Alphas Confess All Read online

  Keegan got dressed in a rush. She pulled the throw around her, watching him.

  “What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked.

  “I have a meeting.”

  “Can we hang out? Talk? Really talk?” That was Keegan, meeting everything head on.

  “Yeah, sure.”

  He paused, jeans on, shirt hanging off one arm, and came to her. He cupped her face in his hands and just stared at her.

  “This meant something to me, Will. You know that, right?”

  Tears pricked her eyes. She managed to whisper, “Yeah.”

  “I’m staying on my parents’ sofa tonight, but tomorrow I’m checking into the bed-and-breakfast. We’ll have more time, more privacy. I really want to talk, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  His phone rang again.

  “Answer it. Go get your mom.”

  Willow went through getting Keegan out of the door in a daze.

  There’d been a time when she’d been a teenager that she’d realized she loved Keegan. It was junior prom. She’d gone with one of the guys on the football team. It hadn’t turned out to be a good experience, but Keegan was there to save her.

  For two weeks she’d obsessed over how to approach him, how to change their relationship.

  Keegan’s dad had seen it. He’d known, somehow. Before she’d gotten up the courage, he’d backed her into that fateful promise.

  She was the slut, and she’d never be good enough for Keegan.

  It was a fact she’d accepted, because there was ample proof. Since discovering that she could use her body to get pleasure, she’d done it. Ten years ago that had been seen as wrong. Today Willow didn’t think enjoying sex was morally wrong, though she could admit that her choices as a teenager were cringe-worthy.

  She’d changed, becoming more discreet, going to school, becoming a cop. All the while, her heart still belonged to Keegan.

  Deep down she wanted this to last. He was her Prince Charming. But she knew that girls like her didn’t get happy endings.

  Willow consoled herself by tidying up the house, picking up a few things, dusting, but her heart wasn’t in it.

  It was almost ten when her doorbell rang.

  She froze, staring at the entry.

  No one came to see her.

  Was it Keegan?

  Her heart pulsed in her throat as she crossed to the door and opened it.

  Only to find Jace Robinson standing on her doorstep.

  Blast from the fucking past. And not the good kind.

  “Hi, Willow. We need to talk.”

  She held her ground. “About?”

  “This.”

  He held up his phone showing her snapshots of three different Polaroid pictures.

  Her throat constricted and her mouth went dry.

  In the pictures she was naked, her limbs spread, and she was clearly asleep. It was every bad choice she’d ever made captured on film.

  Great.

  “What are you doing, Jace?” she asked. Everyone knew Jace. He’d had a very public meltdown over his now ex-wife over the summer.

  “I need you to do something for me,” he said.

  A weight settled in the pit of Willow’s stomach.

  “You know I’m out on bail. One of your cop buddies took some things. I need them back so they don’t realize they’re mine.”

  “Do you realize how many laws you’re violating right now?” she snapped.

  Jace stared at her with frigid, cruel eyes. “It would be a shame if you reported me and your uncle found out about these pictures. It would be even worse if the whole town got to see just what kind of a whore you are.”

  “I’m not that person anymore, Jace.”

  “You sure about that?” He leaned toward her. “You get my stuff and these will go away.”

  Willow shoved the door shut, twisted the lock, and pressed her back against the wood.

  This was her every bad decision come back to haunt her. It was what she got for entertaining the idea that she could be happy even for one second.

  3

  Willow felt her phone vibrate against her hip. Again.

  It was Keegan. She knew it.

  He’d called her last night, but after her run-in with Jace, she hadn’t been able to answer, so she’d replied with a lame text about going to bed. She knew when Keegan got up because he’d texted her again, but she hadn’t responded. They weren’t even clingy messages or anything out of the ordinary for them.

  On one level, last night had been amazing. A true realization of all her feelings for this awesome, amazing man.

  On the other, she knew it shouldn’t have happened. What could they actually have?

  “Earth to Officer Taylor.” Detective Trevor Walters waved his hand in front of her face.

  She shook her head. “Sorry, what?”

  Trevor propped his elbows on the table and studied her. His girlfriend, Dina, had tuned them out, too focused on her tablet to pay them any mind. Willow wished they could have put this off, but if she wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to learn, it needed to start now. Which was probably why Trevor had suggested they grab a late breakfast today to discuss procedure and how they’d work together once schedules returned to normal after the holidays.

  “What’s got your attention this morning?” Trevor asked.

  “Nothing,” she replied far too quickly.

  “That’s a lie,” Dina said without looking up.

  Willow held her hands up in defeat. “It’s nothing I want to discuss.”

  “Wouldn’t have anything to do with Keegan Alden in town?” Trevor asked.

  She just stared at him.

  It was Trevor’s turn to hold his hands up. “Hey, you two were friends and I heard he was home for Christmas.”

  Yeah, Willow should have expected word would travel fast.

  “Who is back?” Dina set her tablet down and glanced between them.

  “The pastor’s son,” Trevor replied.

  Willow shifted in her seat. “Keegan and I are friends.”

  She blew out a breath and glanced at Dina again, who was still watching Willow.

