Her Secret, His Child by Tara Taylor Quinn

Author:Tara Taylor Quinn [Quinn, Tara Taylor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, General
ISBN: 9780373708369
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 1979-01-01T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

OUT OF BREATH, every nerve in his body singed, Kyle sank to the couch.

But he couldn't stay there. Driven by the emotions raging through him,

he jumped up almost immediately and paced the small room.

He'd never been so angry, so excited, so scared in his life.

He'd never hated, or loved, so intensely. And he had no clue how to

handle any of it. Adrenaline pushed him, forcing activity, yet he had

nothing to do. Couldn't have left that room, that house, if he'd

tried.

So agitated he probably wouldn't have noticed an earthquake, he missed

Jamie's reappearance. He turned from the fireplace and she was there,

perched on the couch again, pillow in hand, picking at the lace

edging.

She looked terrible, her eyes dry but red, no trace of makeup.

Hair hung in her face with no apparent discipline whatsoever.

And she'd pulled an old gray sweater over her blouse.

The seduction, such as it was, was over. Tenderness welled up inside

him, prompting him to take her in his arms, assure her that everything

was going to be okay.

Except that he couldn't. And it wasn't. Tumbling through his mind

were a thousand angry words. A blast of accusation, of blame.

And he couldn't say them. Because she was Ja-nile. His chin trembled

with the effort it cost to restrain himself.

"She's mine." The words were torn from him. Jamie looked up at him

silently, neither denying nor confirming his bold claim. But her eyes

told him the truth.

He shoved trembling hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"When were you going to tell me?"

"Tonight." The word was strong, sure.

Kyle swore.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"It's true."

He didn't know if it was or not, and he had too much else to think

about. Whether or not she'd really meant to tell him this

evening---did it matter?

"She's mine." He came closer to her, figuring in some illogical way

that if he concentrated on the mother, the daughter's existence

wouldn't torment him.

"Say it." He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"I want to hear you say the words."

He wanted to hurt her.

"She's your daughter," Jamie whispered. There was fear in her eyes and

more. Her pain tore at him and he turned away.

He needed to yell. Long and loud.

"Why?" The one word was all he dared.

"The way you left--" She broke off, and Kyle suddenly understood.

Knew he was partially to blame. But the pain, the sense of betrayal,

was stronger.

"You knew my name."

"And I thought you'd paid for your entertain- merit. Again, he

silently acknowledged her point.

"How could you think that after the night we shared?" he demanded,

facing her.

She looked down, but not before he'd seen the shame in her eyes.

And wanted to shoot himself. He'd done this to her. Used her.

He'd left her with no choice but to feel cheap, ashamed.

Abandoned. Left her alone to handle the consequences.

He should be praising the woman, blessing her, thanking her until he

was old and gray. She'd made a good life for her daughter. Taken full

responsibility and done an incredible job.

He couldn't have done better himself.

Except that he should have had the chance to try. Ashley was his

daughter, too.

As

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.