Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
STERLING
F orrest came out of his mother’s room with a smile on his face. He was lighter, as if he’d shed a weight I hadn’t known he was carrying.
“She needs a minute,” he said.
“I’m sure.” I couldn’t get my head around how she must feel. What a mindfuck this had to be. “It’s a lot to take in,” I said.
“Yeah. At least Emmett threw the idea at me yesterday, so I’ve had a chance to absorb the possibility. My mom didn’t think there was a chance when we brought it up. She’s reeling. But she texted Jerry. He’s on his way in.”
“Will that be weird?” I asked. “Him comforting her over her first husband?”
Forrest smiled. “Not really. Jerry’s never been jealous of my dad. He told me once that he’s sorry we lost him and grateful he got the chance to love my mom. He said life isn’t fair, but it’s the only one we’ve got, so we might as well make the best of it.”
“Wise man,” I commented. “Maybe I should start drinking kombucha and throwing pots.”
“You’re wise enough as you are,” Forrest said. He shoved his hand in his pocket and looked down at me for a long moment. “Do you want to go for a walk?”
“Are there really cliffs?” I asked. I had seen the ocean in the distance but hadn’t seen any cliffs through the trees.
“There really are,” he said. “They’re pretty cool, though we can’t get too close. Come on, I’ll show you.”
I followed Forrest out the kitchen door. He led me to a path I hadn’t noticed, winding between Emily’s garden and a chicken coop.
“I’m sorry there wasn’t any money,” he said as we followed the trail.
“I don’t care about the money,” I said. I’d said it before, and I meant it, but not like this. I looked up into his beautiful golden hazel eyes. “The money isn’t important. I can make my own money.”
His eyes warmed, and I knew this time he believed me. Raising on my toes so I could reach, I clasped my hands to the sides of his face, pulling him down for a kiss. His lips, warm and soft, pressed to mine, his arms winding around to draw me close. I leaned back, and I told him the truest thing I knew.
“There was a prize at the end of your dad’s codes,” I said. “At least there was for me because I got you, and you’re everything I want. I love you, Forrest. I loved you a year ago. I wouldn’t have been so angry if I hadn’t loved you.”
“Sterling, I’m sorry?—”
“Shhh,” I said, putting a finger over his lips. “You’re interrupting my moment. I know you’re sorry. I know you won’t lie to me again.” I thought of my secret coding classes and added, “I won’t lie to you either because I love you and I trust you, and I don’t want to screw this up again.”
“I love you too,” he said, and this time I didn’t break our kiss. Not until we were both breathless.
“Show me your cliffs,” I said, feeling settled for the first time in forever. “And then we’ll go back and really celebrate with your mom and Jerry.” I took a step, but Forrest didn’t follow.
He slid his hand into his pocket. “Sterling,” he said. Then he shook his head. “I’ll show you the cliffs.”
“Okay,” I agreed, wondering what he’d been about to say.
He pulled his hand from his pocket and twined his fingers with mine. “It’s not far,” he said.
We walked side by side down the neatly trimmed path. The woods ended abruptly, opening into a narrow field of waving grasses. Beyond the grass, the land just disappeared, a jagged edge at the end of the world, nothing but deep, navy ocean beyond.
“Oh my God,” I said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” The drama of it took my breath away. On my side of the continent, the ocean met the land with grace, one sliding into the other. I looked to my left and saw the ocean bashing itself against the stone of the cliffs, exploding in spray. It was feral, powerful, and absolutely gorgeous.
I took a step closer, then pulled back. We were fifty feet away and plenty close enough. The land at the edge of the cliffs looked unstable, with overhangs of grass and dirt. From what I could tell, the base of the cliffs was lined with sharp rocks. It would take one misstep, and you’d never be seen again.
Forrest turned to me, his hand in his pocket again, the other raised to cup my chin, his eyes serious. “Sterling?—”
“I hate to interrupt your romantic moment,” came a voice from behind us. “But no— I really don’t.”
I looked over to see my brother Brax standing at the edge of the woods twenty feet away, a gun in his hand.
“What the fuck? Brax?” I said stupidly, my brain knocked out of gear.
“What are you doing in Oregon?” I heard Forrest say.
