Chapter 16
16
Caleb
C aleb whistled as he headed toward the house. He hadn’t been home since he’d arrived at Mateo’s place. While everything looked the same, it didn’t feel that way. Change was a funny thing. Nothing was different about how the ranch was being run. Wade was still in charge. His older siblings still could be counted on to fill their roles.
Carter was still gone.
But Caleb had gone through a transformation of sorts. When he looked at the sky, it was bluer. When he breathed in deep, it was sweeter. If he’d known that this was what he’d been missing out on, he might not have sworn off women so readily.
He skipped up the steps to the house, only planning on stopping by to pick up a few things and drop off some of his laundry. Then he’d head right on back to Emily.
Emily was amazing. She had it all. The looks. The intelligence. The kind heart. Everything he could have possibly wanted in a girl, he’d found in her. He only wished he had seen it sooner.
There was only one cloud hanging over his head when it came to falling for Emily.
She was still a tourist.
They successfully avoided speaking about that. Neither one of them seemed too keen on discussing what would happen when her vacation ended. Nor did they talk about their plans after Mateo and his family returned home.
Those were subjects for another time. Emily wanted to focus on getting to know one another, so that was what they were going to do.
He pulled open the front door and headed inside. It was midday. Lunch would be on the table, but Caleb planned on eating with Emily. If he could avoid speaking with anyone, he’d do just that.
“Caleb? Is that you?”
He’d rounded the stairs, his boots thumping on the wood floor. If he darted up the steps, he might avoid being caught. Unfortunately, he knew better. Annabel wasn’t likely to let him take off without saying hello.
Caleb heaved a sigh and turned around to head the few feet into the kitchen. He glanced around to see most of his siblings and their spouses seated at the table or hovering near the counter where fixings for sandwiches were spread out.
Annabel smiled broadly. “I thought that was you.”
He glanced once more around the overflowing kitchen. “It doesn’t appear that it could have been anyone else.” As soon as the words left his lips, he regretted them. Everyone knew that wasn’t true—but no one more than him. Carter could have come home. He was the only Keagan missing.
Caleb cleared his throat and gestured toward everyone. “Looks like a family reunion. Is there some occasion I wasn’t made aware of? Someone getting married? Someone moving away?” He leaned in the doorway, his tone light. Nothing could have soured his mood at this moment.
For a moment everyone glanced around the room as if confused about what Caleb was asking. Then Wade stepped forward, clearing his throat. “We weren’t going to announce this yet, but seeing as everyone is here—everyone local—Brielle and I want to share the good news.” He reached an arm out toward his wife, and she stepped forward. “We’re expecting.”
Gasps and cheers erupted in the kitchen. The women all swarmed around Brielle, and the men raised their glasses in congratulations. Caleb nodded toward his brother and slipped out of the kitchen. He was happy for Wade. If anyone deserved to have this kind of good news, it was him.
Thankfully, with the attention on his oldest brother, Caleb was able to hurry to his room and not be given the third degree. It didn’t appear that Daniel had told anyone. Otherwise he would have been questioned about the stranger who had been at Mateo’s place.
Caleb would have to remind himself later to thank his brother for keeping his secret. Once in his room, Caleb went right for his dresser and pulled out a couple items he’d be needing if he had to stay for a few more days. He shoved them into a bag and turned to leave, then jumped back, startled. “Daniel! What are you doing?”
His brother leaned in the doorway, much like Caleb had done before. A smile played at his lips—teasing him, taunting him—at least that was how it felt.
Folding his arms, Caleb frowned at his brother. “You need to stop sneaking up on people. You’re lucky I wasn’t armed.”
Daniel chuckled. “I came to see how you are. We didn’t really get a chance to chat.”
“There’s nothing to chat about,” Caleb insisted. “Because none of what you saw was any of your business.”
His smile widened. “And what exactly did I see?” He pushed himself into the bedroom and absently wandered around, examining items that were on Caleb’s dresser. “Because it seems to me that you’re finding yourself exactly in a predicament that you insisted you would never be.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?”
Daniel shot him a look. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ll tell you now that you’re not exactly the best at hiding it either. The second you went upstairs, Annabel asked me why you were in such a good mood. Liam noticed, too.”
“I’d hardly say that two people asking?—”
Daniel’s pointed expression was more than enough to confirm that it was more than just two people who had paid attention. “Some of the girls think you’re in love.”
