Trouble with Nathan by Anna J. Stewart

Author:Anna J. Stewart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-04-01T15:21:16+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Laurel had read about families like the Tremaynes and Julianos in books all her life. At times she’d even surrendered to the pull of unrealistic, sickeningly sweet TV shows that made her teeth ache even as she longed to believe. She’d survived her adolescence by steeling her heart and convincing herself families like that weren’t real; that they couldn’t and didn’t exist because nothing was that perfect. It never would be. Not for her.

Glancing around the overflowing backyard at Nathan’s family and friends, Laurel had to remind herself to breathe as the familiar longing lodged like a boulder in the center of her chest. Watching Kelley and Cedric and Aiden with their new puppy, seeing the absolute joy on their faces had her clutching her cell phone even more tightly. When was Poppy going to call her back? She needed to hear his voice, hear Joey’s. She didn’t want to give in to the fear Alastair’s threats triggered.

She couldn’t give in. Not to the fear. Not when she saw a way out. A week ago she wouldn’t have believed Alastair could harm her child, but that was before she’d heard the venom in his voice when he said Jackson’s name. Before they’d dragged that Johnny Saxon’s body into the morgue. Her opportunity might have arrived thanks to the crown, but her window was closing. Fast.

The unending tables of food—just her luck to come to a party where the meal was provided by J & J Market’s owners—made her wonder if the elastic in her skirt was going to hold up. Nathan had been attentive, sending her encouraging smiles when he wasn’t introducing her to other guests, but she was finding the entire gathering a bit overwhelming. A bit too . . . real.

Normally she was good in crowds; she could either be someone else or disappear. Neither was possible here. Everyone was so friendly, so welcoming and curious, that Laurel wasn’t sure how she fit. She was a liar at best. At worst, a fraud. This vendetta playing out against Jackson and the Tremaynes, the jeopardy the entire family was in, was partly her fault. If she could see a way of protecting them, she’d take it, but she couldn’t choose them over her daughter’s life. If only she hadn’t chosen that house to rob that night five years ago. If only she’d paid closer attention to Charlie’s training instead of assuming she’d never use any of those tactics to be able to feed her child.

Part of her felt as if she’d been dropped from a helicopter into the middle of a churning ocean, the waves coming at her at disparate times, from every angle, with different intentions. Her head spun with the cavalcade of names and faces. She’d gotten her exercise dodging a determined Theresa Juliano who kept looking at Laurel as if she saw right through her, a frightening prospect after witnessing the power the small Italian woman appeared to wield. Given the stories Laurel had heard, the Juliano matriarch could be playing mental matchmaker.

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.