Page 71 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“He’s fifteen, and he’s doing great. No thanks to my parents,” Juliette said with an edge to her voice.

Ana wrung her hands, shaking her head. “I felt horrible about the way your father treated you.”

“Did you?” Juliette asked pointedly.

“Yes, of course,” Ana said imploringly. “That was such a difficult time, and you and I were so close. My heart broke for you. Don’t you remember?”

“Yes. I thought we were very close. That’s why I’m here, actually. Do you remember the letters you said you gave to your brother to give to Seeley?”

“Yes,” Ana said far too casually.

“I never got them,” Doc said, drawing her eyes to his. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

“I don’t understand.” Her gaze darted back to Juliette, and to her credit, she almost pulled off a confused expression. “You got his letter, Juliette. You know he got the letters and wrote back to you.”

“I got a letter that you said was from Seeley.”

“I didn’t write that letter.” Doc leaned forward, pinning a dark stare on Ana. “We know your brother never saw the letters, either. He was locked up when that went down. Now, how about you tell us the truth?”

“Juliette,” Ana pleaded. “As I said, I felt horrible about what your father did.”

“Not horrible enough to stop him,” Juliette snapped. “What did you do with my letters, Ana? Did you give them to my father?”

Ana looked down at her wringing hands. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“You always have a choice,” Doc gritted out. “Who wrote that letter to Juliette?”

With her eyes trained on her hands, she said, “I didn’t have a choice.”

“You wrote the letter?” Juliette pushed to her feet, her hands fisting. Doc rose beside her. “How could you do that to me? I trusted you!”

Ana stood, her breathing hampered, her eyes darting between them. “You know how your father is.”

“Yes, but now I know how you really are, too.” Juliette’s voice escalated, tears welling in her eyes. “I didn’t want to believe that you’d deceive me. You ruined years of my life. You made me feel used and hateful toward Seeley. You encouraged me to marry a man I didn’t love. Why did you do it? Why did you trick me?”

Tears streaked Ana’s cheeks. “Your father said being with Seeley would ruin your life.”

“And you believed him? You saw me crying day and night, and you sat there pacifying me with lies, telling me you wished you could do something to help, while you were behind it all? You said you hated the way he treated me. You said he was despicable.”

“You don’t understand,” Ana said. “I had to say those things so you wouldn’t find out about us.” Her eyes widened, and she snapped her mouth closed, realizing her mistake.

“Us, as in you and my father?”

“I’ve said too much already.” Ana backpedaled, fear rising in her eyes.

Juliette’s eyes narrowed. “You deceived me to save your relationship with my father? Your affair? Are you still sleeping with him?”

“You don’t understand,” Ana said harshly. “We love each other.”

Juliette scoffed. “Are you kidding me? After everything he’s done? That man doesn’t know what love is, and you’re as bad as he is. How could you do this to my mother?”

“Your mother is not a good person,” Ana snapped.

“Neither are you,” Doc bit out. “Did you know I went by the house to try to talk to her father and change his mind after he took her off the ranch?”

Ana nodded, her face contorting as more tears fell.

“You knew?” Juliette bit out. “You heard me begging my father, day after day, for five minutes with Seeley, for one phone call. Did you know my father had his henchmen beat Seeley up?”