In a small town where reputations were everything, Kate, a pastor's daughter, faces scandal when her boyfriend abandons her while she's pregnant. To salvage her dignity and protect her family's good reputation, she marries Tony, a wealthy widowed stranger she met during an outreach program. Tony's relationship with Kate comes with some complications: his two adult children are unaware of his sudden marriage, and his affluent status stirs vicious gossip in his social circles. As Kate and Tony's marriage begins, romance blooms, but so do troubling rumors about Tony's past. With disturbing secrets emerging and threats looming, Kate must navigate the storm of scandal and deceit to find if the love she shares with Tony can ever survive or be destroyed beyond repair.
Chapter 1 .The Meeting
"Oh, shoot!" Kate muttered irritably.
She had stubbed her toe against the metal leg of the serving table where she was passing out food to recipients of the ongoing outreach program organized by her church. Even her thick boot couldn't protect her from the stinging pain of that unexpected collision.
Kate had tried so hard to remain focused all day but her troubled mind kept getting in the way. Now, she had a throbbing toe to remind her to get her head back in the game and stop drifting off mentally.
Kate scanned the crowd of volunteers going about their tasks to see if she would spot a familiar blond hair with a faded undercut among them, but she didn't. Her heart sank with disappointment. Where on earth was Kevin?
"Do you need some help here?" A rich male voice asked near Kate, bringing her back to the moment.
She looked at the man who had spoken and found herself looking into a pair of warm brown eyes belonging to a good-looking male specimen from another generation. The man was dressed in a beige polo shirt, a tan denim jacket, a pair of faded blue jeans, and tan patent leather boots.
His full black hair was already greying at the temples and his dark chocolate skin radiated with health. There were barely any wrinkles on his face, save for the crinkles near his eyes, which told Kate that this was a man who laughed a lot.
"Are you a volunteer?" Kate asked the man.
"Yes," he replied promptly. "I was at the church service when this outreach program was announced a few days ago, so I decided to join and do the little I can to help the windstorm victims."
Kate smiled at the man and asked, "You're not from around here, are you?"
"Guilty as charged," said the man, grinning and displaying a mouthful of straight white teeth.
"I'm in town for business," the man continued. "I thought I might stick around for a few days and get a feel of this place."
"You came to Sommerville to do business?" Kate asked in surprise. "There's nothing here. Why would you come to this unknown little town in Wyoming to do business?"
The man chuckled and said, "Actually, my business interest is in Sundance. I came here out of curiosity and because it's a stone's throw from my hotel."
"I see..." Kate said absently and scanned the crowd again. Kevin is still not there.
"So, can I help you?" The man asked Kate, distracting her again.
"Sure, go ahead," she answered and stepped aside to make room for him behind the serving table.
Kate wasn't exactly a short woman at 5 feet 6 inches in height, but she was instantly dwarfed by the man now standing beside her. She guessed he might be around 6 feet 2 inches in height, which was way taller than Kevin who was only three inches taller than her.
Kate got a whiff of his exotic cologne and she could tell that this man not only had style but a good taste in fragrances as well.
"My name is Tony, by the way," he said and extended his right hand to Kate.
"I'm Kate," she said and accepted his handshake. His grip was firm and brief.
From the softness of his hand, Kate assumed that the man probably got manicure treatments regularly or simply never did any hard work with his hands. She generally believed that men were meant to have hard palms, not soft, comforting ones.
"So, here's what you'll do," Kate said and showed Tony how to stack each paper plate with a sandwich, eggs, and sausage. The food is accompanied by a cup of coffee or tea, depending on the receiver's preference.
Tony got the hang of it real fast and with his help, more food got handed out quickly, shortening the queue in no time. Kate couldn't help but be impressed by Tony's efficiency. They worked in companionable silence, dishing out food and passing them to those in need.
Once all the food had been handed out, Kate began to pack up the coolers and remaining paper plates and cups. Without waiting to be told, Tony joined her.
"Oh, you don't have to do that," she told him quickly. "You've been a great help already."
"I don't mind," said Tony casually and he continued to clean up with her.
Kate found this man's humility very refreshing. Kevin would never. He was supposed to do the food duty with her but for whatever reason, he'd bailed on her. It was one of the things she disliked about him, aside from his arrogance and selfishness.
