Read Online Sins of the Father by Angela Benson - Free Book Online Page B

Deborah’s birthright as it is mine.”
    Rebecca thought about the anniversary gifts Michael had sent them over the years.
     Though she hadn’t known it at the time, those gifts had been nothing but jabs at Isaac.
     “Michael wants to hurt you, Isaac. He wants you to pay for being the cherished son
     of Abraham Martin.”
    He kissed her softly on her lips. “Where do you get that from? From where I sit, all
     he’s done is tell Dad to stay out of his life. I can’t much blame him for that. Besides,
     things have changed now. Dad’s sick. The family needs to rally around him. Whether
     we like it or not, that family includes Michael.”
    Michael’s threats when she visited his office played in Rebecca’s mind. She didn’t
     want Isaac to let down his guard where Michael was concerned, and only knew of one
     way to convince him thatpresent circumstances demanded he take charge. “Do you love me, Isaac?” she asked,
     knowing she was about to put that love to the test.
    He brushed a kiss on the top of her head. “You know I do.”
    She looked up into his face, needing reassurance of his answer. “I mean really love
     me?”
    “What’s this about?” he asked, his brow lined with concern.
    She turned away from him, unsure she could say the words she needed to say. “When
     you found out your father had been lying to you for years, you turned your back on
     him. And you’re only turning back to him now that he’s ill. What if I did something
     you didn’t like? Would you turn your back on me?”
    He tightened his arms around her. “Okay, these hypothetical questions aren’t helping.
     You’re not going to do anything that will make me turn away from you.”
    “What if I already have?”
    He tipped her chin up. “What have you done?”
    “It’s not what I’ve done. It’s what I’ve haven’t told you.” She took a deep breath.
     “Michael sent us a wedding gift, and he’s been sending us a gift on our anniversary
     every year.”
    His eyes widened and he pulled back from her. “What? Why would he do that?”
    She bit down on her lower lip. “I think he did it as some secret joke on us. Michael
     and I were in a relationship a couple of years before I met you, though it wasn’t
     anything serious. I think he sent the gifts because he knew something that neither
     of us knew at the time: that you and he were half brothers.”
    Her heart ached at the confusion in his eyes. “That’s sick.”
    She shook her head. “That’s Michael. And that’s why you have to be careful of him.
     He wants to hurt you Isaac. That’s why—”
    He didn’t let her finish. “Why didn’t you tell me about these gifts?”
    He looked at her as if he didn’t know who she was. “There wasnothing to tell,” she said. “Michael was an old boyfriend trying to reach into my
     current life. I didn’t want him to, so I sent the gifts back unopened.”
    “You still should have told me,” he said, shaking his head.
    She sat on her knees on the bed and pleaded with him. “I know that now.”
    He rubbed his hand across his head. “Do you still have feelings for him?”
    She looked down at her hands and then back up at him. “No way. As I said, it was never
     serious. I was young and thought I was the next Mary J. Blige. He thought he was the
     next Sean Combs. We both were looking for something other than love in the relationship.
     It ended when we realized we couldn’t advance each other’s careers.”
    Isaac rolled away from her and got up from the bed. He looked down at her. “You slept
     with him to advance your career? Is that why you slept with me?”
    Rebecca’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t believe that. I love you, Isaac. What was
     between Michael and me was nothing compared to what we have. I love you.”
    “So you say,” he said. “Your words would be easier to believe if you’d told me about
     Michael and the gifts from the start. Now they sound like an excuse, a weak excuse.”
    “You have