Paternity

Lucinda Stafford

Description

Genetics, nurturing, or divine intervention? Is it simply a matter of choices leading us along the pathway of life? Follow several individuals lives and see.
There is no one that Karen West trusts more in the world than her best friend, Charlie, who lives just across the hall from her. Unfortunately, her abusive fiancé, Walter, doesn’t feel the same. Fiercly protective of her, Charlie intervenes one night when Walter threatens Karen, changing everything. After Charlie saves her and reveals his true feelings, he and Karen enjoy several passionate liaisons that lead her to discover another side to her best friend and confidant.
As Karen tries to reconcile her feelings and relationship with Charlie, she returns to work the following Monday where she is promptly told that Walter, the president of the bank and her boss, has accused her of being obsessive and unstable. After she is fired, Karen is contacted by Walter’s ex-wife who provides her with an enormous final paycheck and a lead for another job. But when she realizes that what she has just walked into is more than a job, Karen is led down a new path filled with lustful encounters and a surprise that changes everything once again.
Paternity is the story of one woman’s quest to find true love as she becomes intertwined with a group of wonderfully flawed characters who are determined to create their own destinies.

Sujets

• Paternity
• Abortion
• Erotica
• Addiction
• Romance
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 28 mars 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665739818
• Langue: English

Extrait

PATERNITY
 
NATURE VS. NURTURE
 
 
 
 
 
LUCINDA STAFFORD
 
 

 
Copyright © 2023 Lucinda Stafford.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3980-1 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3981-8 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023904113
 
