Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Yeah. Right.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
But Maya took a step forward. Neither of them moved. She kept her chin raised as she glanced from one to the other.
Kathryn ran her gaze over Maya, disgust filling her face. “What are you wearing? You couldn’t even dress appropriately? Have you not finished with this phase of your rebelliousness? It wasn’t cute at fifteen and it’s not cute now at twenty-six.”
“I came straight from work,” Maya said darkly. “If there was a dress code for me to enter my mother’s house, then you should have let me know.”
Oh, Kathryn didn’t like that. Maya braced herself for what she was going to say next.
“What’s going on out here? Dad wants to know what the two of you are doing . . . Maya.”
She glanced around to see Marlin standing there. He was frowning as his gaze flicked from the stepmonster to Vince to her.
And yes, she was aware of how immature she sounded calling Kathryn the stepmonster. But she’d been fifteen when she’d first started calling her that. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t earned that nickname.
“Maya, Dad’s been waiting for you,” Marlin said to her. He held out his hand.
She and Marlin were no longer close. However, he’d never hurt her, he’d never been mean. So she stepped to the side of Kathryn, walking around her to take Marlin’s hand.
He squeezed it as they headed down the hallway. He walked to the door leading to the formal greeting room.
They could have just met in the living room which was more comfortable. Or even in the eat-in kitchen. But Kathryn would never allow that.
Still, Maya hated this room. Her mom had rarely used it unless she was having a party as it was big enough to comfortably hold around thirty people. It was filled with uncomfortable, stiff furniture that definitely didn’t invite people to sit and chat, to make themselves at home.
Nope. This was more a sit-for-a-few-minutes-then-get-the-hell-out-of-my-house type of room.
“Be careful,” Marlin whispered in her ear.
She gave him a surprised look, but he’d let go of her hand and moved away before she could question him.
Be careful? Of what? Of Vince? He didn’t have to tell her twice.
She was well aware that she should heed more caution. Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly her strong suit. She tended to rush into things without thinking them through.
She glanced around the room. As well as her father, there were Kathryn’s two sons. Robert was closing in on forty and tended to brush his hair over his head to cover his bald spot. But he’d look a lot better if he just owned his thinning hair and wore it with confidence.
However, she’d never tell him that.
Kathryn’s oldest son was Malcolm. He was two years older than Robert and nastier. He’d be an attractive guy if he wasn’t so mean. Both men were detectives.
Relief filled her as she saw the last man standing there.
Detective Clayton Reeves.
She wasn’t quite sure why he was here but she felt less alone, that was for sure.
Although she might have had some sort of ally in her brother, which she would never have believed before just now.
Don’t get ahead of yourself.
She’d been let down enough by her family in the past to not have much faith in them anymore.
“Maya, you’re here. We’ve been waiting for you.” Her father stepped toward her; his arms open.
Was he serious?
Maya guessed he was as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight.
What was this show for?
Then again, her father had always been quite tactile. He’d always shown affection.
Before Kathryn.
“I’ve been so worried about you. Why haven’t you been answering my calls? I was getting ready to go to your house and get you myself.”
He was?
He’d never been to her house. She knew he’d probably be horrified by where she lived.
How would she have reacted if he’d turned up on her doorstep?
“Kathryn and Robert rightly convinced me that that wasn’t a smart idea,” he said.
Oh. Right.
Of course they had.
And he always listened to Kathryn. Always took her side.
Maya.
Do not let bitterness fill you.
She’d worked hard and long to get rid of her feelings of anger toward her father. But the hurt was harder to let go.
However, she made the pretense of hugging him back, not wanting anyone in this room to see any cracks in their relationship.
When it came to this family, you had to show strength. Never weakness.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy for your old man?” he snapped, pulling back to frown down at her.
Kathryn cleared her throat. “I’m sure that Maya tried her best, but she’s a young woman with a full life. You know what young people are like. Their social life always comes first.”
Social life?
What social life?
That coffee that she’d had with Millie and Livvy the other day was the extent of her social life for the last year.