The Whisperers: A Three Book Box Set Read online

  “Sure. What?”

  “Could you bring him over to the ranch when you leave? I imagine your family is going to want to stay and see Alex and – and I think I need to get Carly home now”

  “Okay, of course.” He turned his attention to Carly. “I’ll see you later?”

  “I hope so,” she replied and on impulse gave him a quick kiss before looking at her brother. “Let’s go, okay?”

  Colton nodded and she gave Jesse’s hand a squeeze then headed down the hall, wondering how in the world she was going to tell her brother that most of their lives they’d lived a lie.

  To his credit, Colton didn’t question her, nor did Memory even though the looks Memory gave her on the drive home clearly spoke of her curiosity and concern.

  When they reached Carly’s house, Colton parked but left the truck running. Carly leaned forward and put her hand on his shoulder “Come in?”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “I do. We need to talk, Colton.”

  Memory turned to look at her. “Should I go on home?”

  Carly looked at Colton and he shook his head. “No, you stay.”

  “Okay, then let’s go inside.” Carly climbed out.

  Once inside, she put on a pot of coffee. “I’ll be right back.”

  She went to her bedroom and took the banker’s box off the top shelf of the closet. Just as she reached the door, she stopped. Would finding out this truth change things in their family? Would it change how they felt about one another or about their parents? Maybe this was a mistake.

  She almost put the box away but something inside stopped her. Her grannie always said that truth was like water, it seeps in through the small spaces, and the more you try to keep it out the more it erodes whatever you use to block it. So it’s better to let the truth spill free than spend your life trying to stop it. All that does is wear you out.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she returned to the kitchen with the box. She placed it on a free chair, poured coffee for everyone and then took a seat at the table.

  “So?” Colton asked.

  “So…” She looked at the box and then at him. “Okay. Before Mom died, after the car accident – Grannie died on impact, I guess you know that. Mom was really torn up. She kept saying she should have listened to Grannie, should have done what she said so Grannie could have died proud of her and at peace. I thought it was the pain meds.

  “But, she was so worked up about it that the doctors were worried. They had to get her calmed down. I asked her to tell me what was bothering her so much and reminded her that Grannie loved her regardless but if it was that important, she should tell me.”

  Carly paused and took a sip of her coffee. “So. When Mom was young, when she and Dad were engaged, he was off in Vietnam.” She looked at Memory. “He was a pilot. Mom was scared and I guess lonely and … and she had a fling. She met this young man – several years younger than she. They—they had a short affair. The kid fell in love with her and she said she loved him too, but she loved Dad. So, she broke it off just before Dad came home.

  “They were married two weeks after he returned. They were supposed to have had a big wedding and she’d been planning it for a while, but the week he returned she discovered she was pregnant. She went to him and told him the truth. She said she expected him to tell her to go to hell but instead he forgave her and said they should get married right away. That way when the baby came they could claim it was early.

  “So that’s what they did.”

  “Oh my god.” Memory reached over and put her hand on Colton’s arm. “Are you saying that Colton – that …”

  “That our dad wasn’t his biological father,” Carly answered but directed her gaze to Colton. “And according to Mom this man, he had the same ability as you, Colton. He could direct energy.”

  “And?” Colton asked. “That’s what had you so upset?”

  Carly was shocked at his response. “Well – yes. And no. I mean, I thought-“

  “You thought I’d hate mom and feel deprived or something?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  He shook his head. “If what you say is true and I’m not saying I believe it, but if it were, then clearly Dad knew what he was doing. And he loved me and was a good father. Just like she was a good mother. So what do I have to be mad about?”

  His response not only surprised her, it eased her heart. He was right. It changed nothing. He, she, Cliff, and Cam were family no matter who sired them.

  “So you’re half-siblings.” Memory said.

  “No. We’re full siblings,” Carly said. “Clint and Cam are our half-brothers.”

  “Say what?”

  Carly took another drink of coffee. “Back when we lived in Charlotte. Cliff and Cam were little, you were hell on wheels, and Dad was traveling a lot. Mom was pretty worn thin. Grannie came and stayed with us to try to help out. Anyway, Mom ran into the man again. He was all grown up and I guess had made a decent life for himself but had never married. They got together again, for just a short time. She said she knew it was a mistake and she hated herself for it, but she and Dad were going through a rough patch and she just needed something to escape the reality of her life if even for just a little while.

  “The guy left and not long after she realized she was pregnant. She said she was ashamed because she hadn’t had sex with Dad but she seduced him, made sure they had sex often for the next month. Then she told him she was pregnant. With me.”

  “Holy mother of god!” Memory exclaimed. “You and Colton —- you—you have the same father?”

  “Yes.”

  “And your dad never knew?”

  “No.”

  “Wow, that’s … well, that’s –hell I don’t know what it is.”

  “That’s not quite all.”

  “What more could there be?” Colton asked.

  Carly got up and poured her cold coffee in the sink. “It’s all there, in that box, but the gist of it is, after Dad died, Mom hired a private investigator to find the man – our biological father. The investigator worked for several years on it and turned up some surprising facts.

