Sins of Sevin

by Penelope Ward

  --Dad (or Sevin…whatever you prefer.)

  Wiping my eyes, I refolded the letter for the umpteenth time and placed it back inside the envelope. Reading it never got easier. The most telling part was the fact that the blue ballpoint ink over the last few sentences was smeared. It looked like it had been hit by water and made me wonder if a teardrop had fallen from his eye toward the end, landing on those words.

  I’d had a lot of time to rehash everything in the letter over the past few months. He was probably right. If my parents had told me that I wasn’t really their biological child back when I was five, it would have devastated me. My sisters, Janelle, Cassie and Trinity, were my entire world. Even though we were inseparable, I’d always felt different as it was, because of my darker features. So, to have found out back then that I truly wasn’t related to them would have wrecked me. I might not have been emotionally mature enough to really understand or accept it.

  That’s not to say that finding out at sixteen was all that much easier. It wasn’t entirely clear to me why sixteen was the magic number for them. My parents sat me down alone one night after my softball game and told me everything. I hadn’t even changed out of my uniform.

  My sisters had later entered the room together as if on cue and joined in on the conversation after the shock wore off a bit. It had all seemed so surreal. At the same time, the inexplicable feeling of incompleteness that I’d carried around my entire life now made total sense.

  There was no doubt about the fact that my childhood was blessed. After my father took the job in Oregon, things got easier for our family. We moved into a bigger house, into a great neighborhood. It was the perfect all-American upbringing. Yet, something unidentifiable always seemed to be missing. Maybe, I couldn’t identify it because it was coming from deep within my soul.

  The night of my parents’ revelation, my mother walked into my bedroom holding an envelope and a small blue box. She explained that the items were from my birth father and asked if I wanted her to stay in the room while I read the letter. I preferred to process it alone, so she left.

  I hadn’t expected the immediate connection I felt to him through his words. What I really never expected was to find out that we’d actually met…and that I remembered.

  I remembered him.

  Not clearly. But I remembered meeting a handsome stranger with black hair when I was young. I remembered him helping me on the monkey bars. I remembered feeling a connection with him but not understanding why. I didn’t remember much of what was said. I also couldn’t remember Evangeline or what she looked like at all.

  Obviously, the letter didn’t provide me with all of the information since much was left unexplained. I still really knew nothing about what happened to Evangeline that was so bad or what he was referring to when he said he always questioned why he was born. I was grateful, though, for what answers the letter did give me and for what uncertainties it ruled out. Without it, I might have wrongly assumed that my birth parents gave me away because of my birth defect.

  When I opened the box that night, inside was a small but sparkly marquise-shaped diamond set in between two sapphires. Using my prosthetic left hand, I’d placed it over my right ring finger. My grandmother must have had dainty fingers, because it fit perfectly.

  Since finding out the truth, I’d reread the letter several times, dissecting every last sentence. My parents were clear that the choice of how to proceed was all mine. Unsure of whether I was ready to face all of the details of how I came to be, it was many weeks before I conjured up the courage to reach out to him.

  ***

  The car stopped in front of the gray house. From what little I could remember about Kansas, it seemed like nothing had changed.

  In the side yard, I spotted a woman with dark hair kissing a blond man as they sipped drinks. It alarmed me. Was that Evangeline? Had something happened to Sevin? I’d sent a letter back to him a few weeks ago, acknowledging receipt of his own letter. I asked him for more time to process things and promised to write him back again. Instead, I made the rash decision to fly out here during my school break. My parents were adamantly against my coming to Kansas without calling first, but I didn’t have his number and really just had to see things for myself.

  “This is 11 Briar Road?”

  “Yes, this is it. We’ve arrived,” the driver said. “You have my number when you’d like me to come back and take you to your aunt’s house.”

  My parents had hired a car service to drive me from the airport all the way to Dodge City. I’d insisted on coming here alone. They agreed so long as I stayed with my mother’s sister in Spearville.

  “Do you mind hanging out for just a few minutes…in case the people I want to see aren’t home?”

  “Sure thing. You just text me, let me know what you want me to do.”

  Slowly approaching the canoodling couple, I cleared my throat. My heart was pounding.

  Was that my mother?

  “Hello?”

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “Does Sevin Montgomery live here?”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Rose.”

  Her mouth was agape as she examined my face.

  “Did you say Rose?”

  “Yes. Who are you?”

  “Emily…Evangeline’s sister.” She looked anxiously behind her shoulder. “They didn’t know you were coming?”

  My aunt.

  “Do you know who I am?”

  Her eyes started to water. “Yes. Yes, I do. I…I only recently found out…like very recently. Oh my God.” She covered her mouth and repeated, “Oh, my God. I can’t believe this.” Then, she suddenly pulled me into a hug. The man standing next to her looked really confused. Still flustered, she turned to introduce him. “Um…sorry, this is my husband…um…”

  “Zachary,” he reminded her.

  I waved at him before asking, “Where are they?”

  Emily was still examining my face when she said, “They’re inside getting ready to bring the food out. We were just about to eat dinner outside.”

  I pointed my thumb back to the waiting car. “I can come back.”

