Victor's Vow, page 10
And yet, the words he kept going over were saying it was real. He had
another sister.
Amanda and Vinny Rivers,
We don’t know each other, and what I’m about to tell
you will come as a shock. It has to me as well and my
father, who’s in a state of shock and denial.
To begin, let me give you a small amount of
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background information. About eighteen years ago, my
father met a woman by the name of Trish Rivers. She told
my father she’d left an abusive marriage and was forced
to leave her children behind. Now, before either of you
get upset over this, I’ll tell you that something about her
story never sat well with me. For my father, Jaxson
Tatum, her story stole his heart, as he likes to tell
everyone. Behind our backs, my two sisters and I, he
married this woman after only knowing her for a month.
Nine months later she had a child, another sister for us
and for you two as well. Her name is Samantha. I don’t
wish to sound like a hateful man, but the woman who
married my father and had a child with him so quickly,
packed up and left him without a word, right before
Samantha’s sixth birthday. I won’t mince words here. It
broke her heart, mostly because her mother left without a
word, not that she’d gone.
I had discovered that the marriage between Trish and
my father wasn’t legal, since she was still married to your
father at the time, but those problems are ones my father
will have to deal with on his own. I’m merely contacting
you to let you both know we share a sister, and she’d very
much like to meet and get to know you both. My other two
sisters are older than she is. I myself am in my thirties
now, but feel that someone in this family should be by her
side. With her mother gone for whatever reasons there
might be, and my father off dealing with that, there hasn’t
been anyone here for Sam.
So I’m writing to you both, hoping you’ll get back
with me very soon and welcome Samantha into your
family and invite us both to come and meet you. I promise
we won’t be a burden to you. In fact, I even think of you
both as part of this family and know deep down that you
both suffer like my own family has since Trish has come
and gone from our lives.
You can contact me at the number listed below,
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Jaden Sinclair
anytime for anything and I’ll respect your wishes
whatever they might be.
Sincerely,
Jessie Tatum
545-697-4903
“What should we do?” Amanda asked.
Vinny could only shake his head. He shrugged his shoulders at
Amanda. “Give him a call. Invite them here. Maybe he can explain a few
things when it comes to Trish. Maybe this guy could fill in a few of the
blanks for us.”
“You know he’s not going to have the answers to why she left.”
Amanda pointed out. “From the sound of that letter she did the same
damn thing to them as she did to us.”
“Another sister.” He sighed, slumping in the chair. “Wow!”
“Yeah, who knew she’d still be having kids, and that she still
wouldn’t give a damn about them.”
“You know this couldn’t have come at a worse time.” He tapped his
finger over the letter and got up. “Dozer’s home, and I know he’s not
going to make any of this easy, and now a new sister we know nothing
about. Knowing him, Dozer will use this one to get back at me for
Charlie. Shit, can it get any worse around here?”
“Oh, come on Vinny,” Amanda snapped. “Dozer isn’t that childish.
He’s not going to chase after a little sister of yours just to get even. In
case you’ve forgotten, he likes his women older and experienced.”
“Who’s to say this girl isn’t experienced?”
“Are you even hearing yourself?” She frowned. “She’s our sister.
Even if we don’t know her, have some damn respect!”
“I don’t want him to fuck this up.”
“Like you did once?”
Vinny was taken aback. “That’s low, Mandy, even for you.”
“Vinny, she’s my best friend. I’m not going to just step aside and let
you hurt her again. We both know your track record and a steady
relationship has never been something you’ve participated in. You and
Dozer were the two who went around town screwing anyone you could
find and walking away when morning came. I’ve seen you both hurt a lot
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of girls over the years, so I can see why Dozer is so against this.”
“You don’t think I can change and care about someone?”
“Right now all I see is my brother chasing after another girl, one I
care about very much. I see him playing the same games with her as the
others, and I know what the outcome’s going to be. I don’t want that for
Charlie.”
“I’m not playing a game, Mandy. I do care about her.”
“Then you’re going to have to prove it to me and to Dozer, because
neither one of us can see it.”
“How the hell am I supposed to give you proof?”
Amanda shrugged her shoulders. “You figure it out.” She left the
kitchen, leaving him alone to think about everything that had happened
so far today.
