Free ROMANCE: Menage Romance Collection (Werebear, Werewolf, Vampire and Stepbrother Romance) (Threesome Paranormal Contemporary Young Adult Romance Short Stories) by J.D. Moon

“Nothing.  I figure it’s nothing to get worked up about it.  Right?”
    Dad was dead.  That’s the only thing that had to be said.  And as soon as she heard those words she felt a calm peace built in her heart, quieting her tremors.  Mom was gone too and good riddance. 
                  She said goodbye to Rose and stewed over it, feeling something intense, but not quite sure of how to reconcile it, let alone define it.  She wanted closure, yes, but maybe comfort too, and from someone who really understood who the Kylers really were.  Wealthy, of course, classy, definitely, and their secrets were not well hidden. 
    Carolyn in many ways was their darkest secret, she being a poor girl the family took in as one of their own, when Ralph Kyler felt especially charitable one day—and as always, with intent to boost his own ego by doing something super-heroic for the little people.
    One name came to mind as she thought over so many painful memories.  Rob.  Rob and Guy, her two stepbrothers who always looked out for her and helped the Kylers raise her as one of their own.  Hell, Carolyn thought to herself, They raised me.  Compared to the damage Dad inflicted on me, Rob and Guy were the only family I had.
    Carolyn looked for Rob’s number, remembering that she wrote his new number down several months ago in her notebook.  She dialed his number on her cell phone and smiled as his image came up.  A bit dated, but still the same handsome and sweet face she had known for so many years.  Dimples out to here, baby blue eyes and clean shaven all over his face, except those golden locks.  Rob was the type of guy you hated to hurt, and he was such a sensitive guy.  Carolyn braced herself, balancing her enthusiasm for finding an excuse to talk to Rob again, with the necessity of being strong and sober for the announcement.
    “Yeah, this is Rob.”
    “Hello, Rob,” she said with a pause, knowing it was enough.
    “Carolyn.  Wow…How are you?”  She instantly felt the laughter and smile in his eyes, even over the phone.  His voice always seemed to go up an octave when he spoke to his “little sister.” 
    “I’m okay.  But before we go on…I have something to tell you.”
    “Oh god.  I think I know what it is.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah.  A friend of a friend called me last week.  They said mom was missing, dad wasn’t looking too good.” 
    “Yeah.  I just got word.”
    “I’m sorry.  I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
    “It’s all right, Rob,” she said before a muted laugh.  “I’m not a little girl anymore.”
    “Well, yeah, I know…”
    “Nice of you to protect me all the time, like you do.  It’s been so long since I’ve heard from you.”
    “I know.  It has been, way too long.  Life just seems to go by so fast.  You lose track of time.  Another year passes by.”
    And Carolyn finally let herself cry, not for the man, certainly not in his memory, but the reality of what Rob said.  Another year robbed of his company, another year of not having him in her life.  Of course, most brothers and sisters go months without talking, but Rob never seemed like the cold fish type.  If anything, he always seemed regretful to let her go, and relieved when she found an excuse for them to get together.  A reunion, an attorney meeting, a property tax talk, it all flew by when Rob was making boring conversation.
    The sounds of her tears upset him and he shooed her into silence.  “Hey, hey, come on.  What’s the matter?  It’s okay to feel something, you know.  Even with all that’s happened.”
    Carolyn shook off the grief.  “It’s not that.  I miss you, Rob.”
    “I miss you too, sis,” he said.  “Say, you want to go somewhere?  I think maybe we’d both feel better if we talked about it.”
    “Yeah.  Okay.  That sounds good.”
    Rob smiled as they made plans, as always, like Carolyn loved to suggest, the little coffee shop house on Irving Street.  It