Read Online Awake My Heart (The Bentini Brothers Book 3) by Jaye McCloud - Free Book Online Page A

know
sense of decency?!”
         “But he doesn’t love her Mrs. Bentini.  He was only willing to
marry Alison to please you, because it’s what you want.”  After a brief silence
Kathy ask, “Am I really such an awful person that you can’t bear to have me as
a member of your family? What did I do that was so appalling, aside from being
born to a family that has to work for a paycheck instead of stock shares?”
         “This is more than just about money,” Mrs. Bentini says offended,
then after a moment she sighs, relenting enough to say, “You’re not an awful
person Katherine and neither is Tiressa.  I was raised by parents who were
blood-proud.  They would roll over in their graves at the mere thought of diluting
our bloodline.  I don’t mean to be harsh, but you must understand that I have a
duty to tradition.”
         “Families start new traditions every day.  You raised your
children to see the world differently.  They meet people from all walks of
life, and they have the ability to appreciate them for who they are, not how pure
their blood is.  You should be proud of that, Mrs. Bentini.”
         “I am.  I am very proud of all my children.”
         “Then how can you punish them for being the very people that
you raised them to be?”
     
     
     
    ***
     
     
         “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were in a car accident?! 
Do I always have to hear about things that happen in my own daughter’s life
from other people?!” Mrs. Hawkins complains bitterly.
         “Sorry mom.  You’re right, I should have told you, but I
didn’t want anyone to worry and besides I wasn’t the one who got hurt.”
         “Tiressa, I don’t give a flying fig if you broke a gawddamn
fingernail!  I am your mother and I deserve to know anytime you are laying up
in somebody’s hospital!”
         “I know mama, I’m sorry…but really, I’m okay.  I wasn’t hurt.”
         “Save your breath, your father and I are on our way…we want to
see for ourselves that our baby girl is alright.”
         “No, mom don’t—”
         “What do you mean, don’t?”
         “Only that you don’t have to inconvenience yourself and dad by
driving all this way just to see that nothing is wrong with me.”
         “Girl, hush.  We are your parents, we’ll be there in a couple
of hours, you know how slow your daddy drives.”
         After the phone call, Ti sits quietly for a second until she
finally notices Antonio frowning across the table at her.  “I thought we had
established a no cell phones at the table agreement.”
         “Not exactly…we established that there may be a need to
establish a no cell phones at the table rule.”  Seeing that Antonio is not
amused, she apologizes, “I’m sorry, I know that you want table time to be one
of our special times where we aren’t supposed to focus on anything or anyone
but us, but that was my mom calling.”
         “Yes, I heard,” his lips quirk in amusement.
         “Then you also heard that she and my dad are on their way here.”
         “Okay, so what’s the big deal?”
         “The big deal is that they are on their way to my apartment
and I have to be there when they get there.”
         Looking at his watch and then looking back up at her, his
heavy brows slash down in an irritated frown.  “I don’t see how you’re going to
be able to be in two places at once, in case you have forgotten you have a
doctor’s appointment that we are definitely going to keep, and I thought you
wanted to swing by and visit with Kathy today.”
         “Couldn’t we reschedule the appointment and I can visit Kathy
once I have my parents settled in,” Tiressa tries to wheedle for a compromise.
         “We could reschedule the appointment, but we aren’t going to.  You are almost three months pregnant Ti and you haven’t seen a
doctor yet.”
         “I know, but