Wedding Mints and Witnesses by Kelsey Browning & Kelsey Browning

Author:Kelsey Browning & Kelsey Browning [Naigle, Nancy & Browning, Kelsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kicksass Creations LLC

* * *

The air in Abby Ruth’s lungs couldn’t have whooshed out with more force if someone had marched across her chest wearing combat boots. Her mind blanked, went black like when the electricity failed in the dead of winter.

Then the thoughts and excuses and pleas swirled so fast in her brain, making her dizzy.

“Don’t deny it, Mom. I’ve already confronted Red.”

All she could do was push out two words. “I’m sorry.”

Jenny cocked her head to the side in a smart-ass way Abby Ruth hadn’t seen since her daughter was an angsty hormonal teen. And far be it from her to point out how Jenny’s hormones might be affecting her attitude right now. Abby Ruth wasn’t an idiot.

“What exactly are you sorry for, Mom? Are you sorry for leaving my birth certificate blank? Or maybe telling me that you didn’t know who my father was when I was a little girl?” With every word, Jenny’s voice rose in pitch and volume—up and down like she couldn’t control herself. “Or possibly letting me watch an untold number of Astros games without mentioning that my dad was the pitcher? Or, gosh, could it be that you have allowed me to live in the same small town with Red Jensen for the past year and never said a damn word about how you apparently hopped into bed with him at some point and I was the accidental byproduct?”

Abby Ruth leaned in and pointed a long, thin finger toward Jenny. As much as she loved her daughter, she wouldn’t let her make what she and Red had once shared sound like some tawdry one-night stand. “I did not just hop into bed with Red. It wasn’t like that.”

“How long did the two of you date?”

“We didn’t date, not exactly. You see—”

“So you’re saying it was only sex? Mom, women have every right to have physical relationships, but I don’t understand why—”

“Jenny…”

Something in Abby Ruth’s warning tone must’ve clued Jenny in because she said, “Oh, Mom, you loved him, didn’t you? That’s even worse.”

Abby Ruth lowered her head.

“It’s obvious he cares for you. How long have the two of you been in love? And why couldn’t you tell me the truth, if not raise me together? I don’t understand. He’s obviously a good man.”

“The absolute best,” Abby Ruth said.

“Then how could he…”

Before Jenny could finish that horrible thought, Abby Ruth grabbed her hand and held on tight. “He didn’t let you down, Jenny. Until recently, Red didn’t know about you.”

“What?” By the way Jenny was clutching her other fist against her chest, it was obvious that bit of news had sideswiped her.

“I never told him I was pregnant.”

“W…why?” The way Jenny’s voice stumbled over that one word made Abby Ruth nearly choke in response.

“We never meant to fall in love, but we did. He was married, which was bad enough. But he was also married to a woman with a chronic medical condition. At the time, she needed him far more than I did.”

“Did you think about whether or not I would need him?”

“Of course I did.

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