Free The Cocktail Club by Pat Tucker Page A

looked good.
    â€œShe ain’t sick or nothing, is she?” he asked.
    There weren’t many things I admired about Kyle, but the unshakable love he always showed for his daughter made my heart soften.
    I frowned. “No, she’s fine. We fell asleep watching a movie. Since she’s asleep in the family room, you’re gonna have to be real quiet,” I whispered.
    I stepped aside, and Kyle entered the house. He handed me the bottle of liquor. I accepted it, and walked toward the kitchen.
    I sighed.
    He gently picked Kendal up, and took her upstairs to her bedroom. I wanted to tell him to stop treating her like such a baby, but I held my tongue. When he came downstairs, I had two drinks waiting. At first, we sat quietly and enjoyed our drinks. That was when I realized how tired I was. Still, somehow, he convinced me to play strip poker.
    By the time we finished the fourth round, I was two hands away from being as naked as the day I was born.
    I stopped making drinks after the second round, and Kyle took over.
    I smacked my lips after I took a sip from the drink Kyle made.
    â€œDamn, did you put any juice in here?” I balked.
    â€œOh, I know you’re not complaining. I’ll bet if we were at happy hour, you’d be singing my praises!” Kyle joked. “You and your girls would be tryin’ to tip me, and y’all would be begging me to keep ’em coming.”
    I felt it. I was good and gone. Kyle could’ve probably gotten any and everything he wanted out of me at that moment.
    And I’d learn soon enough, that was exactly what he had planned.

14
DARBY
    T he gloomy and ominous clouds that hung overhead should’ve been an indication that misery was nipping at my heels, but my mind was preoccupied. It had been that way since the call from Roger, nearly an hour ago. Now, as I walked back from the mailbox, I thought about the conversation I’d had with him.
    â€œAunt Saundra is here. Mom wants you to come over to the house,” he had said.
    I rolled my eyes, and released a deep breath. Strained couldn’t begin to describe my relationship with my mother and the rest of my once close-knit family. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d ignore my mother’s calls, and basically alienate myself and my kids from the close clan, however that’s exactly what had happened over the last few years.
    So when my brother called to tell me that I was being summoned home, I wasn’t the least bit motivated to make a move. He knew I wasn’t going anywhere near those judgmental hypocrites.
    â€œHow could you?” I asked.
    â€œHow could I what?” he asked, feigning innocence.
    Something in his voice told me he had revealed my secret, and now he was trying to set me up for one of my family’s infamous interventions. Well, I didn’t need a damn intervention. I knew exactly what I was doing, and my plan was going to be far moreeffective than theirs. I was still committed to getting revenge for Darlene. A plea deal had ended their crusade, but mine was still ongoing.
    â€œYou said something, didn’t you?” I barked into the phone.
    â€œDarby, why are you tripping? Mama and Aunt Saundra say they haven’t seen the kids in almost three years. We need to come together as a family, and work this thing out. Besides, what’s wrong is wrong, and you know it, too.”
    â€œYou told them, didn’t you?” I asked again.
    When he didn’t answer my question right away, he didn’t have to say anything else. His silence told me everything he couldn’t bring himself to say. I was beyond mad. It was really by sheer accident that Roger had even discovered my plan, and there was still a part of me that hadn’t come completely clean. When I realized that he had found out, I quickly tried to lie my way out of it.
    I still remember the day. I was so preoccupied on the computer that I didn’t even notice that