Chapter 25

25

Dakota

I t's late when I finish a shift at The Roxbury, a venue that calls me every other weekend to cover for their bartenders. The customers seem to love me whenever I'm around. More than once, they've complimented my mixology skills within the bar manager's earshot, but it's still hard to get a steady gig these days.

We set the wedding date. December 17th. The day that will change everything is literally just around the corner. I'm walking on a razor-sharp edge, hoping that everything runs smoothly and nothing gets in our way. I'm done stumbling and crashing, then picking up the pieces afterward.

As I leave the venue, marveling at how empty the streets are at this late hour, I find Callie waiting next to my car. She's going through her phone, so she doesn't see me right away, which gives me a brief moment to carefully analyze her.

The tight jeans and expensive sneakers say casual but stylish, while the zebra-pattern top with a deep plunging neckline spells trouble. Her red hair is straightened and flowing over one shoulder, and there's a thick layer of mascara casting a heavy shadow over her glistening eyes.

"Hey, Callie," I say, cautious in my approach. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hey, Dakota," she replies, lighting up as she sees me. She struggles to smile, though I don't think it's because of me. It doesn't feel personal this time. "I remember you said you were doing shifts at The Roxbury once or twice a week."

"Yeah, but how'd you know I'd be here tonight?"

"I called the bar. I think it was the hostess who picked up and told me what time you were getting off," Callie says. "I was in the neighborhood, I saw the bar, and I thought of you. Figured we could talk for a little bit."

"Okay." I take a deep breath and lean against my car next to her. "What's up?"

She gives me a long, curious look, then chuckles dryly. "You had me going with that whole Archer-is-my-fiancé thing. What was the point?"

"Misdirection," I tell her, according to Archer. "I couldn't exactly trust you, could I?"

"What did you think I was going to do?" she asks, her brows drawn together.

I offer a shrug. "Precisely what you did. You hovered around Archer, knowing full well that we were engaged to be married. Supposedly."

"Hey, I didn't make a pass at your man," Callie says, brusquely defending herself. "I may want my rightful inheritance, but I wouldn't do that."

"The point being, Callie, that, given the situation, the fact that I am getting married before Christmas might come across as a ploy to get the inheritance. I didn't want you stirring up

trouble, and neither did Archer."

She flashes a cold smile. "What did Reed think of the whole thing?"

"He agreed. Callie, you have to understand that we didn't exactly get off on the right foot here."

"No, I agree. And I do understand. It still feels kind of weird, but I'll get over it," she replies and musters a broader, more generous smile. "That being said, I want to congratulate you on your upcoming wedding. Regardless of why you're tying the knot in the first place, I've done some research, and I gotta say, the Faulkners are pretty interesting fellas. You've done well for yourself, and you deserve every good thing that's coming your way."

"Thank you," I say. "That means a lot coming from you."

Callie laughs lightly. "Listen, I am not going to play the part of the evil sister here. My allowance and the house itself will be more than enough for me going forward. I've got the foundation work to keep me busy, and I can use our charity events as networking opportunities. I might as well move on and build something of my own instead of living out the rest of my days relying on my grandmother's money."

"That makes all the sense in the world," I say. "I could talk to Reed and his brothers about potential business opportunities at one of their companies. They told me just the other day that they were looking to expand. It might be a good opportunity for you to jump in."

"You would do that for me?"

"It doesn't cost me anything to help my sister out."

She stills and gives me a long, meaningful look. Emotions stir deep within her—I can see them reflected in the brown pools of her eyes. "You're too kind for this world, Dakota. Thank you. I appreciate it."

"It's my pleasure."

"When's the wedding?" she quickly changes the subject.

"December 17th."

"Holy crap, that's three days from now!" she gasps. "Y'all are quick!"

I can't help but laugh. "Yeah, well, Reed didn't want to wait any longer." I pause and give her a tentative smile. "Would you like to come?"

"Seriously?"

"It'll be a small ceremony. Just Reed and his brothers, their mother, our kids, Chelsea, and a few folks from the community center. We want to keep it private," I say.

She tears up, and I feel slightly softer in her presence. "I'd love to come to your wedding," Callie replies. "I'm surprised you'd want me there."

