“What else?”
“That you’re gold diggers.”
“You know that’s not true!”
“Yes, I do. I honestly don’t know where anyone got that idea.”
Callie stays silent a moment.
I stroke her soft cheek. “What is it?”
She sighs. “I don’t like to think about high school.”
“Why not?”
“It was tough for me. I wasn’t the big man on campus like you were. Rory was popular and talented, and I was a nerd.”
I chuckle. “You were never a nerd.”
“Donny, you were long gone from high school when I was there. I was a mess. It was a nightmare. Plus, there was—”
She stops abruptly.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, Callie. What?”
“I don’t like to talk about it. I don’t even like to think about it.”
“Think about what?”
“It’s so easy for you. Has anything ever been hard for you, Donny?”
I go numb. She doesn’t mean her words to ignite anger. I try to remember that, but I ultimately fail as I curl my fingers into fists.
I draw in a breath and hold it. One. Two. Three. Four. Fi—
Then I burst. I fucking burst.
“Easy?” I shout. “Really? You don’t have a fucking clue what I’ve gone through in my life. Don’t even start with that.”
Callie’s face goes white. That lovely blush that I adore is wiped out. Clean as a slate.
“I hope you’ve never endured what I’ve endured,” I continue, my voice full of rage. “How dare you, Callie? How fucking dare you?”
Her lips quiver. “You’re a Steel. A Steel. Nothing bad happens to Steels.”
“For fuck’s sake. My father is in the hospital. Someone shot him!”
Her mouth drops. “God, Donny, I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”
“You said it because you are angry. I get it. I’m angry too.”
Her eyes gloss over with unshed tears. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Yeah, you did. You meant it all.”
She gulps. “I didn’t. Please believe me.”
Rage engulfs me, though. I’m ready to explode right here in this stupid-ass hotel room with no minibar.
“Donny…” She reaches toward me.
I back away. “I love you, Callie, but I can’t do this right now.”
“If you’d let me explain—”
“Explain what? That you think all us Steels shit gold bricks? Remember one thing. I wasn’t always a Steel, Callie. I came from somewhere else, and you have no idea what I went through.”
She shudders visibly and wraps the robe around herself more tightly. “Donny, I love you too.”
All these years, I’ve prided myself on being able to put my past behind me. I’ve watched Dale struggle with what he thought came easy to me.
Truth? It was never easy. It took a hell of a lot of work on my end, but I was determined not to live in the past. The Steels gave Dale and me a future, and I wanted it. I wanted it, and I made sure I got it.
“I can’t,” I say. “I can’t do this tonight. We’ll talk in the morning.”
She nods. “I’ll get dressed and go home.”
“You don’t have to,” I say. “You can have the room for the night. I’ll go.”
“Or we can both go.”
“Perfect,” I say, gathering my clothes. “Meet me for breakfast at Ava’s tomorrow at seven a.m. We’ll talk once we’ve both cooled off.”
She nods. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
The words are true. Undeniably true. But there are things Callie doesn’t know about me. Things I’ll have to tell her if this is going to work.
And…
I have the distinct feeling there are things I don’t know about her as well.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Callie
I knock softly on Rory’s door when I get home. “Ror? You awake?”
The door opens, and a yawning Rory looks back at me. “Cal? What are you doing up this late?”
“I just got in. Sorry to wake you.”
Another yawn splits my sister’s pretty face. “S’okay. What’s up?”
I walk into her room and close the door behind me. “Some shit’s going down.”
“Like what?”
“I ran into Pat Lamone tonight.”
Rory wipes the last of the sleep from her eyes and widens them. “Shit. How?”
“He’s back in town, apparently, working the evening shift at the Snow Creek Inn.”
“How can he be back in town?”
“Hell if I know. I had to act all innocent with Donny, like I hardly remembered him.”
“Did he buy it?”
“I think so. He was more angry about other stuff.”
“Like what?”
“I think…” My heart hurts. It hurts so badly for the man I love. “I think he and Dale must have gone through some serious stuff before they came here. Like really bad.”
“I guess we always suspected.”
“Maybe you did. I didn’t give it a thought, which makes me feel about an inch tall right now.”
“Damn, Callie. You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
I nod, sniffling back tears.
She pulls me into a hug. “It’ll be okay. We’ll work it all out.”
“How can we? Why is that jerk back in town?”
“I don’t know, hon. But I’ll find out.” She sighs. “I have some news myself. It’s not good.”