Heartburn: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World) by Tarrah Anders (best ebook reader .TXT) 📗

I never went looking for her.

I stuck my nose inside the books and vowed to myself that I wouldn’t be the black sheep of my family. That I would amount to something. And I have.

Even so, after all these years, I wondered.

What the kid was like?

Did he or she have my strong jawline?

Did they have my dark brown hair or Kindra’s soft strawberry blond hair?

Was the kid a straight-A student, or did he or she take after Kindra and me?

I’m just to blame as she is.

We’ve met up a few times since I broke up with Karin. We would start our night out at Hooligan’s and then head back to her place. I wouldn’t stay the night and we made no promises.

My body hovers over hers as the symphony of sex echoes through the bedroom. I hitch her leg up on my hip and drive into her. Feeling the pleasure of being inside her grasps my soul while we’re grunting with each thrust to seek our orgasms.

When I feel her pussy tighten around my shaft, I feel my throat close up and squeeze my eyes shut as I come with her.

I fall to the pillow top mattress, making sure that my weight doesn’t consume her and roll over to my back.

I suck in deep breaths while she does the same. She places her hand on her chest and stares at the ceiling as I turn my head to observe her.

Her profile is sharper than it was when we were kids. She’s just as beautiful as she was when we were kids, even more so. Adulthood has been good to her.

She turns her head and we lock eyes.

“I should, um, get going.” I say to her, breaking the silence, feeling like I need to hide my thoughts.

“Yeah, totally,” she replies with sadness in her tone.

“We’re just keeping this causal, right?” I ask, hoping to see a glimpse of some sort of emotion to tell me that our messing around may mean something more to her. But is that something that I could actually give her?

“Yeah, casual.” She nods.

16

Kindra

The front door closes behind me and I’m led through the house as if I’m a stranger to the backyard. My mom is doing whatever she can to make my dad understand that I’ve changed. And tonight, is her latest attempt.

She’s tricked him into dinner and that turned out to be an awkward evening, and now she orchestrated a B-B-Q.

There were many people in the backyard, none of which that I recognized. But that’s what happens when you’re gone for over ten years. People don’t look the same way they did, and people make new friends.

My mom leads me to a group of ladies. “Girls, I want you to meet my daughter, Kindra.”

All the women look uncomfortable and I see their body language tense, then smile. We all shake hands, then silence takes over the small group.

“Why haven’t we met you until now?” One of her friends asks.

“I was living in the city, going to school.”

“Oh, school? For what, dear?” Another asks.

“I’m a nurse. I was working in the city and was recently transferred back here.” I reply with a smile.

“Oh, that’s nice. Are you working for your father?” the same woman asks.

“No ma’am. I’m working at the hospital in the ER.”

“Oh, that handsome young man works there, what’s his name? Oh yeah, Dr. Quinn.” She snaps. “I’ve purposely faked food poisoning so I could get a sneak peek at him.”

“Oh Rogan, yes. Kindra and he were high school sweethearts.” My mother says as if she was proud of that, when she hated our relationship just as much as dad did.

“Oh, you lucky girl.” The same woman fans herself. “Will he be coming today?”

“Um, no. He won’t. We’re just friends now and colleagues.”

“Oh, that’s such a shame. I sure would like to see him out of his scrubs,” one woman wiggles her eyebrows as my mother lightly hits her. “What? I’m not the only one in this town who thinks that. That boy surely grew up to be a fine specimen.”

The conversation is making me feel uncomfortable and the last thing that I want to do is listen my mother start talking about my ex like she has the hots for him. I step away from the group and venture further into the backyard.

I see my father standing with a beer in one hand while he tends to the B-B-Q and talking to a few gentlemen surrounding him.

They all look like they’re enjoying the conversation and I watch from afar, wondering if this has been how their lives have been all this time.

A tap on my shoulder takes me out of my thoughts and I turn to see Geri standing behind me with a drink extended.

“Looks like you could use this.” She smiles.

“A drink is always an excellent choice for family functions.”

“But you’re standing there stuck in your head thinking you’re not sure whether or not they’re your family or not.”

“Um, what?” I quirk an eyebrow.

“I remember what happened back then, and I clued two and two together. Even though I went away for a bit, my mom was always nosey as well. She always gave me the street updates. And your absence was quite the topic.”

“Okay,” I reply slowly.

“I’m sorry your parents are such dicks,” she says sadly.

“It is what it is.” I shrug. “What can you do? Not every family is perfect.”

“True, but not every family acts as if they don’t have a kid.”

“Like I said, it is what it is. Hopefully, one day things can change.”

“Your mom is sure acting like you’re back in the fold, I think that’s great.” She says.

“I somewhat feel like that part is too good to be true. She’s acted so far like it was all of my father’s doing that I was pushed away.”

“Really? Why do you say that?”

“Because if she really had nothing to do with it, why wouldn’t she