  “Are you kidding?” She held out her hands to stop me from leaving. “Don’t you move! Stay right there.” She kept muttering as she walked away, “Oh my God. Oh my God.”

  Zachary and I smiled awkwardly at each other while we waited in silence. My throat felt dry. I really needed a glass of water. My thoughts were racing. What was I going to say? Would I call him Sevin? Mr. Montgomery? Her…Evangeline? Were they even married? Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery? No…I’d call them Sevin and Evangeline.

  I was nervously removing pieces of lint from my dress when I heard footsteps and looked up. My heart beat faster.

  He was holding her hand as they both rushed out before stopping short to take me in.

  The two people who’d given me life.

  Evangeline was stunningly beautiful, her long black hair tied up into a messy knot. She was holding a wooden spoon that looked like it had Cool Whip on it, an indication that she was literally whisked out of the kitchen. She lifted her trembling hand to her mouth and froze, while Sevin approached me slowly.

  Choking back tears, he placed his hands on my shoulders and just looked at me for the longest time before finally whispering, “Hello, Rose.”

  My own tears really caught me off guard as he pulled me into him. His heart was hammering against mine as he started to full on cry. I didn’t know what the future held, certainly not when it came to a relationship with Evangeline. While there was so much I still didn’t know, there were a few things I was sure of. One, that this man loved me. Two, that tears definitely smudged the ink on that letter. Three, that there was no doubt in my mind anymore about what I should call him.

  When he pulled back, I looked into his glistening eyes and answered, not with my head—but with my heart.

  “Hello, Dad.”

  FOR MORE TITLES:

  VISIT PENELOPE WAR
D’S AMAZON PAGE: http://amzn.to/1r8yBJx

  SUBSCRIBE TO PENELOPE’S NEWSLETTER:

  http://bit.ly/1X725rj

  OTHER STANDALONES BY PENELOPE:

  COCKY BASTARD

  New York Times and USA Today Bestseller

  STEPBROTHER DEAREST

  New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestseller

  JAKE UNDONE (Jake #1)

  JAKE UNDERSTOOD (Jake #2)

  MY SKYLAR

  USA TODAY Bestseller

  GEMINI

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  First and foremost, thank you to my parents for your love and support, even though my mother still insists I try writing a G-rated book (probably not likely).

  To my husband: Thank you for your love, patience and humor, for inspiring the music in my books and for coming up with the name Sevin.

  To Allison, who believed in me from the beginning: Thank you for pushing me to pursue my dream.

  To my besties, Angela, Tarah and Sonia: Love you all so much!

  To Vi: I don’t remember a time without you. Thank you for always being there in the early AM hours and beyond. We should write a book together…oh, wait…

  To Julie: Thank you for your friendship and for being an overall awesome indie rogue friend. Can’t wait to see what’s next from you!

  To my editor, Kim: Thank you for your undivided attention to all of my books, chapter by chapter.

  To my invaluable facebook fan group, Penelope’s Peeps and to Queen Amy for steering the ship: I adore you all and don’t know what I would do without you!

  To Erika G.: Thank you for your kind spirit, punky power and all things E.

  To Luna: Thank you for your friendship, protective nature and your immeasurable creativity and devotion to my books and characters—especially your Jake.

  To Mia A.: Thank you for bringing humor to my life on a daily basis via text and private message—sometimes simultaneously.

  To Aussie Lisa: What a gift to have been able to finally meet you this year!

  To Natasha G.: Thank you for our chats and your admirable patience. (Bas!)

  To all the book bloggers/promoters who help and support me: You are THE reason for my success. I’m afraid to list everyone here because I will undoubtedly forget someone unintentionally. You know who you are and do not hesitate to contact me if I can return the favor.

  To Lisa of TRSoR Promotions: Thank you for handling my blog tour and release blitzes. You rock!

  To Ellie from Love N Books: Thanks for your help in obtaining the cover photo.

  To Letitia of RBA Designs: Thank you for always working with me until the cover is exactly how I want it. Your covers are all phenomenal.

  To my readers: Nothing makes me happier than knowing I’ve provided you with an escape from the daily stresses of life. That same escape was why I started writing. There is no greater joy in this business than to hear from you directly and to know that something I wrote touched you in some way.

  Last but not least, to my daughter and son: Mommy loves you. You are my motivation and inspiration!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

  She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor before switching to a more family-friendly career.

  Penelope lives for reading books in the new adult/contemporary romance genre, coffee and hanging out with her friends and family on weekends.

  She is the proud mother of a beautiful 11-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and a 9-year-old boy, both of whom are the lights of her life.

  Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island.

  She is the author of Stepbrother Dearest, which hit #3 on the New York Times bestseller List. Other works include the New York Times bestseller Cocky Bastard (co-written with Vi Keeland), My Skylar, Jake Undone, Jake Understood and Gemini.

  Email Penelope at: penelopewardauthor@gmail.com

  Newsletter Signup: http://bit.ly/1X725rj

  Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/penelopewardauthor

  Facebook Fan Group (Request to join!) https://www.facebook.com/groups/715836741773160/

  Instagram: https://instagram.com/PenelopeWardAuthor

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/PenelopeAuthor

  Website: www.penelopewardauthor.com