Secondhand Sinners by Genevieve Lynne Read Free Book Online Page A

two summers ago in one hundred degree weather with my arms in some ballet pose while he sketched them. That was it. We weren’t alone. Jessica was with me.”
    “What did you and Levi talk about?”
    Abby chewed and swallowed the spoonful of cereal she had just put in her mouth and shook her head. “My turn. Did you like her?”
    “She dated my best friend for a few years. He died in September, at the beginning of our senior year. She left town that night. So what did you and Levi talk about when you posed for him?”
    “I asked him what it was like to live in Chicago, so he talked about that for a while. Then we talked about how bad the football team was going to be. That’s it. Nothing else happened. I swear. I didn’t know your best friend in high school died. That’s so sad. What was his name?”
    “Daniel.”
    “How did he die?”
    “He killed himself.”
    Abby gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “That’s terrible.”
    He nodded. “Yes. It was.” Miller didn’t tell her the worst part—that Daniel had killed himself because he’d been betrayed by the two people he trusted the most.
    “I’m sorry, Daddy. Poor Ms. Emily. She left?”
    “That night. Without saying a word. Now she’s married and lives in Dallas.”
    Abby stood up and put her dishes in the sink. “She’s not married.”
    “What?”
    “Divorced.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “Mr. Levi. When he got in town last week, he came here to ask you something about a problem with the water at his place. You weren’t here. He said he’d find you. Did he?”
    “He did. Go on. Finish your story.”
    “He was talking while he walked up to the porch. I had my window open, so I could hear him. He was talking on his phone. He said he was sorry about the divorce and that her ex was a…”
    “A what?”
    “Don’t get mad. I’m only repeating what he said. ‘A lying, cheating bastard.’”
    “Are you’re sure he was talking to Emily?”
    Abby pushed away from the counter and headed for the stairs. “Gosh, Dad. You sure are interested in the love life of someone you aren’t interested in.”
    “Are you sure he was talking to Emily?”
    “He said her name. I’m going to go get dressed and do my homework, and then I’ll be ready.”
    “Ready?”
    “Yeah. You said we could take the horses out this weekend. We didn’t get to go yesterday. We’re still going, right? You promised.”
    “Yes. Riding. After lunch. You and me.”
    He sat at the dining table. She’s divorced. That thought terrified and excited him. If he could figure out how to tell Emily the truth and make her understand, then things could be okay. Maybe even better than okay.
    He put his elbows on the table and ran his hand through his hair. He wanted to hate her, but damn her, he still longed to touch her, to kiss her. The last time they’d seen each other, kissed each other, and touched each other was when they were seventeen. It was that same night in September that he’d just told Abby about. Emily snuck out of her house and met him under the willow tree. He wanted to make love to her, but she was crying and told him she was pregnant.
     
    He was shocked and scared. “Are you sure?”
    “I took a test.”
    His insecurities about her and Daniel's relationship gnawed at him again. “Is it mine?”
    “You know you’re the only person I’ve ever been with.”
    “You and Daniel have been together since sophomore year.”
    She covered her face with her hands and plopped down on a blanket he had waiting for her. He felt bad for making her cry. He sat next to her and pushed her hair out of her face. “I’m sorry, Em. I believe you. I do.”
    She looked at him, her face wet with tears. “I told you. Daniel and I have never been together. This is all a huge mistake. We should never have had sex.”
    She was right, and he knew it was all his fault. He shouldn’t have told her how he really felt that night they were alone in his truck and she prodded him