Taking a Gamble on Three of a Kind (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read Online Free PDF Page A

you’re staying home. What are you afraid of, Jenny?”
    “Certainly not you.” She turned from him quickly, feeling tears forming behind her lids. She hated that when she got really angry she had a tendency to cry. It was embarrassing. She saw Adam’s car pull in front of her house as she turned the door handle and scooted inside, shutting the door behind her before he could say another word. She leaned against it until she heard Adam’s car speed away. Luke had no idea who her mother really was. For that matter, neither did she. But she knew one thing, if her mother was still gambling, she was going to stop. And even if she wasn’t, and she highly doubted that, her mother was going to see a professional whether she wanted to or not.
     
    * * * *
     
    When Jenny opened her eyes the next morning, she looked over at the clock on her nightstand. It was eleven thirty. She groaned. She felt like she had been hit by a truck. Swinging her legs off the side of the bed, she massaged her calf muscles. She had really overdone it.
    She limped to the shower and turned it on as hot as she could take it. She used the shower massager to loosen her tight muscles. It felt good. When she emerged from the bathroom, she pulled on a pair of jeans and a tank top and padded barefoot down the stairs to the kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. As soon as she saw Jenny, she got up and poured her one.
    “Where were you last night if you don’t mind my asking?”
    “I was out dancing with Luke and Adam Rowan.”
    “You were,” she said in surprise. “How did that happen?”
    “I went to a bar for a drink, and they were there with April Mathews. They asked me to go dancing with them, so I did.”
    “Well, that was nice. I wish you had called me. I was worried about you.”
    “I should have called.” Regardless of what her mother had told her, making her worry needlessly wasn’t something she was proud of doing.
    “All’s well then,” her mother said, sitting down across from her.
    “Really? You think so?”
    “Well, you know what I mean. You’re safe. You couldn’t have been out with nicer boys.”
    “They’re not boys anymore, they’re thirty-year-old men, and from the way April was talking, if she has her way, they’ll be married men before long.”
    “That’s news to me. I know they go out here and there, but I didn’t know they were exclusive with April. I’ve never seen her at the house.”
    “And from what Adam tells me, you spend quite a bit of time over there in between running your busy real estate business and frequenting the casino.”
    “He told you no such thing!” her mother exclaimed in horror. “He knows nothing about the casino.”
    “No. You’re right about that. He knows nothing about the casino. But he did tell me how busy you are. How is it possible that you can’t pay my living expenses and we’re losing the house unless you’re still gambling?” Jenny couldn’t help that her voice had risen or that she wanted desperately to shake some sense into her mother.
    “I—” her mother began before she burst into tears and brought her hands up to cover her face.
    “I’m sorry I’m yelling at you, Mom.” Jenny lowered her voice. “It’s just I can’t believe you’re still going there after everything you told me. Why would you do such a thing?”
    “I keep thinking”—her mother lowered her hands, wiping her tears on a tissue she removed from the pocket of her slacks—“that I’ll get it back. That I can make everything right again.”
    “You’re addicted to it.”
    “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
    “You’re never going back there again, Mom. I swear if you do, I’m going right to Jack Rowan and tell him the truth. And you’re going to get professional help. We still have insurance, right?”
    “Yes. We do. It’s from your father’s policy that carried over after he died. I’ve made sure the premiums were paid.”
    “Thank