The Lies We Tell Read online

  The Lies We Tell

  Katie Rae

  Copyright © 2020 Katie Rae

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  ASIN: B088RLHMH3

  Cover design by: Book and Moods PR

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Afterword

  About The Author

  Books By This Author

  Chapter 1

  Becca

  “So, you’re going to just be a big fat liar?”

  “Noooo, I am going to be a big fat ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ advocate,” I said as I shoved more clothes into my suitcase.

  My best friend Ali crossed her arms in annoyance. “This isn’t the context that phrase was founded on.”

  “Well, that phrase is my new motto, so it doesn’t matter.”

  “I just think you’re overreacting, Becs. Be proud of who you are!”

  “Ali, I am proud of who I am. I just want to separate myself from my brother. I don’t want to just be Cam Nichols’ sister my entire life.”

  Ali sighed, knowing she would lose this battle, again.

  My entire adult life, people handed me whatever I wanted because of who my brother was—the star at everything. Just this once, I wanted to earn something myself, without his influence. Because I knew I could do it.

  “It is going to be hard considering you will be working for the Kings. Kace will be there every day. He knows who you are. How will you avoid the unavoidable?”

  “Yeah,” I said, squinting and pointing at Ali, “I need to have a talk with that boyfriend of yours. He needs to avoid me like the plague and keep out of my business.”

  Ali rolled her eyes again. She was the only person I had told that I got a last-minute job working with the Atlanta Kings in Florida during spring training. The Kings were my hometown baseball team. I was going to be a low paid training intern, but I was going to love every second of it.

  Ever since I graduated college with my degree in Sports Medicine, I had been working for local high schools. I was always afraid to try reaching for the colleges or pros in fear of being accepted just because of who my brother was and the pressure that would inevitably follow. I was probably a fool to not take the influence and run with it. I could use his name to get a good job with the Atlanta Jets, the pro football team, and then prove my worth when I got there. But when this opportunity fell into my lap, I realized the Kings didn’t know who I was, and I figured this would be my chance to prove myself on my own.

  “You know, your brother and Kace played those hidden identity games with me. Does this run in the family or something?” Ali had one eyebrow hitched up in questioning.

  Six months or so ago, my brother, Cam, the quarterback for the Atlanta Jets, and his best friend Kace, the all-star shortstop for the Kings, played a game of “Guess Who” with Ali and lied through their teeth about who they were. Their lie may or may not have played a role in Ali being found by her abusive ex, but either way, she never held it against them. I never actually understood why. It all worked out, though. Now she was not only dating Kace, my soon to be "coworker" of sorts, but also my brother. So, I guess their games worked out for her—overwhelmingly so.

  “This is different, I reasoned, I am not trying to attract a man into my life by hiding who I am. I am trying to prove who I can be without the smoke from being Becca Nichols.” I stuffed more clothes into my bag. I didn’t leave for two more days when pitchers and catchers were due to report, but I was anxious and ready.

  “I guess,” Ali sighed once again. “So, they just never questioned your last name being Nichols?”

  Ok, so maybe I lied a little. “Um, I told my boss my name was Becca Nichols. I just didn't give him the chance to connect the dots. I told them I was from the Midwest and new to town so there was no connection to Cam. And when I get into the locker room, no one will have to know my last name. They won’t ask, and I won’t tell.”

  Ali’s phone started ringing as she rolled her eyes at me and muttered, “Liar,” under her breath.

  “Hello?”…..”Hey babe, I am at your sister’s apartment watching her pack.”….”Oh no, I am going to let her tell you herself.”…..”It’s not bad, Cam, relax. But grab Kace and meet us at my place in a bit. Becca has a fun story to tell Kace before he leaves for spring training.” Ali was eyeing me with a glint of amusement. I told her I would tell Cam and Kace my plans the second I could. I guess that was going to be tonight.

  I waved her off, trying to act like I didn’t care, but I did. Kace was the wildcard here. If he didn’t agree to act like he didn’t know me and lie for me, then this spring gig may be a bust. But seriously, why should he even care? It's not like he and I were best pals. He was just simply best friends with my brother and dating my best friend, we barely knew each other.

  Ok, great, now I was lying to myself.

  Kace was more like a second brother—one that I used to dream about doing dirty things with. Despite being younger than me by a year, he and Cam looked after me and my two older sisters since they were in elementary school. They were always bigger and tougher than everyone else and it's a gift they took advantage of.

  They were 9 when they punched my first bully.

  They were 11 when they punched my first crush.

  They were 12 when I started crushing on Kace.

  They were 14 when I hated both of them and wished them dead.

  They were 16 when I realized they were both destined to be professional athletes.

