by D. A. Young
“Patrick got kicked out of school due to his poor grades, so he went home to Whiskey Row and his wealthy grandfather. Four weeks later Ma found out she was pregnant. She went to see him despite her family and Ian’s protests, and he promptly proposed despite his grandfather’s objections. Determined to do right by her child, she said yes.”
Noelle’s stomach was doing somersaults as she waited for Jack to finish. Her heart was aching for him; he looked physically ill and sweat was beading his forehead. “So they got married, and her family disowned her. I was born seven months later. Darby arrived a year and a half after that, and school was now just a memory for her. By then, Patrick had started to show his true colors of being an angry, abusive piece of shit, and my mother knew the truth about him.” Jack looked away towards the windows, his hands shaking slightly, so Noelle grabbed one and held on tight, letting him know she there for him. He took a steadying breath before continuing.
“See, Patrick’s parents were killed in a car crash when he was two. He lived with his paternal grandfather who sent his only grandson away to school because he was such an embarrassment to the family name, just like his older sister who ran off when she was fourteen. Patrick had an alcohol problem that was discovered when he was fifteen, and there were rumors of him sexually assaulting several girls in Gatlinburg by the time he was seventeen. When he came back home after being kicked out of school, his grandfather gave him a job in the family mill as an accountant and let him live in the guesthouse. Then my Ma showed up with me in her belly. Old man Sullivan was so livid that he’d gotten some little immigrant pregnant, he immediately disowned Patrick.
Patrick got a job as a bank teller but lost it due to his temper that he couldn’t control. After that, he had trouble keeping any job. My Ma got a job as a waitress and then took in miners’ laundry on Fridays when they came down the mountain on the weekends. She supported our family singlehandedly while Patrick drowned his sorrows in bottle after bottle of whatever liquor he could get his hands on and refused to help support his family. Ma was too proud to turn to her family or Ian for assistance.”
Jack stopped again; and his expression this time was so enraged, that for a moment, Noelle felt a fission of alarm run through her body. He looked like he wanted to hurt something or someone, but at the same time, he looked like a scared little boy. Bending his head, he rubbed his face in frustration and tried to control himself. Noelle grabbed his face and made him stare at her until his eyes became focused. “Breathe, Jack! It’s okay; I’ve got you.”
Jack’s smile was ugly as he talked about the father he loathed. “No, you need to know. My father Patrick Sullivan was such a stellar human being that instead of getting sober for his family and helping to support us, he began to accuse my Ma of having affairs with the men whose laundry she took in. First the abuse was verbal, but escalated quickly into physical where no one could see, because even though he’d been disowned, Sullivan’s didn’t do things like that. His moods shifted from blaming her for the life he had to raging that she belonged to him. His sick jealousy knew no bounds, and he eventually started to take his abuse out on Darby and me even though Ma tried to protect us as best as she could.”
“The first couple of years in public, we were the perfect family- scrubbed clean and attending mass on Sunday, but it was a different story behind closed doors. My Ma refused to sleep with Patrick, so he then began raping her. When she found out she was pregnant again, she went to an OBGYN in Nashville to take care of the problem. It was there that she met Vivienne. They hit it off immediately in the waiting room, and my mother ended up confiding to her the real reason that she was there. Then Viv’s boyfriend came in to pick her up, and he was none other than Alexei Romankov.
Needless to say, my mother was scared of word getting back to Patrick, so she didn’t have an abortion. Instead, she went to old man Sullivan and blackmailed him. She told him she’d continue to keep quiet about his grandson’s behavior if he gave her enough money to open a laundromat. They struck a deal, and it became one of the most successful businesses in town. For once we didn’t have to struggle, and Ma could finally breathe easier. Seeing how much she didn’t need Patrick loosened the lock on his ugliness, and he became the town embarrassment, ranting and raving for everyone to see his craziness.
“I was thirteen when my mother decided to put her plans to leave him in motion. She started to stash money away and slowly bring our stuff to the laundromat. Viv would box things up for her and pack them away in a truck that she kept at her home; but they had to be very discreet about it because I’m ashamed to say, Patrick Sullivan was also a big, racist asshole who refused to interact with anyone who wasn’t white.” Jack felt Noelle’s sharp gaze on him, but refused to look at her as he revealed his shameful past. “He felt that affirmative action was the reason he couldn’t get a job, not because he was a lazy- ass drunk who felt he was better than everybody else.”
Briefly Jack closed his eyes; and one of the many unpleasant childhood memories he wished he could forget assailed him.
He was ten at the time and waiting for his mother to pick him and Darby up from school. As he waited for his brother outside, he talked some football with his friends Guy and Charlie. Unbeknownst to him, Patrick was there to pick them up instead. When he finally noticed his father, he quickly grabbed Darby and they hurried towards the truck, lest he get out and embarrass them. Jack had barely buckled himself into the front seat when…Crack! He reeled back from the slap his father gave him, his head hitting the passenger window as blood pooled in his mouth. “Stop slumming with the niggers and that savage, boy! You’ll only give ‘em ideas that they’re as good as you, and they’ll try to take your jobs and women!” Dizzy, Jack struggled not to throw up from the instant headache the blow gave him. Opening the door, he spit the blood out as his father continued to yell at him. His eyes met those of his sympathetic friends, and he wanted to crawl into a hole, certain they could hear the bastard’s ranting and raving across the parking lot. For weeks afterwards, he’d been ashamed to look them in the eye.
