In Name Only (Pine Falls #2) - Jennifer Peel Page 0,3
where somehow no matter what his move was, it always resulted in checkmate. I felt like the queen cowering alone in the corner on my tiny square, with no moves remaining other than to stand.
John stood when I did and walked past me, giving me a sardonic grin before whispering in his son’s ear.
A flush of red swept from Brock’s brow down his neck. In a robotic move, Brock put his rigid arm around me. No doubt on John’s suggestion. After all, John only wanted to see us happy. According to the Holland patriarch, we deserved to be together after all the years of dancing around our feelings. In reality, all he cared about was appearances and me keeping my mouth shut. John was willing to sacrifice one son’s happiness so the other son could carry on the political torch. He was salivating at the thought of Brant not only being a senator but making a run for the Oval Office someday.
Brock’s cold hand made as little contact as it could with the bare skin on my arm. His arm refused to relax across my back. The security his touch used to give was now replaced with paralyzing vulnerability. I could feel the revulsion seep through his suit coat. His words echoed in my mind: “My every thought was returning to you. For you, I survived. But you didn’t even have the decency to wait until I was buried before you fell into my brother’s arms.” Those words haunted me every second of every day. I didn’t blame him for hating me. If I could go back and change what had happened that night, I wouldn’t have knocked on Brant’s door. Because of that night, I have suffered the death of Brock twice; once physically, now emotionally. The latter was exponentially worse.
The only kindness I was granted came from my mother-in-law, Sheridan. She beamed at Brock and me. Her blue eyes were the exact shade of my husband’s, but much warmer than his had been since his return. She still wore her dark blonde dyed hair long. A gentleness radiated from her surgically enhanced, unnaturally smooth skin. How the sweet woman ever ended up with the shrewd John I would never know. Even so, to her, the sun rose and set with her husband. I don’t think she had any idea how calculating and manipulative he was. To her, he was the man who adored her and saw to her every need and want. Her family was everything to her, and she had welcomed me with open arms, offering to be the mother I never had. I longed to take her up on it, yet how could I, knowing she would rescind the offer if she knew the truth?
I forced myself to return Sheridan’s smile, all while silently praying that God would forgive me for making a mockery out of marriage and family. I begged for him to know my heart. If not for my child, I would have never married Brock, at least not under these circumstances. I prayed harder.
Sheridan joined us and kissed my cheek. “Dani, darling, I didn’t get to tell you how stunning you look today. The champagne plays so well against your olive skin.” She admired my curled hair. “And that beautiful ebony hair of yours.”
“Thank you.”
She gave me a gentle squeeze. “I know I keep saying this, but I’m thrilled Brock finally came to his senses and made you part of the family. I knew it was only a matter of time.” She grabbed a reluctant Brock and drew him closer to me. “Remember what I told you the first time you brought Dani to the house all those years ago?” she asked, not knowing neither of us would enjoy the trip down memory lane. That fond moment in time was now tainted with the present. However, it didn’t stop me from thinking about how in awe I had been of their palatial home that was nestled in the mountains of Carrington Cove. Still, my wonderment had nothing on how grateful I had been to Sheridan Holland for looking past the fact that I was living off student loans and had a colorful past. All she saw before her that day as we sat in their sunroom together, talking about my goals and how proud I was that I had earned an A in anatomy, was the woman I was striving to be.
I shook myself out of my thoughts and dared a glance at