A Woman Undone Read online




  A Woman Undone

  TB Markinson

  Published by T. B. Markinson

  Visit T. B. Markinson’s official website at lesbianromancesbytbm.com for the latest news, book details, and other information.

  Copyright © T. B. Markinson, 2018

  Cover Design by: Erin Dameron-Hill / EDHGraphics

  Beta read by Claire Jarrett

  Edited by Kelly Hashway

  This e-book is copyrighted and licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any forms or by any means without the prior permission of the copyright owner. The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  About the Author

  Also by TB Markinson

  Chapter One

  The buzzer of the doorbell echoed throughout the house.

  Sarah and I locked eyes, each of us on one side of the island in the kitchen. I’d been in the process of prepping afternoon tea and coffee, a mug in each hand. She had Demi on her hip, nuzzling the top of the baby’s head. Fred and Ollie were hanging out with Maddie at the art table in the family room. Maddie, with Gabe in tow, had rushed back to Fort Collins from their ski trip with Maddie’s parents as soon as they heard about Peter’s arrest right after Christmas.

  The presence of someone or someones on the front porch was a terrible reminder of seeing my older brother hauled out of my house in handcuffs in the middle of the night less than twenty-four hours ago. Once, I’d insinuated my family was something television audiences may see on The Jerry Springer Show.

  Ironically, the comment had been made before my mother passed and I’d learned that for nearly two decades my father had a secret second family and I had a half brother and stepbrother.

  Now, Peter was out on bail for what I assumed was financial shenanigans reminiscent of something you’d see in the movie The Wolf on Wall Street. I’d stayed far away from the family business, not because I suspected unsavory tactics, but because for years I simply didn’t like my family. Although, it was clear to me Peter was up to his neck in shit, and I truly didn’t understand how it would impact my father’s company. So far, all I knew was Peter had to surrender his passport and all his personal assets had been frozen. Fortunately for him, his house was paid for, and I’d learned it was in my father’s name. Had Dad foreseen something like this happening? Or was that the benefit of being the firstborn son who shared the business gene? Given the outcome, I was thrilled to have my own mortgage and nothing to do with their company. Peter’s arrest had solidified this desire. To be blunt, I didn’t want to know the nitty gritty details involved. My personality had a hard time seeing past the black and white, and if I learned too much, I feared it’d permanently destroy my connection to Peter.

  Tie, his wife, had been kicked out of the family on Christmas after her attempt to frame Peter for an affair he didn’t have. Or did. Jesus, it was hard to know what the men in the Petrie family did or didn’t do. Tie had done everything she could to make the holiday miserable, and I’d threatened to kick her out on Christmas Eve. My father, though, managed to remove her from the premises with the one thing she wanted: money. Even though I’d only talked a big game about getting her out of my house, since Peter’s arrest, I worried I was next on her hit list, so to speak, since the woman was evil. Would she sic the police on me as well? I couldn’t imagine on what trumped-up charges, but I was willing to bet she’d come up with something maddeningly hard to refute. Not that I thought the charges against Peter weren’t completely legit, or was my knowledge of Peter’s money-grubbing character playing a factor? Was Tie clever enough to know this if she had set him up? With Peter—it was difficult to know what was what. Every time I tried to figure out what I believed, my mind started to spin like a crazy carnival ride, resulting with me wanting to puke my guts up.

  Knocking sounded on the door. Whoever was on the other side seemingly getting impatient.

  More cops? Tie? Reporters? Mormons? I wasn’t in the mood for any of those options.

  “I’ll get it,” I finally said, setting the mugs onto the countertop. “You okay with the kids?” It sounded odd to say that, but having cops rush up your stairs to arrest a family member made me more jittery than usual. And, I used to have to contend with a blackmailing and alcoholic ex. I missed those simpler times.

  Sarah nodded solemnly as if in tune with my concern.

  I sucked in a deep breath and rolled my shoulders before answering the door.

  There stood my father, in a Burberry coat, slacks, gray cashmere sweater, and tie. By his side was his second wife, Helen, the woman who’d been in the shadows most of my life.

  “Hey,” I said in a meek voice.

  “How are you?” Helen pulled me into her arms, the snow on her London Fog splattering me and the floor. Not that I minded. It was the type of embrace I’d never received from my own mother, but I’d been learning, even in my thirties, no one was too old for a mom hug. It reinforced my pledge to hug my children at least once every day and to tell them how much I love them. Words I’d never heard from the Scotch-lady.

  “We’re hanging in.” I pulled apart. “You two?”