  “I think I’ve heard enough for the moment. “ Colton said then looked at the box. “You say it’s all in that box?”

  “Yep.”

  “Proof?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I need to read it.” He stood and moved around the table to pick up the box.

  “Are you going to tell Cliff and Cam?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t think it will matter.”

  “Well it might. I mean Mom lied to all of us our whole-“

  “No. She didn’t lie. She just didn’t tell us every detail of her life and that’s okay. We all have secrets, Carly. You know that better than most. Would you expect any of us to hate you because you chose not to share those secrets with us or do you figure we’re all entitled to whatever level of disclosure we choose with our family?”

  “Colton, I wasn’t speaking ill of Mom, I just thought –“

  “You thought wrong. She was a good mother and did what she thought was best for us. That’s all we could have asked and more. This—“ He gestured to the box. “It doesn’t change that. It just means that if it’s true, we have more family than we thought. So, I’m going to take this box in the den and start reading.”

  Carly just nodded and watched him get up, grab the box, and leave the room. Memory watched him leave then looked at Carly. “He’s so amazing.”

  Carly had to agree. If everyone looked at life and conducted themselves with as much honor and compassion as Colton, the world would definitely be a far different place.

  She got up and went into the den where Colton was sitting on the couch, unloading the box and placing everything on the coffee table. “Can I interrupt?”

  He looked up at her. “Sure.”

  “Are you mad?”

  “At who?”

  “Me. Mom. Dad – everyone who knew and didn’t tell us.”

>   “Are you?”

  She sat down beside him and he draped his arm across her shoulders. Carly leaned into him and closed her eyes for a moment. Colton had always been her rock. She was close with Cliff and Cam, and had spent far more time with them as a child than she had Colton because of the age difference. But when trouble came into her life it was always Colton she’d run to. Even more than her parents, he was her rock, her safe harbor.

  “No,” she finally said. “I’m not mad. I’ve thought about it a lot and maybe I should be, but I’m not. She was a good mom. She loved me – loved all of us. And Dad? Damn, Colton, he gave us everything. If it weren't for him, we’d have nothing. Not any of us. He bought the place in Florida for Cam and Cliff, and didn’t he help you get the place here?”

  “Yeah, he put down over seventy-five percent of the purchase price.”

  “And he left me the place in Arizona. He loved us. Just as much as he did Cliff and Cam.”

  “We were his kids.” Colton removed his arm from her shoulders and angled to face her. “Whoever the man was who is our biological father, he wasn’t our Dad, Carly. Carl Marsh was our Dad and always will be.”

  “And Mom?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “You might have been too young to remember, but when I was a kid, I think I spent more time with my best friend Anthony and his mom Mirriam, than I did with our mom. Not that I didn’t love her, but she had her hands full with Cliff and Cam and then you. Dad was gone a lot and –and I just liked being with my friend. And with Mirriam. I was calling her Mama by the time I was seven and still do.”

  “Do you love her more than Mom?”

  “No.” He gave her a smile. “There’s a lot of room for love in the heart, baby girl. I just look at it as being lucky enough to have had two moms.”

  She returned the smile. “I wish I was just like you.”

  “Then you’re be one butt ugly gal.”

  Carly laughed. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I do and thank you.”

  “Thanks for being here for me, Colton. I was more scared about telling you than anything.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want to lose you.”

  “Not gonna happen Little Bit.”

  He hadn’t called her that in a very long time and the sound of it lifted a weight from her. “So, we’re okay? You and me, I mean?”

  “Right as rain.”

  “Okay, I’ll let you get back to it. I need to check on the boys and have some paperwork to take care of.”

  “Then get to it.”

  She gave him a kiss on the cheek and returned to the kitchen. Memory was sitting there, dabbing her eyes with a paper towel. “What’s wrong?” Carly asked, alarmed at the sight.

  “Nothing.”

  “Then why are you crying?”

  “Because I was listening.”

  “And you’re upset?”

  “No, honey. I’m just feeling so lucky. I never dreamed I’d find a man like Colton, or have a sister like you. Sometimes I just need to pinch myself to make sure it’s all real.”

  Carly ran over and gave Memory a hug. Colton was right. There was a lot of room for love in the heart.

  Jesse’s face flashed in her mind and for the first time it didn’t cause her discomfort or concern. She loved him and it was okay. At least for now. Once the dust settled over this mess, she’d tell Jesse about her past – let him know all about her. And if he didn’t turn away, then she was in.

  All the way.

  Chapter Five

  Jesse was reaching for his hat when Jed walked into the kitchen. “Where you off to?” Jed asked

  “Need to check on the cows in the west pasture. Couple of them are ready to drop.”

  “I already did.”

  “Oh, okay, I’ll help Jake.” Jesse crammed his hat on his head and reached for the doorknob.

  “Jake is on his way in now and I need you to stick around, too.”

  Jed’s tone had Jesse halting in mid-motion. “What’s up?”

  "Colton is on his way over. There are some papers we need to look at.”

  “What kind of papers?”

