Free Cursed by Love by Jacie Floyd Page B

Both
relationships were fine until the Sleeping Lotus entered the picture.”
    “Maybe,” he allowed.
    “What about your side? Is the Jebediah /Bella relationship the only unsuccessful one in
the Shaw family tree?”
    He thought of his father, his
grandfather, his sister, even his own miserable track record. It would be all too
easy to blame the hardwired irresponsibility of most of the Shaws on something as impersonal and random as a curse.
    In reality, he believed they’d gained
their reputations through generations of selfishness, abandoning the ones who
cared about them and deserting the ones who needed them the most. “Not by a
long shot, but not because of any curse.”
    “Then what do you blame it on?”
    He’d never given it any thought before.
“Genetics? Most of the male Shaws are like Jebediah —irresponsible schemers with big dreams. They enjoy
life on a grand scale, and don’t bother with trivialities like the women and
children in their lives, or responsibility and dependability.”
    Their eyes met, their gazes connected,
and he felt like she was seeing deep inside him. “You’re not like that.”
    He liked it that she thought so, even on
such short acquaintance, although her assumption wasn’t entirely correct. He
entertained more potential for irresponsibility then most people realized. But
that was his dirty little secret, and he wasn’t about to share it with her.
    “I’m trying to make damned sure the
flawed gene skips this generation.” He’d worked too hard, for too long, and he
wasn’t going to let anyone under his protection sink. There were too many of
them depending on him.
    He intended to drag the current
generation of Shaw men into line, kicking and screaming, if it killed him.
Uncle Harold. Lenny. Terry. Dominic. They were borderline, but all of them had
potential. Except maybe for Harold.
    And Gabe wouldn’t let any stupid curse
prove otherwise. With a surge of determination, he closed his laptop. “Are we
done here? What do you want to do now?”
    “I want to go explain to my mother why
her marriage broke up.”  Molly closed a thick volume on the table with a
snap. “And tell her not to plan any ocean cruises.”
    “I’ll go with you,” Gabe heard himself
say.
    It spoke volumes about her state of mind
that she didn’t object.
     

Chapter Five
     
    When Molly turned into the driveway of
her mother’s two-story traditional brick house on a neatly upscale cul de sac in Blue Ash, her father’s shiny new Jaguar
lurked at the curb. The temptation to leave pulled at her. But before she could
get the car in reverse, Gabe pulled his Harley in behind her, blocking the
drive.
    Checking him out in her rearview mirror,
she admired the air of swagger the motorcycle provided. The jeans, leather
jacket, and bike gave him a more manly aura than his previous khakis and
button-down. He removed his helmet and jacket before putting his cell phone to
his ear. The phone diminished the swagger-factor greatly.
    She hadn’t tried to talk him out of
coming with her. But now that it looked like a family reunion in progress, she
wished she’d lost him along the way. No such luck.
    Meetings between her mom and dad pretty
much resembled a war zone these days. She didn’t relish the idea of introducing
an innocent hostage into the mix.
    Not that Gabe was all that innocent. He
could be sweet, and hot—definitely hot—but his thought processes maneuvered on
too many levels to suit her. Some of them cynical. Some of them calculating.
Many of them complex. But the flinty look she detected in his eyes now and then
indicated a lack of innocence and optimism.
    Still, nobody deserved to be ambushed by
the potshots of a feuding family. And these days, Molly couldn’t guarantee safe
passage. Not all that long ago, she wouldn’t have given a second thought to
dropping by with a friend. The last few months had changed that.
    Handling both her parents at the same
time required more diplomacy than she