  Dad bobbed his head, stroking his chin, which was speckled with stubble. Had he had a moment’s rest since hearing the news? From the hollow look in his eyes, I didn’t think so. “We should sit down and talk,” he said.

  I’d called Dad when Peter was shoved into a police car. His team of attorneys had leaped into action and succeeded in bailing out my brother, who was now in his home, virtually in hiding. While the Petries weren’t at the level of Bernie Madoff, my father and brother were well-known in the finance world, and it wasn’t unusual for me to see their photos in the business section of prominent newspapers.

  Peter’s arrest had spurred a lot of chatter, which I couldn’t stomach and tried to tune out. I was a history professor, and buzz words like insider trading, also known as black edge, IPOs, and other terms and phrases, were mostly meaningless to me since I’d done everything in my power to keep my nose out of the family business. I could hold my own discussing how the Treaty of Versailles and the subsequent disastrous inflation led to the rise of Hitler, but my brain shut down when it came to modern finances.

  I waved for them to go ahead. “Maddie’s with the kids in the front room. We can talk in there. I’m sure she’d like to know what’s going on.”

  Again, Dad bobbed his head.

  When I’d met Maddie many years ago, she’d been engaged to Peter. Just days ago, on Christmas, she got engaged to my stepbrother Gabe. Part of me wondered how Peter’s arrest would impact her latest engagement. It wasn’t a big secret that Peter was still in love with Maddie, and despite her assertion she was over Peter, I suspected she reciprocated, but I didn’t know if that was because a part of her would always love Peter or if her feelings went deeper. Maddie was the type who liked putting people back together. I knew this because she’d done it for me in the past, and she wasn’t good at staying away from the center of shitstorms.

  Maddie had mentioned she wondered what Peter would have been like if he wasn’t a Petrie, raised by parents who weren’t loving and taught from a young age that cheating was a normal part of life. I’d been shielded from my father’s affair, but Peter hadn’t and hindsight was proving it’d warped his mind. Furthermore, Maddie said being with Gabe was easier, since Gabe wasn’t as insecure as Peter. Also, Gabe gave her an in to the Petrie family, something Maddie desired for some insane reason. In spite of all the problems the Petries encountered, Maddie felt like she belonged, adding to her desire to marry Gabe. An
other connection to the family without the actual Petrie DNA.

  Then, there was the complication of Peter rushing into a marriage to Tie after his relationship with Maddie collapsed on their wedding day. Fuck, it was hard to keep everything straight. To add yet another wrinkle, Tie had been one of Peter’s mistresses when he’d been engaged to Maddie, which Maddie didn’t know until well after Peter married Tie. That must have hurt like hell. I’d never figured out Peter’s reason for marrying Tie. Simply as a fuck you to Maddie for humiliating him on their wedding day? Or had he been afraid to be alone and Tie was ready, willing, and able? Or even more nefarious reasons? The last option seemed more plausible, considering Peter and Tie were involved.

  Honestly, did Jerry Springer have such complicated family dynamics as the Petries on his show? I needed one of those boards you see on crime or conspiracy shows, with photos and strings leading to various suspects and scenarios. Or would that be too depressing? Would all the strings circle endlessly? I just wanted a normal life.

  We trooped into the family room. It seemed to dawn on Maddie a family powwow was about to begin. She kissed the top of each twin’s head. “I’ll help Sarah get drinks.”

  “I should get Demi.” I left the twins under the watchful eyes of their grandparents.

  Sarah must have heard Helen’s voice because she was pulling down more coffee mugs from the cupboard when I entered the kitchen.

  I relieved her of Demi, who had been at our house when Peter was arrested. There hadn’t been a sighting of Tie, Demi’s mom, and no word from her either. It was as if she’d vanished into thin air, although, none of us believed that. Tie wasn’t the type to go away silently.

  Demi giggled when I tickled her belly. Sarah grinned at me, our eyes in agreement. No matter what, we’d ensure our niece was loved and happy. Peter hadn’t been a great brother and turned out to be an even worse fiancé and husband. But he’d started to change after the birth of his daughter. I’d spoken to him briefly on the phone after he’d been bailed out, and we were going to talk later today to firm up plans. He’d been clear; my main goal during this entire ordeal was to take care of Demi. Shield her from everything, something I agreed with completely.

  Having been a child who didn’t have anyone to take me under their wings, I was determined to ensure Demi wouldn’t be impacted by any of the shit swirling around her. She was innocent. Probably the only one out of the three in her immediate family who was.

  “Earl Grey or herbal?” Sarah asked me.

  “Earl Grey. Strong.”