“I’m here for the money, you moron.” Brax shook his head, scorn dripping from his words. “Here’s the deal,” he said and looked straight at me. “I know you found it. I saw you go rushing to the house with that book in your hand and then come out here looking all dopey and happy. I’ll make you a deal. Give me the account number, and I’ll go away. I know you won’t miss me, and we both know Dad didn’t leave us a goddamn thing. If those trust funds aren’t empty now, Griffen will have cleaned them out by the time the will terms are up.”
“No, he won’t,” I said without thinking. “Why would you say that?”
“Oh please, you’re so trusting,” Brax smirked at me. “I was going to say you’re an idiot, but you’re not, are you? You were smart enough to solve the codes. You just weren’t smart enough to realize I was watching you the whole time.”
“It was you who sent us to that root cellar,” I said. Despite the circumstances, triumph swirled through me, giving me the guts to face him down over the barrel of that gun. “I knew it was you.”
“Duh,” Brax said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “Everyone else is so lovey-dovey these days. Family above everything. Fuck that.” He tossed his golden hair off his forehead. “That’s not how we were raised. Everyone’s out for themselves. You, me, Griffen, Ford. All of us. Just like Dad was.”
Was that really what he thought? I’d hated Brax for as long as I could remember. And still, that was just sad.
“No,” I said, “we’re not all out for ourselves. We’re a family. You were there when I accused you of sending us to the root cellar, when we found my toys in your closet. Griffen stuck up for you because he loves you. Because you’re his brother.”
“Bullshit,” Brax said. “How are you going to tell me everyone’s not out for themselves? You’re only with Powell here so you could get a cut of whatever his dad left because he couldn’t find the money without you.”
I shook my head but didn’t bother to argue. I knew how wrong Brax was, and so did Forrest. That was what mattered.
Forrest stuck his hand in mine and squeezed. I kept my focus on Brax.
“Dad was always out for himself,” he continued. “Ford screwed over his own brother to take his place. I figured Ford would help me get rid of you. But he went soft in prison.” He rolled his eyes in disgust. “He told me you deserved better. Right. Whatever.”
“Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?” I asked. I never truly understood the reason for Brax’s hatred. It wasn’t like I was the only sibling. There were ten of us for him to despise. “Why do you hate me so much? We could have died in that root cellar.”
I eyed the gun in his hand. I couldn’t imagine he planned to pull the trigger. Waiting for us to die from hypothermia was a distant death, one he could tell himself was an accident, a tragic prank. Shooting us was murder. I didn’t think Brax had that in him. Was the gun even real? He couldn’t have flown out here with a real gun. Could he?
He laughed. “Yeah, I know. Crazy, right? I wasn’t planning to kill you. Not then, at least. I just wanted to get you disinherited.” He grinned with glee. “Banned from all Sawyer property, sent away. Banished.” He paused again. “That would have been fucking fantastic.”
“You were barely home anyway,” I said. “Why did you care if I was around?”
“Because you—” He jabbed the gun in my direction.
I tried not to flinch, wanting to hear what came next, needing to know why.
“You took everything, and you weren’t even a real Sawyer. You were the fucking bastard child of that slut, Trina. Bad enough that Dad flaunted her all over town. People were still talking about it even after she died. And then we got you,” he said, venom dripping from his voice. “Such a perfect baby girl with your curls and your pink dresses. Mom loved you like you were her own. Always talking about what a little princess you were.”
His voice was bitter now, filled with resentment and anger.
“So beautiful and so sweet,” he continued in the same tone of voice. “Like you were better than me when you were trash, and no one but me could see it. And then you got older, and you were such a little shit. All the tantrums and drama, and still everyone loved you.”
I shook my head. He could have been describing himself. He’d been Darcy’s precious baby, her little prince. I was the only one who knew what an asshole he was. Everyone else had adored him when we were young. Apparently, not enough to stop him from hating me.
The gun shaking in his hand, he imitated a woman’s voice, his face twisted in a sneer. “Brax, why can’t you be nicer to Sterling? Brax, stop picking on Sterling.” Back to his regular voice, he said, “Like you deserved more than me. Her attention. Her love. And she could never see what a stupid waste of?—”
“That’s enough,” Forrest cut in, moving between me and Brax’s gun.
Brax pivoted and leveled the gun on Forrest. I lunged forward, my only thought to get in between a bullet and Forrest, but Forrest’s arm shot out like an iron bar, stopping me in place.
“Don’t fucking move,” he said through the side of his mouth.
I curled my fingers into the back of his shirt and tugged, stepping backward, pulling Forrest with me, an inch at a time. If we could get to the trees…