A Second Chance at Love: A Hometown Hero Series Novel Read Online Free PDF

her life around. She doesn’t deserve your scorn. She deserves your respect.”
    “Me? Respect her?” He stood, and pressed his fingertips into the polished wooden top of his desk. “I’d be dead first.”
    “She’s a good person, daddy. And so is Harrison.”
    “Harrison.” He spat, with a shake of his head. “He’s got no business putting his hands on you, Madeline.”
    Madeline flushed. “He’s my boyfriend. I’m twenty years old.”
    “Twenty years old, yes, but still my daughter.”
    “So? I don’t live here anymore, daddy. I’m an adult. I’m going to graduate soon, and I can do what I want.”
    “Oh, yeah? What if I stop paying your college tuition, Madeline? What if I stop paying your rent? Your independence is an illusion. Only so long as my purse strings allow.”
    Her throat constricted. “You wouldn’t do that. Because whatever you think of Harrison, however much you hate him, you want to be able to brag about your daughter more.”
    “Brag about you? Do you think I’d speak your name again if you continue dating that worthless piece of shit?”
    Hearing Harrison spoken of in such a manner made her bones ache. “He is the best man I’ve ever known,” she retorted fiercely, dragging her eyes scornfully over her father’s wiry frame.
    Spittle formed at the corners of his lips.
    “And I don’t much care if you brag about me or not. Pay my tuition, or don’t pay it. It’s up to you.” She began to walk out of his office, shaking with the force of her rage. “Because I’m not just dating Harrison, daddy. He’s asked me to marry him. And I’ve said yes. And nothing you can say will make me leave him.”
    “Stop, Madeline,” he commanded, as her hand was on the door. And such was the force of her father’s control over her that she did. She turned to face him but her eyes glittered with purpose.
    “You speak very highly of his mother.” He skirted the desk and walked towards her. His gait was menacing, his eyes loaded with hatred.
    “If you knew her, you would too.”
    His chuckle was cruel. “Oh, I know more about her than you might think. You see, Madeline, I know the man who got her pregnant.”
    Madeline gripped the doorknob until her knuckles turned white. Diana had never told Harrison who his father was. She’d never spoken a word to anyone. “How? How do you know?”
    “Coincidence. He happens to be one of my campaign contributors.”
    “A political donor.” She nodded, and pieces began to fall into place. “So he has money?”
    Diana had certainly not raised Harrison in squalor. Their small home overlooking the beach was tiny, sparsely furnished, but always tidy and clean.
    “Yes. He has money. And he has a wife. And children. He fucked your friend’s mother because she was begging for it. He trusted her to take precautions, and she didn’t. Stupid little fool got herself in trouble and expected him to do something about it.”
    “Oh, God.” Madeline pressed her weight against the door. “That’s awful.”
    “Yes. Not such a Good Samaritan now, is she?”
    Madeline glared at him. “I meant that’s awful of the man, daddy. Not Diana.”
    “She knew what she was getting into.”
    “Knowing Diana as I do, I highly doubt that. Besides, she was sixteen when she had Harrison, which meant she was probably fifteen when she got pregnant. How old was this donor of yours?”
    “His age is irrelevant.”
    “Older though, right?” Madeline pushed angrily, her voice shaking with the force of her feelings. “So some friend of yours took advantage of a young, impressionable teenager and you think that makes her at fault?”
    “I do, yes. Where were her parents? How was this allowed to happen?” He held a hand up to silence Madeline’s interjection. “They didn’t care enough about her to keep her safe, and nor should you.”
    “You’re an asshole,” she said with a shake of her head.
    Kenneth’s retribution was swift. He lifted his hand and brought it