  She nodded, understanding. I had barely slept in what seemed like days, but it’d been less than twenty-four hours.

  “Go. We got this.” Maddie shooed me out of the kitchen.

  Dad and Helen, sitting on the couch, conversed quietly. Ollie continued coloring her masterpiece with a massive red crayon while Freddie, his head cocked to the right with one eye squinted, stacked some blocks.

  “I’m really starting to wonder if he’ll be an architect or engineer,” Helen observed.

  “He loves to build things.” I took a seat on the leather chair closest to my children, settling Demi in my lap. She was much clingier than either of the twins.

  “How is precious little Demi?” Helen spoke to the child in her grandmotherly voice.

  Demi reached out, cooing.

  Helen rose, taking the excited Demi into her arms. “You’re such a sweet girl.”

  Demi giggled.

  Retaking her seat next to my father, Helen said, “She seems to be doing well, considering.”

  “We’re trying to keep things as calm and cheerful as we can for all three.” I shrugged.

  “Peter misses her, but he doesn’t want to subject her to the…” Dad settled on, “hoopla.”

  It was odd, hearing my father, Charles Allen Petrie, the finance whiz who’d built a successful company from the ground up, use the word hoopla. Although, Helen affectionately called him Cap, so he must have a playful side. Maybe there’d always been the hoopla side to my father that I’d never witnessed while my mother was alive. The Scotch-lady had a way of sucking anything good out of the air around her.

  I’d lived with it for so long I didn’t know there was another way to exist.

  It wasn’t until I fell in love with Sarah that I learned what it was like to be happy.

  Of course, I’d fought it in the beginning, with my specialty being sabotage. I’d never been a happy child. And the beginning years of my adult life had been complicated by my relationship with Meg, an alcoholic who’d turned out to be toxic like my mother. The pre-Sarah me craved what I’d considered normal: pain and suffering. That was what I knew and understood.

  Then Sarah had entered my life.

  Everything changed from the moment I stared into her dark chocolate eyes.

  Going from toxic to normal wasn’t an easy adjustment for the likes of me. Most who knew me well called me clueless. Not surprising since I’d always considered myself a bit of a social experiment, having grown up with a conniving mother and a mostly silent father. Maybe I’d been cursed, being born into the Petrie family.

  Sarah, with a tray in her hands, entered the room, knocking me out of my dark thoughts.

  I smiled, knowing I wouldn’t change anything. No matter the pain of growing up, the path I took, with so many speed bumps along the way, had led me to Sarah. She was my rock. My love. My life. The mother of our children.

  We locked eyes, and she flashed her confident smile that always conveyed, No matter what, I love you and I got you.

  “Who wants coffee or tea?” she said in a soothing voice. “We also have cinnamon rolls.” Sarah set the tray down on the coffee table with a hand motion indicating, Have at it.

  Dad fixed cups of coffee for Helen and himself. “Roll?” he asked Helen.

  Her eyes darted skyward, and she released an anguished sigh. “I really wish I could since I don’t like turning one down, but I’m still recovering from the shrimp fiasco.”

  He grinned slightly, not being the type to express full emotions. “You do like a good roll.”

  They shared a mischievous look, hinting to an inside joke that made me cringe. While I was happy for them, suspecting they had a healthy sex life was simply too much for me. In my world, my father wasn’t a sexual being and his offspring had magically appeared on the planet. Thinking otherwise caused my brain to short-circuit.

  Sarah, on the other hand, seemed to appreciate their closeness. If she knew my thoughts, she’d reprimand me for being too stodgy. However, she secretly loved my stick-in-the mud side. I was sure of it even if she wouldn’t admit it.

  Sarah handed me a cup of Earl Grey, perching on the ottoman in front of me, sipping her coffee. Craning her neck, she said, “That’s beautiful, Ollie.”

  “Beau-ful.” Ollie said her version of beautiful, followed by giggling, continuing her coloring with more determination on her face.

  “What movie are Allen and Casey seeing today?” Sarah asked Helen.

  “A superhero one. I can’t remember which. Gabe’s going as well.”

  Casey, Ethan’s daughter, had been staying with us while her parents dealt with the death of Lisa’s mom, Casey’s grandmother. Poor Casey hadn’t learned of her grandmother’s passing yet. The last I’d heard, Lisa was going back and forth about wanting to fly Casey out for the services, and Ethan was doing his best not to put his foot down completely due to the expenditure and wanting to protect his daughter from the sad reality all of us faced: death. Both Gabe and Allen, who’d recovered remarkably well from the food poisoning, had volunteered to fly with her if need be. Sarah and I would foot the bill if Ethan would agree.