"Callie, you're the closest thing I've got left to a family in this world. And I don't want our father's transgressions to ruin the future for us. Neither of us is responsible for what he and Katherine did or didn't do, said or didn't say."

"You're absolutely right," she agrees.

"Besides, after the wedding, after everything settles down and we're able to think clearly again, maybe the two of us could get together and dig a little deeper into what happened between our dad and your mom, between our dad and Katherine. I've got a feeling that there was always more to the story, but with no one around to tell that side…"

Callie thinks about it for a moment, her gaze wandering off. "You know, you might be on to something. For as long as I can remember, my mom was super vague whenever I mentioned Dad. She wouldn't even talk about him. She simply insisted that he walked out on us, that he left us behind, and that I deserved better."

"What about Katherine? Did she ever give you any details?"

"More or less the same crap. He walked out. He chose his so-called freedom and new life in California instead of toughing it out with his family," she says. "But in hindsight, I have to admit there were times when I didn't really believe them. I couldn't understand how he could just walk out and completely disappear, never sending a Christmas card or anything. It's weird."

"I guess I knew Dad for just a bit longer than you, Callie, and if there is one thing I can say without the slightest doubt, it's that he was a good father. He loved me, and he would've never done something like that. But as you said, in hindsight, I remember this muted sadness about him whenever he looked at me. I think he missed you. I think something happened to keep him away from you for so long. I can't wrap my head around it in any other way."

"Hearing you talk about him like that makes me feel kind of jealous," she says with a bitter smile. "Man, I need a few more drinks for this conversation." She pulls away from my car and eagerly looks around. "So, The Roxbury is closed, but there are a few more bars farther down the road that might still be open at this hour. Come on, let me buy you a martini or something. We can talk about this some more."

"Oh, I'd love to," I tell her. "But I've got to be up early in the morning. You know, the whole wedding prep thing."

She gives me a doubtful look. "I thought you said it was going to be a small ceremony."

"Yeah, but I still need to make sure everything is set. The church, the preacher, the flowers. I have to pick up my dress and Maisie's flower girl dress. And maybe a dress for you if you'd like?" I say without really thinking.

Callie gasps, genuinely surprised. "You want me to… to be a bridesmaid?"

"Well, yeah. What are sisters for?" I giggle.

She throws her arms around me and hugs me tighter and tighter until it almost cuts off my air supply, but I hold on and welcome the sudden deluge of affection and gratitude. It's way better than her previous version that spat venom with every other word.

"I'm going to say it again, Dakota, you are way too good for this world. And yes, I would love to be a bridesmaid at your wedding."

"Awesome. Let me drop you off at your hotel then, and I'll see you tomorrow afternoon for the dress fitting?" I ask as I step back and fish the car keys out of my purse.

"Sounds like a plan."

Once I watch Callie go inside the hotel, I'm ready to head home. It's been a long day, and I am literally excited to simply crash into bed.

As I drive through the San Francisco night, I let my mind wander. I whiz past luminous storefronts at every turn. The occasional drunk staggers through the city streets—some looking for other venues to drink at while others are searching for cabs to hail.

It's been a roller coaster these past couple of months. I'm pregnant, and it has come at a difficult time. Everything hangs in the balance all of a sudden. Everything hinges on the next few days, and I don't know how I feel about that. I should be happy. Excited. And in a certain sense, I am. I just wish Reed had proposed under different circumstances.

At the same time, I am nothing but grateful and relieved that he did because, thanks to him, I'm getting that inheritance. And that means Maisie will be enrolled in Prescott Academy next year. I'll be able to pay off the mortgage on Grandma Sally's house. And I'll have enough wealth to start my own projects and build them from the ground up.

A tightness lingers in the pit of my stomach as I try not to think about how it could still go wrong, horribly wrong. I'm still hiding the fact that I'm pregnant, and the longer I wait to tell them, the angrier they might be. Soon, I tell myself. We just need to get through the wedding first.

Turning one last corner as I cruise through the residential neighborhood, I see the Faulkner house up ahead on the right, rising like a giant in the heart of the night. But it's not dark nor peaceful. Red and blue lights flash outside, and the closer I get, the clearer it becomes that something happened.

