Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

is in a rut she can’t seem to pull herself out of. Not that the marriage had been
faithful on either side, but Cara enjoyed her position through the marriage
and maintained it for appearances. Without her husband and being Mrs.
Lachlan Conroy III anymore, she’s now stuck with a family she no longer
wants.
Krisjen is the oldest, and while she never talks about it, I know she’s
raising her siblings while her mother tries to chase down another husband.
“I was also concerned,” my mother says, “considering you were supposed
to be sleeping over at her house last night.”
I don’t reply.
The silence stretches, and I hear my mother exhale. “You know, you
scare me, Clay.”
Her tone is soft. She’s not yelling.
“I admire how you don’t rush to cover your tracks when caught,” she tells
me, “and I appreciate you not wasting my time with another lie, but it’s also
off-putting.” She hesitates. “It means you don’t care if I find out.”
I am scared, and I do care if she finds out. I won’t tell her the truth,
though. I just won’t say anything.
“It’s frightening when you realize you’ve lost control of your child.”
But it’s not like that. If I tell her about Liv, she’ll ruin it. I just want to
enjoy it for a while before the stress.
“Some days I still feel your age,” she tells me. “And I know even less
about what I’m doing than I did the day before. You think you’ll reach an age
where you finally know your place in the world, but nothing ever gets
easier.”
I look at her out of the corner of my eye, her lips pursed as she stares at
the road, her beautiful clothes and jewelry the image of perfection. Not a
blemish. Barely a wrinkle. Not a single dry patch on her hands or a pore on
her face visible from where I sit. I want to ask her about the pregnancy. I
want to know if it was my father’s. I want the stalemate in our lives to end.
But I don’t want the unknown, either. Not all change is good.
So, I stay quiet.
She clears her throat. “You’re being safe, right?” she asks, seemingly
resolved to the fact that I’m sleeping with someone and now wants to make
sure I’m not an embarrassment. “We’ve had this talk. I’m not raising any
more babies. Don’t be careless.”
“I know.”