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“The internet,” she said drily, her eyes blank and shoulders stiff. “Dad wasn’t around much so it was up to me to look after myself. After a while bologna sandwiches got old and then I discovered the Food Network. From there the world was my oyster.”
“Shit, I thought my hovering parents were bad.” They were overbearing, and the weight of their expectations could be crushing but we always had the basics. Always.
She moved around the kitchen adding stuff, stirring, tasting while she talked. “Dad wasn’t bad, not really, but he didn’t have a traditional line of work, which meant he didn’t keep a normal schedule. After a job, depending on how it went, he’d have to lay low in whatever city he was in until things cooled down. I was on my own a lot, but I coped.”
Rocky was a survivor. No matter what life threw her way, she found a way to make it work for her. It was an admirable trait, one I hoped she’d pass on to our kid.
“My parents,” I said, trying to snatch a sample out of the pan before she smacked my hand, “were there with a capital T. Rose Petal, Texas was named after my great-great-great grandmother’s English rose skin.”
“Whoa.”
Big green eyes widened, at the grandeur, the ridiculousness or the pretentiousness of all, I didn’t know.
“Right? Anyway, that meant everything was all about appearances. My folks thought they’d dictate my entire life by dangling a sprawling ranch and a big ass trust fund in front of me. They wanted to pick my major in college, the girl I’d marry and what I would do on the ranch until it was time for me to take over, which would have been whenever the hell my daddy felt I was ready.”
I smacked the table, the tension of reliving those times enough to make my anger rise.
“So, you joined the military instead and when you came back ran away from all of their expectations? Cool, how does it feel?”
I expected her to tell me family was important and that I needed to reach out to them. That was what everyone had always said, as if it was so fucking tragic that my perfect parents now only had my younger siblings to weigh down with their old school ideas.
“Honestly? It feels damn good.”
“Amen to that.” She lifted her cup of iced tea and knocked it against my beer bottle with a smile. “Freedom. Ain’t nothin’ like it.”
“You ever been in love?”
“Nope.” She shook her head for emphasis and her red hair bounced around her shoulders. “You?”
“Nah. I’m not sure if I believe in it.”
She barked out a laugh, clutching her side. “A man who doesn’t believe in love, how original.” Then she served up the best-tasting veggies I’d had maybe ever.
“Come on now, darlin’,” I said, digging in and savoring the ginger. “It’s nothing like that. My mama and daddy are in love with each other, as much as either of them can be when they’re more concerned with keeping up appearances. Daddy’s had a few affairs but as long as no one knows about it, she’s all right with it.”
“Damn. I don’t know if that’s tough or stupid,” she said. “I mean you’re obviously rich since you’re throwing out words like trust fund, but aren’t affairs like chess pieces for divorce court?”
Some old memories flashed on the screen in my mind but I quickly let them go. “And become a divorcee? Mama would never allow the scandal. Anyway, I think she had her fun, too, but I’d prefer not to think of either of them as sexual beings.”
Her laughter was musical as she pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair. “Your mom sounds hardcore, but I’ll bet she’s so proud of you.”
“She’d be prouder if I came back to Texas to take over the company.” Which I would never do. Ever.
“Will you do that eventually?”
“Hell no. Daddy’ll run the company until the wake starts, which means I would have wasted my youth working myself into an early grave for a company that wouldn’t be mine until he’s dead and buried.”
“Wow. Your family is way different than mine. How are your folks going to feel about this whole baby out of wedlock thing?”
“They’ll hate it, but they hate everything. But they’ll be happy about the baby part.”
“Because, lineage, of course.”
“Of course,” I shot back with a smile and our gazes collided in a long, intense lock that heated the room to boiling. It had been too long since I last slid into her tight little pussy, too long since she clenched around my cock and just that quickly, all I could think about was Rocky.
Naked.
Writhing.
