The Truth About Secrets Read online

  My mother chuckled. “You won’t regret it, Clara. This will be good for you. It gives me an excuse to visit Paris again. I’ll be there in two days to bring you more of your things. There’s also a cute little apartment that’s open to rent. It’ll be perfect for you and Trina.”

  Mouth gaping, I couldn’t believe it. Everything was moving so fast. Trina let me go and I stood, my gaze drifting to the Eiffel Tower in the distance. “Wow. I don’t know what to say. It doesn’t seem real that I’m not going home anytime soon.”

  My mother sighed. “I know. Your father has his big golf tournament next week at the country club, but once that’s over, he’s going to come to Paris to see you.”

  “Does he know about me and Zac?” I asked.

  The line went silent for a few seconds. “Yes and no. I didn’t think you’d want me to go into details. But if you must know, we did run into Zac’s parents at the hardware store last week.”

  My heart stopped. “And?”

  “And Eva said that Zac already left for New Orleans.”

  We weren’t supposed to leave for another month. It didn’t matter if I went home or not … he wouldn’t be there. My eyes burned but I squeezed them shut, refusing to let any tears fall. I’d cried so much the past two weeks. “I see,” I said through clenched teeth. It was all I could say. I had a feeling it was going to take a long time to get over Zac.

  “You’re going to get through this, Clara. You’re a strong, young woman.”

  “I know, Mom. It’s just hard right now.”

  “I can imagine, sweetheart. Just keep your head up and think about the future. You have endless opportunities.” It was true, I did. Having parents with connections had its advantages, but I was more than happy doing it on my own. Moving to New Orleans was going to be the beginning of that for me. I wanted to do it the hard way, not have everything handed to me.

  We said our good-byes, then I turned around to focus on Trina. “How long did you know about all of this?”

  Sheepishly, she shrugged. “A couple of days, maybe? Your mother called and asked for my opinion. Of course, I agreed to do anything and everything possible to make you say yes.” She came up to me and placed her hands on my shoulders. “And you’re going to love the apartment your mom found. It’s so cute.”

  I peered over her shoulder at the quaint, Paris streets below. “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.”

  She moved her head into my line of sight so I would have to look at her. “We are, and it’s going to be the best decision you ever made. There’s only one favor I have to ask.” She let me go and stood beside me, draping her arm over my shoulders.

  That made me laugh. “And what would that be?”

  “Well … if I’m going to try and fit in here, I might want to learn French. Think you can teach me?”

  Trina was good at a lot of things, but she barely passed her Spanish class in high school. Groaning, I hung my head. “Oh bon sang, ça va être une douleur dans mon cul.”

  Trina gasped. “What did you just say?” she asked, dropping her arm and placing her hands on her hips.

  I burst out laughing. “Basically, that it’s going to be a pain in the ass. You sucked at Spanish.”

  She waved me off. “That’s because I had a horrible teacher. This time, I have you.”

  Teaching her would definitely help her to fit in better with the designers. It was a good thing she had a best friend who practically grew up in Paris. “Fine, I’ll teach you. You’d be so lost without me.”

  Squealing, she threw her arms around me. “Oh, I love you so much. I’ll study hard, I promise.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ll see about that.”

  Losing Zac was a hard blow, but at least I had something to take my mind off of him. As long as I kept myself busy, I would never have to think of him again. Did I believe that? No, but what choice did I have?

  3

  Clara

  12 YEARS LATER

  * * *

  Looking out my window at the San Francisco Bay was one of my favorite things to do at work. The beauty of it always inspired me. When you worked as a publicist for A-list celebrities day in and day out, you needed a little bit of peace and quiet every now and again. My clients definitely kept me busy. I loved the hustle and bustle of it all, but for this next summer, I needed to slow down. For the first time in twelve years, I was about to go home.

  It was strange to think how fast time flew the older you got. When you’re younger, time always went at a glacial pace. Especially, around Christmas. I remembered being a little girl and waiting for Christmas Day to arrive so I could open my presents. It felt like it took an eternity for it to come. Then once it was over, I needed to wait another year for it to come again. Back then, life seemed so simple. And now, it wasn’t. I’d had my heart broken once before, and I’d forgotten what it felt like until a couple of weeks ago when I got some of the worst news I could’ve ever imagined.

  “Don’t you have a plane to catch?”

  I didn’t realize I’d zoned out until I heard Brandy’s voice at my door. Gasping, I looked down at my watch. My flight was scheduled to take off in less than two hours. I’d already been home to grab my suitcase, but I wanted to stop by the office before taking off.

  “Oh my God, you’re right. I totally spaced out.” My briefcase was open on my desk, filled to the brim with all my clients’ files. I planned on taking my work with me to Wyoming since I could basically work from anywhere as long as my phone and laptop were with me.

  Brandy’s gaze saddened as she stepped into my office. She was thirty-two years old—only two years older than me—with beautiful red hair and emerald eyes. We both joined the Hart and Schafer PR firm six years ago, which was one of the top ten PR firms in the country. Besides Trina, she’d grown into one of my closest friends.

  “I’m sorry about everything, Clara. I know it was a shock.”