  Jed shook his head and ran one hand back through his hair. “I’m having a hard time believing it but according to Colton, his mother left a box full of papers with Carly. It details how she had an affair before she married Colton’s father and got pregnant. Then years later, she hooked up with the same guy and got pregnant again. Long story short, Colton and Carly have the same father, but not the same as Cliff and Cam.”

  “Sounds like a bad soap opera.”

  “No kidding.”

  “Well that’s screwed up for sure, but I don’t see how it involves us.”

  “Yeah and that’s where it gets really weird. The man had another child, a daughter. He met a young woman and had a brief affair. She got pregnant but apparently didn’t tell him. She died in childbirth and the child, a daughter was adopted in a private adoption.

  “And now it gets even weirder. The child was adopted by the Morgan’s.”

  “No! Not the same—“

  “Yeah. Mik’s parents. If what Colton says is true, Mik’s his and Carly’s half-sister.”

  Jesse took a seat at the table. “This is…I don’t know what it is. Unbelievable?”

  “Good a word as any. But Colton says there’s proof and he’s on his way now with Memory and Carly. I asked Mik to go get Teddy and bring her here. If the stuff Colton has belonged to his mother then maybe she can get something off it to either disprove or support what Colton says.”

  “So Mik knows?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And how did she take it?”

  Jed smiled. “She said having Colton and Carly as family seemed like a plus.”

  “She’s something.”

  “Yeah, she is. Hey, there’s Mik and Teddy.”

  Just as Mik and Teddy neared the back door, a truck pulled up. Mik waited but Teddy continued on into the house Colton, Memory and Carly got out of the truck and with Mik headed for the house. Colton had a box tucked under one arm.

  Everyone had just settled into the den when Jake arrived. “Sorry, didn’t mean to hold you up.”

  “You’re not.” Mik answered. “We were just about to get to it.”

  “You seem very calm about all of this,” Carly commented.

  Mik smiled at her. “Well, the way I see it, if it’s true, I get a lot more than I lose.”

  “How so?”

  “I get you as a sister, Colton as a brother and Mem as a sister-in-law.”

  Carly smiled at Mik and then looked over at Jesse. He could feel the stress rolling off her. He got up and crossed the room to sit down on the arm of the chair where she sat. “Okay, so where do we start?" He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze

  Colton emptied all of the documents from the box, arranging them on the coffee table. “It’s all in order, starting with the letter my mother wrote, her journal, and then the information the private investigator gathered on our biological father and Mik’s mother. There are copies of birth and adoption records as well.”

  Mik looked at the information then at Carly. “Are you sure you want us to read the letter your mother wrote?”

  “Yes. It’s important that you know the whole story.”

  “Okay then, I’ll start and pass them along as I finish. That work for everyone?”

  “Make sure Teddy’s last,” Jesse said.

  “Why?”

  He looked at Jed then back at Mik. “Because Jed wants to see if she can pick up on anything that isn’t in the documentation.”

  “Good idea. Teddy you okay with that?”

  “Absolutely. In fact, since I’m last, how about I brew up a fresh batch of tea and make up a snack tray or something.”

  “Good idea.”

  Carly reached for Jesse’s hand to give it a squeeze then rose. “Can I help?”

  “Sure.”

  “Me, too,” Memory added.
>
  Jesse watched them all leave the room. Carly looked back at him and smiled and despite the level of anxiety and concern in the room, he felt something warm slide through him and knew that no matter what they would all weather whatever storm this information would bring. And come out the other side stronger and more connected.

  Especially him and Carly. Because Jesse had already decided that when this particular storm settled, he was going to put all his energy into convincing Carly that happily-ever-after was possible. With him.

  *****

  It took the rest of the afternoon for everyone to go over all of the information. Carly felt like a caged animal, waiting and trying to keep the pent-up energy contained. By the time Mik announced that they needed to take a break to eat Carly was ready to take off running.

  She knew it was silly, but the more she listened to the discussion and the longer she was in the house the more anxious she became. That didn’t make a lot of sense. No one was angry and there were no harsh words spoken about her, Colton, or their mother. It was primarily questions about the mysterious biological father.

  Mik had ordered the men to make a run to the grocery store for dinner fixings when Teddy came back into the kitchen. “Mik, there’s one thing we didn’t consider.”

  “Oh, what?”

  “The coin.”

  Mik’s eyes went round and even Jed, who was in the process of getting his keys and hat, stopped dead in his tracks.

  Carly felt like the only worm at a fishing party when everyone suddenly looked at her. Mik turned her attention to Jed. “What do you think?”

  He shrugged. “If it would have the same effect it had on you …”

  “You’re right.”

  “But that would definitely show a connection,” Teddy argued. “And oh, my god!” She looked at Carly. “What are your abilities?”

  “Abilities?” That question gave Carly a sudden pang in the stomach.

  “Yeah. Mik, she … well, she’s a witch. She can communicate with animals and has some telepathic abilities.”

  “And Colton has that energy thing,” Memory chimed up.

  Everyone suddenly started talking at the same time. Carly couldn’t even keep up the ways they were all talking on top of one another. It jangled her brain and made a pressure start to rise inside her, the kind of pressure that scared her. So much that she ran out of the door and into the yard.