Just One Night (The Kingston Family 1)

Realizing she’d come here in a rock concert outfit and shoes with no change of clothes, she muttered a low curse, but she’d make do. She rushed up the path leading to the house and rang the bell. The curtain moved on the window beside the door. Thank goodness her parents liked to stay up late, she thought, as the door opened and her mother stood in the entryway.

Wearing a long caftan with a pretty pattern, her blonde hair pulled back in a bun, her mother glanced at her, her unlined face worried. Despite how hard she’d worked, Tamara had beautiful skin, and she had pride in her appearance. Once her father’s electrical business took off, she’d been able to quit her housekeeping job, and she turned her knitting hobby into a business, selling items on Etsy.

“Jordan, what’s wrong?” her mom asked.

With the burden of secrets on her shoulders, she met her mother’s gaze. “I’m pregnant with Linc’s baby,” she said as tears filled her eyes.

Which was okay. She was finally safe to let them fall because Linc wasn’t around to judge her. And her mother pulled Jordan into her arms.

A little while later, her mom had shooed Jordan’s father to the bedroom, made them both a cup of tea, and they sat facing each other across the table.

“Please don’t say I told you so.” Jordan poured some milk and added sugar, wrapping her hands around the warm mug.

Her mother let out a heartfelt sigh. “It’s too late to do any good anyway.”

Jordan nodded in agreement. She decided it was time to admit it all. “Mom, this isn’t the first time I’ve gotten pregnant.”

“What?”

Looking down at the light-colored tea, Jordan drew a deep breath and told her mother about what had happened with Collin. “And it was my fault. I had a migraine and skipped the pill, but this time, with Linc, we used protection.” It was old but there was no point in telling her mother that. “I guess I’m just one of those fertile people.” She let out a wry laugh.

Her mother reached out, and Jordan put her hand in her mom’s calloused one. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jordan swallowed hard. “I knew you thought I was dating above my means and you were so insistent, both with Linc and Collin, I couldn’t face your disappointment.” Tears pooled in her eyes again, and she used a napkin to dab at the moisture, not wanting her heavy makeup all over her face.

“Oh, honey.” Her mother’s expression crumbled, her pain for her daughter obvious and so needed. “I feel terrible. I was looking out for you. I thought I could protect you, but I never meant to make it so you couldn’t come to me when you needed me most.” She curled her fingers tighter around Jordan’s hand.

“I get it now, Mom. I know why you tried so hard to protect me.” Jordan went on to explain how Collin had tried to pay her to get rid of the baby, and her mom cursed loudly.

“Now tell me what happened when you told Linc,” her mother said.

“First you need to know about his father.” Jordan revealed how Kenneth Kingston had gotten his secretary pregnant and paid her monthly for years instead of being a parent.

Her mom shook her head. “That man was always a selfish son of a bitch. Mrs. Kingston put up with too much from him if you ask me. Now what about Linc?”

Jordan pulled in a breath. “He overheard Aurora, his new sister, say something to me about being pregnant. I get he was in shock. But he repeated it twice and he sounded so angry.” She’d wanted to curl into herself, but she refused to let him see how badly he was hurting her.

And then he’d asked how, which was the ultimate in stupid questions. But Collin had asked her the same thing, and that time she’d been at fault. All the memories had come crashing back, especially because she’d just run into him and his pregnant wife.

“So we stood there in silence except for the other voices in the room. And his face might as well have been carved in stone. And in my head, I heard your voice, telling me I wasn’t part of their family, and I needed to know my place. And that one day he’d marry someone else.”

She wiped at her eyes again, her mascara all over the napkin. “Then Linc cursed. And I lost it. I told him not to worry, that the baby wasn’t his problem. That I wasn’t his problem.”

Her mother patted her hand. “That’s my brave girl, standing up for herself. But–”

Jordan pushed the mug aside. “Wait. There’s more. I topped it off and told him if he wrote me a check like Collin or his father, I wouldn’t take it. Then I walked out … and here I am.”