Sweet Dreams Are Made of This Ch. 03

"Give your daughter some credit for the intelligence we both know she has... sir." The last word dripped ice. "You might not see Fiona as a real person, but that is her half-sister." Emphasizing the last word, "Her sister, get it?" He didn't want to invoke the word 'incest' in front of Jenny without context, but Donovan's expression flickered enough that it seemed he understood.

The silence on the other end of the phone stretched interminably, before Donovan finally responded. "Okay, you're talking sense. We're on the same wave-length, kid."

"And..."

"And nothing. You treat my little girl right, and make sure you don't do anything to her that would make me regret not adding you to a long list of kids who got shown the door."

Jahn had no idea what he was talking about, but let it rest. "Yes sir."

"Put her back on." Jahn stood, passing the handset to Jenny, who had an apprehensive look on her face. He was unwilling to eavesdrop, but the shift in his girlfriend's overcast expression to her usual sunshine demeanor told him all he needed to know. Donovan might heap that bullshit on Jahn, but he wasn't going to do that to his daughter. Maybe love could work miracles. Or maybe he was just a romantic of idiotic proportions.

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The ride home was not as silent as he might have wished for. When he saw Jenny's face return to the cloudy expression she'd worn after hearing his words to her father, he should have known the verbal left hook was coming, but he wouldn't have been able to dodge it anyway.

Tone unreadable, she asked, "What were you saying to my father about me and Fiona?" A loaded question, with no dodge available, no place to retreat to.

... to be continued...