Read Online The Widow and the Orphan by J. Thomas-Like - Free Book Online
Authors: J. Thomas-Like
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to corrupt her dreams, she’d done what she was told. She shut up. She kept her head down, finished school and then hightailed it away from there as fast as she could. Pepper hadn’t worried about leaving her brother and sister because they were treated like precious jewels. They were denied nothing and given every opportunity that she never got.
When she’d left home all those years ago, it hadn’t been her intention to cut off her family forever, in spite of the abuse. Pepper had been certain one day she would breeze back into their lives, a glamorous and successful movie star and shove it down their throats.
When it became obvious that mega-stardom was not in her future, she was too embarrassed and humiliated to even consider contacting them. God only knew what they had told Rhys and Morgan about her. She just figured they’d been conditioned to hate her like the parents did.
Pepper had secretly waited for them to find her. The more time that passed, the easier it got to blame them for not reaching out. It wasn’t as if she had fallen off the face of the Earth. A Google or Facebook search would have turned up her name easily enough. Pepper had simply learned to live with the fact that her family didn’t care.
Yeah, it stung. No one wanted to think their parents could forget them so easily, but Pepper took it in stride, just like she did every other pitfall she’d faced. What else could she do?
After a while, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Picturing Rhys and Morgan at seven, she remembered their cherubic faces and loving smiles, a couple of little towheads with the same blue eyes she had. She put them back into the mental box in her head and locked it up tight. Maybe someday she would open it again, but now wasn’t the time. Her life was finally in order and she was in love. Why mess it up now by chasing the past?
Not really wanting to go back into the house, Pepper got up to do it anyway. With Gabe gone, it felt empty and seemed less like a home. She had to wonder why he’d ever bought such a big house for just him. There was way more space than one or even two people needed. Observing from the outside, Pepper wrinkled her nose at the cold, concrete exterior. It looked more like an office building in some ways. The inside was really beautiful, if you preferred the modern, austere look. Pepper had warmed it up with some throw pillows and art for the walls, but honestly, it was just a place to hang her hat when Gabe wasn’t there. And when he was home, his presence filled up every space in her heart, so she didn’t give a second thought to where they slept.
Pepper shuffled her way back inside and closed the front door, engaging the locks and the alarm system. Then she wandered through the main floor, making sure shades were closed, drapes were pulled and everything was buttoned up. It would have been nice to have a dog or a cat following her around while she did it, but they didn’t have any pets. Frowning, she thought about why – had they ever even had a conversation about animals? Almost two years together, and the subject hadn’t ever come up. “Weird,” she said out loud, and her voice echoed in the empty kitchen. Really considering the possibility, Pepper thought it would be nice to have a cat or two to cuddle with.
She made her way back in front of the laptop and stared at it for a couple of seconds before lunging for the mouse and opening up Skype again. Taking a chance that Gabe would still be around, she dialed his number.
When his worried face came on the screen, he spoke before she had a chance. “Is everything all right, love?”
“Yeah, everything’s good. I just missed you and wanted to see you one more time.”
“I miss you too, darling,” he answered, looking visibly relieved. She could see the water from his shower dripping off his hair onto his neck and chest. “Are you sure you’re all right? You look upset.”
“No, no. I’m not upset. I did have a
When she’d left home all those years ago, it hadn’t been her intention to cut off her family forever, in spite of the abuse. Pepper had been certain one day she would breeze back into their lives, a glamorous and successful movie star and shove it down their throats.
When it became obvious that mega-stardom was not in her future, she was too embarrassed and humiliated to even consider contacting them. God only knew what they had told Rhys and Morgan about her. She just figured they’d been conditioned to hate her like the parents did.
Pepper had secretly waited for them to find her. The more time that passed, the easier it got to blame them for not reaching out. It wasn’t as if she had fallen off the face of the Earth. A Google or Facebook search would have turned up her name easily enough. Pepper had simply learned to live with the fact that her family didn’t care.
Yeah, it stung. No one wanted to think their parents could forget them so easily, but Pepper took it in stride, just like she did every other pitfall she’d faced. What else could she do?
After a while, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Picturing Rhys and Morgan at seven, she remembered their cherubic faces and loving smiles, a couple of little towheads with the same blue eyes she had. She put them back into the mental box in her head and locked it up tight. Maybe someday she would open it again, but now wasn’t the time. Her life was finally in order and she was in love. Why mess it up now by chasing the past?
Not really wanting to go back into the house, Pepper got up to do it anyway. With Gabe gone, it felt empty and seemed less like a home. She had to wonder why he’d ever bought such a big house for just him. There was way more space than one or even two people needed. Observing from the outside, Pepper wrinkled her nose at the cold, concrete exterior. It looked more like an office building in some ways. The inside was really beautiful, if you preferred the modern, austere look. Pepper had warmed it up with some throw pillows and art for the walls, but honestly, it was just a place to hang her hat when Gabe wasn’t there. And when he was home, his presence filled up every space in her heart, so she didn’t give a second thought to where they slept.
Pepper shuffled her way back inside and closed the front door, engaging the locks and the alarm system. Then she wandered through the main floor, making sure shades were closed, drapes were pulled and everything was buttoned up. It would have been nice to have a dog or a cat following her around while she did it, but they didn’t have any pets. Frowning, she thought about why – had they ever even had a conversation about animals? Almost two years together, and the subject hadn’t ever come up. “Weird,” she said out loud, and her voice echoed in the empty kitchen. Really considering the possibility, Pepper thought it would be nice to have a cat or two to cuddle with.
She made her way back in front of the laptop and stared at it for a couple of seconds before lunging for the mouse and opening up Skype again. Taking a chance that Gabe would still be around, she dialed his number.
When his worried face came on the screen, he spoke before she had a chance. “Is everything all right, love?”
“Yeah, everything’s good. I just missed you and wanted to see you one more time.”
“I miss you too, darling,” he answered, looking visibly relieved. She could see the water from his shower dripping off his hair onto his neck and chest. “Are you sure you’re all right? You look upset.”
“No, no. I’m not upset. I did have a
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