Page 71 of Keeping Kyler
“Once you live your life, Kal. She wouldn’t want you to throw your whole life away pining for her. If it’s meant to be, you will find a way back to each other.”
“I think you’ve been reading too many sappy romance novels. Real life isn’t like that, and allowing myself to believe in it will only hurt me more. Lana’s gone, and it’s my fault, and this is my punishment. Don’t feel bad for me. It is what it is.” He gives me a gentle nudge. “Now, go. Before that gets cold.” Leaning in, he kisses me on the cheek. “And thanks for looking after my brother.”
Ky is out for the count beside me, snoring softly. I’m glad he was able to fall asleep after the events of today. He’s emotionally exhausted, and I’m so worried about him. All day, I’ve been mulling over scenarios in my head.Whoever framed Ky must’ve killed Doug Grant, but isAddisonreally capable of pulling off something like that?Something feels off. Addison wasn’t the only one to steam roll herself into the house this week.
Courtney was here too.
Whatever is going on, I’m determined to get to the bottom of it. I amnotgoing to stand by and watch while Kyler gets accused of something he didn’t do. He can’t do anything to bring further attention to himself, but he was wrong earlier becauseIcan andIwill.
Addison is not going to ruin him. I’m going to stop her once and for all, and my gut is telling me this is connected to her parents. I won’t rest until I discover the truth.
I creep out of bed quietly so as not to disturb him. I can’t sleep with so much troubling me. Snatching my phone from the top of my locker, I tiptoe out of the room. Outside, I tap out a message to Keven asking him to dig up dirt on Courtney. Not that it’ll probably do much good, because Keven seems to have feck all time to help, but no harm in asking, I guess.
“Alreadyon that case”is his immediate reply. I guess Alex must have roped her son in to help, too. Another text pops up on the screen.“I have some intel on A. I’ll bring a copy in the morning and we can talk then.”Alex and James have called a family meeting in the morning, but none of us know what it’s about. It must be important if they’re allowing my cousins to skip school. Ky has asked for a bit more time before he tells the rest of his brothers what went down at the track seven years ago, so I’m trusting they are not about to break that promise. They must have something else to share.
I walk on bare feet to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. The low drone of hushed conversation greets me as I step into the living room. Alex and James are seated on the long couch, hunched over a bunch of papers spread out on the table before them.
“Hey,” I murmur.
Their heads jerk up in unison. “What are you doing up so late?” James asks with a frown.
“I’m having difficulty sleeping.”
“I know, sweetheart. We’re still reeling,” he admits frankly.
“He’s going to be okay.” Confidence emanates from my words, because I truly believe Ky is strong enough to come through this.
“Thank you for looking after him, honey,” Alex says. “We are so grateful he is at least letting you in. Please be there for him until we can convince him we’re on his side too.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not leaving him to deal with this on his own.”
Kaden and Keven arrive at the butt crack of dawn the next morning for the family meeting. We have breakfast at the formal dining table first. After the breakfast dishes are cleared away, Alex and James tell us they have something important to say. I hold Ky’s hand under the table the entire time.
“Your father and I have made some important decisions in relation to our future,” Alex announces, kicking off the conversation. “In different ways, we have failed you all, and for that we are truly sorry. In trying to build a life for this family, we’ve ignored the most important part of the equation. Being there for you when you needed us.” Her gaze flits between her boys, lingering on Kyler a little longer.
“We cannot undo our mistakes,” James adds. “But we can make changes so we don’t repeat them in future. Your mother and I were up all last night agreeing on what we need to do.” He looks to Alex and she nods subtly. “We need to explain certain things first so you have some context. Courtney has been blackmailing your mother and me for the past few months. She discovered a secret we’ve been keeping, and she’s been lording it over our heads. We were trying to extrapolate ourselves from the situation, but it involved taking enormous risks, making enormous decisions, and until yesterday, we weren’t sure it was the right path to take.”
“What happened yesterday?” Kaden asks, leaning his elbows on the table. Ky tenses, and I squeeze his hand.
“That’s not something we can share yet,” Alex explains, holding up a hand as a round of groans whips around the table. “Hang on here a sec, boys. Someone confided something in us and asked us to keep it private for the moment, and we have to respect that; however, it’s not thewhatthat matters. All that matters is it was the final wake-up call we needed.” Tears well in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, boys, if I’ve given you the impression that work was more important to me. The only thing that matters, the only people who matter, are around this table. In trying to build a successful business, I was thinking of your futures. Being able to provide you with the best education and having trust funds set up so none of you needed to worry financially. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of my personal goals. Kennedy Apparel means nothing to me if I don’t have my family. This family is suffocating, and I didn’t read the signs or I chose, subconsciously, to ignore them.”
She stifles a sob, raising her hand to her chest. “That all changes now.” She looks to James, and it’s obvious from his facial expression that he’s feeling as emotional as she is.
He picks up. “Courtney discovered the Kennedy Apparel brand has been built on a lie. We can only assume she got close to me to gain access to the house so she could uncover the truth. We still don’t know exactly how she obtained the information, but that’s neither here nor there now.”
I’m not sure I buy that. Her obsession with the need to ruin Alex seems to be behind her desire to have James. Almost like she wants to take over her entire life.
“She threatened to expose us to the KA board and to the press,” James continues.
“And we couldn’t allow her to do that,” Alex cuts in. “Not just because we didn’t want embarrassment brought on our family, but such an announcement would devalue the company’s stock and cost thousands of jobs, and I couldn’t do that to the employees. None of them deserve that.”
“What’s the secret?” Keven asks.
Alex gulps, looking nervously at James. He clears his throat. “My family is not connected in any way to the infamous Kennedys. We had documents forged that verified our claims, and we used that to build important contacts and build the KA brand in the early days. We knew that gave us an edge and it worked. It transformed the business to what it is today.”
“So that’s the real reason you didn’t buy that estate in the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port a few years back?” Kal asks.
“Yes,” Alex confirms. “We have deliberately avoided close contact with the Kennedys because we knew if we tried to ingratiate ourselves they would investigate and probably uncover the truth. While we have alluded to the heritage and used it to build the brand and connections, we haven’t imposed on any of them or made any attempts to connect on a personal level. In doing so, they have left us alone, and it suited us perfectly.”
