Burned by Unknown Page B

You aren’t exactly sure of what you want either, Lincoln. Not long ago, you were talking about cooling things off with Anthony because he was dragging his feet about making a permanent commitment to you. Did you not say you felt you were wasting your time with him?”
    Lincoln swallowed. “Yeah, but…”
    “But nothing, sister! Are you hurt because he might have figured out how you felt and decided to move on before you could dump him?”
    Her mouth dropped opened. She couldn’t believe Regan was saying this to her. “You are supposed to be on my side! Why are you taking up for him?”
    “Answer the damn question, Lincoln. You barge into my house accusing Orlando of betraying you. Do you want Anthony or not?  Jesus! The two of you are adults and should be able to work it out or walk away from each other without all the damn drama.”
    Lincoln thumbed the tears away from her eyes. “You make it sound so easy. I have tried to talk to him about our relationship. He ignores my calls, or I don’t see him for days. I do love Anthony, but the voice in the back of my head is telling me to beware. I’ve always had a fear this woman would come back, and he would go back to her. Now that she is back, he is acting stranger than ever.  She has to be the reason for it.”
    Regan got a box of tissue from the desk and handed it to her sister. “So, now you have to decide what to do. Do you fight for your relationship or let Anthony go?”
    Lincoln walked around the living room. “I don’t know what I want to do.  If I walk away from him, in time I will get over him. The dreams of a happy life with him will fade and give way to something else.” She put her fist to her heart. “This pain, however, will be with me for a long time. I’ve asked Anthony numerous times if he was sure we belonged together, and he always assured me our age difference was not a problem and he was over Melanie.”
    They became quiet as Lincoln tried to regain her composure. Orlando’s ringing cell phone echoed in the silence. “Sorry about that,” he said as he walked into another room.
    Regan hugged her sister tightly. “I’m so sorry, Lincoln. I’m here for you whenever you need me.”
    Lincoln shuddered from the cold settling in her bones as she cried on her sister’s shoulder. Crying was not high on her list of things to do, but she had never experienced a broken heart such as this before.

Chapter Seven
    The good day he had planned for his day off went to hell in a handbasket. Nick signaled the bartender for a refill. His head pounded from the two double shots of Jack Daniels he had drank on an empty stomach. He pushed the empty shot glass across the bar to the bartender. “Make this one a single,” he said rubbing his temples.
    “Nick, what woman has you throwing back the alcohol?” the bartender asked, refilling the glass.
    Nick held up the glass, admiring the golden hue of the liquor swirling around. “Jet, it is a woman making me drink.  The sad thing about is she doesn’t belong to me but to another man.”
    “But you want her?”
    He shook his head. “Nah, I feel sorry for her. The bastard is fooling around on her and she wants my help to nail his sorry ass. The drawback is he’s a friend of mine.”
    “That’s tough. What are you going to do?”
    “Drink,” he said swallowing the contents of the glass down at once. “She’s a nice girl too.  I hate to see her go through this shit.”
    “Is she pretty?”
    “She’s gorgeous,” He said smiling as he described Lincoln. “She has those beautiful, honest eyes that can make a man spill his guts. And her skin is so soft you don’t want to stop touching it. And she’s tall. I like tall women.”
    The bartender leaned on the bar. “She sounds like a knockout. Is she a blonde or a redhead? And does the carpet match the drapes?” He winked and smiled in a snarky way.
    Nick chuckled. “She’s neither. She has long silky black hair, and I’m sure the carpet matches