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

“Right. Mom thought it would be good if I surprised you. I hadn’t seen you in a while, so I thought that would be fun. She insisted on driving and assured me you were excited and couldn’t wait to see me.”

“Since when are you and I incapable of making our own arrangements?”

“Since never. But you’ve been withdrawn lately.”

Shannon pursed her lips. “So have you. And Mom told me about her crazy plan to make Kevin jealous. Why the hell did the two of you break up?”

“We didn’t. We just got into a fight, and we both agreed we needed to cool off.” Tara stood, walking in a circle around the fire, twirling her dark hair.

“I don’t get how she thinks this will work,” Tara said. “First of all, Kevin doesn’t get jealous. And second, we just took a break from each other. He needed some space after the big fight about his potential new job, so we really haven’t called it splitsville. We’re just taking a week to think about what we really want and what that means.”

“Wait. Step back. Kevin got offered a job? But he works for his dad.”

“His father is almost as controlling as Mom. Kevin doesn’t want to be a criminal lawyer, and he got offered a job in Newburgh in the district attorney’s office. He wants to take it.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“I’m fine with it. I’ve even put in applications for a couple of schools, but it’s what he did when he told me he took the job that freaked me right the fuck out.”

“Dare I ask?” Shannon loved her little sister, but her dramatics often grated on her nerves.

“He proposed.”

“He what?” Shannon asked, dropping her glass, red wine splattering across her pant leg. Thankfully, the glass didn’t shatter when it hit the grass, but her pants turned a dark red. “Shit.” She kicked her foot, rubbing her hand over her slacks.

“Only you, sis.”

Shannon laughed, pouring more wine. “Did you say yes?”

“Yes, and no. He wants to run off to Vegas. It’s not that I have a problem doing that, but both sets of parents would disown us. I can take Mom being a basket case, but I couldn’t handle both sets of parents being upset.”

“They’d get over it. But the real question is, do you want a big wedding?”

Tara laughed. “Good God, no. If you think Bonnie’s wedding is outrageous, imagine what it would be like with Melinda Cartwright and Charlene Bangal as event coordinators. Kevin and I’d be lost, and it wouldn’t even be about us. It’d be about them.”

“Then I don’t get it. What’s the problem? Elope and deal with the shitstorm later. Unless the move is the issue.”

Tara let out a long sigh. “No. I could get used to anywhere as long as I’m with Kevin, but it all came on so fast.” Tara smiled. “He wants to do it in two months after Bonnie’s wedding. And since he took the job, we’d be moving about the same time.”

“I still don’t get the problem.”

“Besides, he hasn’t told his father about not working for him anymore. I’m more worried about how his parents will take the elopement and him moving all at once. Mom has Dad to help her get over it, and Bonnie always has to be the center of attention, giving our mom something to focus on. But Kevin is an only child, and it will crush his dad.”

Shannon put her hand on Tara’s and squeezed. “You and Kevin have to start setting boundaries when it comes to your parents. If they want to have a relationship with you, then they will come around. Hell, even our mom has gotten better over the years when it comes to me because I don’t let her rule my life.”

“I know. I know.” Tara tossed her hands wide.

“So, does that mean you’re going to go track down Kevin and tell him you’ll run off and never look back?”

“I think that’s a great idea.” Tara snagged her cell from the plastic table. “Holy shit.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve got five texts that say he’s on his way here.”

“Well, his timing is perfect.” Shannon pointed to the car headed down the driveway. “Call me later, okay?”

Tara jumped from her seat and smoothed down her miniskirt. “I love you, sis.”

“Right back at you.”

Shannon pulled Tara in for a hug. She held her longer than usual. She’d never been a touchy-feely kind of girl, but it was time she started making some changes in her life and being a better sister was a good place to start. “Let’s have lunch one day next week. Just the two of us.”

“I’d like that.”

Shannon wrapped her arms around her middle as she watched her sister leap into Kevin’s arms. She smiled as the young couple kissed passionately. In spite of their mother, Tara had grown up well, and Shannon was thrilled that she and Kevin would be getting out of their parents’ grips and living their lives.

Their way.

She fingered the pendant hanging from her neck.

Freedom.

She turned and stared at the Sweet Freedom rocking gently in the dark waters of Lake George. The moon cast a glow on the tall mast. There was a time in her life when Shannon enjoyed being on the water and feeling the wind in her face. The feeling when the captain cut the engine, the sails filled, heeling, making the boat take flight across the water.

“You’re deep in thought,” Jackson said as he looped his arm around her waist.

She jumped, knocking his beer out of his hand. It flipped and sizzled, spewing the liquid over the fire and him. “Shit. I hate it when people sneak up on me.”

He took a step back, holding his hands to the air. “Sorry. I assumed you heard my door slam shut.”

“Please, just don’t do that to me again.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. Now, do you want to sit out here by the fire and talk or go inside?”

She deserved his curtness and then some. The