Page 3 of Keeping Kyler
“I’m fine.” I give him my best effort of a smile. “Just worried.”
He scrubs a hand over his jaw. “I know. Me, too. Try to get some sleep and I’ll drive you over there first thing.”
“Thanks.” I open the door to my room and throw my bag on the floor. “Goodnight, Brad.” Looking over his shoulder, I pin Kal with a knowing look. He waits for Brad to enter his own room before stepping into mine. I quietly close the door. “This is totally fishy.”
“Agreed.” He deposits his duffel on the floor by his sneakers. “Either Keven lied to me or Kaden lied to Dad.”
“My money’s on it being both of them.” It’s the only scenario that makes sense. Ky doesn’t want his parents knowing where he is so why would Kaden say he was there if he reallywasthere? But if I know Ky at all, he would’ve called his brothers, which means that Keven lied to us too.
“Mine too. They’d never take our parents side over Ky’s. Especially not now. I still can’t believe it.” He shakes his head. “And I can’t help wondering …”
He doesn’t need to continue that sentence for me to understand. “If it helps, I fully believe James is your dad. There are subtle differences in your looks and it’s one of the ways in which I figured this out. You and the triplets have lighter hair and darker eyes and I believe your mum when she told me about Ky.”
“It’s difficult to take her at her word when she’s told so many lies.”
“I get that. James said he was going to organize tests for all of you so you’ll know conclusively.” I step toward him, patting his arm. “But I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. I’m pretty confident he’s your dad.”
“Easier said than done.” He locks his hands behind his head. “What’re we going to do about Ky?”
I straighten my spine. “We’re not waiting until morning. If we go to Harvard and confront Kaden and Kevennow, we’ll know if they’re lying. And, if theyare, we can make them tell us why.”
“Are we bringing Brad?”
“Nope. I think he made his feelings perfectly clear. Let’s do this on our own.” Grabbing my bag—we may be heading out on a road trip after all—I move toward my window. “Let’s sneak out this way.”
“A woman after my own heart.” Kal swaggers toward the window with a smirk.
Rolling my eyes, I toss my bag out first. Once we are both outside, we creep along the side of the house, ducking down under the bedrooms to avoid detection, and enter the garage from the front of the property. Kal stows our bags in the boot, and I slip in the passenger seat while he gets behind the wheel. His fingers caress the steering wheel as he quietly starts the engine up. “It feels so good to be able to come and go as I please,” he murmurs, more to himself than me. “I was going insane cooped up inside.”
Kal had been on house arrest in the run up to his trial, and I know the lack of freedom killed him. “I’ll bet. I’m just glad it’s all behind you now.”
He eases the SUV slowly and quietly out of the garage. “Yeah, but I still miss her. Has she been in contact with you?”
“No.” Although we had promised to keep in touch, I haven’t heard a word from Lana since our conversation outside the courtroom.
“I can’t believe I’m never going to see her again. It feels like I’ve lost a part of myself.”
I twist around in my seat. “That’s understandable. She’s been a part of your life since you were a kid.” I stare out the window, angling my head so I can study the smattering of twinkling stars in the nighttime sky. “If she’s your other half, your paths will cross again.”
He takes his eyes off the road for a split second. We’ve just reached the end of the driveway. “You believe in all that superstitious nonsense?”
“I believe in true love. The kind of soul-deep love that can only be experienced when two people meet who are destined to be together.” A small frown creases my brow. “Or I used to. Now I’m not so sure what I believe in.”
The gates slowly part. “Because of my brother?” Kal inquires, edging the car forward.
I shake my head. “Because of my mum and dad.” Based on what I read in my mum’s letter, my bio dad was her one true love. But then she met my dad, the one who raised me, the only dad I’ve ever known, and they shared a different kind of love. A love built from friendship, on the foundation of honesty, and they were a real partnership. They adored each other, and me, so now I’m thinking my dad-dad, was her one true love. Not Adam. Not the guy she created me with. Which debunks every theory I’ve ever had about love.
Kal glides the car out of the drive, turning left, and I gawp at the man staring back at me through the lowered window of the silver car parked outside our house. “Stop!” I beseech Kal. “Pull over a sec.”
I have the door open before Kal has even brought the car to a complete stop. I fly across the road, slamming to a halt in front of his car. His startled expression no doubt matches my own. I’ve asked my uncle about him on several occasions, but he always gives me the brush-off. And now Mark’s here. Right on my doorstep. “Are you okay?” I ask as my eyes roam over him. I detect no injuries of any kind. No permanent markers from his fight with David.
“I’m fine, Faye.” His voice wobbles a little. “And I think that’s my line. Areyouokay?”
I nod. “I’m good. All healed.” On the outside at least. “Thanks to you.”
“Thank God.” He smiles up at me, a relieved, warm, genuine smile that touches his eyes.
Kal places his hand on my lower back the second he reaches my side. My gaze bounces from him to Mark. “Mark, this is my cousin Kalvin. Kal, this is the man who saved me the night of the attack.”
