Unauthorized Affair (Unauthorized #1)(5)

Jen took an involuntary step back. For an instant, a crazy thought shot through her head, that if she didn’t say something quickly, this woman would attack her. Throw her on the ground and handcuff her or something. Frantically she tried to find some words. “Jerry. Is Jerry here? He’s my brother.”

The woman’s observant gaze swept Jen’s body, face, and hair. And then she relaxed. Her eyes crinkled as she smiled. “Jen! What a surprise. Jerry will be so happy to see you!” The woman grasped Jen’s elbow and pulled her in the house.

Jen’s stomach churned as she realized that this was Sara, the girlfriend - the serious girlfriend, and that Sara was probably living here. Jerry wouldn’t want his kid sister hanging around. Oh God why didn’t I call first?

Jen allowed herself to be pulled into the kitchen. Sara gave her a hug, and sat her down at the kitchen table. “You sit here, I’ll get Jerry.”

Jen watched Sara head down the hallway toward the bedroom and grimaced. She’d shown up unannounced and interrupted them. She never wanted to think of her big brother having sex, but her big brother having sex with that woman? It must be like playing with a tame panther, she thought. Like you know the panther isn’t going to hurt you, but you also know the panther easily could, if the panther wanted to.

Jen heard feet pounding down the hallway and then Jerry, dressed only in shorts so she could see the scars on his leg and shoulder, ran into the room. “Jen!” He picked her straight up out of the chair and twirled her around before setting her on her feet and hugging her.

“What are you doing here?” He looked closer at her face. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

Jen had promised herself she wouldn’t cry anymore today, but she burst into tears anyway. Well, it’s after midnight, so technically it’s not today anymore. Her tears took on a manic quality at the thought and she buried her face into her big brother’s shoulder. He pulled her to the couch and let her cry. Somewhere off in the distance she heard dishes rattling.

10 minutes later, when her tears had finally dried up, she picked her head up and looked sheepishly at Jerry. He gave her a gentle smile and motioned to a cup of what looked like hot chocolate on the coffee table. “Have a drink. Sugar always helps.”


Jen laughed a little and sipped the hot chocolate. She did feel better. But it wasn’t the hot chocolate. Carla had been great. But she wasn’t family. Jerry might only be her half-brother, but he was still really good at the big brother thing. He hadn’t even asked her why she was crying yet.

“Adam cheated on me,” she blurted out. Jerry just looked at her and stroked her hair. “You don’t seem surprised,” she said.

“Well, I figured it had to be something like that. And besides-”

Jen interrupted him. “You knew he was a cheater.”

Now Jerry’s face showed some surprise. “Yeah, I did.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I tried to Jen, don’t you remember?”

A vertical line appeared between Jen’s eyebrows. “No, I don’t remember. When?”

“When you guys visited here. What was that a year and a half ago? He made some off-color jokes about what Emma would be like in the sack. I told you about them.”

Jen made her right hand into a fist and hit herself in the forehead with it. “Yeah, but I thought he was just joking. Does something like that mean a guy is a cheater?”

Jerry exchanged a glance with Sara, who sat across the room in an overstuffed armchair. Jen caught the look and hit herself in the forehead again. “I know, I know, I’m … I’m stupid about men. I’m naive. You have to spell it out for me. So do it. Spell it out for me! Next time just tell me he’s a cheater!”

Jerry caught her hand before she could whack herself in the forehead again. “OK sweetie, I will, I promise. But you’re not stupid, you’re just-”

Jen interrupted him again. “Trusting! I know!” She stood up and paced through his kitchen, around and around the table.

“Are you staying here tonight?” Jerry called from the living room. Jen let out some of her tension in a deep sigh.

“Yeah, if that’s OK,” she called back. “In fact, I kind of turned in the keys to my apartment and quit my job.”

“Stay as long as you want. I’ll set you up in the guest room.”

Oh thank God, Jen thought. Suddenly her legs quivered and started to give out beneath her. Well no wonder, you just abandoned your whole life and drove to another town with no money and without even knowing if your brother would take you in. “OK thanks,” she called back, wondering what Sara thought.

She sank into a chair and took a deep breath. The daily newspaper was spread out on the table and a picture of a female police officer caught her eye. It almost looked like Officer Sanders. She picked it up and read the headline of the ad that took up half of the page.



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