying in the road. They weren’t natural to that area—which caused me to tense up. I saw a few more in the road as I drove, and some on the side of the road that appeared to have been driven over. They seemed to be making a trail to my house, and when I got to my driveway, I saw that it was exactly what they were doing—making a trail that led all the way to my front door.

“Mother fucker…” I put my car in park and got out of the car.

I walked to the front door, but I stopped when I got to the top of the steps. My door wasn’t completely closed. It was pulled shut, but I could tell that it had been opened. I thought about calling the cops, but I was too angry to wait. I pushed the door open and took a step back. I didn’t hear any movement or see anyone inside, so I entered. The table that was normally by the door had been pulled to the middle of the foyer—and it was surrounded in pink carnations that formed a heart. The vase that was normally on it was shattered on the floor—I hated that vase, but it was expensive. In the middle of the table was an envelope like the ones that contained the first two clues. I opened it up and inside I found a pink piece of paper with one word on it…