Chapter 6 - My Father Said Mason Was Protecting Something He Wanted
I left the table.
Not to protect Claire.
To hear Caleb without watching her react to every word.
I stood under the diner's awning.
“Where are you?”
“Not far.”
“I've had enough mysterious location choices.”
He exhaled.
“Fair.”
“Were you at the range?”
“Yes.”
“In the observation room.”
“Yes.”
“Did Walter let you in?”
“Yes.”
That would become Walter's problem later.
“Why?”
“I knew you were booked.”
“How?”
“Walter called.”
Of course.
“Why did he call you?”
“He thought I should know.”
“Did I ask him to?”
“No.”
“Did you tell Mason to fake my evaluation?”
“No.”
Immediate.
“He says you told him to keep me out.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
Caleb was quiet.
Then:
“Because I didn't want Reed family nonsense becoming your inheritance.”
I laughed.
“You accomplished that beautifully.”
“I know.”
“No. I don't think you do.”
I could hear cars behind him.
He was outside somewhere.
“You told Mason to keep me out of the place you used to run.”
“Yes.”
“And then disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“What did you expect him to do?”
“Tell you the truth if you ever asked.”
“That isn't what you said.”
“No.”
At least he understood language.
“What did you mean by ‘don't let him become part of it’?”
“The range business. Gordon's debts. My history. Mason's obsession with keeping the Reed name attached to the place.”
“Gordon's debts?”
“Old business debt. Gone now.”
Good.
No secret fortune.
“Why didn't you say that to Mason?”
“I thought he understood.”
I laughed.
Every adult in my life apparently worshipped implication.
“You thought.”
“Yes.”
“What happened today?”
Caleb had arrived before me.
Walter let him into the observation area.
He watched Mason create two fake sessions under my profile.
“Why didn't you stop him?”
Silence.
There.
“Caleb.”
“I wanted to see how far he'd go.”
My anger rose so fast I had to step away from the window.
“You watched him falsify my record.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me arrive.”
“Yes.”
“You watched him rip my earmuffs off.”
“I was moving downstairs.”
“Then he shoved me.”
“Yes.”
“You still used a speaker.”
Caleb didn't answer.
“You wanted a reveal.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I froze.”
That surprised me.
“What?”
“I had spent eighteen years imagining seeing you as an adult.”
His voice changed.
“And when it happened, I didn't know what I was allowed to do.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So you chose theater.”
“Yes.”
He took it.
“Why did you send Lane Two's target back?”
“Because Mason had shot it.”
“I know.”
“I wanted Walter to see the duplicate wasn't you.”
“The target doesn't prove identity.”
“No.”
Good.
“At least someone understands.”
Caleb continued:
“But Mason knew whose target it was. Walter knew Lane Two had been empty.”
“So you forced him to answer.”
“Yes.”
“Why not walk downstairs?”
Long silence.
“I was afraid you would leave.”
That almost made me laugh.
Instead:
“So you trapped me with mystery.”
“Yes.”
Same family.
Different method.
“Why did Mason say you weren't supposed to come back?”
Caleb's voice hardened slightly.
“Because I stopped visiting the range six months ago.”
“Why?”
“Mason started calling me about things he could decide himself.”
I went still.
The sentence sounded familiar.
“What things?”
“Job offers. Equipment purchases. Whether he should move.”
“Normal family questions.”
“At first.”
“And later?”
“Every decision.”
My stomach tightened.
Caleb continued:
“I had made myself too central.”
There it was.
The same man Claire described.
Deciding for people until they learned to ask.
Then resenting them for asking.
“I pulled back.”
“Without telling him?”
“I told him.”
“Clearly?”
Caleb hesitated.
“Not clearly enough.”
Of course.
“So Mason thinks you abandoned him.”
“Yes.”
“And I think you died.”
“Yes.”
“And Claire thinks she protected me.”
“Yes.”
“Walter thinks calling you was his right.”
Caleb sighed.
“Yes.”
I looked through the diner window at my mother.
She sat alone.
Not touching the jacket she'd brought me.
“What do you want from me?”
Caleb took a long time.
“Nothing tonight.”
I almost believed him.
Then he ruined it.
“Maybe coffee tomorrow.”
I laughed.
“There it is.”
He corrected immediately.
“If you want.”
I stared into the parking lot.
“I don't know.”
“Okay.”
No pushing.
That was new enough to make me suspicious.
Before hanging up, I asked:
“Why did you tell Mason to keep me away instead of telling me yourself?”
Caleb answered quietly.
“Because I still thought staying out of your life counted as respecting it.”
May you like
I looked back at Claire.
“That’s been popular.”
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