Private Sins (Three Rivers Series: Book 1) by Brenda Barrett Page B

ten years away and she was planning to come back to Jamaica to retire.
    She loved Kelly and her grandchildren and usually took her three-week vacation in December so that she could spend every moment with her family.
    Theo smiled to himself quietly, and looked into the bassinet as Mark cooed. The baby was awake and smiling too. He grinned and took him out. He was getting bigger and heavier by the day and at four months he was already demonstrating a sharp intelligence that only a doting father would notice. He cuddled the baby and kissed him. He smelled so good and sweet.
    He loved a baby's scent; it was so clean and innocent. Mark looked up at him his hazel eyes wide and flailed his arms. His eyes were a unique combination of green and brown, an unusual color. Theo looked into his baby's innocent eyes and laughed. “What are you thinking about little one?”
    The baby blew some bubbles as if he wanted to talk to him.
    Theo looked over at Kelly and grinned, she was trying to convince Matthew to dig a deeper hole for his tomato seedlings but Matthew was distracted by a worm. He was insisting on taking up the worm to examine it closely. He pushed his podgy hands with the worm that was wiggling like crazy in his mother's face—Kelly was looking decidedly squeamish.
    All was well in his world, Theo thought. He was so grateful to God for the blessing of family. Many people did not have this kind of togetherness and he had to count it a blessing that he did.
    “That boy is going to be the end of me.” Kelly stomped up to the deck and sat beside Theo. “He pushed the worm at me and told me to stroke it.”
    Theo laughed and she looked over at the baby, “hi handsome, I would touch you but my hands are dirty.”
    “Do you want us to go for ice cream later?” Theo asked.
    Kelly looked at him and smiled. “Sure! I like this, more family outings and you spending time at home.”
    Theo shrugged. “When you were pregnant with Mark you were so distressed and depressed; I knew at the heart of that was my hectic work schedule and me not being able to spend more time with you, so I decided that I am going to make more time for my family. I never intended for you to raise the children alone.”
    Kelly smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She hadn’t been distressed because Theo was hardly home but because of her duplicity—obviously he had been watching her and taking note of her mood.
    She sometimes forgot how observant Theo could be. A month ago when they had gone to the restaurant together and she had shown too much attention toward Chris it’s as if Theo had beefed up his efforts to be the perfect husband. Instead instead of pleasing her, it had the opposite effect—it was making her angry.
    Where was this perfect husband when she had been lonely and seeking attention. If he had been around she never would have had that affair. Her little episode with Chris would never have gotten out of hand.
    She looked over at the baby and wondered when his powers of observation would kick in and he would realize that the baby didn’t resemble either of them?
    Theo hadn’t yet said a thing but she was silently waiting. Several persons had commented on his lack of resemblance to her or the pastor and she could see some of the older church members speculating. Of course they would not dare come out and suggest that her baby belonged to anyone else but she could see questioning in their eyes.
    She hardly wanted to take her baby to church anymore and she was sure that it would only get worse. She was living on borrowed time and as long as her husband would have her she was going to hang in there until it dawned on him that something was wrong.
    She sighed and then looked at him again, he was watching her closely.
    “Where do you go when you zone out like that with a thoughtful wince on your face?”
    Kelly forced a laugh, “here and there.”
    Theo frowned. “I want us to communicate Kelly.” He rocked the baby, who was chewing on