  Tears filled my eyes as I shut my briefcase. I kept hoping the lump in my throat would go away, but it stayed right where it was. “Yeah,” I murmured, swallowing hard. “I’m just ready to get home.”

  I hadn’t said those words in over twelve years. It was going to be strange going back, but I needed to do it for my dad. He was just diagnosed with stage four esophagus cancer that had spread to other organs in his body. There was never a sign that he was sick, just a routine check at the doctor’s office. He was about to start chemo and I wanted to be with him.

  Brandy walked around my desk and hugged me. “Come on, I’ll call you a cab and wait with you downstairs.”

  I hugged her hard. “Thanks. I feel like I’m in a daze.”

  She let me go and called the cab company to get me a ride to the airport before grabbing my briefcase so I could get my luggage. I said my good-byes to everyone as we passed them on the way to the elevator. As soon as the elevator doors closed, I let the tears fall. Brandy rubbed a hand soothingly over my back. “I’m always here for you, Clara. Call me anytime, okay?”

  I nodded. “I will.”

  “Have you told Adrian yet?” she asked curiously.

  That was the last thing I wanted to do. “No,” I said pretty adamantly. Adrian Norwood was a well sought-after celebrity, a former client of mine … and my ex. We’d been off and on for two years, and right now, we were off. He was in the middle of filming a huge movie in New York, and I didn’t want to bother him. “He’s too busy right now,” I added. Although, he did say he wanted to talk about getting back together once the film wrapped up. Did I want that? Not really. I wanted something stable, something that worked. Not a relationship that only flourished when the timing was convenient.

  Brandy pursed her lips. “When he finds out, he’s going to be pissed you didn’t tell him.”

  What she said was probably true, but I had a lot on my mind, things that didn’t involve him. Going back home was a huge step for me. Over the past twelve years, my parents visited me on the holidays. My mother knew I didn’t want to go b
ack to Snowy Creek and she made it possible. I owed her everything. However, once my father started chemo, he wouldn’t be able to travel. The treatments were not going to be easy on him.

  The elevator doors opened, and Brandy went with me to wait outside. The cab was already there, and the driver—who happened to be an older gentleman with white hair and a scruffy beard—took my suitcase and briefcase and put them both in the trunk. Turning to Brandy, I hugged her again.

  “I’ll see you right after Labor Day,” I told her.

  She hugged me back and let me go. “Tell your parents I said hi. I’ll be praying for your dad.”

  The burn behind my eyes came back with a vengeance. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  I got into the cab and waved at her as the cab driver started us on our way. “San Francisco International Airport, correct?” he asked.

  I met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Yep. I’m headed home.” For the first time in twelve years.

  The plane landed in Jackson Hole since there wasn’t an airport in Snowy Creek. Once I was off the plane and inside of the airport, my mother was right there with open arms. People always said we looked alike in the face and eyes, but I got my dark hair from my dad. My mother had long, platinum blonde hair that almost appeared white.

  “There’s my baby,” she gushed, pulling me into her arms. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “I’ve missed you, too,” I said, hugging her tight. My parents loved to travel so they always made it a point to come out to California to visit me at least once a month. I was all they had as far as children. My mother only wanted one child, but I knew my father would’ve loved to have had more. It would’ve been nice to have a brother or sister.

  “Where’s Dad?” I asked as I let her go.

  Her smile saddened. “He’s at the country club getting everything ready for the auction tomorrow.”

  “Oh my God,” I gasped. “I totally forgot about that.”

  Every year at the beginning of summer, usually the first Saturday in June, the people of Snowy Creek get together at the country club for a charity auction. The people would vote on a charity and all the proceeds would go to it.

  “The money’s going to go to the local children’s hospital this year,” my mother told me as we walked over to luggage claim to grab my suitcase. “Some of it is also going toward their cancer research program.”

  I grabbed my suitcase. “Does everyone know about Dad?”

  She shook her head. “Not everyone, only some of his close friends. He’s really excited about the event though. Once he starts chemo next week, he won’t have the energy to do much else. He wants me to bring you to the club so you can maybe play a couple rounds of golf?”

  We walked out to her car and I tossed my suitcase into the backseat. “Sounds amazing. It’s been so long since I’ve played at Bear Valley.” The Bear Valley Country Club was a good name for it. It wasn’t called that for no reason. There were a lot of bears in our area, and seeing one was almost certain when playing on the course.

  Every time my parents visited me in California, my father and I always played golf. We’d tried to get my mother to play, but she never got good at it. We liked to pick on her about it, and it always pissed her off. She was good at everything she did … except golf.

  “Are you going to play with us?” I asked, trying my best not to laugh.

  She glared over at me, but it was playful. “Absolutely, not. I’ll be in the office working on the books.”

  That made me laugh. “Fine. Dad and I will have fun without you.”

  She giggled. “I’m sure you will.”

