AllFreeNovel
Share Us
19
Shane was hunchedopposite Dylan at the dinner table while they worked through his math homework together. “If x plus five is seven, and 2x is four, then what’s x?”
“Two.”
“Correct.” He moved on to the next question. “What is the square root of sixty-four?”
Dylan’s eyebrows pinched together in concentration. “Eight?”
“You got it. This one is a bit harder. If—" The doorbell cut him off. It took him a moment to place the sound because no one ever used it. Most people in these parts knocked. “Keep going, buddy. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Hunter tried to follow him, but Shane pointed at his drawing of Tinkerbell and indicated he should keep coloring. The cat loved having Hunter’s undivided attention while he sketched her. Not that it was much of a likeness. When he opened the door to reveal their visitor, he immediately wished he’d pretended not to hear the bell. Diana stood on the threshold, pouting with pink lips and dressed in designer slacks and a blouse that hid nothing at all.
“We need to talk,” she said.
A shiver of premonition slid down his spine. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be good.
“Come in. Dylan will be pleased to see you.”
She didn’t smile. He’d known she wouldn’t, because in saying so, he’d inadvertently reminded her that her other son couldn’t care less. “Actually, I’m here to see you.”
“I’m busy.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Make time.”
Sighing, he stepped aside to let her in. “Fine, but only if you say hi to Dylan first.”
“I’d be happy to.” She stalked through the house as though she owned it, heading straight to the living area, where they’d been working on their homework together. “Hi, boys,” she said, with the graciousness of a returning queen.
“Mum!” Dylan shot to his feet, beaming. “Are you here for dinner?”
“I’m afraid not,” Shane broke in before she had the chance to accept the invitation.
“This is just a flying visit,” Diana agreed, catching him by surprise. “I need to have a word with your dad.” She turned to him and arched a brow. “How about in your bedroom?”
He winced, not wanting the boys to get the wrong idea. “I’d prefer the lounge.”
“Trust me,” she murmured. “You want to do this in private.”
Her tone made him nervous, and he acquiesced, taking her to his room and circling the bed so it was between them. She shook her head as though he were being childish, then unzipped her purse, extracted her phone, and handed it to him wordlessly. Shane glanced down and everything inside him froze. It was a photo of Faith. Much younger—perhaps eighteen or nineteen—completely naked and sprawled on a bed with a come-hither gaze. He shoved the phone back into Diana’s hand as though it had burned him.
“What the fuck is this, and how did you get it?”
She laughed. “It’s nothing half her graduating class hasn’t already seen.”
“Excuse me?” She was playing games, and he hated it.
“You’d better sit down. You’re not going to like this.”
He sat. “Explain. Fast.”
Diana tucked her flirty skirt beneath her legs and perched on the edge of the bed. “Let me tell you a story. One about a chubby teenage girl—”
“She’s fucking gorgeous,” he interrupted, “Exactly how she is. You know it, and I know it, so don’t make a fool of yourself by pretending otherwise.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever the case, she was so desperate for attention that she sent unsolicited pictures of herself to the most popular boy in school. One who already had a girlfriend.”
“I don’t believe you.” Faith wasn’t like that. He could imagine her agreeing to a naked photoshoot because she wasn’t shy about her sexuality, but sending the results to someone who was in a relationship? No, he couldn’t see that at all.
