Page 132 of An Indecent Longing

Then her mom sighed, almost too quietly for Dorrie to hear. “Yes. And that will never change.”

“How do you deal with that? How do you love him knowing your dad hates him? And how does Granddad still love me?”

“Honey, what’s going on? Did something happen? Do you want me to come over? Let me call a taxi—”

“No, Mom. I’m sorry. I’m fine. Honestly. I just… Well, I met these men and I thought, maybe, we might have something more than just an affair.”

Another pause, longer this time. “Did you say men? As in two?”

“Yes.” No sense in beating around the bush. Even though a relationship wasn’t going to happen, she had the undeniable urge to tell her mom everything.

For the first eight years of her life, she’d only had her mom. They’d been inseparable and their bond had never weakened, not even when Dorrie had found out about her dad.

Her mom let out a little huff of a laugh. “Well, damn. And I thought falling for a Russian mobster was living on the edge. Are you seriously telling me you’re having a…relationship with two men? At the same time?”

“No. Well, I was but…it’s complicated.”

“Are they bisexual?”

Trust her mom to ask the one question Dorrie hadn’t considered. “No. They’re cousins.”

A pause. “And you have sex with both of them?”

Dorrie sucked in a deep breath. “Yes.”

A longer pause then her mom laughed, which made Dorrie smile. “Well, your granddad might need to take more heart medication when he finds out about this.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem now. I don’t think I’ll be seeing them again.”

“Why?”

“Because Ian thinks my dad is the devil.”

“Ah. Okay, now it’s making sense. So you think since your grandfather never got over his hatred of your dad, there’s no way this man is going to get over his hatred of your dad. What’d your dad do to him?”

“Ian thinks he’s responsible for his dad’s murder.”

“Oh.” Her mom’s muted response made Dorrie wince. “Okay. Wasn’t expecting that.”

Sighing, Dorrie felt hopelessness rise again. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Her mom didn’t need this shit dumped on her. Her mom loved her dad. She didn’t—

“Honey, you don’t need me to tell you who your dad is. You know him. You and your sister probably know him better than anyone in the world, and that might include me.”

“But what if he had Ian’s dad killed?”

“Have you asked your dad about this?”

“No.”

“What about the other man? What’s his name?”

“Ben.” She smiled. “He’s pretty much the normal one between the three of us.”

“And do you care as much about him as you do for Ian?”

Dorrie opened and closed her mouth several times.

“Honey? You still there?”

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