  My mother had a business degree but she never did anything with it after college besides helping my dad with the country club. After growing up as a model and working in Paris for a while, her parents didn’t really approve of her not having a college degree. That was why they made her go to school before they’d leave her their multi-million-dollar private jet franchise. They wanted to make sure she was savvy in business, which she was, but a couple of months ago, she sold the company when she found out about my father’s cancer since she knew she couldn’t devote the time to it. It hurt her to sell it, especially with her parents being gone, but with my father’s health being uncertain, she didn’t want anything taking her time away from him.

  The car filled with silence as we drove the thirty minutes to Snowy Creek. I forgot how beautiful Wyoming was. What I didn’t expect was to feel the overwhelming sense of guilt for not visiting in over a decade. I couldn’t take my eyes away from the mountains. I visited many states and countries over the years, both oceans and mountains, but nothing was as amazing as the Grand Tetons. A feeling of peace washed over me, and it was something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

  “What are you thinking about?” my mother asked.

  With a heavy sigh, I kept my eyes on the mountains. “This place. I hate that I stayed away so long.”

  She snorted. “That’s because your life is so much bigger than this place, Clara. Celebrities actively seek you out. Didn’t you have to turn down Jennifer Rhinehart just the other day?”

  “Yes,” I huffed, hating that I couldn’t take her on. Jennifer Rhinehart was a double threat in the industry. Not only was she a great actress, but she was also one of the hottest country singers on the market right now. It killed me having to turn people away, but I didn’t want to take on more than I could handle. My clients deserved my full attention. If I had too many, I wouldn’t be able to give them the time they needed.

  My mother patted my hand. “You’re living an amazing life, sweetheart. Wyoming will always be your home, but you belong out in the world. You have a highly sought-after name. Not to mention, a very sexy and famous boyfriend.”

  Groaning, I turned away from the window to face her. “We’re not together, Mom. He’s busy doing his movies, and we knew it wouldn’t work spending so much time apart. This time it’s actually over.”

  She held up a hand. “Okay, fine. You can’t blame me for asking. You two looked so cute together.”

  “I know. At least, we’re still friends,” I added. Adrian and I were happy for a while, and in a way, I loved him and we had passion, but I kept waiting for the feelings to deepen. They never did, not in the same way I’d loved before. The tabloids loved to expose our breakups and reunions over the years. It got to the point where I just ignored looking at any of those skeevy magazines. My parents met Adrian a few times when they came to visit me, and of course, my mother absolutely loved him. Who wouldn’t? Adrian was very good looking and outgoing, but there were times his popularity got to his head. I saw it with a lot of my clients, including my mother who had the same mentality. Guess it was a celebrity thing. I may have famous people seeking me out to work with them, but I never considered myself a hot commodity. It was best to stay grounded, and that was what I intended to do. However, it was nice being able to work closely with some of my favorite stars, including Trina who was now a famous model and TV actress.

  We turned down the long entryway to the country club and it was just as I remembered it. Up ahead, I could see the main building which was a massive log cabin structure with fancy stone work around the front entrance. There were open fields to both sides, filled with colorful wildflowers, and all bordered with a white, wooden fence. When my father first bought the land to have the country club built, the only thing I told him not to get rid of were the flowers. As a kid, I would walk for hours in those fields with Trina, making flower garland headbands. When I got older, Zac walked with me through them. It was where we first held hands and kissed.

  Shaking my head, I tried to force the memories out. I didn’t want to think about Zac. I’d tried keeping him out of my mind the past twelve years, but there was always something that reminded me of him. I hated it. All it did was fuel the anger and resentment inside of me. Against my better judgement, I looked him up one day and found out he’d actually made a name for himself as an architect. He’d moved from New Or
leans to Charlotte, NC, and started working at the biggest architectural firm in the country, M&M Architectural Design. Now he designed houses all up and down the East Coast.

  “Clara, you okay?” my mom asked.

  I waved her off. “Oh yeah, it was just a fly buzzing around my head.” The last thing I wanted her to know was that I was thinking about Zac. I hated myself for it.

  We pulled up to the front of the country club, and my father was right there waiting on us with a big smile on his face. Looking at him, you would never believe he was eaten up with cancer. That was how strong he was. He was sixty-two years old and still as dashing as ever with his salt and pepper hair and blue eyes. I was scared to death for him, and it broke my heart to think of a world without him, but I knew I needed to be strong as well. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done. The second I opened the car door, my eyes burned as I rushed over to him.

  My father laughed and hugged me tight. “Hey, baby girl.”

  I breathed in the familiar scent of his cologne. “Hey, Dad.”

  “All right, you two, I’m going to go park and then head inside to the office so I can get my stuff done,” my mother called out.

  My father let me go, and I waved at her. “See you later.”

  She blew us kisses and waved before getting back in the car. My father nodded toward the door. “Come on. Let’s get your clubs and play a few holes. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

  We walked inside and the place was still the same. The ambience was laid back but also refined in a western kind of way. Most country clubs only allowed people with money to join. My father made it to where anyone in Snowy Creek could be a member without having to break the bank. People outside of Snowy Creek didn’t get the local privilege, but the fees still weren’t as high as other country clubs. Not to mention we had one of the best golf courses around. Bear Valley had been featured in numerous magazines over the years. It was great for the local businesses who relied on tourism to survive.