“Your mother said you weren’t taking her calls. I had to see you to explain a few things.”
“Well you can just leave. I have nothing to say to you.”
Riley tried to close the door, but Jennifer stopped her with a hand on her wrist. Riley might think she didn’t care about her parents, but Jennifer knew she was just hurting, that given time she would regret not listening to their explanation. She wasn’t about to allow Riley to throw away the chance at having a family again.
“Riley, can I have a word a moment?” Jennifer didn’t wait for her to reply; she grabbed her hand and pulled her into the lounge.
“What?” Riley seethed.
Jennifer refused to let Riley’s anger bother her. “I don’t want to get in the middle of your business, but I think you should give him a chance, listen to what he has to say. That way you’ll have all the information. You need to do this. For closure.”
“But we’re busy,” Riley pouted.
She knew exactly how she felt, but they were moving too fast “Yes, we were. But it’s okay. I should probably leave anyway. Things are getting rather heated and I don’t know if I can control myself around you.”
Riley lowered her chin to her chest, looking at Jennifer through her lashes. “That’s a good thing, right?”
“It’s a very good thing,” she assured. Jennifer kissed her quickly on the lips, then stepped back, not trusting herself not to slam the front door and drag Riley off to bed.
“I’ll take you home and he can wait until I get back.”
“No, I’ll call an Uber.”
“No—”
“It’s fine. Stay, talk to your father.”
“He’s not my father,” Riley ground out through clenched teeth.
“Call me tomorrow, or drop by the house.”
Riley’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Okay.”
Jennifer kissed her again, hard and fast, giving herself more material to fantasize about in bed later tonight, probably with her hand between her legs. “Goodnight, Riley.”
“Goodnight, Jenny. I had a really nice time.”
“Me too.”
They headed to the front door to where Richard still stood, gently rocking on his heels. “Mr. Sanders, pleasure to meet you.”
“You too,” he replied.
Jennifer looked back to Riley, hoping she was doing the right thing. “Call me, okay?”
Riley nodded, glaring at Richard. “I will.”
Once outside in the cool evening air, she opened her Uber app and booked the car to collect her a short walk from Riley’s house. She needed time to clear her head, and her arousal, before she got home to Kelsey, and the grilling her sister was sure to give her.
It had been an amazing evening. She couldn’t believe how she had lost control and kissed Riley the way she had. She was wet, very wet, something she had never been before with the guys she had slept with. Riley should come with a warning label: Hazardous to Your Underwear. Jennifer knew the next time she saw her, they would probably make love. She wanted it and so did Riley. That, she was positive of.
Chapter Nineteen
Riley stood with her arms folded across her chest, staring at Richard sitting on the sofa. She could see the resemblance to herself in his features. She tried to tamp down the anger that rose within her. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked, giving in to her manners.
Richard smiled. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”
“Why are you here?”
“As I said, you won’t talk to your moth—Angela. She’s been devastated since she left your father and wasn’t allowed to see you.”
“And as I told her, that’s bullshit. She could have found a way if she wanted to.” This was starting to piss her off. It was a lame excuse. If her mother had wanted to see her, she would have. But she didn’t. She had run away, away from Riley. She wouldn’t be able to forgive that.
“I’m hoping over time you’ll see that wasn’t the case. John was a difficult man.”
Riley put her hand up, palm forward. “Please don’t.” She didn’t want to hear this stranger talk about her father. If Jennifer hadn’t been here tonight, she would have slammed the door in his face. But he was here, and there was only one question she wanted answered. “When did you find out about me?”
“Angela saw the announcement in the paper, and when I read John was survived by his only daughter, named Riley, I put two and two together.” His eyes were intense when he said, “My middle name is Riley.”
“That’s a bit sick, isn’t it? Naming me after you, and Dad having to call me by your name all these years and not knowing it?” No wonder her father had thrown her mother out; Riley would have too. If he had figured out his daughter was named after her biological father, he would have been devastated.
“It probably wasn’t the way to go about it, but Angela wanted us to have a connection. She always thought you were mine and she never thought the truth would come out. As she told you, we had an affair, it wasn’t serious, she loved your father, and staying with him was what she wanted.”
“Why didn’t she tell you about me, who I was? Surely you knew my name.”
“She told me your name was Daniella. I had no reason to doubt that.” He looked sincere enough.
He was answering her questions without pause, no subterfuge in his mannerisms, keeping eye contact. He was telling her the truth, she was sure of it. She thought for a moment about what to ask next. Might as well get all the information I can. “When did you get together?”
“After John found out, she came to me, heartbroken. I was there for her, helping her, and things progressed. Eventually I told her I loved her, and she said the same.”
“What about me?”
“She wanted to tell me about you but didn’t know how. If I had known you were my daughter, I would have tried harder. I would have spoken to John, tried to reason with him. You won’t want to hear this, but he really wasn’t a nice man. He hit her, a lot. He threatened to kill her on more than one occasion.”
“If that were true she wouldn’t have left me with him.”
