Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Family Night
    Family Night
    Family Night
    Ebook108 pages1 hour

    Family Night

    By Rye Hart

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Shane was my high school love...

    But we each had big dreams that pulled us apart...

    Since then, we've each suffered great hardships...

    We now have kids who count on us to do the right thing.

    Can we finally have our happily ever after together?

    Or are we better off leaving the past where it belongs?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRye Hart
    Release dateJan 4, 2021
    ISBN9781393791287
    Family Night

    Read more from Rye Hart

    Related authors

    Related to Family Night

    Related ebooks

    Contemporary Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Mature Adults In Your Area

      Aug 8, 2022

      I would say that I don’t normally do this kind of thing, except that on and off over the months and years, I’ve done “these kinds of things” too many times for that to be true. So yeah, I go on dates from time to time. This recent guy wouldn’t choose

      6 min read

    • Article

      Come with Me

      Dec 1, 2022

      Come with Me
      12 min read

    • Article

      The July War

      Sep 8, 2020

      In summer, our neighborhood quiets in phases. The quieting begins in May. Schools give their older kids, the seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds, a month off to prepare for the baccalaureate exams. Following a ritual as old as our parents, the students

      21 min read

    • Article

      My #MeToo

      Jul 17, 2020

      My #MeToo
      6 min read

    • Article

      The happiest BIRTHDAY

      Jun 30, 2021

      The happiest BIRTHDAY
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Few Words to the Graduates

      Jun 11, 2018

      A Few Words to the Graduates
      7 min read

    • Article

      What Adults Do…

      Dec 28, 2023

      What Adults Do…
      6 min read

    • Article

      Meet My old Man

      Jan 19, 2023

      Catching up with friends at the local pub, I was surprised by an interruption. ‘This is for you, from the gentleman over there,’ said one of the bar staff, before handing me a glass of wine as she gestured to a man perched by the bar. I had a giggle

      3 min read

    • Article

      Somehow I Became Respectable

      May 21, 2019

      Somehow I Became Respectable
      4 min read

    • Article

      Righteous

      Jan 22, 2019

      Righteous
      8 min read

    • Article

      Lockdown

      Aug 31, 2020

      You keep a secret safe, wrapped up in the back of a drawer in your mind, all tied up in metaphorical ribbon and string, for 14 years. And in the space of three days, it unravels. How did that happen? I’ll tell you how. I was up a ladder, that’s how.

      5 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Say

      Oct 7, 2022

      I magine a sticky, early August morning, around three o’clock. It is dark, the moon blocked by clouds, no streetlights, a siren in the distance, medics running to a heart attack. Imagine a man out on a bike or walking a sick dog, or maybe a woman who

      10 min read

    • Article

      This Is Our Secret

      Sep 1, 2022

      This Is Our Secret
      6 min read

    • Article

      Lies I Tell My Father

      Feb 10, 2024

      “How’s your job at the newspaper?” my father asks me. He is sitting on a couch, a plush throw blanket spread across his legs. “The newspaper’s fine,” I lie. I lie because it is simple. I lie because it is quick. I lie because it is easier than trying

      10 min read

    • Article

      Last Night At The FESTIVAL

      Aug 2, 2023

      Last Night At The FESTIVAL
      6 min read

    • Article

      Coming To Terms

      May 25, 2021

      Coming To Terms
      14 min read

    • Article

      Someone I Used To Know

      Jan 6, 2022

      Someone I Used To Know
      7 min read

    • Article

      Not Just For CHRISTMAS

      Nov 24, 2021

      Not Just For CHRISTMAS
      9 min read

    • Article

      A Hard Man To Forget

      Jan 8, 2024

      A Hard Man To Forget
      4 min read

    • Article

      Balancing Act: A World Without Grace? Stepping Into The Shoes Of Separated Immigrant Families

      Jun 25, 2018

      I rode the bus with two 12-year-old girls recently - one was my daughter, one was not - and when I placed my fare card on the scanner, I discovered I had run out of money. I had enough to cover my ride, but not the girls'. I held up my phone and prom