“Jack!” At Noelle’s voice, Jack blinked the memory away and wiped his flush face, before continuing his story.
“One day Viv was leaving the laundromat with a box of our clothes, and she ran into Patrick. The box fell to the ground and he saw what was inside. He grabbed her arm and accused her of stealing. As you know, my godmother is not one to mince words, so she slapped him and cussed him out. He grabbed her, and my mother came running out to help her friend. I’m told she jumped on his back, and he threw Viv to the ground, kicked her in the stomach, and punched my mother in the face. Little did he know that earlier in the day, the Romankovs discovered that they were pregnant.”
“Witnesses went to get Alexei and the sheriff, and Patrick took off like the sniveling coward that he was. Alexei was furious at what the two women had been plotting on their own, and he took his wife to the hospital where he didn’t leave her side until the doctor said she was fine. Viv was mad at him for not going to check on Ma, but after speaking to the Sheriff who said the bastard was nowhere to be found, there was nothing she could say.”
“Two deputies were assigned to our house, and Ma pulled us out of school to get the rest of our things. We were upstairs packing when we heard him. We all huddled in the master bedroom and shoved a dresser against the door. She spoke calmly but quietly and gave us instructions to go out the window and to our nearest neighbor’s home. They would know what to do and stay off the road path. We begged her to come with us even as the dresser was being pushed away from the door. Patrick sounded like an animal, and we were terrified to leave her there with him. Ma wouldn’t hear of it and insisted that everything would be okay. We needed to go now and not look back or turn around for anything. When we left, we saw both deputies lying on the ground with blood gushing from their heads and a pipe laying in between them. Both were still alive and later told the sheriff that he’d been hiding under the house.” Jack hung his head, shaki
ng at the memory of that horrible night.
“You are mine, Moira! I will never let you go! Never!!” Patrick Sullivan screamed furiously and high-pitched wails of agony filled the air following his declaration.
“Patrick murdered my mother that night and then took his own life. He forever changed the lives of seven people. My brothers and I were left motherless. Ian and Vivienne were left sister-less. Alexei …wifeless, because as soon as Viv heard what happened to her dearest friend, she moved out of their bedroom into a guest room, remaining there on bed rest until she gave birth to Katerina Moira Romankov. A month after the baby was born, Viv left Alexei and hasn’t been back since, because she couldn’t and still can’t forgive him for what he didn’t do. Kat lost out on growing up with two doting parents who loved one another and lived in the same household. All she’s ever known is being shuffled around back and forth between here and D.C. That’s why every day since that night, I wish that I would’ve had the balls to kill Patrick Sullivan and protect my family,” Jack said bleakly.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The silence between them hung heavy. Still reeling from Jack’s confession of his family history, Noelle could sense the emotional turmoil weighing him down and wished she could take away his pain. She grasped his hand in one of hers and held it in her lap and stroked his rigid jaw with the other. Eyes closed, he turned his head into her touch and pressed a kiss to the inside of her palm. Noelle leaned in and gave him a soft lingering kiss. She said sincerely, “Jack, I’m so sorry that happened to you and your family. I wish I could take your pain away.”
Jack gave a heavy sigh and squeezed her hand reassuringly. “It’s not something I usually talk about, but today…just seeing that fried chicken and the taste… God, it brought it all back for me. I’ve never allowed myself to grieve or celebrate the time I was blessed to have with her. In the beginning, there was never time. I had to make sure that my brothers were alright; to be strong for them and Vivienne and to never show weakness in front of Ian and Alexei. Pretty soon it just got easier to say and do the things to make everyone around me feel better, that I just buried my feelings and concentrated on making sure everyone else was all good. I never looked back; just kept putting one foot in front of the other until it didn’t hurt to breathe so much.”
“During our counseling sessions, I’d expose a little bit of myself to get the sessions rolling for Casey and Darby, but I wouldn’t really divulge too much. Living with Alexei after Ma’s death was really tricky for me, because he was always watching me, like I was a bomb just waiting to go off. I tried my hardest to be good and keep the boys in line so he would keep us together,” Jack grimaced and leaned back on the sofa, closing his eyes wearily.
“It just became…too much for me and when it was time to apply for colleges I picked the ones farthest from home and only came home during holidays and to see my siblings graduate from high school. This visit is the longest I’ve been here since Kat graduated from high school. Usually we all get together in Nashville, D.C., or they come to New York to see me.”
He fell silent, and Noelle leaned back resting her head on his shoulder and rubbed his thigh in a soothing manner. She listened as his breathing gradually returned to a normal state and silently cursed Patrick Sullivan for the all the damage he’d inflicted on these good people. How much, she wondered, would he have hated that they had obviously taken after their mother and grew up to be successful businessmen that were well-liked and established? That a strong, beautiful, black woman had a hand in raising them, and they had a biracial sister? Or that his son was married to a black woman? Oh, how he had to be turning in his grave, she thought. Suddenly Jack sat up and got to his feet. “C’mon, let’s get out of here and get some fresh air.”