“She didn’t want to, but he made it extremely difficult for her. He told her he would turn it around, say she hit him. He told her he’d get a restraining order and make it look like she was dangerous, a stalker. You must understand, John was very controlling. She feared him. She didn’t know what he would do.”
Riley shook her head, thinking back over the years. Not once did her parents fight in front of her. Her childhood had been a happy one. Or so I thought. “No, I don’t ever remember them arguing.”
“You weren’t there all the time.” He blew out a breath. “I have this for you.”
It was then she noticed the thick folder resting on his lap. He held it out to her, and she took a step forward and took it automatically. She looked at the folder in her hands, surprised by the weight.
“It’s got her medical records in it,” he continued. “All the times he put her in the hospital. She also sent you letters, cards, but they always came back unopened. There’s police reports too. It’s all in there.” He rose from the sofa to stand in front of her, looking her in the eyes. “She was scared, Riley—scared what he would do to you if she tried to take you with her. And she wanted to, desperately.”
Riley shook her head. “I can’t believe he would do that to her, to me.” He briefly touched her shoulder. The fleeting contact settled her racing heart.
“He did. I’m sorry, but it’s true.”
She stepped away from him, not wanting to accept the comfort he was trying to give her. He’s a stranger; he’s not my father. “I’m going to need some time. I can’t just accept your word on this.”
“I know. That’s why I brought all this.” He gestured to the folder she clutched to her chest. “I also want you to have this.” He pulled a photograph from his back pocket and passed it to her. It was of a young boy on school-picture day. His smile was wide, showing a gap in his teeth where
he’d lost a front tooth. She stared at the boy, recognising herself in his features.
“His name is Justin. He knows about you and wants to meet you. Whenever you’re ready.” Richard touched her shoulder again, then headed for the front door. “I’m sorry if I ruined your evening.”
A blush rose up Riley’s neck as she remembered exactly what he had interrupted. She could still taste Jennifer on her lips. She wondered how things would have gone if Richard hadn’t turned up when he did.
“She seems like a nice woman.”
“She is.” Riley lifted her chin. “If that’s a problem with you, I don’t care.”
“It’s not.” He smiled. “My brother, your uncle, is gay, so I have some experience with it.”
She nodded.
“I better go. Think about what I’ve said. We want to get to know you, all of us.”
“I’ll think about it, but I can’t guarantee it’ll change my mind. He was my dad and he never did anything to me to make me think he was the person you say he is.”
“That’s all I ask. Goodnight, Riley.”
Riley closed the door softly behind him. Still clutching the items in her arms, she headed to the kitchen. She poured the rest of the wine into a plastic cup and went upstairs to her bedroom. She laid the folder on the bed and stripped. Settling on top of the covers, in loose cotton shorts and a tank top, she opened the folder.
She put the cards and letters to one side, not ready to open them yet, and spread the other documents out over the duvet. She scanned the hospital records. Broken nose, bruising to the ribs, and a laceration on the lips.
Riley closed her eyes as tears stung the corners. She opened them and scanned the police reports. Jonathan Blake arrested on suspicion of assault, claims victim fell down the stairs, and the victim confirms his statement, released without charge. She couldn’t stop the tears as they fell in fat drops down her face and landed on the pages she clutched tightly in her hands. It was all true. Her dad had beat his wife.
My mum.
Riley threw the pages down and reached for the letters. She didn’t think she would be able to read them, but she had to try. If she didn’t do it now, she never would. She needed to find out the truth, all of it. Her once-happy childhood was now tarnished with evil. In this instant she was glad her dad was dead, because she wanted to kill him herself. He had kept her from her mother for all these years, and she hated him for it. It didn’t matter that he’d never hit Riley. Keeping her from her mother was as close to child abuse as you could get. She didn’t deserve it. Neither of them did.
She read the letters late into the night, tears never far from her eyes.
†
“So, you looked through all this?” Kelsey said as she read one of the reports Riley had handed her.
“Yeah, last night.” They were sitting at the kitchen table. It was ten o’clock in the morning, and Riley had taken the day off work, knowing she needed to talk to Kelsey about all this. She wanted to talk to Jennifer as well, but she had gone to the office for a few hours.
Kelsey glanced at her, lines of worry etching her face. “And what do you make of it all?”
She shrugged. “It’s all there in black and white. She never pressed charges against him, but reports were made by the police. They never had enough evidence to charge him with anything.”
“There are four times she was in the hospital for more than a week. How could you not know?” Her tone was incredulous.
Riley could understand why Kelsey would ask that question. She should have known about the beatings, should have at least been able to pick up on any tension between her parents, but there wasn’t any, not that she could remember.
“I’ve been racking my brain trying to recall, but honestly, Kelsey, there isn’t one single time I remember them fighting. I checked the dates of when she was admitted. I think those were the times I was told she had to go away for work. I didn’t think anything of it. She worked away a lot. I assumed everything was normal. Now I have to wonder if all the times she was working away, was she in the hospital or waiting for the bruises to heal in some cheap B and B?”