      3 min read

    • Article

      Don’t Hurt Me

      Jun 15, 2023

      Don’t Hurt Me
      6 min read

    • Article

      I’ll Not Risk Myself

      Feb 10, 2024

      My phone reception is better outside the laundromat, so I spend most of my time waiting for laundry on the bench near the door. I don’t talk with my friends, but I surf the news. I like to know what’s going on. I don’t like people to know about me, t

      13 min read

    • Article

      Monster

      Dec 1, 2022

      Monster
      7 min read

    • Article

      Under the Ackee Tree

      Jun 15, 2019

      If you’re the only son of uptown Kingston parents, then you will have options. You can take Daddy’s Datsun or Mummy’s new ’68 VW and fly past street urchins who sell bag juice and ackee at red lights down Hope Road to pick up Reyha or Sanya or Cherie

      27 min read

    • Article

      Sinister Intentions

      Nov 3, 2022

      Sinister Intentions
      5 min read

    • Article

      Identity Crisis

      Feb 2, 2019

      Identity Crisis
      8 min read

    • Article

      Alan Cumming

      Nov 1, 2021

      Alan Cumming
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Family Night

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Family Night - Rye Hart

      Family Night

      If you like this book, check out these others from Rye Hart

      BURLY MOUNTAIN MEN

      Damaged Goods | Stone Heart | Cabin Fever | Rugged Daddy|

      Mountain Man’s Second Chance | Saving Mel | Teach Me Daddy

      ROCK HARD HOTTIES

      Rock Hard Daddy | Rock Hard SEAL | Rock Hard Neighbor | Rock Hard Baby Daddy |

      Rock Hard Boss | Rock Hard Fake Groom | Rock Hard Prince Charming

      STEAMY REVERSE HAREMS

      Sin City Baby | 5 Bikers for Valentines | 6 Mountain Brothers for Christmas |

      Her Best Men | Christmas With the McCormick Brothers

      BILLIONAIRE BAD BOYS

      Single Dad’s Spring Break | Hustler | 69th Street Bad Boys | Filthy Daddy

      HOT SINGLE DADDIES

      Cuff Me Daddy | Accidental Daddy | Naughty but Nice | Going Deep

      SEXY SECOND CHANCES

      One More Time | Bad Seed | Family Night | Forbidden Touch |

      Hot Bastard Next Door | Heart on Fire | Luca’s Return |

      Top Dog | The Longest Rodeo

      ALL ABOUT THE BABIES

      Baby Contract | Baby Wanted | Dom’s Secret Baby

      STRICTLY TABOO

      Two Weeks of Sin | Taboo Lovers | Step Daddy Desires |

      The Better Brother | My Hot Stepbrother

      Shane was my high school love...

      But we each had big dreams that pulled us apart...

      Since then, we've each suffered great hardships...

      We now have kids who count on us to do the right thing.

      Can we finally have our happily ever after together?

      Or are we better off leaving the past where it belongs?

      CHAPTER ONE

      PIPER

      He kept shooting looks in my direction, and I knew something was up. Standing behind the counter, I noticed that his nervous gaze kept flickering over to me, never straying far from where I stood as he fidgeted, shifting his backpack around. He was watching me closely, without trying to be obvious about it. Although, those nervous eyes made him all the more conspicuous.

      Those eyes – they looked familiar, yet I couldn't place them. He was young, probably somewhere around sixteen. He looked a little rough around the edges, like a kid who was familiar with trouble. Of course, given the neighborhood we were in, kids his age were known to get into trouble pretty often. I hated to make assumptions about the kid before he actually did something wrong, but it was hard not to. My hard-won experience taught me that I couldn't – and shouldn't – be too trusting.

      I watched him as he moved toward the back of the store, hovering around the potato chips. He paced the aisle a few times as I stepped out from around the counter and quietly walked in his direction. The shelves protected me from view, but I used the mirror overhead to keep my eyes on him.

      He obviously wasn't a criminal mastermind and wasn't very experienced at this because either he didn't see the mirror or didn't realize I was paying attention. He grabbed a bag of Doritos and stuffed them into his backpack as quietly as he could, before reaching for another bag.

