Shannon wiped her face. “I thought if you knew how you came into this world, you’d hate me.”
“I hate the man who did this to you. And I don’t ever want to know my birth father, but I want to know the woman who not only had the guts to give me up—which I can’t imagine was easy—but who then turned her life around and went about helping other young girls. Did I tell you I’m getting a master’s in social work? I’m not exactly going into your field, but I must have gotten that passion from you. My father is a math teacher, and my mother is an accountant. I hate math.”
“I failed the ninth-grade regent’s exam,” Shannon admitted.
“I barely passed, and my parents were always so frustrated that they had to hire a math tutor for their child.”
Erica rubbed a hand over her stomach.
“How far along are you?”
“Almost six months. I know I’m young. And, honestly, we didn’t plan this. We found out I was pregnant five days before our wedding. Total shocker.” Erica smiled wide. “You should have seen the look on John’s face when I told him as we were getting ready for bed and I informed him that he could toss the brand-new box of condoms he’d bought for our honeymoon into the garbage.” Erica covered her mouth and giggled. “He bought like a hundred of them. I have no idea what he thought our ten-day trip to the Bahamas was going to be like, but no way in hell was he going to need that many.”
“When I told Jackson he was about to be a daddy, we were on the dock and he tried to do this little jig and fell right into the lake. I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard because I’m the klutz, not Jackson.” Shannon glanced at the sky, searching for the right words. “You mentioned wanting medical history.”
Erica placed her hand on Shannon’s leg. “I said I don’t want to know my father, I meant it.”
“Here’s the thing, Erica. I still don’t know which one of those men is your birth father, so I can’t give you his medical information. But if you need me to, I will gladly find that out for you.”
Erica threw her arms around Shannon and hugged her tight.
Shannon gasped. Tentatively, she squeezed her daughter back.
Her daughter.
“This is the first time I’ve ever held you,” she whispered.
Erica cried. “They didn’t let you when I was born?”
“No. And it was for the best. Really. It was.” Shannon cupped Erica’s face. “You are not the sum of what happened that night.”
“I know that. And neither are you.”
“That is true.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” Shannon said.
“What happened to all those men? I honestly focused my attention on articles about you, not them. Did they get what they deserved?”
“Thanks to my husband, they sure did.” Shannon smiled. “I don’t know exactly what you read, but my uncle was involved and he’s facing life in prison without prarole. One of the other men, the one who kidnapped me last year, is facing the same sentence. One of the others is dead, and the other three have all been arrested because they were still involved in some kind of sex ring.” Shannon waved at Jackson as he strolled across the park, pushing their son’s stroller with John at his side. The two men looked to be deep in conversation. “Jackson keeps a finger on the sex ring world and works with the police to try and put an end to as many as possible.”
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
“But it’s over now, and I have a wonderful life with Jackson.” Shannon took Erica’s hand. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to get to know you better. Maybe we can all have dinner sometime. However, I’ll never take your mother’s place or try to be one to you. I gave you up. Not because I didn’t love you, because I did—I do—but because I couldn’t be a mother at sixteen and potentially expose you to the insane world my father and uncle had dragged me into.”
“I know that,” Erica said. “But I see no reason why I can’t have you both. Can you?”
“No, I can’t.” Shannon squeezed her hand. “Do you like to sail?”
“I’ve only been a couple of times, but John, he loves sailing.”
“My husband and I have a small sailboat. You should come with us sometime.”
“We’d love that.”
Shannon smiled. It was time to bury all the darkness and create the kind of legacy her family could be proud of.
Thank you for taking the time to read Dark Legacy. Please feel free to leave an HONEST review. The next book in the series is Legacy of Lies. This is Katie Bateman’s story.
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About the Author
Jen Talty is the USA Today Bestselling Author of Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, and Paranormal Romance. In the fall of 2020, her short story was selected and featured in a 1001 Dark Nights Anthology. She is currently contracted to write in the With Me in Seattle series by Kristen Proby with Lady Boss Press, as well as Susan Stoker’s Special Forces: Operation Alpha and Elle James’s Brotherhood Protectors.
