Read Online Big Daddy Sinatra: There Was a Ruthless Man (The Sinatras of Jericho County Book 1) by Mallory Monroe - Free Book Online

then he was going to be able to support the family and send me
to school.   And it worked.   At least half of it.   His half,” she said with a weak smile.
    But
Charles wasn’t smiling at all.   “How long
were you married to the guy?”
    “Seven
years.”
    “And
he got that seven year itch.”
    “No.   He got a better offer.   A woman who could support him in the lifestyle
he wanted.   It had nothing to do with any
itches.”
    Charles
nodded.   He was pleased she didn’t fall
for that cliché.   “You have no children
of your own?” he asked her.
    She
hesitated.   “No,” she said.   “We tried, but it never happened.   Since he had two kids, we had no choice but
to assume I was the reason.   I’ll
probably never have any children.”
    “You
want children?”
    “I
want . . .,” she started, and then stopped.   Then she started again.   “I want
to get going, you know?   A career first,
because I need to be able to support myself.   And then I’ll see.   It’s too much
to think about a career and a family at this point.   First things first.”
    “What
about your family?   Your parents?   They must be proud of you.   Are they coming to your graduation ceremony?”
    “They
live in California.”
    “So
what?”
    “They
can’t get away.”
    “Bullshit,”
Charles quickly said.   “Their daughter is
graduating college.   That’s a big damn
deal.”
    “Not
to them.   I’m graduating from a two-year
trade school, in essence, when they expected me to graduate from an Ivy League
school the way they had.   My mother said
it best: ‘It’s not as if you’re graduating from med school or law school, or
even a real college.’”   Jenay then
smiled.
    Charles
stared at her.   If the pain was there,
she was masking it well.
    “I’m
afraid I’ve been a grave disappointment to my folks,” she said.   “Everything they wanted me to do, I did the
opposite.”
    “You
sound like my sons.”
    She
laughed.   “They told me to stay clear of
my ex-husband,” she continued, “but I wouldn’t listen.   They told me that if I had to have him, at
least go to college first and get a degree.   Do me , was how my mother put
it.   But I married him and took to
raising his two girls instead.   They told
me to never rely on a man as long as I lived. I was twenty-two and relying
completely on a man.”   Then she
hesitated.   “I was young and dumb and
wouldn’t listen.   Point blank
period.   And I paid for it.”
    There
was an eerie silence in the room.   Charles didn’t know how to respond.   It wasn’t as if he could wave a wand and her past could be erased.   If that were the case, he’d be waving all
kinds of wanes at himself.   “Econolodge,”
he finally said.
    Jenay
looked at him.   Where did that come
from?   “Excuse me?”
    “Go
with the Econolodge offer.   At least
you’ll be a manager there.   Motel 6 is
only offering you assistant manager.   Go
with the Econolodge offer.”
    Jenay
smiled.   “I’ll see,” she said.
    She
was no pushover, which he liked.   But
they both knew he was lingering.   It was
long past time for him to go.  
    He
finally stood up.   “I’d better go,” he
said, and placed his hands in his pockets.   Lingering again.   “You take care
of yourself, Jenay.”
    She
nodded.   “You too, Charlie.”
    “Do
you need me to drop you off somewhere?”
    “No,
no thank-you, I’m fine.   One of my
friends will pick me up.   But thanks.”
    He
wanted to kiss her, and hold her, but what the hell would that prove?   But as he turned to leave, he turned back
around.   Lingering yet again.   He couldn’t just leave!   “Jenay, maybe we can . . .”   Even he had to pull himself back.
    “Take
care, Charlie,” she said.
    But
he couldn’t say goodbye.   He couldn’t
just say goodbye.   “Maybe we can get
together again sometime,” he said, and suddenly felt as if he was suspended on
a hook.
    Jenay
looked at him.