Noelle accepted his offered hand, and he gently pulled her up and wrapped an arm around her, drawing her tightly to him. “Are we going to join the others?” she asked.
Jack shook his head and grinned. “Nah, we’re going to do something that I haven’t done in a long time.”
Noelle looked at him expectantly. “Okay, I’m game. What do I need to bring?”
He grinned and her heart leaped per usual as he grabbed her hand and led her to the door. “You don’t have to bring anything except a willingness to try new things.”
***
Noelle craned her neck, looking up in disbelief at the forty-foot tall ladder attached to the side of a massive tree. She could make out the large wood platform at the top. Her gaze turned to follow the zip line that stretched from the tree over the huge man-made lake to a tree on the opposite side. Turning to Jack she asked in disbelief “This is what you guys did for fun growing up?”
They’d driven into a denser wooded area that made Noelle think of the Blair Witch Project, before coming to a stop by a clear path that led to a fenced in lake. Jack informed her that Alexei had it built for all the local kids the year he and his brothers came to stay with him.
Jack laughed his deep booming laugh and started to unbutton his black shirt, revealing tanned, sinewy muscles that Noelle couldn’t help but admire. “Awww c’mon, baby. Where’s your sense of adventure? This is where you could find the gang every summer from noon ‘til dinnertime. The water’s not that deep, seven feet tops. Growing up, parents didn’t mind because there was safety in numbers; and after Alexei had it built, he hired lifeguards and security to supervise all activity. If you couldn’t swim, you weren’t allowed in. You can swim right?”
“Yes, but I don’t have a swimsuit, Mr. Sullivan. Something I’m very sure you’re aware off.” She said dryly. He was down to his boxer briefs now and again Noelle found herself admiring his fine form. Under her perusal, she watched his manhood lengthen. Damn, she couldn’t get enough of him. Noelle had to press her legs together to squelch her ever growing desire for him.
“Not a problem. It’s just us out here. Let’s climb to the top, and I’ll show you how to use the zip line. It’ll drop you anywhere in the lake, but you probably want to drop into the center,” he suggested, glancing at her expectantly. Oh right, he wanted her clothes off. Quickly she kicked her shoes off and yanked her tee and pants off.
Jack felt his eyes glaze over at the brown sugar perfection before him, enhanced by a lacy, pink satin bra and matching bikini cut panties. Her nipples beaded under his hot gaze, and she bit her bottom lip. He cleared his throat and turned to discreetly adjust himself as he motioned for her to climb the ladder. “Ladies first, baby. Don’t worry, I’m right behind you.”
She smiled and walked over to the ladder. Jack groaned loudly, as the lush roundness of her ass teased him through the delicate lace, begging him to rip the bottoms off, cup the full globes and explore the sweet goodness between them. Noelle must have been reading his mind, tossing him a warning look over her shoulder. “Don’t even think about it. This is Agent Provocateur, and you’d best believe you’d be replacing it, mister.”
Noelle reached up to hoist herself onto the first step, only to find herself pressed back against his warm body, his swollen cock nestled perfectly between her ass cheeks. His warm breath tickled her ear as he slid his large hand up her stomach to rest under her breasts. “It’d be worth it. Just so we’re clear…you’re saying as long as I replace it…”
“Mmmmmm, you’re insatiable,” she murmured, leaning back into him. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and gently swatted her behind.
“Up you go, so I can enjoy the view.” At the top on the wooden platform, Noelle was able to take in the breathtaking view of the lake as it sparkled in the late afternoon sun. The air was so crisp and fresh that she wished she could bottle it up and take it back to the city with her.
“Pay attention, baby,” Jack instructed; she listened attentively as he explained the mechanics of the zip line bar and nodded her head when he asked if she understood. Then he pressed a lingering kiss to her lips and grinned. He looks so carefree, Noelle thought; the heavy weight of his confession had been lifted from those broad shoulders of h
is. It was a shame he’d carried all that baggage around for so many years as he was clearly relieved to shed it.
“See you at the bottom.” He turned to grab the bar but quickly turned back around and yanked her into his arms. “One more for good luck.”
His firm lips covered hers in a tender kiss, tongues meeting and sliding against each other in the slowest of dances. Noelle closed her eyes and lost herself in his firm embrace as Jack’s arms squeezed her tighter as if he never wanted to let go. It was different from their usual intense kisses, but got her blood boiling nonetheless. Slowly they broke apart, and her hand reached up to caress his cheek. In the late afternoon sun, she could see every green and gold fleck in his hazel eyes and count every freckle on his nose. He’s the reason our babies are going to be so good-looking, she thought to herself.
Jack was thinking the same thing as he looked at her lush, pink lips swollen from their kiss and the delicate bone structure of her face, her big gray eyes filled with happiness. “Damn, girl. What’s my name again?”