Treacherous (The Wolf Pack Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

hindsight, he realized that he’d played right into the devil’s hands.
    One moment he’d been consoling Celeste and wiping her tears. The next moment they were making sweet, passionate love like their lives depended on it. Four weeks later, Celeste came to him with the most devastating news. She was pregnant, but she didn’t know whether the baby belonged to him or Wendell, whom she’d slept with two nights before he was killed.
    Her revelation left Sterling reeling with shock. He was only eighteen, and had been looking forward to starting college that fall. Although he’d never had any lofty expectations of becoming rich or famous, he knew his prospects would diminish even more if he were saddled down with a family. He wasn’t ready to tackle the responsibilities of fatherhood. But Celeste was pregnant and terrified, knowing she’d incur her father’s wrath if she had a child out of wedlock. Her strict Baptist upbringing also ruled out abortion as an option.
    She’d needed Sterling to be a man. So he’d done the only thing he could.
    He’d asked her to marry him. And thus began their rollercoaster journey together.
    Gently stroking Celeste’s hair, Sterling murmured, “Are you feeling restless in Atlanta?”
    She hesitated, then nodded against his chest. “I’ve been there all my life.
    From the time I was young, my father made it clear to me that Atlanta was my home, and that was where I belonged. Going to college somewhere else was never even a consideration—it was Spelman or nothing.”
    “I thought that was because your mother went to Spelman,” Sterling interjected, “and he wanted to continue the family tradition.”
    “That was part of it, yes. But the main reason is that he wanted to keep me close by.” Celeste sighed. “I know you always saw my father as this larger than life figure. A strict disciplinarian and a fire-and-brimstone preacher who struck fear in the hearts of his congregants—”
    “And our children,” Sterling added wryly. “Every time he was around, Michael and Marcus became perfect little angels.”
    Celeste grinned. “That’s true. They knew Daddy would take his belt to their backsides the second they got out of line.”
    “Hell, I was scared of him,” Sterling joked.
    They both laughed.
    Sobering after several moments, Celeste continued, “Yeah, Daddy could be very intimidating. But what most people didn’t know is that he was also very vulnerable and needy. You remember how it was. When my mother first got sick, he started leaning on me, expecting me to take care of all the things she no longer could. Mom used to tell him to give me some space, because I had my own family and responsibilities to worry about. But once she passed away, I became my father’s whole world.” She grimaced, shaking her head. “I can remember getting off from work, picking up Michael from the babysitter, then rushing over to the church to type Daddy’s sermons for him because that’s what Mom used to do.”
    “I remember those days,” Sterling murmured, thinking of how guilty he’d often felt for resenting her father’s intrusion into their lives. It hadn’t helped that the old man openly disapproved of their marriage, believing that Celeste could do better than Sterling.
    “Those were some trying times, God rest Daddy’s soul.” Celeste sighed.
    “Anyway, to make a long story short, I think I’m ready for a change of scenery.” Sterling nodded slowly. “And how do you know you won’t feel restless in Savannah?”
    She hesitated, biting her lip. “I guess I don’t know.” Sterling said nothing, continuing to stroke her hair.
    After a prolonged silence, she let out a deep, resigned breath. “You’re right.
    We can’t just pack up our family and move here on a whim. I’m talking foolish.”
    “It wasn’t foolish,” Sterling countered mildly. “I understand where you’re coming from, wanting to experience someplace different. But it’s just not practical for