  You get the picture. It goes without saying that Cam has always been in my life; he is my brother. But Kace has too. So, how was I going to convince him to pretend he doesn't know me? I was pondering that when Ali got off the phone. She threw her phone on my bed and grabbed my attention back to the real world.

  “Hey, Becs. We are going to my place at 7.”

  “Yeah, so I heard.”

  ◆◆◆

  On top of knowing Kace Jackson my whole life, I also saw him regularly. Remember the before mentioned connections we shared? Yeah, well, we hung out a lot these days.

  Once Ali and I connected and became friends, that was all she wrote. And nights like tonight, where we meet at Ali’s and hang for a bit before I go home, happen a lot.

  “Please tell me you brought pizza!” I begged as Cam walked into the door holding a bag of food, Kace right behind him.

  “Pizza?
” Cam looked down at the bag that was clearly not a 16-inch square full of cheesy goodness. “No Becs, I got Thai.”

  “Eh, that’ll work,” I shrugged, playing the petulant sister. Even though we all knew I loved Thai.

  “So, Ali said you’re packing. Where ya going?” Cam asked.

  “What, I don’t get to eat first?”

  “Is it that big of a deal, that you need food to tell us about your travels?” Cam waved a hoity hand in the air. He probably thought I was headed abroad to backpack the wineries in Italy. His smug face made me eager to tell him I was headed to his worst brotherly nightmare.

  “Here is a clue. I am headed where Kace is headed.” Kace looked over to me confused. “Florida?” “Yesss. But not just anywhere in Florida. Where in Florida?” I teased.

  “Miami Beach?” Cam asked.

  “Noooo, geez. Florida. For spring. I’m an athletic trainer. Helloooo.” That had to be enough clues, right?

  Cam caught on and his face paled, “You got a job with a baseball team?”

  “Not just any team, the Kings!”

  Cam stopped unpacking the food and looked at me with… relief? Why did he look relieved? He should be telling me all about how much he hates that I won’t just work for the Jets and all that jazz.

  “That is a great job opportunity, Becs, congrats!”

  I eyed him curiously. “I thought you’d hate the idea of me going the baseball route and not taking you up on a recommendation.”

  “Oh, this works out just as well. Kace will be there.”

  Ali started laughing, and Cam and Kace did a mind trick where they look at each other and know what the other is saying. I thought that was a twin thing but it’s not. Trust me. These two always spoke in silence. And according to Ali, that worked out well for her too. Ew.

  “So, here is the thing. Kace, I need you to act like you don’t know me.”

  “What? Why?” he asked.

  “Because, if you don’t, then everyone will know I am Cam’s sister. The whole world knows how close you two are and I seriously don’t want anyone making that connection.”

  “Why?” Cam asked, repeating Kace, sounding like a curious toddler.

  “Because,” I stressed, “I got this job on my own merit and I want to keep it on my own merit. At the end of spring training, these teams take their trainer interns and potentially hire them for the full season. I don’t want that job because of who I know. Ya got me?”

  “So you want me to lie?” Kace asked.

  “By omission,” I explained. “Don’t acknowledge me and I won’t acknowledge you.”

  “How will that work? They usually assign the interns into sections based on position. What if you get infielders? I am a shortstop; you will be all up in my business.”

  “Actually, I have already been assigned to catchers. I have to be there in two days when catchers and pitchers report.”

  Kace huffed, probably thinking I was an idiot for caring about this as much as I did, but I didn’t care. He was once a liar about who he was, so I was ready to pounce with the hypocrite card if he didn’t agree to “unknow” me.

  “Ok, Becs. I will be your biggest ignorer,” Kace agreed. “But I will be keeping an eye on you. If anybody gets out of line, I will punch their face in and send you home.”

  “You can punch them all you want, but I am not going home. This is an incredible chance for me to work at a pro-level. I am going to make it through these next six weeks and prove I can hack it.” I crossed my arms and looked Kace and my brother down.

  “What about when Ali and I come down to spend time with Kace and watch some games? You gonna ignore us, too?” Cam asked.

  I looked at him like he lost his damn mind. “Of course, I will. You’re the main reason I am lying in the first place.”

  Chapter 2

  Chase

  Shit, my knees were old. Only 33 years old and I could barely stand up out of bed without pain in the morning. I guess being a baseball catcher since high school will do that to a guy.

  All the squatting.

  Up and down.

  Up and down.

  For years.

  Everyday.

  I normally kept myself in check in the offseason, but this year was different. Harder. And I was just not ready. I thought an early workout yesterday before spring training started today, would be a great idea.

  It wasn’t. That workout had my knees a little pissed off.

  Damnit. I had just hoped over the next few weeks I could get back into full form, but I was going to have to fake it until then. There were too many new young draftees in spring training.

