Dark Legacy by Jen Talty (reading books for 4 year olds .txt) 📗

“I’m doing nothing of the sort, and if you would stop interrupting me like a child and let me finish, you’d see that.” Melinda placed her hands on her hips and scowled. “I just want to fake fix up Tara. Maybe with that cute neighbor of yours, just to make Kevin jealous.”

“Are you kidding?” Shannon stared at her mother. She shouldn’t be shocked, but this was over the top, even for her mom. “First off, my neighbor is much older than Tara, and I wouldn’t put him in the middle of your game.”

“What? Are you saying your sister isn’t good enough for him?”

“That’s not the point. You’d be using him, and that’s not right.”

Melinda’s eyes teared. How the woman did that on command had always remained a mystery. “I ask you to do one little favor for your sister to make her happy, and you refuse. You care nothing for anyone but yourself. You can’t even respect your father’s memory by having a picture of him in your office.”

“I don’t want anything personal in my office,” Shannon said with a huff. She didn’t owe her mother any explanation, yet she found herself reverting to old behaviors.

“Every doctor has something personal in their office. It’s how they relate to their patients,” her mother said as if she were the expert. “But since you’re not ever going to listen to your mother, let’s get back to your neighbor. He’s a private investigator or something, right? I bet he sees Kevin’s father every so often. I’m sure he’s the investigator the law firm uses.”

Shannon rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Actually, he is a PI. And I’ve hired him.”

“For what?” Her mother dropped her hands to her sides and narrowed her eyes into tiny slits, but they were still open enough to shoot a few daggers in Shannon’s direction.

“You know why,” Shannon said with a tight fist.

Her mother gasped.

Shannon swallowed the fear that beat through her heart. Exposing her emotions to her mother had proven dangerous in the past.

“Why would you do that?” Melinda whispered, looking around. “It’s best to leave dirty little secrets in the closet. Not even your stepfather knows what you did.”

“It’s not a dirty secret, and he knows; he just doesn’t want to start a fight with you,” Shannon muttered. Though she had lived nearly decades of her life mired in shame for what had happened and what she’d done. Not a day went by that she hadn’t wondered what her daughter had become. If good, loving parents had raised her.

Not the freakshow that Shannon had been subjected to.

“It’s not something this family discusses. Ever. And I won’t have it. Tell your neighbor you made a mistake.” Her mother fanned her face as if to dry her fake tears. “You probably ruined this for Tara, but I’d like you to introduce them anyway. See how it plays out.”

Shannon heard the outside door to her office open. “Mom,” she said in a soft voice, “look, I believe Jackson has a girlfriend. I see someone over there all the time, so I don’t think that is the answer. Just let Tara and Kevin figure things out on their own. She’s a smart girl.” Shannon placed her hand on her mother’s elbow. “I’m sorry, but I’ve really got to go.”

“Right. You have sick people to fix,” her mother said sarcastically. “Don’t forget the bridesmaid dress fitting this Saturday. I expect you to be there on time and with a smile on your face. You’re lucky that Bonnie even asked you to be in the wedding, considering how you feel about her fiancé.”

“I don’t dislike Fred. It’s just weird that I dated him, and now she’s marrying him.”

“Well. Don’t be late.”

“I will be there. I promise,” Shannon said, guiding her mother to the door, ignoring the desire to tell her to take a flying leap into the lake. She had tried to cut her mother out of her life once, but that had made it more difficult to maintain a relationship with her stepfather and her half-sister—two people she loved deeply and wanted in her life. For the most part, she and her mother had little contact, but this wedding had forced them to see each other more than at the usual family holiday gatherings. Once it was over, her mother would go back to ignoring Shannon.

And Shannon would go back to her peaceful life.

Shannon entered the Boardwalk Restaurant, trying to shake off the tension in her neck and shoulders. The day had been long and hard, and there was still no word from her patient, Belinda. But what had her muscles tied up in knots had been the car in the parking lot. It looked identical to the one that had been parked at the top of her driveway.

The same one Jackson had pointed out.

She’d taken a picture of the license plate with her phone and texted it to Jackson. He responded immediately, letting her know he’d already taken the number, and then he reminded her not to walk to her car by herself.

But nothing about meeting for a drink after her dinner, and Shannon wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wasn’t thinking about it so much because dating him was such a high priority, but because she resented the way his demeanor had changed the second she’d revealed a smidgeon of data about her past.

However, she’d looked forward to this meal all day, and she’d be damned if she let anything stand in her way of enjoying it now.

That said, coming into this place always caused her a bit of concern. She sucked in a deep breath, scanning the bar area, checking out every middle-aged man with graying hair but doing her best to avoid eye contact.

“Boo!”

Shannon jumped, nearly falling over. She clutched her feather pendant. “Jesus, Cameron. You scared the shit out of me.”

“What are best friends for if not to make you pee your pants?” Cameron looped her arm over Shannon’s shoulder. “How are you