Sins of the Past (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Keyonna Davis Read Free Book Online

as long as she didn’t see pity. “The townsfolk are so fascinated with me because ever since I started to develop boobs, they’ve been waiting for me to turn out just like her.” Lorna shrugged. “Like mother, like daughter, right?”
     
    * * * *
     
    Jacob was barely able to keep the fury he was feeling off his face. He gripped his fork tighter, becoming angrier with each word that came out of Lorna’s mouth as she explained why everyone in town hated her so much. She had shrugged and laughed as if she didn’t care what was said about her or how she was being treated, but he could tell it hurt her deep down.
    In his opinion, Lorna was a strong woman for putting up with this town for as long as she had. A weaker person would have turned out bitter and angry at the world or they would have turned out exactly how the town had expected them to. Instead, Lorna had made something of herself in spite of these small-minded people.
    “The people in this town are idiots.” Jacob knew his voice was gruff, but he didn’t care. He needed to make Lorna see how special she was. “Instead of blaming you for what your mother was, they should have taken you under their wing and cared for you to make sure you didn’t turn out like her.”
    Lorna stared at him and Jacob wasn’t sure if it was anger or shock. He had only known her for a short while, so he wasn’t able to read her yet, but he was hoping to change that. There was something about Lorna that drew him in. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her since the morning she had raced out of her house stomping and screaming. He had come to town to recover from a gunshot wound, but now Jacob decided he was staying for another reason. He wanted to know Lorna. For the first time in his life, when he thought of his future, it didn’t include gun battles or war. He thought of settling down and having a family and he was surprisingly okay with that.
    “There was one good thing that came out of my mother’s many guy friends,” Lorna said, interrupting his thoughts.
    Jacob lifted a brow. “Yeah, and what would that be?”
    “Well, I learned a lot from my many uncles . Most of them wanted to impress my mom and thought the fastest way to do that was through me. I have a black belt in karate thanks to Uncle John. I could probably be a certified plumber if I wanted thanks to Uncle Eric. I learned to blow glass and throw pots thanks to Uncle Derek when my mom was going through her hippy phase.” Lorna smiled. “The list goes on and on, but there is only one that I care about and that was Uncle John. I considered him my father and he taught me everything I needed to know.”
    “What made him different from all of the other guys?” Jacob was glad she had at least someone in her life that she allowed herself to care about. Judging from the smile on her face and the sound of her voice when she mentioned Uncle John, he could tell she loved the man.
    “He was the only one who loved me for me. He didn’t just tolerate me so he could get into my mother’s pants.” Lorna snorted. “What all of those other guys were too stupid to realize was that they could have completely ignored me and my mother would have still spread her legs for them. Uncle John was the only one who realized that and he still showed me attention. He taught me everything I know about restoring cars.”
    Jacob whistled and sat forward. “The Camaro outside? That was your work?”
    Lorna beamed with pride. “Yep. I built my baby from the frame up. She was the first car I restored with Uncle John’s help. I couldn’t bring myself to part with her. It just didn’t feel right.”
    Jacob was impressed. “I don’t blame you. That car is sweet. No wonder you were in such a fuss the other morning. I would have been fighting mad as well if someone messed with my hard work.” He shook his head at the behavior of the town he had chosen to move to. It seemed the one sane, mature person was sitting across from him and she