"Oh, no," I mumble as I pull up close to the driveway, as close as the yellow tape will let me, anyway. "What the hell?"

Looking around, I can see some of the neighbors have come out, and they are as curious as I am. Three squad cars are parked outside, and police officers are checking the entire property, including the front and backyard. They're taking photos and writing notes, occasionally communicating through their radio systems.

I get out of the car, shaking slightly until I remember that Maisie is still at Chelsea's house, two neighborhoods over and out of harm's way. But I still don't know what happened. I notice that there's no ambulance or coroner in sight and hope fills me that whatever happened isn't that bad.

"Excuse me, officer," I approach one of the cops standing on the sidewalk closest to our front door. "I live here. What happened?"

"Attempted robbery, it seems," the man says, then looks over at the house.

I follow his gaze, noticing that the lights are on in every room, silhouettes of his colleagues gliding from window to window, and cameras flashing a few times per minute. Archer is the first to come out of the house, his eyes lighting up at the sight of me.

"It's okay," he immediately says, eager to reassure me. "Nobody's hurt. We're all fine."

"You can go through," the first cop tells me and raises the yellow tape for me to pass.

I bolt and run straight into Archer's arms, losing myself in his body heat for a moment. "What the hell happened?"

"The three of us got home, as usual, around nine," Archer explains, his brow furrowed as he glances back at the house. "We found the front door cracked open and thought you were already home. We called out and couldn't find you. Then we saw movement in the kitchen, but by the time we got there, the guy slipped through the back door and jumped over the fence."

"That's a tall fence to jump over," I mumble.

Archer nods in agreement. "Yeah, he was a nimble motherfucker. We didn't get a good look at him either. We don't know how he got in or what he took if anything. Reed said the vaults weren't touched."

They have two of them, and they're smartly hidden inside the house. A thief with no knowledge of the Faulkner brothers' affinity for caution would never find the vaults. "What about silverware or electronics?" I ask.

"Nothing so far. The alarm system was turned off. Manually disabled, but we don't know how. The security company said the burglar didn't use one of our codes. It would've showed up in their system."

"Then how did he disable it?"

Another officer comes out from behind the house with a piece of circuitry in his hand. "I can answer that question," he says. "It may be old school, but it's still effective. He went straight for the electrical circuit. Your security system runs on a separate line from the rest of the house. He cut a few wires in the control panel and pulled this out."

"Oh, wow," I mumble, dread tightening its grip on my throat.

"Was he looking for something?" the second policeman asks Archer.

"We're not sure yet," Archer says.

"Is there anything in the house the guy might've come for, specifically?"

Archer gives him a cold grin. "Officer Reyes, I assure you, we're clean, law-abiding citizens with reputable businesses and a good standing relationship with the IRS. Of course, we do have items in the house that could've been stolen, but my brothers just confirmed that the vaults weren't touched."

"What exactly is in the vaults?" the cop asks, eyeing Archer suspiciously. He's starting to get on my nerves, but I keep my mouth shut and listen, fully aware that Archer is more than capable of handling this situation.

"We keep our registered weapons in one of the vaults. Three semi-automatic pistols and their respective ammunition, to be specific, along with a vintage Colt revolver we got as a parting gift from our platoon boys in the Marines," Archer says. "The other vault is for cash and jewelry; all of it is still there, along with the appropriate paperwork. My brothers will happily show you if you'd like."

"I'm not looking to cause any issues," the policeman says. "I'm just trying to cross the T's and dot the I's here."

"Which is appreciated. But at first glance, nothing appears to have been taken," Archer says. "Seems to me like we got home a little earlier than the guy had anticipated. Took him by surprise. He had no choice but to flee before he was able to get whatever it was that he came for."

Once the cops are gone and the street is once again quiet, Maddox goes on another perimeter check while Reed and Archer get the security company techs over to fix the control panel. They pay hefty monthly fees for this alarm system, so the repair and replacement are free of charge. The guy also offers to give them a complimentary upgrade for a new security system, which will be available and installed in January.