The only thing Kevin had going for him was his good looks and charm. That was why Kate fell for him. It was why she always overlooked his bad behavior even though she knew she should break up with him, particularly when he started making passes at her best friend, Wendy, and she'd told Kate about it.
Kevin had apologized to her repeatedly and promised never to cross that line again with Wendy. But he'd crossed with other ladies multiple times and called it, 'harmless flirting.'
She should have cut him loose long ago, but now it was too late. She was about to be stuck with her toxic boyfriend forever because of her carelessness.
"Are you alright?" Tony asked Kate softly. "You seem distracted."
"I'm fine," she responded quickly with a forced smile. "I think we're done here. Thank you very much for your assistance, Tony."
"You're welcome," Tony replied with a smile.
"Bye then," said Kate before grabbing an empty cooler in one hand and a stack of unused plates in the other and walking briskly away from Tony.
As Kate marched towards her car, a wave of nausea stopped her in her tracks. She inhaled a lungful of air and let it out slowly before continuing her walk to the vehicle.
It was a miracle that she'd managed to get through the food task without throwing up and causing a scene. It was getting more and more difficult to keep her current condition a secret. It was only a matter of time before she got exposed.
"Damn you, Kevin," she muttered angrily as she started to stuff her burden in the trunk of her fairly used blue Mini Cooper, a graduation gift from her dad when she finished college four years ago on her 21st birthday.
Kate pulled out her mobile phone from her back pocket and dialed Kevin's number. Her call went straight to voicemail.
Kate gritted her teeth in frustration but decided to leave a message anyway.
"Hi, Kevin. Please, call me as soon as you get this message," she said hastily. "No, it's not about you flaking on me for the outreach thing. It's about something else. Something very important. Please, call me, OK? We really need to talk."
Another wave of nausea hit Kate so hard that she actually gagged. She held onto her car for support while breathing deeply. Gosh, she needed to fix this situation as soon as possible.
Kate looked up and saw her best friend approaching with a wide smile on her pretty face. After taking another deep breath, Kate curved her lips into a smile and hoped that Wendy wouldn't notice that something was wrong with her.
Chapter 1 .The Meeting
30/09/2024
Chapter 2 .Who is Tony
30/09/2024
Chapter 3 .The Announcement
30/09/2024
Chapter 4 .The Rejection
30/09/2024
Chapter 5 .The Aftermath
30/09/2024
Chapter 6 .The Lie
30/09/2024
Chapter 7 .The Visit
30/09/2024
Chapter 8 .The Truth
30/09/2024
Chapter 9 .The Proposal
30/09/2024
Chapter 10 .The Dead End
30/09/2024
Chapter 11 .Desperate Times
04/11/2024
Chapter 12 .The Compromise
05/11/2024
Chapter 13 .The Invitation
06/11/2024
Chapter 14 .The Acceptance
06/11/2024
Chapter 15 .The Preparation
07/11/2024
Chapter 16 .The Wedding
07/11/2024
Chapter 17 .The Farewell
07/11/2024
Chapter 18 .Chicago
08/11/2024
Chapter 19 .The Confrontation
08/11/2024
Chapter 20 .The Resistance
09/11/2024
Chapter 21 .Family Meeting
09/11/2024
Chapter 22 .The Showdown
09/11/2024
Chapter 23 .Mrs DaCosta
10/11/2024
Chapter 24 .Kate Vs. Agnes
10/11/2024
Chapter 25 .Duchess
10/11/2024
Chapter 26 .Another Showdown
11/11/2024
Chapter 27 .The Postnup
11/11/2024
Chapter 28 .The Threat
11/11/2024
Chapter 29 .The Wake-up Call
12/11/2024
Chapter 30 .Taking Charge
12/11/2024
Chapter 31 .Kate's Secret
12/11/2024
Chapter 32 .Growing Feelings
19/11/2024
Chapter 33 .The Murder Attempt
13/11/2024
Chapter 34 .Fighting Fear
13/11/2024
Chapter 35 .The Morning After
13/11/2024
Chapter 36 .Mr and Mrs DaCosta
14/11/2024
Chapter 37 .Brazil
14/11/2024
Chapter 38 .Settling In
14/11/2024
Chapter 39 .MČe DaCosta
19/11/2024
Chapter 40 .The Unveiling
19/11/2024
Other books by Ebony Pete
More