Cry Little Sister by Parker Ford Read Free Book Online

finished.
    “Yes,” she said, rushing on. “I know that you and my mother were married a few years before I was born.”
    Silence.
    She rushed on, determined not to lose her nerve. For just a moment, to still the clamor of anxiety from talking to this man, she let herself focus on the memory of Gareth touching her. The feel of his hands—hard and callused from work, but very talented and very gentle when need be—on her skin. Inside of her.
    “Anyway, my mother isn’t here and my father…her second husband, I guess, just died.”
    “I’m sorry, honey.” He finally spoke in a soft wary voice.
    “Thank you…thanks.” She put her head in her hand for a moment and tugged her bangs sharply to focus her attention. “But he was kind of delirious at the end and said a few things to make me and my brother believe that maybe…Doug really wasn’t my dad.”
    Gareth’s hand settled on her shoulder—warm, reassuring, and under it all—and maybe she was just hallucinating that part—possessive.
    “Oh,” Kurt said. Sounding surprised but calm. “And you think—“
    “That maybe you are actually my dad,” she rushed on. “Yes. Maybe…um. Possibly?”
    “No,” he said.
    Her heart sank and her vision fuzzed over. She felt like she was suddenly in a misty painting by Monet. Everything went soft around the edges. Colors muted. Jordan put her head down and said, “Oh.”
    Gareth squeezed her shoulder and she tried to steel herself. She wanted to cry or rage or just simply sniffle and sob until she melted into a puddle of goop. Instead she started to reply, “Thank you for your time, Mr—“
    “But I know who your dad could be.”
    Jordan froze, her heart skipping a step and then flopping chaotically before remembering its intended rhythm. “You do?”
    “Sure. Your mom and I only made it a year. The intention was good but the execution sucked, as it were. We were both young, stubborn, head strong and the most we had in common was…well, passion.”
    Jordan smiled. “I see.”
    “But after me she met a man named Ted Sweet. Can you believe that name?”
    “No,” she admitted.
    “Anyway, they were together for a while. I heard they’d broken up because he was stationed elsewhere. I want to say he was a marine but he might have been in the Army. Either way, they were very much together right after Kelly and I called it quits. The time frame fits for you, though, Jordan.”
    She gave him her number and thanked him profusely and asked him if he’d call her if he thought of anything else. Kurt Paulson said he would.
    Jordan hung up and Gareth kneaded her shoulders. “Well?”
    “Well, he’s not my dad.”
    His grip grew tighter but his hands stayed on her.
    “But my dad might be a man named Ted Sweet.”
    Gareth blew out a breath and kissed the top of her head. “Best news I’ve heard all day. Want wine?”
    “No. I want to curl up with a good book and go to sleep.”
    “Just make sure that’s all you do,” Gareth said and left her sitting there.

Chapter Nine
    It was stupid. It was stupid and it was dumb and it was horrible. Jordan tossed to her side and then back to her original angle.
    “God damn it.” She hissed it in the dark and then proceeded to beat the shit out of her pillow.
    If Gareth had told her she could finish herself off, she’d never want to. She could have just gone to bed.
    It was that he’d told her no . And she knew it. And Jordan knew that Gareth knew it.
    “What a mind fuck.”
    She flopped on her back and tried to steady her breath. Her hand trailed her belly, sliding beneath the tank she wore. The waistband of her sweatpants teased her with memories of Gareth pulling them wide and shoving his hand inside.
    She groaned softly and then covered her sound, realizing he might hear her. Fuck!
    Jordan slid her fingers below the cloth covered elastic, sweeping her fingers back and forth over the tender skin above her mound. Her body thrilled at the touch. Her hips arching up on