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Regardless of the genre, her goal is to take you on a ride that will leave you floating under the sun with warmth in your heart. She writes stories about broken heroes and heroines who aren’t necessarily looking for romance, but in the end, they find the kind of love books are written about :).
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She first started writing while carting her kids to one hockey rink after the other, averaging 170 games per year between 3 kids in 2 countries and 5 states. Her first book, IN TWO WEEKS was originally published in 2007. In 2010 she helped form a publishing company (Cool Gus Publishing) with NY Times Bestselling Author Bob Mayer where she ran the technical side of the business through 2016.
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Jen is currently enjoying the next phase of her life…the empty nester! She and her husband reside in Jupiter, Florida.
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Grab a glass of vino, kick back, relax, and let the romance roll in…
* * *
Sign up for my Newsletter (https://dl.bookfunnel.com/6atcf7g1be) where I often give away free books before publication.
* * *
Join my private Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/191706547909047/) where I post exclusive excerpts and discuss all things murder and love!
* * *
And on Bookbub: bookbub.com/authors/jen-talty
Also by Jen Talty
Club Temptation
SWEET TEMPTATION
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Legacy Series
Dark Legacy
Legacy of Lies
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With Me In Seattle
INVESTIGATE WITH ME
SAIL WITH ME
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The Monroes
COLOR ME YOURS
COLOR ME SMART
COLOR ME FREE
COLOR ME LUCKY
COLOR ME ICE
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It’s all in the Whiskey
JOHNNIE WALKER
GEORGIA MOON
JACK DANIELS
JIM BEAM
WHISKEY SOUR
WHISKEY COBBLER
WHISKEY SMASH
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Search and Rescue
PROTECTING AINSLEY
PROTECTING CLOVER
PROTECTING OLYMPIA
PROTECTING FREEDOM
PROTECTING PRINCESS
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NY STATE TROOPER SERIES
In Two Weeks
Dark Water
Deadly Secrets
Murder in paradise Bay
Deadly Seduction
When A Stranger Calls
His Deadly Past
The Corkscrew Killer
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Brand New Novella for the First Responders series
A spin off from the NY State Troopers series
PLAYING WITH FIRE
PRIVATE CONVERSATION
THE RIGHT GROOM
AFTER THE FIRE
CAUGHT IN THE FLAMES
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The Men of Thief Lake
REKINDLED
DESTINY’S DREAM
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Federal Investigators
JANE DOE’S RETURN
THE BUTTERFLY MURDERS
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The Aegis Network
THE LIGHTHOUSE
HER LAST HOPE
THE LAST FLIGHT
THE RETURN HOME
THE MATRIARCH
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The Collective Order
THE LOST SISTER
THE LOST SOLDIER
THE LOST SOUL
THE LOST CONNECTION
A Spin-Off Series: Witches Academy Series
THE NEW ORDER
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Special Forces Operation Alpha
BURNING DESIRE
BURNING KISS
BURNING SKIES
BURNING LIES
BURNING HEART
BURNING BED
REMEMBER ME ALWAYS
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Out of the Wild
ROUGH JUSTICE
ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES
ROUGH RIDE
ROUGH EDGE
ROUGH BEAUTY
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The Brotherhood Protectors
The Saving Series
SAVING LOVE
SAVING MAGNOLIA
SAVING LEATHER
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Hot Hunks
Cove's Blind Date Blows Up
My Everyday Hero – Ledger
Tempting Tavor
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Holiday Romances
A CHRISTMAS GETAWAY
ALASKAN CHRISTMAS
WHISPERS
CHRISTMAS IN THE SAND
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
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Heroes & Heroines on the Field
TAKING A RISK
TEE TIME
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The Twilight Crossing Series
THE BLIND DATE
SPRING FLING
SUMMER’S GONE
WINTER WEDDING
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Witches and Werewolves
LADY SASS
ALL THAT SASS
Coming soon! NEON SASS
Coming soon! PAINTING SASS