Read Online Promises to Keep by Nikki Sex, Zachary J. Kitchen - Free Book Online

the area. Let’s see… folding chairs, sat phones, dirt floors—no ring.
    For
a moment he smiled, recalling the conversation he’d had in the early hours of
the morning. His younger sister had been upbeat and exuberant on the phone.
    Sally
had started a business with her long-term girlfriend and lover, Clare, who they’d
both nick-named “Clare-bear.”
    Their
new company, a personal concierge business, had been appropriately named “The
Help.” Sal and Clare-bear did everything from picking up dry-cleaning, walking
the dog and reminding their clients of appointments.
    To
Jack’s utter joy, his sister was now rolling in cash and she and her girlfriend
were having a wonderful time, taking on new employees and building the business.
They had more work than they could cover.
    “When
you come home you should join us,” she’d said with a flippant laugh, but Jack
knew that her offer was genuine. “Together we’ll build a dynasty.”
    Jack
had spent an enjoyable yet intense hour telling Sally all about Bob Wynn, the
ring, Laura and their ongoing correspondence. Sal had heartily approved in
their tacit agreement to only write about joyous subjects that made them both feel
upbeat, especially considering the circumstances—him in a war and her having
lost a husband.
    Jack
knew about Laura’s miscarriage, but other than that, they had shared very
little personal information. His little sister told him that this was more than
a bit odd.
    “But
you know virtually nothing about the woman! She could be eighteen —or
even forty-five for that matter.”
    He
snorted. “So what? I’m thirty-two, but I could be over fifty myself. Or be bald
and have a hunchback, as far as she knows. It doesn’t matter. I know enough to
like her.”
    Sal
couldn’t believe it when Jack told her that they sent each other hand written
letters via “snail mail” that took several weeks to arrive.
    “Why
can’t you simply email each other, like normal people do?” she’d asked him.
    “I
dunno. Maybe Laura doesn’t have a computer.”
    “You
didn’t ask?”
    “No.”
 Sal snorted her derision and disbelief. “What kind of person is so broke that they
don’t even have a computer or the time or ability to access a public one?”
    It
was a good question. One Jack didn’t have an answer for. Meanwhile he’d raved
on and on about Bob’s widow, surprising himself and also fully beginning to realize
just how important she’d become to him.
    “It
sounds like you have a serious hard-on for this girl,” she’d said.
    “Christ
on a crutch, Sal. Tell it like it is, why don’t you?”
    “I
always tell it like it is.”
    “It
feels good, but it feels so wrong, too. It’s only been a few months since her
husband died.”
    “Well,
he has no use for her now, does he?”
    “Sal!”
    “It’s
true. If you two have a thing for each other, why let that go to waste? That
would be a greater wrong to my way of thinking. Don’t you realize that there’s
a war on? Life’s too short to dick around, Jack. Besides, mom would be happy
for you.”
    These
words had clinched it.
    Mom
would be happy.
    He and
Sal both missed their mom desperately. Their older brother, Tommy, had been
captain of the football team and prom king. Dad adored Tommy, talked about all
his achievements non-stop, and neglected anyone else in the family.
    Jack
had been driven academically and couldn’t compete with Tommy in sports—so he didn’t
even try. And Sally? Well, Sally liked women, so that put her completely off
dad’s radar.
    After
mom died, Tommy was the undisputed “King” of the family, right until he got dad
to invest in a sports store after he graduated from high school. Years of being
handsome and making everything “glow” right with a testosterone-filled smile,
didn’t work in the real world it seemed.
    Tommy
managed to go bankrupt, losing dad and mom’s life savings.
    After
recovering from his resentment, Jack felt sorry for Tommy. It must be