“I adore kids. Considering how Monica, Pratt, Hansen, and I had to deal with the likes of Mr. Perkins, it’s a wonder our family isn’t a dysfunctional mess.”
“The four of you call your father Mr. Perkins.”
She shrugged. “That’s all he’ll ever be to us.”
He’d heard the story, at least bits and pieces of it from the cousins. But he was interested in hearing her version. He was about to ask about it when the waiter returned with the cheesecakes and coffee. After he left again, Colton said, “Tell me about him, Kelly.”
She raised a brow and looked at him just as she was about to slide a bit of cake into her mouth. Her fork hung in mid-air. “Tell you about who?”
“Mr. Perkins.”
CHAPTER 6
It was on the tip of Kelly’s tongue to tell Colton she would rather not discuss the sperm donor who’d given her life, but then decided, why not? They had covered all the business they needed to go over; it was early still, she wasn’t ready to return to the hotel, and more than anything, she was enjoying Colton’s company.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way. She had been determined to keep her guard up around him. But she’d quickly discovered just how difficult that would be. Colton Masters was too much of a likable guy. He always had been…even when he had refused her the one thing she’d wanted that night two years ago.
Him.
She had wanted him with a passion that had nearly broken her, and heaven help her, she still did. He wanted her, too. She saw it, the deep, rooted desire, in the depths of those gorgeous dark eyes, each and every time their gazes connected. But she couldn’t let anything happen between them. She was determined to resist him, even if it killed her. She had been hired to do a job and she would do it. But she wouldn’t do him. He’d had his chance and he’d blown it.
After inhaling a deep breath, she began talking. “Twenty-nine years ago, Lorenzo Perkins--who also went by the name of Lynell Joyner to unsuspecting women--was a rookie fireman in Atlanta. He met Taye Bennett, a single mother with a three-year-old daughter named Sebrina.”
She took her time eating her cheesecake, very aware that he was watching her every move. She almost laughed when he caught his breath while seeing her lick her fork. “Taye believed his story--that he was Lynell Joyner, a single man sharing an apartment with another single fireman. She’d even met his “so-called” roommate a few times. Turned out the roommate--who was also going by a fake name-was just as much of a man-whore as Mr. Perkins. It was only after Taye became pregnant that she discovered that Lynell Joyner was really Mr. Perkins, and he was a married man.”
She took a sip of coffee, then continued. “When Taye told him she was pregnant, he told her to get an abortion. The ass further stated that if she didn’t get one, he would not have anything to do with the baby. But Taye didn’t get an abortion, and Mr. Perkins kept his word. When Taye was six months pregnant, she learned that Mr. Perkins’ wife was six months pregnant as well. It seemed he was sleeping with both Mom and Taye, which is why I am two days older than Monica. Mom had no idea that Dad was living a double life until I was almost twelve. Taye only found out his real name years later when my mom visited her. All that time, Taye had thought Monica’s father’s name was Lynell Joyner.”
“How did Hansen and Pratt come into the picture?” Colton asked.
Kelly took another bite of cheesecake, then washed it down with a couple of sips of coffee, before answering. “While Mr. Perkins was at college in Texas, he got another girl pregnant and refused to marry her or do anything to help with the baby. That baby was Hansen. Instead, Mr. Perkins dropped out of school, returned to Atlanta, and studied to be a fireman instead. During that time, he started dating a waitress who worked at a local café, and before long, she was pregnant. That was Pratt’s mother.”
She took another sip of coffee. “All the time Mr. Perkins was sleeping with the waitress in Atlanta, he was engaged to marry the daughter of his father’s boss. Namely, my mom. My mother had no idea that on her wedding day, my father’s second son was being born. Nor did she know about the first one, who lived with his mother in Texas, and was barely a year older than the second one.”
“When did your mother find out about your brothers and Monica?” Colton asked.
“It all blew up around the same time. Mom came home early from a trip to see my grandparents in Tennessee, where they’d moved after retirement, and caught Mr. Perkins in their bedroom with another woman. I guess he no longer had that extra apartment and was too cheap to take the woman to a hotel. Mom put him out that same night, and when he threatened to take her to court to get half of everything she owned--most of which had been given to her by her parents, not to mention the trust fund left to her by her grandparents--her father hired a private investigator, who uncovered information about Hansen, Pratt, and Monica.”
After taking another sip of coffee, she said, “Would you believe that the first time Monica, Pratt and Hansen ever laid eyes on Mr. Perkins was when he paid a visit to each of their mothers, trying to get each woman to sign something saying that the kids weren’t his, so he wouldn’t lose out on half of Mom’s trust fund. None of the mothers would sign it.”
“Good for them,” Colton said.
“He thought he could deny Monica, since Taye hadn’t listed a father on Monica’s birth certificate, but Monica and I looked too much alike for that to work. Even if Taye had put his name on Monica’s birth certificate, the name would have been Lynell Joyner and not Lorenzo Perkins. The fact that he’d lied about his identity would have gotten him in even more trouble, since it’sa felony. I think his attorney advised him of that, and he backed off.”
“Good attorney advice,” Colton said. “He could have lost everything.
“Yes, he could have. I’m kind of sorry he didn’t.” She let out a bitter laugh. “After my parents’ divorce was final, the four mothers got together and decided there was no reason Mr. Perkins’ kids shouldn’t get to know each other. I was almost fourteen when I met my siblings for the first time, and I couldn’t believe how much Monica and I looked alike, or how much Pratt and Hansen looked like him. Even if the three mothers had signed those documents as Mr. Perkins had asked, all it would have taken was for the judge to look at the four of us, see the similarities, and throw those documents out of court. Over the years, my siblings and I have developed a very close relationship. An unbreakable bond.”
“Since you were the only one of the four who spent time with him while growing up, do you have any good memories of your relationship with him?” he asked.
Kelly rolled her eyes. “I rarely saw him, and when he was home, he slept all the time. It was like he wasn’t a part of my life, either. So, there you have it, Colton, the story of Mr. Perkins and why none of us hold him in high regard. Did you find it interesting?”
“Actually, it’s kind of hard to believe. And sad. He missed out on knowing what wonderful people you all turned out to be.”
“Yes, but you can’t miss what you never had. He’s never been there for us. We’ve been there for each other. Although he’s never acknowledged our existence, we recently heard that he’s been trying to get in touch with us.”
“Why? Does he need a kidney?” Colton asked jokingly.
She chuckled. “We have no idea. If he does need one, I’m afraid he’s out of luck. I think we’d all like it better if hecontinued to pretend we didn’t exist. We’ve all felt the sting of his rejection.”