  Everyone got an invite to show the suits what they’ve got. If they impressed, they could make the team for the season—every player's dream come true. I was a shoo-in, a veteran. I had been at this level since I was 20 and my reputation spoke for itself.

  But I also got paid like a veteran, which was an ass-ton more than these young guys with fresh knees. If the suits sniffed out a weakness in my game, they wouldn't think too hard about replacing me with a cheaper version. And I was due to rake in even more after this year.

  I was spread out on the floor of my hotel room attempting to stretch. This was my home away from home for the next few weeks until we headed back to Atlanta. The whole team was here. We kind of took over the whole hotel between the players, management, trainers, staff, owners, scouts, etc.

  Luckily, us “old” guys got our own space, not having to share a room like the younger guys. Plus, that helped when some of the guys had family that came to stay with them for extended periods.

  Not me.

  No wife.

  No kids.

  Not that I didn't invite my wife and kids. It’s just that I didn't have any. And that seemed to work for me. I was planning on about five more years of baseball before I was ready to call it quits. Concentrating on a family was the last thing I was thinking about.

  I just had to get the knees working right.

  I got my stretching done and hopped up to get in the shower. It seemed pointless to shower before heading to the field, but I had hoped the warm water would soak into my bones and help me rid myself of the limp I was dealing with.

  After getting dressed in athletic shorts and a t-shirt, I walked into the hall and was greeted by a face I didn’t expect to see this early in spring training.

  “Yo Cap!” I called out to our team captain, Kace Jackson, as he was shutting his door across the hall.

  “Hey Turner,” he mumbled, lacking the enthusiasm I normally saw in him.

  “Whoa, what’s up? Why are you here already? Don’t you guys report in a week?” We started walking together down the hall toward the elevator.

  “Yeah, I just needed to go ahead and get here. Since last season ended the way it did, I felt like I should come early.”

  He sounded like a liar. No matter how last season ended, and it was a doozy for him, he didn’t have to be here for any reason. He was 6 years younger than I was but wore the captain patch for a reason--because he fucking deserved it.

  “Trouble in paradise?” I mean, I had to ask. He and my buddy Cam Nichols had been sharing a girlfriend since the season ended last year, and that was bound to go south.

  But Kace just scoffed at me, “Not at all.” Ok, that sounded believable, so why lie about why he was here?

  I decided to let it go. Maybe he did want to show the team he was dedicated despite missing the playoffs with us last year. “Well, glad you’re here Cap.”

  We made small talk about the offseason while we rode the elevator the 12 floors down to the lobby. I filled him in on my offseason travels, which were just more lies. He updated me on the vacation he took with Cam and their girl after Cam’s football season ended.

  Chit chat. That’s what it was. Guys hated chit chat. I was only putting in the effort to distract us both from my limp. I wasn’t sure why Kace was humoring me, though.

  The doors opened to the lobby and I stepped out
to head to the shuttle to the stadium. I was only five steps out when I stopped dead in my tracks, a sudden shiver running down my spine. It took me a minute, but I shook it off, thinking it had to be my knee pain traveling up to tell my brain to sit the fuck down.

  I resumed walking next to Kace and was only a few more steps in when something pulled my gaze to the right.

  I stopped. Again.

  Only this time I knew exactly what had had me freezing.

  Hanging by the hostess stand in the hotel restaurant was the most gorgeous woman I had ever laid eyes on. Easily. Hands down. Without a doubt.

  Dark blonde hair, tanned skin, and emerald green eyes. She had tight jeans that tugged just right and a t-shirt that hung off one shoulder. I was hypnotized, never having this immediate attraction to a woman so quickly and abruptly.

  I assumed that she must have been staying at the hotel, but who knew for how much longer. I hoped at least for one more night because I had plans for that body that I needed to see through—knees be damned.

  I left Kace, making my way to where she was standing. I needed to try and grab her phone number, Facebook, email, Twitter handle, geographical coordinates, or something before I walked out of the front door to head to the stadium and lost sight of her forever.

  Not that I wanted a forever, but I definitely wanted a tonight.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t make it far before Kace caught up and stopped me, grabbing me by the shoulder and turning me back.

  “What the fuck?” I seethed.

  “Not her,” Kace said.

  “Why the fuck not?” The words were harsh and clipped. He flinched back and removed his arm from me.

  “Just trust me.”

  “Cap, I trust you with the game-winning play and at the plate in the bottom of the ninth. But I don’t think I can trust you here. Besides, I’m not gonna ask her to marry me, just get her in my bed tonight.” Why the fuck was I explaining myself to him? He was the captain of the team, not the captain of my personal life.

  “Just. Trust. Me.” His voice got lower and lethal. It made me take a second look at his face, to see what the hell his problem was. For some reason, we were having a standoff over a stranger and I wanted to know why. Kace didn't offer an explanation, but his vehemence did make me think twice.