We decide to leave Maisie and Trevor at Chelsea's for the night if only to make sure that it's safe, while the four of us ensure all of the doors and windows are locked before we retreat upstairs. A hot shower later, we lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and pondering what we could order for a late-night snack.

"I could go for some Italian," I suggest.

Reed draws an invisible circle around my nipple as I lie beside him while Maddox tenderly rubs my feet and calves with eucalyptus oil. They love to pamper me, particularly in times of heightened stress, and tonight's events certainly qualify.

"Italian sounds good," Reed mutters, his gaze scanning my face. "Anything in particular?"

"Do not say pizza," Archer chuckles as he moves to the edge of the bed and gets on his food delivery app to place an order. "Please say real Italian food."

"Pizza is Italian," I reply with a giggle. "But no, I wasn't thinking pizza. Definitely a pasta dish. Cheesy. But with a little bit of meat in it, too."

"Presto's makes a fantastic carbonara," Archer replies. "The traditional style, four ingredients only. And the servings are generous."

Reed nods in agreement. "Yeah, I'm down with that. See if they have some of that fancy tiramisu of theirs," he adds, then smiles at me. "You're going to love it."

"Oh, I'm already looking forward to it."

I'm exceptionally hungry, and not because I haven't eaten today. This secret baby of mine is growing more and more demanding. It's only a matter of time before the guys notice, and I'll need to prepare myself for that conversation.

After the wedding.

After the holidays.

Once we're all settled and at ease with everything. I know Maisie will be happy about getting a little brother or sister. I'm just not sure how the guys are going to react.

"We're almost ready for the wedding ceremony, by the way," Archer says once he's done with the food order. "I booked Saint John's Chapel over on 8th Street. It's beautiful and private, and they've got a couple of rooms available for the bride and her maids to get ready in. There's a huge garden at the back for photo ops. And just a couple of blocks down the road, we've got Astoria Hills."

"Ooh, the Michelin Star place," I reply, feeling my eyes sparkle with excitement. "I've never been. I hear it's ridiculously fancy."

"You bet. Molecular gastronomy and stuff," Reed chuckles softly.

"We'll have the wedding reception there. Well, wedding dinner. Not really a party," Archer replies, prompting a dry laugh out of Maddox.

"You sound almost disappointed."

Archer shrugs. "I guess I would've liked a bigger wedding."

"You're not the one getting married," Maddox says, looking at Reed. "What do you think?"

"I'm fine with Astoria Hills. The food is phenomenal, and their wine cellar is a connoisseur's wet dream."

My gaze bounces between the three of them, and I realize I don't feel the excitement I remember feeling when Keith and I got married. We were nowhere near wealthy at the time, but we were looking forward to every moment. The wedding vows, the party, the guests. It ended up being a small affair, but we still had about fifty guests joining us. We booked the reception hall at John Allen's French restaurant on 3rd. It cost us a pretty penny, though we both thought it was worth it at the time.

"Callie is coming to the wedding," I say. "She'll love Astoria Hills, for sure."

Instantly, the triplets look at me with a mixture of consternation and indignation.

"I beg your pardon?" Archer is the first to object.

"She is my sister."

"And she was looking to pork me the minute she thought you and I were engaged," he retorts.

I nod slowly. "She apologized. We talked about a few things. She's just as hurt as I was regarding our family's complicated history, and we both agreed that none of it was ever our cross to bear. We're just trying to build a new dynamic here."

"She's a fucking snake in the grass," Maddox warns me.

"She's lonely and finally realizing that we're better off sticking together than we are fighting one another."

Reed sighs deeply. "Callie wants your inheritance."

"She knows she's not going to get it. We're getting married. There's no stopping that."

Judging by the looks on their faces, the brothers aren't entirely convinced. Truth be told, I reserve a sliver of quiet doubt, as well. But the fact is, the wedding is happening. Maddox, Archer, and Reed are sticking with me on this all the way through to the end.

I'll walk down the aisle and sign a marriage certificate afterward. I'll have the Monroe lawyer, Mr. Rawlings, present for the event and the document signing. Callie knows there's no way to stop this, so she has nothing left to do but to attend the wedding and celebrate with me. She can't ever know the truth, though.

I should be happier about all this.

So why does my heart feel so heavy?