Rock Wedding (Rock Kiss #4) - Nalini Singh Page 0,73

whoever that man was.” He shook his head. “I was so scared of telling him I wanted to pursue a career in rock music instead of going to college, but all he said to me was that a man had to be able to support himself and his family, and if I could do that with music, that was all that mattered.”

Shifting to sit beside him, Sarah ran a gentle hand up and down his back. “I’m sorry I never got to meet him.”

“He would’ve liked you.” Abe could almost see his father’s smile at that instant, quiet but deep. “This business you’ve created with your own hard work—it’s something he would’ve appreciated.”

“You had good parents.”

Sarah’s wistful tone made Abe realize he knew next to nothing about her childhood. She’d told him her parents were dead, but the only other thing he knew was that her mom had been Puerto Rican, her father African-American—though, he remembered, her dad’s grandmother had been Japanese.

And that was it, that was all he knew about her early history.

“Your folks?” he asked gently after she’d eaten a spoonful of muesli. “Not so good?”

Her face closed up. “No, they were fine,” she said, so quickly she almost tripped over the words.

Abe wasn’t about to let it go, not this time. If they were to make it, both of them had to be honest and open with each other. “Sarah.” He closed his hand over her nape. “Talk to me.”

Huge, dark eyes met his. Ducking her head, she didn’t say anything else. He was frustrated but knew he couldn’t force her—and she didn’t need any extra stress right now. So he let her eat her muesli while he demolished the toast and ham and cheese. Not the most traditional breakfast, but Abe wasn’t fussy.

Hell, he’d been known to eat cold pizza for breakfast after a bender.

“You want some?” he asked when there was only one piece of toast left on the plate.

Sarah shook her head. “No, you have it. This muesli really fills me up.”

Abe had given up all hope of getting an answer to his earlier question when she said, “My mom was seventeen when she had me.” A voice so quiet it was almost soundless. “My father was her high school boyfriend.”

Abe rose, topped off his coffee, poured Sarah some more tea from her little pot.

“Predictably,” she said after taking a sip, “they didn’t last long. The two of them crashed and burned eight months after I was born.” Her eyes turned faraway, her focus distant.

“My father wasn’t a deadbeat though. He got an apprentice position at an auto shop, helped my mom with money for food and rent after her parents kicked her out. He even took shifts with me so she could go out with her friends.” She took a deep breath. “Then he died in a car accident when I was three, and that was it.”

It sounded so final, as if with her father had gone all hope. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “It must’ve been tough, not having your dad there as you grew up.”

“I sometimes wonder what my life would’ve been like if he hadn’t been in that crash. Everything I know about him says he was the more stable of my parents.”

Another pause to take a sip of tea, another shaky breath. “After my father died, my paternal grandmother helped babysit me, but she was too infirm to take me full time. She passed away when I was about nine.” Her fingers squeezed at her mug, her throat moving as she swallowed convulsively. “I loved her. She was so kind to me. I think she was the only person other than my dad who really loved me.”

Abe frowned. “What about your mom? Given that they kicked out their own kid, I’m guessing your maternal grandparents won’t win any ‘Parent of the Year’ awards.”

Lips pursed tight, Sarah nodded. “They were religious—and not the kind of religious anchored in compassion and helping the less fortunate. No, they were the kind of religious that makes a person cold and unforgiving. According to them, my mother had brought shame on the family by having a child out of wedlock and they didn’t want anything to do with her. I’ve never met them.”

Abe felt his hand fist under the table, his jaw a brutal line. “Yeah well, you probably didn’t miss out on much.” He cuddled her closer.

She came, putting her mug on the table and placing one of