Withholding Secrets Read Online Free

costs, but if I managed to get the promotion that just came up, which looked good, we would be fine. “Tomorrow, we need to go and get supplies for school.”
    “What if I have trouble?”
    “Just talk to me and we will see what we can do.” Turning to her, I watched the hope fill her eyes. For a young girl that had so much heartache in her life, she wanted to be happy, but she couldn’t let herself be. But this time, she could and I would be sure to do everything I damn well could to make that happen for her. “Sky, if you ever need to talk to me, don’t be afraid to.”
    “Jordan said that you would get tired of having us here and you will send us away soon.” The glassy waters sheeted her eyes, digging deep into my heart. I just wanted to wrap my arms around her, hug her, and tell her everything would be better, but I didn’t want to get her hopes up just to have Joe swoop in and take them away at the last minute.
    “I don’t blame him for telling you that, Sky. He’s doing his job as your brother to protect you. I do want us to make this work. We just need to take a chance on each other.” Jordan was going to be my issue. If he didn’t trust me, then she wouldn’t. I just wanted to give them a good home like I had when I was that age.
    She put the burger package on the counter and washed her hands. “My mom never made us dinner like this.”
    “Well, we should really sit down and make a plan. Like, with my mom, Friday nights were family night, so instead of cooking, we went out to eat or ordered in for a treat. Nothing fancy, of course, but something that was nice.” Thinking of my childhood would help me through this, as if my mom was still there to go to for some help or advice.
    Her dark eyes sparkled as she nodded, the corners of her lips wanting to break out into a full smile, but she was able to keep it back. “I would like that.”
    “When Jordan gets home, maybe we should talk about doing something like that over dinner.” I turned the stove on and let the pan heat up. “We should get the potatoes going.”
    “How did you meet my dad?”
    I swallowed hard. It was at a bar, the worst place to meet a guy, but it was the truth. I was there nursing my breakup, and Joe had been there to make me feel better. He was such a smooth talker when I look back at it. After we had moved in together, we would see each other when our schedules allowed us to spend some time together. Then he begged me to marry him and we just went to the courthouse. It was all downhill from there.
    And then the kids arrived on our doorstep. The fights got worse and he started to shove me around a little, but with the stuff he was dealing with at his job, he was just really stressed out . How do I explain that to a twelve-year-old? Your father was a nice guy until you both came along and he turned into a monster? No. The facts were best left between me and Joe.
    “Um … we ran into each other a while ago.” Joe picked me up, only to hurt me ten times worse than the ex-boyfriend. Then, lied to me like he did about the two kids. Oh, he didn’t know about the kids?   There were two years between them. How could he not know? That question was what made him nearly choke me to death.
    Questions ran through her mind and displayed all over her innocent face, but she just left them on the roadside for the next person. “You’re really pretty, Keri.”
    “Thank you. So are you, Sky. We will get you some proper clothes, okay?” I pulled some potatoes out of the bag and sliced them into the pan with some butter. Talking with her the whole time I was getting the meal together, I told her what I was doing and how to season them, just as my mother did with me.
    Looking at the clock, my heart thumped hard as it was turning seven already. Jordan still wasn’t home, and I had no idea where he was. Not to count that he shouldn’t be leaving Sky home alone like that either. At least, a note or something so I knew if something happened