On A Night Like This (Callaways #1)

bell again. Maybe he'd missed her, and she'd gone next door while he was walking off his frustration. He was about to leave when the door opened.
    He stared at her in shock. Her brown hair was tangled and messy, her eyes and nose were red and swollen. She looked devastated.
    "What the hell happened?" he asked.
    She stared back at him, her lips trembling.
    "Sara, talk to me." He grabbed hold of her hands. They were ice cold.
    "They lied," she said.
    "Who lied?"
    "My parents. My mother and father lived a big, fat lie."
    He was confused. "What are you talking about?"
    "I'll show you," she said, pulling her hands away from his. She turned and headed upstairs.
    He shut the door and followed her up to her room.
    On her bed were at least twenty or thirty photographs. They'd obviously come from the box she'd found in the basement.
    She searched through the pictures, found the one she was looking for and held it up. "Look at this. What do you see?"
    "Your parents and you."
    "No, that's not me, that's another baby. And look at my dad," she added. "Have you ever seen him smile like that?'
    "No, but I don’t think I'm someone he would smile at."
    "Neither am I. Only this child was worth a smile."
    "Who is this baby? I don't understand what you're talking about."
    "I'm sorry. Wasn't I clear? This is my brother, Aiden, my older brother, the child my parents never told me about, the son my father always wanted. He was even named after my dad, Stephen Jr."
    His amazement grew with each word. "That's impossible. You would have known. Someone would have known. Someone would have said something."
    "Someone like my mother, who I thought I was really close to? That kind of someone?"
    "Sara," he breathed, seeing a tremendous amount of pain in her eyes. "Are you sure?"
    "There's a name on one of the pictures," she said wearily, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I did an Internet search and found birth records. I also found an obituary for a four-year-old. He was born six years before me. I don't know how he died. I don't know why his existence was kept from me, kept from everyone." She paused, tilting her head. "Do you think your parents knew?"
    "I – I don't know. You didn't move here until you were…"
    "Nine," she said. "Of course your parents didn't know. It all happened long before we moved here."
    "I don't know what to say." He was stunned by the revelation.
    "It's strange. I remember asking my mom about where they used to live before I was born, and she never had much to say. She was always vague about it. I don't recognize the house in any of the photos, so it was probably different than the one where I was born." She paused. "Maybe this is just the tip of the iceberg. What else don't I know about my parents?"
    He could see the anger, frustration and fear bubbling up inside of her. "You need to talk to your father."
    "I can't imagine what I would say."
    "How about – why have you been lying to me my whole life?"
    She stared back at him. "I want to ask him that, but I can't do it right now, Aiden. I'm too confused. My head is aching, and my heart is pounding out of my chest, and if I go to see him now, I don't know what I'll say. I need to be better prepared. I need to calm down. I feel so shaken. The earth is moving all around me, and I can't find solid ground to stand on. My flight leaves in two hours, but I can't get on the plane like this. I also don't want to stay here in his house, with his lies staring me in the face. I need to breathe. I need to think. I need time, Aiden."
    He knew exactly how she felt. Their circumstances were different, but their needs were the same.
    "Let's get out of here," he said impulsively.
    "Where – where would we go?"
    "I don't know."
    "We can't just take off without a destination."
    He smiled. Destroyed and distraught, Sara was still Sara. "Your bag looks like it's mostly packed," he said, tipping his head toward her suitcase. "Let me throw some stuff into the truck, and we'll go for a drive."
    "With our bags?" she asked, wariness entering her eyes.
    "You said you didn't want to stay here."
    "I don't, but…"
    "You can trust me, Sara."
    She drew in a big breath and then said, "All right. I'll meet you at the truck." As he turned toward the door, she added, "Don't take too long or I might change my mind."

    * * *
    It took Aiden five minutes to throw his clothes into a duffel bag. When he jogged down the driveway he could hear laughter and conversation coming from the open windows in the