“And her parents? What are they like?”
Michelle’s lips ruffled into a smile. If Yasmine could see it, she’d probably slap the giddy out of her. “Well, her father is nice.”
“Mich, you holding out on me.”
Her smile deepened into a grin. Yasmine knew her too well. “Okay. He’s handsome, sexy, and he’s a brother.”
“Really?”
“Well—half of him is. And he kissed me,” Michelle added as her pulse raced with the sweet memories of being in Erik’s arms.
A short silence rang on the other end then Yasmine shouted, “What kind of man kisses his child’s nanny, especially on her first day at work? Mich, you need to get out of that house, fast. Just give me the address, and I’ll come pick you up, right now.”#p#分页标题#e#
“It’s not like that, Yas,” Michelle corrected her friend who had been looking out for her since they were in kindergarten. Yasmine had even offered to have her brothers beat the stupid out of her father for wrecking her life.
Michelle hadn’t even told Robert what he’d done. It was for her brother’s own good, because she knew he would find him and do something bad to him. She didn’t want her brother spending the rest of his life in jail over their rotten good-for-nothing father.
Robert still thought she’d lost everything because she’d lost her job, and had been living beyond her means, which was partly true. But she’d been denied so much for so long, Michelle hadn’t seen the harm in spoiling herself a little. In addition, she’d been buying clothes and other necessities for some of the kids at the center who had nothing. She wanted to bring some happiness to their lives, see them smile.
“And where was his wife while he was kissing you?” Yasmine continued. “Don’t tell me they’re a swinging couple who hire innocent girls to fulfill their sexual fantasies.”
“Yasmine, his wife is dead. He’s been a widower for two years.”
“Oh, okay. Was she sick or something?”
“No. She was killed by a drunk driver,” Michelle said quietly.
“Oh man, Mich. That’s too close to home.”
“You’re telling me. The worse thing is they haven’t found him, yet. As far as Dr. Erik LaCrosse is concerned, every drunk out there is a potential suspect, including my father.”
“Did you tell him about your father?” Yasmine asked.
Michelle sighed and picked up a crystal saltshaker from the breakfast bar and twirled it between her fingers. “What am I supposed to say? By the way, Dr. LaCrosse, my father is a drunk. It’s possible he’s the one who killed your wife.” He’d already formed an opinion about her the moment she stepped out of the cab. She’d had to prove herself fit to take care of his kid, and that still didn’t mean he trusted her completely. He didn’t know anything about her.
“I see what you mean,” Yasmine said. “But what are you going to tell him when he does ask about your family? He will want to know. I’m surprised he hasn’t already asked.”
“I don’t know what I’ll tell him, Yas.” Michelle set the saltshaker back on the counter.
“You know, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. That man may not be your real father. Neither you nor Robert looks like him.”
“Yas, give it up. Lots of kids don’t look like their fathers or mothers for that matter. You don’t look like your dad. And don’t you think our mother would have said something to Robert if that were the case?”
“Maybe she wanted to, but couldn’t. Maybe he threatened her. You know that temper of his.”
“So if Dwight is not our father, where is our real father?” Michelle asked. “Why hasn’t he been looking for us all these years?”
“I don’t know, Mich. Maybe you should go find out.”
“Yeah, right. You watch too much TV.”
“It’s not TV. It’s the weird cases I come across since I’ve been studying criminal law. You wouldn’t believe the things some people would do for no reason whatsoever. There are thousands of unsolved cases out there.”
“Well, I’m sure there are a lot, but mine isn’t one of them. Bye, Yas.”
After she hung up, Michelle pondered over Yasmine’s question about what she would tell Erik when he asked about her father. One thing she knew was that she could not tell him her father was a drunk, had been since she could remember. Erik would begin to second-guess her character, her ethics, because that’s what people do when they learn you were raised in an unhealthy home environment. If Erik began to question her upbringing, he might be inclined to fire her.#p#分页标题#e#