Sins of the Past (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

never lacked for anything. My mom worked hard to make sure I had everything I needed. Even though she had to work two jobs, she still found a way to be involved in everything I did.”
    Lorna sat back and listened as Jacob told her stories of his childhood. He became more and more animated with each story until they were both doubled over laughing. “It seems as though you were a very rowdy child,” she told him.
    Jacob winked, “I got into my fair share of trouble, but something tells me you weren’t that different. I bet you got into lots of trouble when you were little.”
    Lorna laughed. If only he knew the trouble she had gotten into when she was little. She had enjoyed listening to Jacob’s past, but it looked like it was her turn for show and tell. “My mom wasn’t anything like yours. My mom was known as the town whore, and she spent every day of her life proving it was true.”
    She waited for the look of shock to clear from Jacob’s face. She could handle shock, just as long as she didn’t see pity. “The townsfolk are so fascinated with me because ever since I started to develop boobs, they’ve been waiting for me to turn out just like her.” Lorna shrugged. “Like mother, like daughter, right?”
     
    * * * *
     
    Jacob was barely able to keep the fury he was feeling off his face. He gripped his fork tighter, becoming angrier with each word that came out of Lorna’s mouth as she explained why everyone in town hated her so much. She had shrugged and laughed as if she didn’t care what was said about her or how she was being treated, but he could tell it hurt her deep down.
    In his opinion, Lorna was a strong woman for putting up with this town for as long as she had. A weaker person would have turned out bitter and angry at the world or they would have turned out exactly how the town had expected them to. Instead, Lorna had made something of herself in spite of these small-minded people.
    “The people in this town are idiots.” Jacob knew his voice was gruff, but he didn’t care. He needed to make Lorna see how special she was. “Instead of blaming you for what your mother was, they should have taken you under their wing and cared for you to make sure you didn’t turn out like her.”
    Lorna stared at him and Jacob wasn’t sure if it was anger or shock. He had only known her for a short while, so he wasn’t able to read her yet, but he was hoping to change that. There was something about Lorna that drew him in. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her since the morning she had raced out of her house stomping and screaming. He had come to town to recover from a gunshot wound, but now Jacob decided he was staying for another reason. He wanted to know Lorna. For the first time in his life, when he thought of his future, it didn’t include gun battles or war. He thought of settling down and having a family and he was surprisingly okay with that.
    “There was one good thing that came out of my mother’s many guy friends,” Lorna said, interrupting his thoughts.
    Jacob lifted a brow. “Yeah, and what would that be?”
    “Well, I learned a lot from my many uncles . Most of them wanted to impress my mom and thought the fastest way to do that was through me. I have a black belt in karate thanks to Uncle John. I could probably be a certified plumber if I wanted thanks to Uncle Eric. I learned to blow glass and throw pots thanks to Uncle Derek when my mom was going through her hippy phase.” Lorna smiled. “The list goes on and on, but there is only one that I care about and that was Uncle John. I considered him my father and he taught me everything I needed to know.”
    “What made him different from all of the other guys?” Jacob was glad she had at least someone in her life that she allowed herself to care about. Judging from the smile on her face and the sound of her voice when she mentioned Uncle John, he could tell she loved the man.
    “He was the only one who loved me for me. He didn’t just tolerate me so he could get into my mother’s pants.” Lorna snorted. “What all of those other guys were too stupid to realize was that they could have completely ignored me and my mother would have still spread her legs for them. Uncle John was the only one who realized that and he still showed me attention. He taught me everything I know about restoring cars.”
    Jacob whistled and sat forward. “The Camaro outside? That was your work?”
    Lorna beamed with pride. “Yep. I built my