First, he got in a fight with his best friend because he got caught in
bed with his sister. Okay, Vinny would give Dozer that one. If he was in
Dozer’s shoes, he would’ve done the same thing, try to beat the shit out
of the guy in his sister’s bed. However, as much as it all made sense, he
still had a question that needed to be answered for himself. Where did he
want things to go with Charlie? Right now he couldn’t really answer
that, but he did know he wanted to continue being with her, and not just
sexually. She made him feel different, and he liked that. He even liked
how he acted when she was around. Yet, understanding what it all
meant, he couldn’t say at the moment. Where might this go? He could
only wish for the answer to arrive quickly.
* * * *
After leaving Vinny’s place, they drove to town where Dozer bought
a ton of food.
Dozer pulled into the driveway, while Charlie sat there beside him,
biting the inside of her cheek, waiting for all hell to break loose. She
knew he’d been holding back on her because of Vinny. Well, Vinny
wasn’t here. They were alone. What kind of hell was he going to give her
now?
He parked in front of the house and went to the back of the truck to
take out bags. He didn’t look at her or say a thing, only took the bags and
walked up to the front of the house, leaving the door open. With a heavy
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sigh, Charlie got out and grabbed a few bags out of the back before
following him inside.
“Stove doesn’t work,” she told him, putting the bags she brought in
down on the counter.
“Figures,” he grumbled. “I’ll look at it later.” He moved past her to
go back out for the rest of the bags, leaving her alone.
She knew he was still upset with her. When Dozer was mad at
someone he normally didn’t speak to them for hours, which had a lot to
do with controlling his anger.
Returning with more bags, Charlie stood back and watched him put
things away. She had no clue what she should be doing or what to say to
get the silent treatment to stop.
“Okay, I give up,” she finally said. “What are you waiting for me to
say?”
Dozer stopped putting things in the pantry and turned to her. He still
held a loaf of bread in his hand. “I don’t want you to say anything,
Charlie. You’re a grown woman, as you already pointed out to me a few
times. You want to fuck up your life with Vinny, then go for it. I’m just
not going to pick up what’s left of you after he’s done.”
“For Christ’s sakes, Dozer, you make it sound like it’s the end of the
world.”
“You’re not going to get what you want from him.” He put the bread
away and closed the door. “Vinny isn’t the kind of guy to settle with one
woman, any more than I am. Once the itch he has for you is scratched,
he’s going to move on.”
“You make it sound so damn cold.”
“How would you like me to put it?” he snapped. “You saw what we
were like as kids. You know what he’s like the same as you know what
I’m like. Do you think he’s going to change? Hell, do you think he’s in
love with you or something?” Charlie couldn’t stop the tears filling her
eyes. “Damn it, Charlie, don’t start crying. I’m just trying to get you to
open up your eyes and see. He’s not the right guy for you.”
“If he isn’t, who is?”
“I don’t know.” He sighed. “But I do know you’re not going to find
him in this damn town. I don’t want you to get hurt again, and messing
around with Vinny is going to get you hurt.”
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“How can you say that stuff about your best friend?” She just
couldn’t process how Dozer could be so cruel to someone he was
supposed to be so close to.
Dozer took a deep breath, let it out, ran both hands over his face,
into his hair, and leaned back on the counter. “Look, shit happened when
both of our mothers left. Yeah, ours died, but his took off, and I don’t
know how to explain it. We went out and found comfort in women. It
sounds really bad saying it out loud, but it’s what we did to fill a void
that was missing when we lost our mothers. I’m not proud of it, don’t
think he is, either, but when you’ve done that for so damn long it’s hard
to just stop. I lost count of how many one night stands I’ve had since I’ve
been gone, and I’m sure Vinny didn’t count either when he was in the
army. We don’t turn it off just like that.” He snapped his fingers.
“Doesn’t work like that.”
“So you really think he doesn’t care about me at all?”
“I think it’s a game for him, one that’s going to end badly.”
“I don’t,” she breathed out in barely a whisper.
“Then I hope to hell he proves me wrong, and he’s serious this time.
Now how about we go up to your room, and I can see why you’re not
using it anymore.”
The change in subject was nice. With a nod, Charlie moved out of
the kitchen and headed up the stairs. Halfway up, she pointed to a weak
spot in the stairs and another spot that squeaked when you stepped on it.
