Whispered Promises by Brenda Jackson Read Free Book Online

You should have known the most important thing about me, Caitlin. You should have known how I felt about you. I didn’t want an affair with you for those three weeks. I wanted more, I wanted forever. I made the mistake of thinking that you did, too.”
    â€œNo, Dex, you didn’t make a mistake. I did want forever. But after you left for Australia, I began having my doubts about a lot of things. And when you didn’t answer my letter, I accepted what I thought was your decision not to want your child. I continued on with my life. But I never once gave up hope that one day you would want to see her. I’ve not once kept Jordan in the dark about you, even when I thought you didn’t want her. She began asking questions about her daddy when she noticed all of her friends had fathers and she didn’t. She knows all about you. Although I didn’t have any pictures of you to show her, Jordan knows who her father is.”
    Dex frowned. She was right about not having any pictures. There hadn’t been a lot of time for any. The only photo of them together had been the one his mother had taken when he’d taken Caitlin home to meet his family.
    He moved toward the window. He looked below at the empty street. “And just what did you tell my daughter about me? That I didn’t want her? That I deserted her? That I deserted you?” he asked coldly.
    Caitlin folded her arms tightly in front of her. “No,” she replied softly. “I never gave Jordan the impression you were a terrible person, or blamed you because the three of us weren’t together. When she began asking about you, I told her you worked in a country far away, and that maybe you’d come back to see her one day. She accepted that.”
    Dex took a minute to put a cap on his anger before turning to face Caitlin. “And when she got older, and I didn’t show up, what lie would you have told her then?”
    Caitlin met his cold gaze head-on. “Whatever was necessary.”
    A strained silence saturated the room as Dex stared at Caitlin. “Where’s she now?”
    Caitlin took a deep breath, her thoughts in chaos. She looked at him. “She’s with Marsher Logan, Dad’s neighbor. She took Jordan with her to visit her own little granddaughter who lives in the country. They’ll be back tomorrow.”
    Dex thought about Caitlin’s response. He would get to meet his daughter for the first time tomorrow. He continued looking at Caitlin. His anger escalated. She had stripped him of three years of his daughter’s life because she hadn’t chosen his love over her father’s. Angered beyond control, he stormed past her and out of the room.
    Caitlin blinked rapidly, losing control of her emotions. She bit her lower lip as Dex’s words came back to haunt her. He was right. She should have known he would not have turned his back on his child. But then, he should have known she would not have deliberately kept their daughter’s existence from him.
    Leaving her father’s room, she closed the door behind her and went into her own bedroom. Once there, she began pulling off her clothes. She felt tired, drained and depleted of all strength and logical thought. And to make matters worse, her head had begun to ache. Emerging from the shower minutes later, she slipped into a nightgown. Her father was gone, her daughter was away, and the only man she had ever loved totally despised her.
    Once again she succumbed to her tears.

    Dex paced the living room in quick angry strides. Coming to a stop, he pulled the letter Dr. Flores had given him from his pocket. Opening the envelope, he was surprised to find not the missing letter—the one Caitlin claimed she’d written to him about his child—but another letter. It appeared to have been written by Halston Parker and was dated over a week ago.
    Moments later, after reading the letter, Dex’s jaw tightened. If