The Secrets We Keep by Ella Jade

Author:Ella Jade [Jade, Ella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-07T18:30:00+00:00

The holidays had come to a close. Over the break, Kara, Zoey, and I had spent much time together. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with hers. I worried about bringing Zoey around my mother. She could be a perceptive woman but she didn’t catch on. Neither did my brother and his wife. If my own family couldn’t see who Zoey was, then just maybe my plan would work.

Kara had a larger family than I did. Lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. They were all welcoming and most seemed glad that Kara was seeing me. One cousin even mentioned how much better I was for her than Josh. I wanted to believe that. While I would never cheat on her or abandon her and Zoey, I was lying to them. Did that make me any better? I tried to put those thoughts out of my mind. I’d made a decision to move forward without telling her who I was.

I had always taken to routines. I thrived off them. I’d become quite fond of my newest schedule. After work, I’d come to Kara’s house and have dinner with my girls. I’d read to Zoey as Kara took care of things around the house. I hadn’t been able to convince her to let me hire her some assistance with cooking and cleaning. I enjoyed the quiet time between my daughter and I. She was so inquisitive and loved to ask questions. As Kara got Zoey ready for bed, I answered emails and worked on contracts.

Stan was making the waterfront property too easy for me. He wasn’t the fierce competitor I’d grown to know over the last few years. I wondered what was going on with him. I would win the bid even if he hadn’t been slacking but something was off. That was an issue for tomorrow.

When Kara came into the family room, I closed my laptop and placed it on the coffee table.

“You don’t have to stop working.” She sat next to me, cuddling into my side. She’d changed into her yoga pants and a tight-fitting t-shirt. Her fuzzy pink socks were my favorite part of her ensemble “I know how busy you are.”

“You have my undivided attention, remember?” I held her close to me. “Is she asleep?”

“Sound asleep.” She rested her head on my shoulder. “She loves having you here at bedtime.”

“I like being here.”

“I’m glad you’re here too.” Her voice was sullen. She hadn’t been herself tonight. She’d said she’d had a tough day but didn’t go into details but she was quiet at dinner. “It’s nice to spend this time with you.”

“What’s bothering you?” I can’t fix it if she doesn’t tell me.

“Nothing.”

“I don’t believe you.” I gazed down at her, waiting for her to tell me.

“How can you know me this well?”

“I’m observant.” I lifted her off my shoulder and shifted her to face me. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I haven’t paid Zoey’s tuition since September,” she admitted with regret in her tone.

That didn’t surprise me.

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.