Inside her old bedroom there was ceiling damage. Parts of the
drywall were starting to come down. Dozer reached up and pulled bits
free. Looking up, he tried to see what might be going on. She already
knew. They needed a new roof. He also pointed out they needed new
windows. It had Charlie cringing to think about all the money needed on
the house for them to live safely in it. Dozer might be one step ahead of
her. A crew to get started on the roof showed up within an hour after
they looked over the bedrooms.
“When did you get all this planned?” she asked, following him back
down the stairs and out the front door to his truck.
“Called it in as I was heading back,” he told her. “I knew we needed
a new roof, and if we’re going to be living in this damn place, it has to be
habitable.” He dug in the back and brought out a large tool chest.
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Jaden Sinclair
Following him back to the kitchen, she told him, “A few fixer-
uppers aren’t going to solve all the problems here.”
“I know.” He pulled the stove out from the wall and got down
behind it. “Have the problems with Levi being taken care of.” He peeked
out from behind the stove at her with a smile that had her instantly
worried. “He’s not the only one around this town who can call in
favors.”
“Dozer, don’t start a war with him, please,” she groaned. “I don’t
need any more trouble.”
“I’m not going to start anything.” He groaned as he started to work
on the stove. “I’m just not going to take any shit from him. The little
prick needs to be put in his place.”
Charlie jumped when she heard a loud bang overhead. Going to the
sink window, she looked out as men climbed up to the roof. Others were
removing the old shingles and throwing them into the back yard.
“They’ll have the old roof removed today,” he said with another
grunt. “Damn, these bolts are a bitch to come off.”
“Dozer, where did you get the money to do all of this?” she asked,
still watching the men getting to work outside.
Another grunt and then the tool he was using banged on the floor.
“Fuck it. I’m going to get another one. Come on.” He got back up and
wiped his hands on his jeans. “Damn thing was always a piece of junk.”
“Dozer, you didn’t answer me.”
“Mom left us some money,” he answered her with a grin. “It’s been
building interest. After thinking things through, I decided to use a nice
chunk of it to get the house back where she had it, then I’ll think about
reopening the shop out back.”
“How much?” She got a strange feeling in her stomach, almost like
fear and excitement mixed together.
His eyes went up toward the ceiling as if he was counting. “With the
interest built up, there was about five hundred thousand.”
She thought she was going to be sick. “Five...five...five...” She
couldn’t even get the words out.
“Yeah,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and grinning at her.
“A lawyer called me and said Mom had some insurance and ordered the
benefits to be put it in a trust, and I couldn’t get to it until I reached
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twenty-one. He’s a few years too late, but claims he couldn’t find me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“First because there was a lot of freaking paperwork to go through,
and then I wanted to tell you—surprise you—face to face just to see your
reaction. Anyway, half of it is yours. After we get this place fixed up, I
think you should take what you need and go back to school.”
Back to school? As stunned as she was, that was an appealing idea
“Come on,” he said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Let’s get a
new stove so we can cook and look at beds. I’m sure everything is gone
upstairs or ruined.”
Trying to shake herself out of the shock, she told him, “You get the
master bedroom now.” Dozer shook his head and was about to say
something, but she cut him off first. “No arguments. That room is bigger,
and you need your space for those one night stands of yours.”
Dozer gave her a nudge to the shoulder. “Hey, no way in hell do I
bring women to my home. I take them to a motel.”
“You’re all heart, you know that?” She got into the truck with a
smile.
“Yes, I am.” He smiled back at her, starting the truck up. “They all
leave very happy.”
It was her turn to hit him in the shoulder, and squeal with the
thought of all that money sinking in, which had him laughing out loud.
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Chapter Eight
Amanda hung up the phone and looked right at Vinny. “Okay,
they’re on their way.”
“Just like that?” Vinny asked.
Amanda nodded. “Just like that. Um, Jessie said Samantha’s looking
forward to meeting us, which I don’t really understand. If I was in her
shoes, I think I’d be pissed at the world right now to find out that my
mother had another family she’d never bothered to tell anyone about.”
“Why don’t we just wait and see what she’s like when she gets
here.”
Amanda nodded toward his phone. “Have you called Charlie, yet?”
“No.” He let out a long breath, touching his cell phone on the table.
“Sort of thought she might call me.”
“If Dozer is still bitching, don’t plan on hearing from her for the rest
of the day.”
“Maybe I should go over there.”
“And get another ass kicking?” She snorted. “You like taking your
life in your own hands, don’t you?”
