Deceptive Truth: Cowboy Justice Association (Serials and Stalkers Book 4) by Olivia Jaymes (reading women .txt) 📕

They had much in common.

"Eventually, my mother's ill health caught up with her and she passed away when I was fifteen," Jenna continues, her blue eyes sparkling with tears. "She wasn't the greatest parent but I know that she loved me. She tried, at least. It's more than I can say for my so-called father."

The last sentence was laced with bitterness.

"Where is your father now?"

Her lips curled with derision. "At the bottom of a liquor bottle, I would imagine. I haven't seen him in awhile. The last time was two years ago. It was not pleasant so I'm not planning to do it again anytime soon."

"What happened after your mother died?"

Knox asked the question but he wasn't sure that he wanted the answer. He had a feeling that Jenna's life had probably gone downhill from there.

Instead of frowning, she smiled, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

"I went to live with Lori's family. Tom and Anita became my de facto parents. They knew what my home life was like. I never tried to hide how bad it was, and after my mom died, I think they knew it was only going to keep getting worse. They actually asked my father if I could stay with them for awhile. He was thrilled, of course. I could be someone else's problem and he could spend the little money he had on booze. Later I found out they paid him a monthly allowance as well. They basically bought me but I didn’t care. I was just glad that they were willing to get me out of there. Tom and Anita treated me like their own daughter. Not once did I ever feel second best."

"I never moved back in with my father but I did see him from time to time. Tom would take me over on holidays like Christmas so I could give my dad a gift. Usually my dad would be drunk and he'd yell at me. Eventually when I turned eighteen, I told Tom that I didn't want to go anymore."

There were a few more tears from Jenna and she reached across him to a box of tissues, her shoulder brushing against his arm. A bolt of electricity ran through his limb and through his veins, making him grit his teeth against the sensations that this woman could arouse.

No complications. Business only.

"How did your father take that?" he asked, hoping to distract himself from her nearness. He should have sat across the room in a chair. They needed more space between them.

"I doubt he noticed much other than Tom and Anita didn't pay him anymore. That's what he was most upset about. That's how I found out, actually. He called me to complain."

"What did you say?"

Knox had a morbid curiosity regarding her relationship with her family. It was so much like his own.

"I told him he was a lousy parent and to never call me again."

Ballsy, for someone so young, but then one of the things he'd liked about Jenna was that she was no shrinking violet.

"And did he stop calling?"

She shook her head. "No, but he did it less often. He called when he wanted money. Tom never gave it to him. I really don't know why he kept trying. It didn't make any sense to me."

"Desperate people don't always use logic."

"That's true. I wouldn't say that my father ever did."

"So what happened after that?" Knox asked. "Between eighteen years old and Lori's disappearance."

"We all three went to college. Michelle got a finance degree. She wanted to work in the family real estate business. Lori majored in marketing, and I had a double major in psychology and political science. Both Michelle and I went on to get our master's, and afterward I started working on local political campaigns. I'd always been fascinated by politics and current events. Tom had contacts and I worked hard to make my mark. From there, I was able to move on to statewide campaigns. In the meantime, Lori started at an advertising company that was owned by a friend of Tom's. That's how she met your brother."

Knox was absolutely sure that Cal had never worked in advertising. Ever.

"I'm going to need more details on that. Exactly how did they meet?"

"One of her co-workers introduced them. A friend of a friend sort of thing. They hit it off and the relationship got serious very quickly. Somehow, she convinced her firm to let her work remotely, and she moved to Douglas so she could be closer to Cal."

The expression on Jenna's face told him everything he needed to know about how she felt about Callum and Lori moving closer to him.

"I can probably guess that my brother was a shitty boyfriend," Knox groused. "He takes after my dad far too much."

He was ready for Jenna to launch into a laundry list of complaints but the doorbell rang, cutting off any reply she might have made. The break was more than welcome. He needed to get his shit together and fast. He was feeling far more than he was comfortable with. Working together was going to be a disaster unless he could keep his distance. He didn't want to be attracted to Jenna anymore.

The problem was he liked her way too much. This wasn't going to be easy. If he was smart, he'd walk out the door right now.

But I've never been that bright.

7

Jenna needed to pull herself together. She hated crying in general, and then doing it in front of Knox was even worse. He wasn't interested in her emotions clearly, and