  One of the first things Trevor had asked to speak about off the record when Willow heard they would be working together was his girlfriend’s possessiveness. Trevor had a similar, but much more honorable, reputation than Willow’s. To everyone else, Trevor was the white knight. The guy who’d dated almost every girl, typically around the time when they were going through some serious shit. For Willow, their brief interlude had only been about pleasure and comfort, nothing more or less. Truth was, she couldn’t handle the whole idea of some guy swooping in to save her from life.

  “Bullshit,” Dina said after the prolonged pause.

  Willow cringed.

  Trevor’s brows rose.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” Willow hoped if she said that enough she’d believe the lie.

  “Okay,” Trevor said, finally lowering his hands.

  Willow glanced to her left at the long row of tables where the little old men of the town were gathered for their daily breakfast routine. Several had given her disproving stares since she arrived.

  The diner doorbell chimed, signaling the arrival of the Judsons, an elderly couple who were very involved with the local church. Willow sank down farther in her seat and focused on Trevor.

  “Work? Isn’t that what we’re here to talk about?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” Trevor nodded and nudged his pad of paper a bit. “Did you get copies of all the handbooks—”

  “Willow Taylor.”

  The saccharin-sweet tone put Willow’s teeth on edge. She turned her head, smile firmly in place, and looked up at Coralee Judson. It wasn’t even Sunday and she was dressed in a green skirt and jacket with a paisley print shirt. Her hair had mostly gone gray and was cut short and no doubt regularly permed to get it that curly.

  “Morning, Mrs. Judson.” Trevor reached in front of Dina and held out his hand.<
br />
  “Morning, dear boy.” Coralee gave Trevor a two-handed shake and a genuine smile. There wasn’t a member of the Little Old Lady gang who didn’t adore Trevor, much like any living, breathing female in town.

  “How are you doing?” Trevor asked.

  “I’m doing well, thank you.” Coralee refocused on Willow. Coralee placed one hand on the back of Willow’s seat, the other on the table. “Just here to check in on our girl here. A little birdie told me you had a visitor last night.”

  Shit.

  Did everyone know Keegan had been at Willow’s house? Or was she referring to Jace?

  Willow began to sweat, unsure which would be worse.

  “Are you spying on us now?” Dina asked, one brow lifted.

  “Just checking in on our dear here.” Coralee smiled down at Willow, but it wasn’t friendly. “It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen you. Now, with Pastor Alden’s son home, suddenly you’re everywhere. Maybe we’ll see you in church? Or not.”

  Coralee patted Willow’s shoulder, then turned and walked slowly away.

  “What the fuck was that?” Dina asked after a moment.

  “That was a deacon’s wife telling me to stay away from my best friend.” Willow picked up her coffee and drank.

  “You sure you don’t want to talk about that?” Trevor eyed Coralee from across the diner.

  “What will it solve?” Willow set her cup down and looked at Trevor. “I can’t help how people view me or what they think. If they haven’t changed their minds by now, they aren’t going to change.”

  Willow knew firsthand how hard change was.

  Keegan pulled his shirt on as he left the bathroom. His plans on getting an early start to his day had been sidetracked by a last-minute run to the grocery store, then helping his mother. Which was fine since Willow hadn’t yet responded to his messages. He knew cops kept weird hours, so he’d be patient.

  Noise from the kitchen drew his attention.

  “Hey, Mom?” Keegan stepped into the kitchen only to find his father standing at the counter with a cup of coffee. “Oh, hey, Dad.”

  Dad turned to face him and nod slightly. “Son.”

  “Hey, where’s Mom?” Keegan glanced into the dining room through which he could see into the hall and the edge of his parents’ bedroom door.

  “She’s getting laundry together. Hey? While I have you… I heard you went and saw your friend last night.”

  Keegan didn’t respond right away. It hadn’t been obvious to him until he was older that Dad wasn’t crazy about Willow, despite everything Dad had done for her.

  “She’s my best friend, Dad. I’m going to see her. I’m going to spend a lot of time with her if I can.”

  Dad’s frown deepened. “Haven’t you grown out of that by now? Don’t you know better?”

  “Good friends grow with you. Didn’t you say that once?” Keegan wasn’t sure, but his father often peppered sermons with little sayings like that.

  Dad’s mouth set into a line and he stared at Keegan.

  He knew Dad would take a while to come around to the change in Keegan and Willow’s relationship, but it would happen. But Keegan wasn’t going to invite more trouble than he needed just yet.

  Dad set his coffee down, no doubt regrouping. “Shouldn’t you be hanging out with people more like yourself?”

  Keegan stopped moving. He barely even breathed.

  Dad was a really great, caring person. Keegan just had to remind himself that his father did a lot of good in the community. But sometimes he was blind.

  “You mean people my own age who I graduated high school with? Yeah.” Keegan backed toward the living room. “Yeah, I think I’ll go hang out with some of them. Thanks for the tip, Dad.”

  Keegan paused only to shove his feet in shoes, grab his phone, wallet, and keys before heading out to his mother’s car. He could accept his dad’s bias if he thought of him as a dad. Parents were often blind to their mistakes as they did what they thought was best for their children. The difference now was that neither Keegan nor Willow was a kid. They were adults. And Keegan loved her.

