Strictly Family

Strictly Family The Twin Find Ruth Cardello Author Contact website: RuthCardello.com email: [email protected] Facebook: facebook.com/ruthcardello Instagram: authorruthcardello TikTok: @author.ruthcardello Bookbub: ruth-cardello Copyright Strictly Family Copyright © 2023 by Ruth Cardello EPUB Edition ISBN: 978-1-951888-65-7 An original work of Ruth Cardello. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, events, business establishments or locales is entirely coincidental.” Note to my readers You can read more about Jesse Rehoboth in Strictly Business (The Switch Book 1) and his twin Scott Millville in Out of Love (The Switch Book 2). I’m having so much fun writing these twin books and delving into the backstory of how they were all separated. Stay in the know for all releases by signing up for my newsletter: Click here. Table of Contents Cover Title Page Author Contact Copyright Note to my readers Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three About Out of Office Author Biography CHAPTER ONE Ashlee I had to pee, but nothing could have dragged me from my car as I waited for Thane Rehoboth to emerge from his office building. My phone vibrated, causing me to jump and I swore under my breath before answering. If I didn’t, my sister would only call back. “This isn’t really a good time,” I said in a low voice, even though there was no one around to hear me. “Sage wants to say good night,” she said. “And I’m still hoping I can talk you out of this before you get yourself arrested.” “Is Sage beside you?” “No, Harry is reading her a bedtime story. It’s a school night, Ashlee. You were supposed to be back hours ago.” I sighed. “I’m sorry. I thought I would be. All of this would have been easier if they’d let me in to talk to him. Or if the man worked regular hours. The parking lot is pretty much empty. It’s eight o’clock. Who works that late?” “A lot of people,” Joanie answered. “Come home. For all you know, he intends to work until midnight.” “No,” I said with determination. “If I leave now, I may not have the courage to do this again.” “Which sounds like a sign that you shouldn’t be doing it at all.” She was right, but that didn’t change how much I didn’t want to close the door on this idea. Still, she’d done more for me than I could ever repay. “If you need me to go home, I will. I wasn’t thinking about how this would affect your kids.” “My kids are fine,” she said gently. “And so is Sage. We’re fine. There’s very little difference between putting three or four kids to bed. It’s you I’m worried about. This is crazy.” “Isn’t that what everyone said when you offered to be a surrogate for me? People focused on all the possible ways it could go wrong, but look how it turned out. I have Sage and you have my eternal gratitude.” She chuckled. “Oh, no you don’t. Don’t soften me up with my favorite niece like that, thinking I won’t give it to you straight. You’re taking this too far.” Sage was her only niece. Normally the favorite label would have made me smile, but I was a bundle of nerves. “You were there. You heard Sage. She wants to know about her father.” “One DNA match does not mean Sage has a father. Men who donate to sperm banks anonymously want to remain just that—anonymous.” “He doesn’t have to tell anyone about her. He doesn’t even need to get to know her. I’d be happy with any tidbit of a story he could give me that I could one day pass on to her. He obviously didn’t do it for the money. Did he want to ensure his line would continue? He might not want to tell me, but what if he does? I have to take the chance.” “Oh, Ashlee, I wish I believed that. You and I both know that some part of you is hoping for more. You have this fantasy that he’ll want to meet her and be part of her life. The man jizzed in a cup then signed paperwork to ensure his information wasn’t linked to whatever came from that deposit. He doesn’t want to know about Sage or any other children he might be connected to.” “There aren’t more. I was able to squeeze that much information out of the secretary at the clinic.” “By implying your child’s life depended on getting the name of the donor—which she didn’t give you—so she probably didn’t even believe you.” “She believed me. I saw her open the online files to check. The donor’s name wasn’t listed, but she had the history of his donation. If there were others, she would have told me. We bonded. And I didn’t lie to her. I told her it was imperative that I track down the father for health reasons. That’s true. Family health records are important.” After a moment, Joanie said, “I know you want to give Sage a piece of her father and I understand, but is pouncing on him in his workplace parking lot like a stalker really the best way to contact him?” “I’ve tried to make appointments to meet him. He’s too busy for normal people.” “Normal?” Joanie asked with light sarcasm. “Is