Page 21 of Silver Fox's Twin Babies

I turned and used her own grip on my arm to pull her into the empty classroom. “What! My God, you can’t say that out loud. No one knows, Shelby.” My throat constricted as I glanced around hoping no one had heard her words. Evan hadn’t done this? Had he? It was Jacob. I hadn’t even mentioned this toEvan, just that Parker was dyslexic. Jacob was the one who helped me with the kids.

“Sorry,” she said, wincing.

“No…” I breathed a sigh and shut the door behind us. “Evan doesn’t know. I haven’t told him.” Guilt rained on my parade, systematically deconstructing the gratitude in my chest until I felt deflated again. “I haven’t said a word. I don’t know how to or if I even should.” How had one comment taken my night from joyful to soul crushing in a single breath?

“Christ, I’m so sorry.” Shelby’s arms wrapped around me and she hugged me for a second before letting me pull away. I covered my face with my hand and thought about what she’d said. If Evan had been the one to do this, then I had questions. Was he working on behalf of Jacob? Did he have suspicions?

Now that my peace was ruined, I knew I’d be obsessing about it all night. I felt the phone in my pocket again and thought about calling to ask him. But why would Evan do something like that? We weren’t even officially dating; he had no obligation. I dismissed the idea and sighed, then pulled Shelby back into the hallway.

“Not a word,” I grumbled, and she drew her fingers over her lips in a silent gesture indicating she was zipping it.

We finished our time at the open house and drove back to my place. I got Shelby and Nicky out the door before Mom, who insisted on reading to the twins before she left. And when they were finally in bed and I was alone, I pulled out my phone to call Jacob. My brain refused to let me rest. I had to know if he had pulled the strings and offered the school a donation or if it was Evan.

I didn’t even know if Jacob would be awake, but it didn’t stop me. He told me to always call him no matter what time of day or night. I only took advantage of that privilege a few times, but tonight felt necessary.

“Amber,” he answered, sounding wide awake, “how are you doing? It’s late…”

“Hey, Jacob.” I sighed and dived right in, no sense in wasting his time. “I’m okay. I just had a question for you…”

I sat back on my bed and stretched my legs out. My body was tense. I felt like I’d been through the wringer a time or two. Keeping this secret from Evan had been much easier when he was a distant memory. The flame that burned between us now drew me in, and I felt like my wings were being singed every time I thought about a possible future.

“Anything. What is it? How can I help you?” The same gentle tone he always used with me comforted me. Sometimes I imagined he was my father on the other end of this line, and that made tears well up in my eyes. How desperately I missed my dad.

“I had the kids open house tonight. Uh…The teacher, Ms. Newsome, said someone from Montgomery had given a large donation to the school to pay for the twins’ new special education classes. Was that you?” My breath hitched after my question, and suddenly I didn’t really want the answer.

“No, Amber. It wasn’t me.” Jacob breathed heavily and I knew the sound. He was frustrated by something, which meant he probably had the same assumption I did. That Evan was involved. “How is my brother treating you?”

The lump lodged in my throat refused to go down when I swallowed. It made my words feel choked as I said, “Good, good…He’s, uh…He’s really nice. He is letting me keep the same arrangement I have with you. So that’s good.” I bit my lip nervously. I knew he couldn’t see me but I also knew he could read me like a book even over the phone. “Did you tell him?”

My whole body felt jittery. Adrenaline thrummed through my veins making it impossible for me to stop shaking. The one thing I made Jacob promise me to never do was to tell Evan. Itwas my choice if he knew or not. The fact that I’d brought it to him in confidence had never been a concern of mine until now. But then, Evan hadn’t been around until now.

“No, Amber. I would never do that to you. But I do think you should tell him. I know you’re worried, but he can take it. He’s done a lot of growing up.” His soft tone returned but I couldn’t respond to him, even in his concern and caring. If he was wrong and Evan took it badly, I could lose my children. He was wealthy. I had no money to pay a lawyer to fight him.

“I, uh…You should rest. I’m sorry I bothered you, and I’m sorry I haven’t been by to visit. I tried…” My lame excuse felt as small as my feeble confidence now.

“Erin told me. It’s okay. I know you’re a busy mom. You’re taking care of your children. That’s where you belong. Don’t let an old man like me worry you.” He chuckled but it sounded forced. “Go on and rest. I’ll be back to the office before you know it. And if you need anything you call me right away.”

We said our goodbyes and I hung up. If it wasn’t Jacob who sent the school money and got the kids enrolled in that program, it had to have been Evan. No one else at Montgomery had any clue I might need the help. Evan did have access to Jacob’s email now too, so it made sense.

My hand trembled as I held my phone. The right thing to do would be to call Evan and thank him. It didn’t matter that I had this massive pressure crushing my chest, or that the secret I carried threatened to suffocate me. He had done a very nice thing for me without being obligated or asked. It was the least I could do.

So as my fingers trembled, I dialed his number and put it on speakerphone. I pressed my eyes shut waiting for him to answer, and his voice had a similar effect on my heart and mind that Jacob’s had, only for a different reason.

“Amber? Is everything okay?”

I glanced at the time and realized it was almost ten. It was sort of too late for phone calls, but it was too late to hang up and pretend I hadn’t called him.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry it’s late. I just…I was at the kids’ school.” I sighed. “Thank you for giving money for them to enter that program. I assume you saw Jacob’s emails?” My fingers found their way to the hem of my shirt, which I tugged at nervously.

“I did…” He paused for a moment then said, “I hope that’s okay. I saw an opportunity to help and I took it.”

The truth didn’t make me feel any better than my suspicion. Evan was skating dangerously close to my personal life being destroyed and it unnerved me. I massaged the bridge of my nose and sighed.

“No it’s okay. But…Jacob and I have this agreement. I just want to do things on my own. I don’t need help. I very much appreciate what you did, but I’d like it if you could let me do things my way.” The monetary gift was too much. I felt obligated to him somehow now. Jacob did things because he promised my father. It felt like my father was doing them. But Evan…He had no responsibility to me—or at least not as long as my secret stayed safe.

“I understand that, and I’m sorry. I’ll respect that boundary from now on. I just knew Parker needed some help and after my struggles, my heart went out to him. But you’re right. You’re his mother and I’ll take a step back.”

My body slumped to the side, and I curled up and put the phone closer to my head where I could hear him. “It was thoughtful though. Thank you.”

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