<h4>Chapter 113: Chapter 113 : Silent Conversations</h4>


    Ba.


    As soon as I stepped outside with the lovely Miss Rogers, thedy who owned the cabana that I had rented, I noticed how Neal seemed very frustrated with whatever kind of conversation that he was having. I wasn’t sure what was going on. Perhaps it was work, perhaps it was something else.


    As soon as his eyesnded on me, he quickly finished his conversation.


    I found it curious how he was acting, but as he slowly made his way towards me, this frown that was upon his face once before disappeared and was reced with a smile.


    “So, how do you like everything?” he asked me as he approached.


    “It’s beautiful. Miss Rogers has been absolutely wonderful. She showed me everything that the house has to offer, and she’s hoping that we have a wonderful two weeks’ vacation,” I replied as my eyes drifted from Neal to the woman again.


    Her soft, pale blue eyes crinkled at the corners as she turned her small smile into one that wasrger, her hands sped in front of her as she rocked on her heels, watching the interaction between Neal and I. “This ce is an absolute dream, and I am so happy that you’re spending your vacation here. I hope that you enjoy it as much as my husband and I have.”


    “It’s lovely. Thank you so much for taking the time to show us around. I don’t want to hold up any more of your time,” Neal replied quite quickly. The woman nodded, understanding what he meant, and made her way to the small car that sat off in the driveway.


    I wasn’t quite sure why he was being so dismissive, but deciding not to say anything, I turned and made my way through the doors and to the lush area of the main living room of the cabana. The decor was spectacr. Everything had a bohemian feel to it, with various colors of blues, purples, reds, and yellows.


    I couldn’t get over how luxurious, yet warm and inviting, the home was. The best part of it all was therge floor-to-ceiling bay windows and doors that lined the back of the house overlooking the water in the distance.


    I could eat up this view every single day of my life and never get tired of it. Honestly, if this ce ever came up for sale, I’d buy it just for the sake of buying it. Even though the thought of spending any of the money that James willed to me left me empty at the bottom of my stomach.


    “Did you want to rest and take it easy after a long journey?” Neal’s question caused me to look over my shoulder at him and slowly shake my head no.


    “I have plenty of time to rest while I’m here. Right now, I’m going to go get changed, and I’m going to go lounge on the back deck and enjoy the fresh sea air.”


    He didn’t bother arguing with me. Instead, he simply nodded his head and grabbed the bag that was sitting on the hallway floor before turning down the hallway and disappearing from my sight.


    Something was obviously bothering him, but I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. Whoever had been on that phone call had obviously left a mark that he wasn’t prepared for, a conversation that he hadn’t wanted to have.


    Letting out a heavy sigh, I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed my belongings that were left and not already taken to my room and quickly followed Neal’s lead down the hallway to where my room was going to be.


    It was time to change and let the worries that had been filling my mind for the past few weeks disappear. For the sake of the baby that I was carrying and my own personal health, I needed to recuperate so that I could be the person that both of these children needed.


    *****


    Neal.


    I hadn’t meant to be cold or uncooperative when Ba had asked me the question she did, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the conversation I had with James. He was so adamant that he was going to get back, and that wasn’t a part of the agreement.


    The agreement that he made with the government was that he would go into witness protection and stay far away from Ba and the children to ensure their safety. Ba had alreadye to terms with the fact that he was dead. Hising back would be bad and only further ruin her emotional state.


    As soon as the bedroom door had closed and I had set my bag on the bed and started going through everything, un packing my suitcase so that I would be prepared for the vacation that I was having while with Ba and Allegra, the door swung open, and my sister, unfortunately, stood there with her hands upon her hips, and her eyes narrowed in my direction.


    “What’s wrong with you, and why are you acting the way you are?”


    I didn’t understand how she had seen any of that, considering I hadn’t noticed her outside, and I didn’t even see her anywhere in themon area when Beck and I were having our conversation.


    ying stupid, I gave her a confused nce, furrowing my brows, and shrugged my shoulders. “What are you talking about? I’m perfectly fine.”


    “Don’t y dumb with me, I know something is bothering you,” she snapped, her reply catching me off guard and causing me to roll my eyes.


