Read Online Forbidden Ties (Forbidden Ties Series Book 1) by Lauren Branford - Free Book Online
Authors: Lauren Branford
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Welcome to Mayville
I sat in the backseat seat of my uncle’s luxury car as we made our way through the hills leading to his home.
“Comfortable, isn’t it, Mairead?” asked my uncle Tim. He was short and nerdy looking with thick glasses and a terribly parted hairline. Looking at him, a person would never catch on to how wealthy he was. “You can adjust nearly every part of your seat, including the temperature, with the levers right there.”
His hand moved backward, pointing at tiny knobs and switches on the armrest. I glanced over and saw that our family name, Worthington, embroidered into the side in the fabric. My mother never saw my father after I was born, so I received her surname.
“Thank you,” I said softly as I adjusted my seat. The car was extremely calming. It helped me relax a bit from my recently tensed state of being.
“I just want to make sure that you’re comfortable,” Tim said looking back at me with a heavy expression showing only in his eyes. “It’s been hard for all of us, Mairead. But I know that it’s especially difficult for you.”
“Thanks, uncle Tim,” I said while giving his a half smile. It was all that I could muster at the moment. Traveling across the country alone was difficult on my body and spirit. As a young girl, I ventured this with my mother when we visited her brother, Tim, and his family. We were like Thelma and Louis, she always said, ready for the next adventure. After she had passed away a month earlier, everything changed for me. My grandmother decided that it would be best if I transferred schools to live with my uncle in the high hills of California.
“How long has it been since you’ve visited here?” Tim asked, seemingly to make small conversation. I didn’t mind it, however since it kept my mind from wandering back into the dark void I had been living inside of.
“More than five years,” I said with a much more chipper tone.
“Has it been that long?” he gasped.
“Hard to believe it, but it has,” I replied as looked down at the valley of trees spread out against the hills. Central California was lush with plants reaching for the sky. Even in the incoming autumn, I could see green for miles.
“Though I saw you at the funeral,” Tim started. “Seeing you now in your t-shirt and jeans, it all makes sense to me. I can see how much you’ve changed since you were a little girl… So, do you still like food?”
“Do I like food?” I asked shooting my head toward my uncle. He fidgeted and then I started to laugh uncontrollably. Suddenly, it felt like old times in the summer when Tim would fumble around jokes he heard at his work office. My mother would call him a nerd, which he would gladly helm like a badge of honor.
“Ah, that came out wrong,” Tim blushed as he corrected the part in his brown hair before straightening his glasses. “It’s just that you used to love to eat if I recall correctly.”
“Were you calling me fat, uncle Tim?” I joked.
“Fat?” he gasped. “Heavens no!”
“It’s okay,” I smiled, feeling like myself again. “I know I was a chunky little kid.”
“Well, you’ve grown quite beautifully,” he beamed. I turned away and blushed as I began to twist my long, brown hair that dangled near my shoulders. “I love how wavy and full your hair is next to your blue eyes. You look just like she did growing up.”
“I like hearing that,” I said, truthfully.
“Well,” Tim explained. “Kids sometimes look like their
I sat in the backseat seat of my uncle’s luxury car as we made our way through the hills leading to his home.
“Comfortable, isn’t it, Mairead?” asked my uncle Tim. He was short and nerdy looking with thick glasses and a terribly parted hairline. Looking at him, a person would never catch on to how wealthy he was. “You can adjust nearly every part of your seat, including the temperature, with the levers right there.”
His hand moved backward, pointing at tiny knobs and switches on the armrest. I glanced over and saw that our family name, Worthington, embroidered into the side in the fabric. My mother never saw my father after I was born, so I received her surname.
“Thank you,” I said softly as I adjusted my seat. The car was extremely calming. It helped me relax a bit from my recently tensed state of being.
“I just want to make sure that you’re comfortable,” Tim said looking back at me with a heavy expression showing only in his eyes. “It’s been hard for all of us, Mairead. But I know that it’s especially difficult for you.”
“Thanks, uncle Tim,” I said while giving his a half smile. It was all that I could muster at the moment. Traveling across the country alone was difficult on my body and spirit. As a young girl, I ventured this with my mother when we visited her brother, Tim, and his family. We were like Thelma and Louis, she always said, ready for the next adventure. After she had passed away a month earlier, everything changed for me. My grandmother decided that it would be best if I transferred schools to live with my uncle in the high hills of California.
“How long has it been since you’ve visited here?” Tim asked, seemingly to make small conversation. I didn’t mind it, however since it kept my mind from wandering back into the dark void I had been living inside of.
“More than five years,” I said with a much more chipper tone.
“Has it been that long?” he gasped.
“Hard to believe it, but it has,” I replied as looked down at the valley of trees spread out against the hills. Central California was lush with plants reaching for the sky. Even in the incoming autumn, I could see green for miles.
“Though I saw you at the funeral,” Tim started. “Seeing you now in your t-shirt and jeans, it all makes sense to me. I can see how much you’ve changed since you were a little girl… So, do you still like food?”
“Do I like food?” I asked shooting my head toward my uncle. He fidgeted and then I started to laugh uncontrollably. Suddenly, it felt like old times in the summer when Tim would fumble around jokes he heard at his work office. My mother would call him a nerd, which he would gladly helm like a badge of honor.
“Ah, that came out wrong,” Tim blushed as he corrected the part in his brown hair before straightening his glasses. “It’s just that you used to love to eat if I recall correctly.”
“Were you calling me fat, uncle Tim?” I joked.
“Fat?” he gasped. “Heavens no!”
“It’s okay,” I smiled, feeling like myself again. “I know I was a chunky little kid.”
“Well, you’ve grown quite beautifully,” he beamed. I turned away and blushed as I began to twist my long, brown hair that dangled near my shoulders. “I love how wavy and full your hair is next to your blue eyes. You look just like she did growing up.”
“I like hearing that,” I said, truthfully.
“Well,” Tim explained. “Kids sometimes look like their
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