      I stepped around the aisle. Hey, I wouldn't do that if I were you.

      The kid jumped, eyes wide, face frozen in fear as he dropped the backpack. It hit the ground at his feet with a loud plastic rustle and everything fell out, including the chips he'd tried to steal from my store. With my hands on my hips, I gave him the perfect disappointed mother look, and even though I wasn't technically that much older than him, it worked.

      The poor kid stammered and looked like he was on the verge of tears. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to –

      That's when it hit me – I did know the kid. Except the last time I saw him, he'd been just a little boy, not a teenager. Back then, he'd probably only been around ten or eleven. A scrawny kid with big, brown eyes and a soft voice. Five or six years had apparently changed him. A lot. What in the hell had happened to him over those years?

      Nolan? I asked. Nolan Jackson?

      His brown eyes widened even more, and his face blanched.

      Please just let me go, he said, his voice still as soft as I remembered it. I won't do it again. I swear it.

      He didn't remember me. He'd been young, and I'd only met him a handful of times. Back then, I'd been a lot different too. These days, I was more mature, not nearly as made up and fashion-obsessed as I'd been back in high school. I'd have been surprised if he had remembered me to be honest.

      You know I can't let you go, Nolan, I said. I either need to call your folks or the police. I'll cut you a break and leave it up to you. So, what's it going to be?

      Nolan sighed and shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. I almost felt bad for the kid. Still, he was nearing eighteen and if he didn't learn lessons like this now, he was going to end up in bigger trouble down the line.

      He stood there shaking his head, not looking me in the eye. It was like he hoped that if he took long enough, and showed me enough emotion, that I'd just drop the whole thing. So, I answered for him.

      I'm going to call your parents, I said.

      I don't – my parents are dead, he said.

      Those words hit me in the gut like a pound of bricks. I'd known Mr. and Mrs. Jackson – albeit not very well. They were a nice, middle class couple with three kids and a small ranch house out on the edge of town. They hadn't been rich by any stretch of the imagination, but you never got the sense they were poor either. When I'd gone over for dinner – when I was right around Nolan's age, actually – they'd welcomed me with open arms. Mrs. Jackson had baked an apple pie after Shane had mentioned it was my favorite. They were incredibly nice, considerate people.

      A lump formed in my throat, and tears welled in my own eyes. I stood there, rooted to my spot, my throat as dry as the Sahara. I wasn't sure what to do.

      I'm so sorry to hear that, I said, my voice soft. What happened?

      Car accident, he mumbled.

      He looked up and then quickly looked away, staring at the floor he was standing on, as if he was counting the tiles. He scratched his chin and slowly looked up at me, defeat and fear plainly etched upon his face.

      So I guess that means you're going to call the cops, huh? he asked.

      I didn't want to call the cops. Getting Nolan in trouble with the police was the last thing I wanted to do. He'd lost enough already and starting him on that path with the cops – the path where he'd be labeled a troublemaker and constantly harassed – didn't seem fair.

      What if I called your brother instead? I asked. Would he come get you?

      Nolan nodded.

      Fine, give me his number then, I said.

      I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the number as he recited it for me. It rang a few times and went to voicemail. Probably because he didn't recognize the number. So I left a message.

      Hey, Shane. It's Piper. Remember me from high school? Yeah, probably not, I mumbled. Anyway, funny story. I have your little brother here at C&S, the convenience store over on Willow and 10th? Yeah, well, he tried to steal some potato chips and I don't want to call the cops, so I need you to come pick him up.

      I left my number, along with the store number, and hung up. I stared at Nolan whose eyes were wide and frightened. He licked his lips nervously and I could see his hands trembling.

      If he doesn't call you back, then what? he asked.

      Why don't you call him on your phone? I asked.

      Nolan looked down at his hands. I don't have a cell phone.

      Oh, was all I could think to say. 

      I felt stupid for assuming all teens had a cell phone of their own these days. It really put me in a tight spot though. I pondered what my next move might be if Shane didn't call me back, since I couldn't keep the kid

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1