Archway Publishing rev. date: 03/20/2023
Contents
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Epilogue
To God, who inspires me, and to my sister Michelle, who believes in me.
1
K aren wrestled in vain with the zipper on the back of her dress as she counted the minutes until Walter, her fiancé, would arrive. She started to panic. Everything needed to go smoothly. Their arguments had become more frequent as the wedding date approached. She hoped Charlie, her closest friend who lived across the hall, would realize she was busy and leave. When there was no sound of a door closing, she was incensed. The zipper on her dress was stuck, and she couldn’t reach it. In desperation, she had no choice but to ask Charlie for help.
When she entered the kitchen, Charlie was rummaging through the refrigerator. He was over so often that he kept more groceries at her place than his. Charlie was the big brother she’d always wanted. Lately, however, his constant presence was causing friction between her and Walter. She tried to discourage Charlie from visiting, but she didn’t banish him completely. In three weeks, the movers would come, and she would be gone. What difference did it make? Tonight, however, she needed him to leave.
“Charlie, what on earth are you …?”
Before she could finish, Charlie retrieved a carton of milk from the refrigerator, and with a flick of his wrist, he zipped up her dress and started to drink from the carton. He took one look at Karen and reached for a glass. She was about to continue her tirade when she noticed Charlie was running his fingers through the shock of sandy hair that continually fell over his forehead. Leaning against the counter with his glass of milk, in blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a washed-out T-shirt, he looked like a little boy just home from school. Karen softened.
Charlie was thirty-five years old, but like Peter Pan, he stubbornly refused to grow up. He was anxious to make a living as a writer, but he would starve to death if it wasn’t for his commercial artwork and occasional odd jobs. Karen didn’t know that his grandmother, Eunice, paid his rent.
Eunice, a gray-haired, rotund bundle of love and cheer, had gained custody of both her grandsons while Caroline, her drug-addicted daughter, had bounced back and forth between rehab and prison. No one was certain who Charlie’s father was. It was rumored he was a drug addict she’d met in rehab. His older brother, John, had adjusted to his pseudo-orphanhood and did well for himself, but Charlie, Eunice felt, was fragile and needed her protection. It was said that John’s father was a well-respected businessman who had bribed Caroline to keep his name out of the sordid situation by giving her a bundle of cash, which she quickly spent on drugs. If genes mattered, John had gotten the better of the deal, but he never experienced the nurturing that Eunice lavished on Charlie. John prospered while Charlie floundered, so in this case, one would think nature had triumphed over nurture.
Karen tried once more to rid herself of Charlie. “Charlie, Walter will be here any minute. Every time he picks me up, he finds you here. Don’t you think that looks strange?”
Charlie flashed her a warm, friendly smile. “You really think he’s going to show up this time?”
Karen’s face flushed with anger. “Charlie, get out of here right now.” She couldn’t believe she was yelling at her best friend.
He simply looked at her with cocker spaniel eyes that silently asked, what did I do?
Tears of frustration welled up in Karen’s eyes and threatened to spill over. What was happening to her? She was always in control of herself. Gently, Charlie put his arms around her in an awkward show of affection and tried to apologize.
Composing herself, she pulled away and tried again. “Please, go home now, before Walter comes.”
Charlie gave a short, derisive laugh. “Right, OK.” But he continued to fiddle with his glass before finally setting it down. He made it as far as the dining room table, pausing to trace invisible shapes across the surface with his fingers. “Yeah, I’ve really got to go, got things I have to do.”
Despite herself, Karen felt a smile playing across her lips. Charlie hadn’t moved an inch. “What is it, Charlie?”
Charlie gave her a quizzical look. “I really did come over for something.”
Karen tried in vain to suppress a laugh. Gazing at his tall, lanky frame and familiar smile, she wanted to freeze this moment in time. A sudden twinge of sadness gripped her, as she knew that in a few weeks, she might never see him again.
Eventually, Walter arrived, and as usual, Charlie was sprawled across the sofa, channel surfing. Somehow, Charlie had never made it across the hall to his own apartment.
Walter went directly to Charlie. “I thought you’d be here,” said Walter, in a menacing voice. Walter’s steely gray eyes were icy.
Karen’s body tensed. Before she could act on her urge to come to Charlie’s defense, he waved over his shoulder at Walter. “I figured, if you made it at all, you’d be late. I was just keeping Karen company.”
Karen was surprised at Charlie’s nonchalance but breathed a sigh of relief. She was beginning to think he was trying to come between her and Walter, but his casual attitude caused her to dismiss the idea. She felt a stab of disappointment that Charlie only thought of her as a friend, and this puzzled her. As she reached behind the sofa for her purse, she caught a glimpse of Charlie’s face. Karen was stunned. The half-smile was gone and replacing it was a look of sheer anguish. Their eyes met for a second before Charlie averted his gaze, jumped to his feet and headed for the door. Without turning, he told them to have a good time, in a voice that didn’t sound like his at all.
Walter straightened his jacket as if he’d been in a skirmish. His face had turned dark red, and Karen was afraid that he was about to have a stroke. With his tall but stocky build and graying hair, he could have been Charlie’s father. He was twenty-five years older than Karen. Was that why he resented Charlie? She could understand him feeling this way, but she wasn’t expecting what happened next.
Walter turned his still angry glare on her. “Before we walk out that door, Karen, I want your solemn promise that you will never let that man in here again.” Walter, sure of Karen’s answer, held out her coat.
She stared at him, unable to believe that he was serious. All doubt vanished when he said, “I want your promise, and I want it now.”
Karen tried to laugh her way out of it. “Don’t be silly. Charlie is …”
Before Karen could finish, Walter threw down her coat and grabbed her wrist in a vice-like hold. His other hand went around her throat, making it impossible to scream. She tried to free herself, but Walter tightened his grip. Karen’s small frame flailed like a rag doll under the pressure applied by Walter’s powerfully large hands. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Charlie had heard Walter’s raised voice, and a sixth sense had caused him to cross the hall to check on her. Walter hesitated for a moment before releasing her. Marching to the door, he yanked it open, gave her one last menacing look, and shoved Charlie aside as he left.
Charlie, regaining his balance, asked, “Are you all right?”
Karen managed to nod yes. His face, full of worry and compassion, said a thousand words. Nobody had ever looked at her that way before. She knew at that moment that she was his entire world and that he loved her. He turned to leave. “Charlie, thank you.”
Karen sat in the dark, chasing her thoughts. Walter had always been possessive, and an unreasoning temper had reared its ugly head occasionally. However, it hadn’t become a source of concern until after their engagement. What bothered Karen the most was that he would be rude not only to her but to those around him. Waiters and service workers withstood the worst of his warrantless attacks, causing Karen to cringe in embarrassment. He would often slam doors or throw whatever was handy when he was in one of his moods. But Walter had a kind side, too. He was a staple at charity events in the community and was generous with those he came across who needed financial help. It was as if, by paying penance for his bad behavior, he was absolved of any guilt when he misbehaved. Never being held accountable fostered a lifetime of sudden outbursts.
Walter was the president of the Assurance National Bank, and Karen was his secretary. Karen was fond of Walter, even though she couldn’t say with h