  Dad would come around, but that was a struggle for later.

  Right now, Keegan had to make sure that this Christmas he could convince Willow Taylor to fall in love with him.

  Keegan headed out of the parson’s house and onto Main Street. He was glad to see that many of the shops had reopened and there appeared to be a revitalization going on, probably due to Fort Worth’s urban sprawl that was inching ever closer to Ransom’s borders.

  He passed all the local staples, like the antique shop where the Little Old Ladies hung out in the tea shop at the back. A block farther down was the diner.

  A familiar little car caught his eye.

  Before Keegan could overthink it, he cranked the wheel and turned into the diner parking lot.

  Through the large glass windows he could see Willow sitting at a table with Trevor and another woman.

  Keegan sucked down a breath and blew it out.

  He was okay with this.

  Willow’s past, who she’d been with, it didn’t matter. He only cared about going forward.

  Keegan killed the engine, got out, and jogged into the diner. Any hope of a quiet entrance was dashed when the group of older men called out his name. Many had been around since he was a baby. He shook a few hands and kept his answers to their questions as brief as possible, always edging closer to Willow.

  By the time he’d gotten to her, their breakfast dishes had been cleared away.

  Keegan’s gaze skipped over the woman at Trevor’s side, to Willow, then back to Trevor.

  “Good to see you, Keegan.” Trevor held out his hand.

  “Morning.” Keegan shook the other man’s hand.

  “Dina, this is Keegan. Keegan, this is my girlfriend, Dina.”

  Keegan offered the woman his hand and put the tiny bit of jealousy to rest. Trevor might have been a player, but he’d never been a cheater. “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

  “Ma’am?” Dina chuckled.

  Trevor elbowed her. “He’s being nice.”

  Dina sighed. “Someday I’ll get used to it.”

  “Would you two mind if I stole Willow for a minute?” Keegan reached down, running his fingers along her shoulder.

  “Be my guest,” Trevor said.

  Willow glanced up at him, her expression unreadable. “Why don’t we head out? I was about to leave, anyway.”

  “Sure.” Keegan stepped back and let Willow get out first.

  He followed her out of the diner and into the parking lot, then around to the back, where there weren’t windows for people to watch them through.

  “I’m sorry about not texting you back,” Willow said. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to say.”

  “What would you normally say?” He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from touching her.

  “Hey, I’m awake, I’ve got breakfast plans but maybe we can hang out later? Or something.” She shrugged.

  “There’s no reason you can’t say that. I mean, yeah, things changed but not that much. We’re still friends first.”

  “I just…” She opened and closed her mouth.

  Willow wasn’t as certain about them as he was.

  His heart fell a bit, but he wasn’t about to be deterred. Just because he’d come home ready to win her over didn’t mean she couldn’t have doubts. For her this was an overnight about-face.

  “Hey.” He took a chance and edged a little closer. “Don’t stop telling me everything now. Does talking about how we feel really change things that much? When have you ever hesitated telling me anything?”

  Willow jerked her head in a nod, but there was still tension in her shoulders and that frown that wouldn’t go away.

  “Do you regret last night?” He braced himself for the truth.

  “No.” Her answer was immediate. “No, I don’t. I just…”

  Keegan bit the inside of his mouth to keep fr
om grinning. “Okay, then how about you make a list of all the reasons you think we might not work and why don’t we go over them tonight? How about I pick you up around four?”

  “Keegan…”

  “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

  She blew out a breath and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. Four. My place.”

  Keegan wanted to kiss her, but figured that might be pushing his luck. She seemed on edge. Instead he grinned.

  He was going to win her over.

  Willow watched Keegan climb into his mother’s little red car and start the engine. He was so full of life and everything good. She’d fantasized about a day when Keegan might look at her as more than a friend. Of course, in her mind everything after the I love you part got fuzzy.

  What did she know about healthy relationships and how to have one?

  Her heart thumped against her ribs as she watched the car drive away.

  This was a mess. She knew better than to allow things to get this far. Nothing good would come from testing fate.

  “That look says something is happening.” Trevor came to stand next to her, staring down Main Street.

  “Nothing can happen,” she said softly.

  “Would it be bad if it did?” Trevor turned his head and looked down at her. “Think about it, okay?”

  Willow didn’t say anything.

  “We’ll talk more later, but if I get a call, I’ll let you know, okay? Things should be quiet. Bye, Willow.”

  “Later.” She crossed her arms over her chest as Trevor went to get in his truck with Dina and head off to do whatever happy couples did.

  Willow needed to talk to someone. Someone she could be truly honest with. Someone who wouldn’t judge her.

  There was only one woman who fit that bill.

  Willow pulled out her phone and shot off a text. Most of the girls she’d gone to school with still gave her a wide berth. Probably because of her old reputation.

  An answer hit her phone almost immediately.

  Willow opted to leave her car at the diner and just walked down to one of the oldest buildings in Ransom. It wasn’t on Main Street, just a block off, situated on a corner with a hand-painted sign naming it The Watering Hole, though the locals just called it The Hole.