Free B00MV3HMDW_EBOK by Kennedy Layne

kind of fell for one of Lisa’s friends a couple of years before he met Sharon.” Gordon took another puff of his cigar and squinted his eyes as if he were recalling the details from their youth. “It’s not something that Lisa likes to talk about and she doesn’t want Taryn to know because of whatever scandal it might cause. Madeline was married and it would have ignited the rumor mill. Lisa was relieved when another young fellow caught Madeline’s eye. My wife worries about her image, always has in fact, and George’s actions certainly would have sullied that. Especially when—well, you understand how the family skeletons have a way of coming out of the closet when you least expect it. But if all Taryn wanted was reassurance that George didn’t cheat on Sharon, well, there it is.”
    Ethan let it slide the fact that Gordon was still keeping secrets, but what he’d shared was enough for them to start unraveling the pieces of Yvette Capre’s life. Had George fathered a child with this Madeline and she’d given the baby up for adoption? Did Gordon and Lisa know this, which is why they’d remained silent? For a sister to know something that life altering and keep it from her brother was downright wrong on so many levels. Ethan could tell that George was through with distributing any other information, but that was just fine. They had more than enough to go on.
    “So show me this Crockett rifle that you bought recently,” Ethan suggested, placing his drink on the coffee table.
    For the next hour the two men discussed weapons and the history behind certain manufacturers. Ethan didn’t particularly warm up to Gordon, for the man was a lot more like his wife than he thought. Money and what the green paper could buy meant the world to men like Gordon. Ethan felt sorry for him, knowing he would never know what true happiness was.
    Ethan was impressed with what any collector would consider a find of a lifetime and quite possibly the very firearm that Colonel David Crockett had used at the Alamo—his final American Longrifle. The fact that Gordon would never allow such an incredible piece of history to be fired ever again made Ethan revile the avarice that Gordon and his wife typified. A light knock came at the door and when Gordon called out for entry, Lisa and Taryn appeared.
    Ethan could decipher right away that Taryn had gotten nowhere with Lisa. Her brow was in a V and her nose scrunched in that cute manner of hers when she was irritated. He doubted that Gordon or Lisa caught the obvious tell. Ethan unraveled his frame from the chair and walked her way, letting her know with his body language that this evening wasn’t unsuccessful.
    “Are you ready to drive back to the hotel?”
    “Yes,” Taryn replied with a relieved smile. She waited until Gordon had put his cigar in the ashtray beside his chair and joined them before continuing. “Uncle Gordon, Aunt Lisa, thank you so much for dinner. It was great to get caught up.”
    “Are you driving home tomorrow?” Lisa asked, leading the way through the house to the front door. She might as well have just kicked them in their ass and thrown them out the door. Ethan was curious as to how Taryn would answer the question seeing as Gordon and Lisa would know when they extended their stay. “You never really said how long you’re in town for.”
    “I thought I would show Ethan some of the places I used to go to when Mom and Dad brought me here in the summers.” They were now at the front door which Gordon had opened for them, and they all stepped out onto the porch. “It’s not often I get back here.”
    “Well, you’re more than welcome to come back and visit us at any time,” Lisa stated, crossing her arms and allowing the flowing sleeves of her blouse to lay across her middle. Her manicured fingers rested on the material. “And please tell your mother that I said hello.”
    Taryn gave her aunt and uncle courtesy hugs, and afterward Ethan proceeded to shake