“You swore you wouldn’t tell anyone,” Caleb accused.
“And I didn’t. I didn’t say a single word. It’s not my fault you were a grump before you left to help Mateo, but now you’re like… Mr. Sunshine.”
“What?! No, I’m not,” Caleb stammered. “I’m exactly the same as I’ve always been.”
Daniel laughed. “Boy, you need to rewind the clock or something because you most definitely aren’t acting like the Caleb everyone is familiar with. You’ve been brooding and playing an excellent game of avoidance since Liam and Margot?—”
“Is there something that you wanted?” Caleb asked. “Because I’m not going to have this conversation with you—the one regarding Sophia’s friend. If there’s something else?—”
“Have you heard from Carter recently?”
Caleb stiffened. His twin had officially gone MIA. Not even Caleb could incentivize the man to return to their family’s home. Carter refused to respond to calls, messages, and emails. He had gone radio silent. For all Caleb knew, he was dead in a ditch somewhere.
Well, that last bit wasn’t entirely true. Caleb had a sixth sense about his brother. If something really terrible had happened to him, Caleb liked to think he would have known.
“Hello? Caleb? You listening?”
Caleb jumped and brought his focus back to Daniel. “What?”
“Have you heard from Carter? None of us can seem to get a hold of him. I even drove all the way to Colorado Springs to see if he was still staying in that motel. But no one has heard from him in over a month.”
Caleb’s gut twisted. “You’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t have brought it up if I wasn’t. I thought maybe he would have told you where he was going. You guys have a connection?—”
Shaking his head, Caleb sighed. “Not since he stole that money and took off. He doesn’t seem to want anything to do with our family. Not even me.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking, too.” Daniel’s shoulders slumped. “What are we going to do about it? We can’t just sit back and do nothing, right?”
“There’s nothing we can do. You heard what he said. He doesn’t want anything to do with our family anymore. You just have to let him go.”
“You don’t really believe that, do you?” There was something in the way Daniel said it that made Caleb uncomfortable. It was as if his brother were judging him for giving up on his twin. That wasn’t what had happened. Caleb hadn’t given up on his brother. Far from it. He’d tried to get Carter to come back. He’d done everything he could think of short of dragging him back kicking and screaming.
And yet none of that made any difference in this moment. Caleb was the one that everyone likely expected to fix this issue. They were probably all wondering why he hadn’t tried harder.
Well, they didn’t know anything. Caleb had figured out a long time ago that people shouldn’t be trusted. Actually, he barely trusted the people in his own home. What could anyone expect, seeing that their parents had ended up doing them wrong so long ago?
Caleb frowned as he maintained a steady gaze with his older brother. He wasn’t going to be guilted into anything. If Daniel wanted his brother back so badly, perhaps he should be the one to track him down and make him return. “I’ve got to go, Daniel. I’ve already spent too much time here.”
“You never did give me anything to go back and tell everyone. Come on, I can’t return to the table empty-handed.”
“Like I said, it’s none of your business. Even if there was something to tell, I wouldn’t breathe a word of it to you. Let them all assume what they want.”
A smile flickered across his brother’s face, and he lifted his brows suggestively. “You can try to hide it all you want, but it doesn’t change anything. Eventually, it will all come out.”
Caleb snorted. “You don’t know anything.”
“I know that you’ve got it for this girl, and it very well could blow up in your face.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Daniel. I can’t say that I really need it, though.” He shoved past his brother and hurried for the front door before he got cornered by another member of his family.
For being in such a big family who didn’t really like to talk about their feelings, it was starting to feel like he couldn’t have anything to himself. He was really beginning to miss Carter right about now. At least his brother would have been running interference for him.
Caleb tossed the bag in the back of his truck and stared back at the house. Nothing felt the same these days. Nothing felt right.
Too much had changed.
At this point, it felt better to be out at Mateo’s place with Emily than it did to be under the roof with his growing family. Carter definitely had it right. It was time to distance himself from his family if he wanted to chase the future he knew he deserved. He wasn’t sure if Emily was included in that future or if she was just a stepping stone to something better, but for now, he was leaning toward the former.
He climbed in the truck, knowing that when he returned home after Mateo relieved him of his duty, he’d have more than one Keagan breathing down his neck for answers. He’d just have to appreciate the peace he could find right now.