“If this part is true, do you think it’s also true that he threatened to kill her, and threatened to kill you?”
She nodded. If you had asked her the same question a week ago, she would have said no. But after looking through all the paperwork in front of her now, she knew in her heart that he would have. “It probably is. But if he was that bad, why did she leave me with him? How could she?” She still couldn’t wrap her brain around that fact. That’s what hurt her the most. If he could be this violent with her mother, what was to stop him from hurting Riley?
“You did say he never touched you, so maybe she thought you would be safe.”
“I read the cards and letters from her and not one of them mentions any of this, just that she misses me and wishes me a happy birthday, etcetera.”
“She probably thought if she said anything more specific in them, and your dad read them, he would hurt you or go looking for her.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “I’m going to have to see her, aren’t I?” If she wanted to find out the whole truth, she would have to. Hopefully then Riley would be able to understand how her mother could leave her with a man, who it turns out, Riley didn’t really know at all.
“Yeah. I can go with you if you want.”
“No, it’s okay. You’re supposed to be on bedrest, don’t forget.”
Kelsey waved a hand in the air, dismissing the comment. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” Her mobile rang from where it sat on the table, and after Kelsey glanced at it, she switched it off.
“Who was that?” Riley asked.
“No one.”
“Then why do you look pissed off?” Kelsey’s expression had gone from open caring to disgruntled in a split second. Whoever it was, she didn’t want to speak to them.
Kelsey eyed her for a moment, as if deciding whether to say more. Her shoulders sagged as she stared at her hands resting in her lap. “I lied to you when I said I didn’t know who the father was.”
“What? Why?”
“Because it’s someone from the past and I don’t want Jen finding out.”
“Why not?” Riley took one of Kelsey’s hands, noting how clammy it felt. “Kelsey, come on. Tell me.” They never kept secrets from each other, so it didn’t bode well that Kelsey hadn’t told her about this.
“You’ll end up telling her.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
“Swear on my baby’s life.”
“Nah-uh.” She shook her head. “Not gonna happen. And you shouldn’t even ask me to do that. Especially in your condition.”
“Shit. You’re right, I’m sorry. Pinkie swear, then.”
“Okay. Pinkie swear.” They made the pinkie swear and Riley sat back and waited.
“His name is Mike Fraser.”
“Mike Fraser?” Riley knew that name, but she didn’t know from where. She thought back over the years, and suddenly it came to her. “Isn’t that the guy Jenny dated awhile back?”
“Yeah. They were together for six months.”
“Jesus, Kelsey.” Of all the people to get pregnant by, she had to go and do it with one of Jennifer’s exes?
“I know. But I’ve always had a crush on him, and when I saw him at the club, I knew I wanted him. We danced a bit and, well, we were drunk. It just happened.”
“What was I doing when all this was going on?”
“Downing shots with a group of women.”
Riley smiled at the memory. It really had been a good night. “Does he know?”
“No. And I don’t plan on telling him. Or Jen.”
“You have to tell him. You do. Just look at my situation. I’ve spent twenty-seven years believing my dad was my dad when he wasn’t. My biological father had no idea I existed until a month ago. Your child deserves to know who its father is.”
“But Jennifer wil
l kill me. They might have only been together a short time, but her sister doing her ex is wrong, no matter how drunk I was.”
Kelsey was right about that. If there was one thing Riley knew, it was how angry Jennifer could be. “She might be pissed about it, but she’ll get over it. It’s not like she still has feelings for him.” She hoped that was true. And judging from what they were doing last night on her sofa, she was pretty confident it was.
“You’re right. She seems to be falling head-over-heels in lust with someone else.”
“Did she talk to you about last night?” Riley asked carefully, not sure if she liked the idea of Jennifer and Kelsey discussing Riley’s sex life. It was true Riley told Kelsey about previous women she had dated. However, this was Jennifer she was talking about now and she didn’t feel right discussing her with Kelsey.
“Not really. I tried grilling her, but she wouldn’t budge. She said you cooked her a lovely meal and that she had a nice time.”
“A nice time?” It was a lot more than a nice time. It was hot and passionate, and just sitting here thinking about it now got Riley all excited. She couldn’t wait to see Jennifer again, and hopefully they could do more than just kiss. Riley could still feel the heat of her as Jennifer sat in her lap, dress up around her waist, grinding against her.
“I’m her sister. She isn’t about to tell me you were screwing like rabbits.”
“Nice try. I will neither confirm nor deny a thing.”
“But you had a good time?”
“Yeah, I did. Until my father showed up.” She scowled. His timing had sucked.
“I imagine that would put the brakes on pretty fast.”
“It definitely gave me a cold shower. Back to my original point. She won’t care you slept with him seven years after they broke up, especially now we’re….”
“Screwing like rabbits?”
“I wish. God, did I just say that out loud?” she asked, her eyes going wide.
Kelsey laughed. “Yep.”
“This is so embarrassing.” Riley covered her face with her hands. The last thing she wanted was Kelsey picturing them together, doing stuff.
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