    “Nothing’s wrong, Allegra. And I would appreciate it if you’d stop trying to find something where there is nothing.”


    “Is that so?” Closing the door behind her, she stepped forward and came toe to toe with me, as she had done many times in the past when she was scolding me. She was a foot shorter, but she had more balls than any man that I had ever met.


    “Of course. Everything’s fine now. Will you stop?”


    “Who was on the phone, Neal?” she asked me, and with a deer in the headlights kind of look, I realized I had been caught.


    “It was just work, that’s all,” I replied, trying to divert the conversation and lying about who I was talking to. Thest thing I needed for her to know was that James had reached out to me because, if she did know, she would more than likely lose her shit.


    “Neal, you are the worst liar I’ve ever met in my entire life. You were when you were a child, and you still are now, so I don’t understand why you’re trying to hide who you were talking to. So I’m going to ask you one more time. Who was on the phone?”


    Staring at her, I took a minute to collect my thoughts. This conversation could continue to go one of two ways. One, I continued to lie, and eventually, she would find out and be more pissed that I was trying to hide it from her. Or two, I could be honest and tell her, let her go ahead and get over her initial phase of shock and get her help on figuring out how to handle this situation.


    Groaning with displeasure, I decided to go with option two, but before I did, I walked towards the bedroom door and opened it, peering out into the hallway to make sure that no one was standing around listening.


    As soon as I was satisfied with the fact that nobody was around, I closed the door again and walked toward her. “If I tell you, you have to swear to keep this to yourself. The conversation has to stay between us and cannot leave this room.”


    Crossing her arms over her chest, she rolled her eyes and nodded. “Is it that serious?”


    “Yes, Allegra, it is that serious.”


    With a small sigh, she nodded again. “Fine, I swear the conversation will stay between us, and it won’t leave this room.”


    Taking a moment to process her telling me that she wasn’t going to say anything, I tried to debate whether or not I could actually trust my sister with my life. But she had always been very strict in keeping secrets.


    “The person on the phone was James,” I whispered, her eyes going wide as her mouth parted. This was exactly the reaction I expected from her.


    “What?” she gasped, shaking her head in disbelief. “That’s not possible, Neal. He isn’t supposed to be contacting us.”


    Her whispered tone was stern and angry, just as mine had been when James had called. I knew exactly how she felt because I felt the same way. He wasn’t supposed to be contacting us because, as far as everyone who’d ever met him was concerned, he was supposed to be dead.


    “I know this, and I told him that, but he’s telling me that he can’t deal with being away from her, that he wants her back, and he’s going to find a way to make that happen.”


    “This will destroy her if she finds out. She can’t find out.”


    “Don’t you think that I know this, Allegra? I know the situation at hand, but unfortunately, he doesn’t want to listen,” I replied as I ran my hand through my hair and then down my face. I was frustrated and at a loss for what to do.


    “There’s something else. Maybe call somebody. Tell them—”


    “No, we can’t do that, Allegra.” I quickly snapped, cutting her off mid-sentence. Thest thing that I needed was for the government to find out. He needed to be where he was, and I had to make him see that privately without them knowing.


    “If he loses witness protection, he might just disappear,” she replied, trying to plead with me to do something to protect Ba.


    I’d contemted many variations of things that I could do as soon as I got off the phone with him. But all of them led back to Ba getting hurt. There was no right or wrong way in this situation, and deep down, part of me did want to tell her because I didn’t like the fact of hiding this from her.


    But what I was doing was for her own safety.


    “For now, the best thing that we can do is focus on enjoying this vacation. I will try to think of something that we can do, but I’m hoping I can make James see that him doing this isn’t in her best interest.”


    Allegra nodded her head in understanding. “Okay. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”


    As I watched Allegra leave, that same thought ran through my mind. Did I know what I was doing? Was I making the right choice by keeping this from her?


    Part of me could see the reasoning behind why this would be a good idea. She was pregnant and didn’t need to stress more than she already had. Not to mention, I knew if she knew he was alive, she would do everything in her power to go and see him, which could jeopardize her safety and that of her unborn child.


    I was being the man in the situation and deciding for her.


    Which I didn’t like because I had always included her in everything.