Read His Bahamas Affair (The Albury Affairs) for Free Online

tends to happen when you share a white father,” She shrugged with a chuckle. “I’m just saying.”
    Reno pinched her hard and
she jumped with a yelp. “What the hell!”
    “Reno, our father was
white?”
    And that killed all the
humor when Loraine realized that when Riana confessed that she knew nothing
about her father, she really meant nothing. Ah hell!

 
    * * * *

 
    Reno was ready to kill
Loraine for laughing but the confused stare Riana gave him had him frozen. What
exactly could he say? ‘I didn’t want you to know him so I didn’t tell you his
race?’
    Reno knew Riana was
only following his lead when he’d asked their mother never to speak of that
man. That day, he’d walked in on their mother trying to explain things to Riana
and he heard the loving way she’d said his name and that was all it took for
Reno to lose his temper and forbid their mother from ever mentioning him in
their home again. She’d tried to reason with him, but Reno had just come from
an all night shift at a textile factory and had only four hours before he had
to be at his other weekend job. He was bone tired and his patience was shot
worrying about everything, including wondering how he was going to finish high
school, if the bills kept piling up. The last thing he needed to hear was the
reason as to why he had to work to help keep a roof over their heads mentioned
under said roof.
    He’d yelled at his
mother, demanding that she never tell Riana a thing about that man who was
absent from their lives, like he was some lost hero, when truly, he’d picked
the comforts of his new wife’s money over the family he had started even before
he’d met her. And that was the last time Reno Ruiz Albury was discussed.
    “Riana…” What exactly
was he going to say? What could anyone say in this situation? Even Allan was at
a loss for words. He didn’t have to wonder long because Loraine spoke up.
    “Don’t question it,
don’t get mad, and don’t get hurt. What’s done is done. No one meant to ambush
you and I’m sure you weren’t meant to find out like that.” She glared up at him
before she turned back to Riana. “The bastard hurt you, but he’s dead. The only
good thing he ever did was procreate three really hot kids. So we are going to
say, ‘thank you asshole have a nice life in hell’, then you are going to hug
your new brother before he suffocates to death. He’s already turning blue from
holding his breath.”
    She pulled away from
Reno and moved to Riana, hugging her. “After everything that’s happened we
should be grateful you are gaining family and not losing them.” Then she pulled
away and turned a sharp glare to Ruiz. “Unless he’s here for your money. Then
I’ll gladly help you lose a sibling.”
    She looked Ruiz up and
down and from the expression on Ruiz’s face. Reno was sure he was wondering if
she was measuring him for a wooden box coffin.
    “He’s so hot it would
be such a waste. You know, you could be Reno’s twin if you weren’t a tan shade
lighter. You look exactly alike, the physic, the eyes, the smile—everything,
except the hair. I like Reno’s hair better; yours looks too much like the
half-naked guy on the cover of an erotic romance novel. The women’s under the
mattress porn.”
    Reno was so shocked he
had to laugh. “And you wonder why I call you crazy?”
    “Again, that’s why I
call her a bulldog. She’s very protective of Riana.” Allan commented.
    Riana took a visible
deep breath before she hugged Loraine. “This is why I love you. You have a
wonderful but weird way of bringing everything into perspective.”
    Loraine hugged her
back. “Anything for you Riana.”
    Riana pulled out of her
embrace and took Ruiz’s hand. “Come on, we have a lot to talk about, and only
an hour or so to do so.”
    Ruiz smiled down at
Riana, instantly relaxing before he turned to Reno. “You coming?”
    Reno shook his head.
“No. You two need this time alone.”
    Ruiz nodded and