Page 32 of Full Circle

He grinned sheepishly at me. “I may have stolen Ms. Shirley’s car last night to come here,” Wes admitted.

My jaw dropped open, caught between laughing and screaming. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Now, why would I joke about something like that?” Glancing up the drive, Wesley leaned down to pull me in for a kiss. It was tender and emotional, something he let his whole body sink into, making mine respond in kind. Everything between us felt so natural, so easy…almost like it was too good to be true.

At that thought, I broke away, tucking my head under his chin and wrapping my arms firmly around his waist. Tears were threatening to spill over again, and I knew if I saw the hurt in his eyes from what I was about to say, I wouldn’t be able to do it.

“Wes, we can’t be more than just friends,” I said into his collar bone, like the coward I was. “You saw how Desiree acted. It’s only going to get worse.”

He tried to use both hands at my shoulders to peel me away, but I tightened my grip with both arms to the point of pain.

“Please,” I whispered. My voice started to warble on the verge of tears.

There was a long pause before Wesley sighed and hugged me back, resting his cheek on the top of my head. “Celeste, I’m not gonna lie to you, your family, or myself. Your daddy and I just had a talk about my feelings and intentions, and nothing or nobody is gonna change them. I love you. Period.”

Part of me wanted to sigh with relief at the assurance he gave while another part of me wanted to stomp my foot in exasperation. It wasn’t about lying to anybody, it was about self-preservation. Neither of us could face Daddy or Nana’s disappointment if something got out of hand, and I was no longer entirely sure that I trusted Desiree enough to let things be. As much as I wanted Wesley the boyfriend, it wouldn’t be worth a lick of Marla’s cake batter if I couldn’t keep Wesley the best friend. I needed him, plain and simple. This summer without him was proof enough.

“Wes, she’ll try to keep us apart.” There was no reason to clarify who as we both know exactly who I meant.

He snorted and withdrew himself from me. “She’s welcome to try, but that’s never going to happen.” The intensity in his blue eyes would have frightened me if there was any indication he was angry or upset. But this was sheer determination, an ironclad stubbornness that I was never going to break. He cupped both of my cheeks with his hands as he swore firmly, “You’re. It. For. Me.”

I let the tears flow freely because who was I kidding now? His words turned me to mush. They didn’t seem to faze him as he gently pressed his lips to mine once more.

“Nothing has to change, except I’m gonna hold your hand and kiss you any time I want.” Wesley grinned down at me, his tongue poking out slightly between his gleaming white teeth. “Now get back in there before your daddy changes his mind.”

I rolled my eyes but turned to walk back towards the house. A strange sense of foreboding settled in my gut because I knew Wesley’s assertion wasn’t true. Everything had to change now.

CHAPTER 13

EVIL STEPMOTHERS AND WICKED STEPSISTERS

CELESTE

I immediately went inside to take a shower before going to check on Daddy. His migraines were becoming more and more frequent and it was high time I put my foot down that he go see Dr. Atkins over at the clinic. I was also itching to know what the conversation with Wesley consisted of, but all the begging and bribery in the world wouldn’t make him tell me about that. Daddy was just as stubborn as Wesley about certain things.

As I got out of the shower and headed into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water on my way to Daddy’s room, however, I found Desiree, Hillary, and Jeremy in a flurry of activity. My soon to be stepsiblings were both cramming clothes and towels into duffle bags on the kitchen table while Desiree was blubbering fake tears to someone on the phone. I paused in the doorway, unsure of what to do or say.

“Look who finally decided to show up!” Hillary’s nostrils flared in the most unladylike fashion I had ever seen from her. Her expression was full of disdain and disgust. “Guess we know who she actually cares about!”

Normally her comments rolled off me, but after the emotional turmoil I had already experienced today, I wasn’t in the mood to take anything from her. Blood coated the inside of my mouth from how hard I clamped down on my cheek to prevent saying something that would land me in deeper trouble.

“What’s going on?” I asked Jeremy, nodding towards the bag he was zipping shut.

My almost stepbrother was normally very quiet, preferring to keep to his room or go to his friends’ houses. While we never acted friendly towards one another, I couldn’t say it was an antagonistic relationship either, more like that of tolerant acquaintances. He avoided conversations with Daddy and Nana like the plague, only speaking to his mother or sister whenever they were home.

Now, however, he cast me a glare so reminiscent of his mother’s that I took a partial step backwards in surprise. Pure loathing was all that could be seen in his features as he let out an exasperated sigh.

“We’re waiting on the ambulance to get here to take your dad to the hospital,” Jeremy explained, the words laced with venom. “We are taking care of him since you never do. Maybe you should stop worrying about your boytoy so much and start focusing on the man who raised you!”

A slap to the face would have hurt me less. I had done nothing but try to take care of Daddy since the day Mama died and I couldn’t imagine anyone accusing me of less. Daddy and Nana were the only family I had left, and before Wes came into the picture, they were all I had. Jeremy Stanbrooke had been in school with me since kindergarten. He knew me well enough to know that my whole world was tied up in my parents and our restaurant. How could he say such a thing?

I prepared to turn on my heel to go check on Daddy when Desiree’s sharp nails dug into my elbow. “Don’t you go bothering him and make it worse!” She snapped the cell phone closed and laid it on the counter. “No doubt your whore antics this morning are what caused him to be in so much pain!”

The entire thing was so unjust and simultaneously terrifying that I burst into tears as I wrenched my arm from her grasp. Blinded by my sobs and fears, I let habit guide me out the back door towards Nana’s cottage. She jumped up in alarm when I crashed inside and slid to the ground with my back to the door, clutching my knees to my chest as it wracked with howls. Daddy was in pain and it was all my fault.

“Now, what’s all this?” she crooned. She crouched down in front of me, her knees popping on her descent, and gently placed her hands on my shoulders.

“Desiree is takin’ Daddy to the hospital!” My voice was so warped from crying and anxiety that I hardly recognized it to my own ears. “She said it’s my fault he’s in so much pain after what I did this morning!”

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