Chapter 1

Her sister, Debbie, was twelve when she was born. A change of life baby, Emma was a complete surprise to her parents who thought they were beyond their child baring years, Debbie having already been born late in their life. She was loved by everyone though, including her older sister who took care of her almost as much as their mother did. Five years later Debbie became pregnant at age 16 by a boy who had no interest in being a father and vanished the moment Debbie told him she was expecting his child.

Being a teenage mother is never easy but Debbie refused to consider the alternative and against her parents wishes 9 months later her son, Tyler, was born. Though her parents had encouraged Debbie to think of her own future and end the pregnancy they were instantly won over at the sight of their grandchild and he became the new family darling. Even Emma was instantly smitten with the baby, the closest thing to a younger sibling she'd ever have. Debbie lived with them while she finished high school. They already had Emma, it wasn't that much harder having Tyler home all day and truthfully they adored him.

Debbie graduated high school and had moved on to her first semester of college, working nights to help support her and Tyler as well as pay for school. Their family was comfortable but the expenses of a baby as well as tuition were heavy and though her parents helped as they could she wasn't going to sit around and let them carry the full burden. Then tragedy struck, as it always seems to do when things seem to be working out.

Her parents were on their way home from the grocery store, Emma and Tyler strapped securely into the back seat of their car, when they were hit by a drunk driver. Their father died instantly, their mother two days later in the hospital. Emma and Tyler walked away with a few cuts and scratches and Debbie was left a young single mother of both her son, and now her little sister. Thankfully she was old enough to be made the legal guardian of Emma and her parents had made smart decisions and invested their money well for their retirement, which they were not far from, and had a safety net to leave behind for their children. Not to mention life insurance claims that paid out quite handsomely. It was a struggle but Debbie managed to put aside her own heartache aside and stepped up to the plate, taking care of both children as well as continuing to work and go to school, as best she could.

Life wasn't necessarily easy but they made it work and were a loving family, however small and broken. Debbie worked tirelessly and managed to graduate from college and start to build a career. Tyler and Emma grew up, Emma living at home when it was finally time for her to go to college so she could be close to her family. She was in her second year of college when Debbie met a man, a man that didn't care that she had a high school aged son and had her little sister living at home with her. He understood Debbie came with family and he embraced them all and they, in turn, welcomed him into their family and home. They married and when Emma was in her final year of college Debbie gave birth to a little girl she named Mariana after their mother.

Emma and Tyler remained close in spite of their five year age difference. They talked about everything, including her boyfriends and his girlfriends and their sex lives. As an older woman she tried to give Tyler some insight into the feminine mind and prepare him for the kind of games that girls would be playing with him. She'd been rather popular throughout high school and was just as popular in college, so she knew a thing or two about the dating game. As a result he seemed to be doing quite well with the ladies and it never ceased to amaze her, the stories he told her about what he'd done with the girls he dated.

Emma had begun dating one boy at college very seriously around the time Mariana was born, Jacob Chalmers, a smart, charming, suave, rich boy who managed to sweep her right off of her feet. Though she didn't come from the kind of money he did her voluptuous 5'4 figure, long auburn hair, and hazel eyes had certainly made up for any lack of family money. He couldn't resist her and he made sure she couldn't resist him. They married right out of college, her hard earned degree in international studies put on a shelf as she took on the full time job as the Wife of Jacob Chalmers.

The wedding was lavish and expensive, the only real part she'd had any hand in arranging was the presence of her family. Tyler looked miserable. He didn't like Jacob, thought he was a slimy bastard who only wanted Emma as the lovely trophy wife to look good on his arm. He was right, of course, but she was a young bride awash in the first bloom of what she thought was real love and wouldn't listen to reason. She moved out of her families smaller but happy home and into Jacob's large, and very cold, manor. She did her best to be a good wife but she grew bored easily just attending to Jacob's social demands for her with little else to occupy her time and she spent a lot of time at her sisters house.

In spite of their difference in opinion on what Emma's role was, their sex life was good, very good, and she enjoyed Jacob's lovemaking regularly. It didn't take long at all for her to become pregnant and 9 months later she gave birth to her own daughter, Grace, named for her mothers middle name. Life wasn't perfect but it was good and Debbie and Emma enjoyed sharing motherhood with one another, their daughters, almost 2 years apart in age, sharing much of their time together. Then, as if Fate were not quite done toying with their family, another tragedy rocked them all to their foundation.

While walking to their car after a romantic dinner, Debbie and her husband were accosted in the parking lot, an armed assailant shooting them both and taking everything of value on them. Emma had been with Tyler watching Mariana and Grace, the police arriving just before midnight to tell them what had happened. Apparently the assailant had tried to take Debbie with him, intending to steal the car and her sister, but she'd fought like a maniac, knowing if he took her she was as good as dead anyway. He'd shot her husband before her eyes then shot her.

Once again death had claimed the loving base of their family, once again children were left orphaned and alone. Just as her parents had done for Debbie when she'd become pregnant, and just as Debbie had done for her when their parents had died, Emma would now have to take responsibility for Tyler and Mariana, raising her as their own so the state wouldn't take them away. In one fell swoop she'd lost her second mother, her sister and closest female friend, and she was now the mother of three, rather than one.

Jacob was furious when she brought it up to him, refusing to take responsibility for her niece and nephew, stating it wasn't their problem. This time, however, she would not be moved so when he laid down the ultimatum that their marriage was over if she accepted custody of Tyler and Mariana she calmly turned and left his study, packed her and Grace up, and left, all without him ever realizing it. A week later divorce papers were delivered to his door. She would give up the right to alimony or any of his assets as long as she was given sole custody and child support. It was over more quickly than it had begun.

Emma moved back into the house she'd grown up in, now the one solely responsible for the family that resided within it. Mariana and Grace were easy, they were too young to understand what was going on, but Tyler was another matter. Anger and sorrow warred for equal footing within him and she could see his unspent rage at the man that had killed his parents. He'd been caught but that wasn't enough for Tyler. He was nearing the age of 18, in his final year of high school, a high school wrestler who'd recently taken up MMA on the side. He was tall, athletically built, and devastating to the female population of his high school. A fact that Emma could not help but notice.

They'd always been close and now was no different. In fact she began relying on him more and more without realizing it, Tyler slowly taking on the role of Man of the House, acting as surrogate father not only to his little sister, Mariana, but to his cousin, Grace, as well. Debbie had been wise, educated by her own parents death, and had an iron clad will as well as a hefty life insurance policy, so he didn't need to worry about getting a job to support the family but the support he offered was so much more valuable. Tucking in little girls and reading bed time stories meant more than any paycheck he would have brought home.

He did his best to be there for Emma as well, the looks of longing that followed her around the kitchen as she cooked, or the way he would hold her a little tighter or a little longer each night as she hugged him before bed, were completely lost on Emma who seemed completely oblivious to him as a man. Or so he thought. He still talked to her about his girlfriends, open and even more blunt than before, going into great detail about the things he would do to them under the premiss of asking her advice on his approach. He was trying to get a rise out of her, to remind her that he was a man, a sexual being, and right there for the taking, and it worked. Emma found herself growing wet when he would tell her one of his stories, her thighs pressing together to try to dull the ache deep inside her. His physical appeal, shaggy dark brown hair and clear blue eyes to top off his fit frame, were not lost on her either and she caught herself eying him from beneath her lashes, picturing herself as the girl in his stories. She knew it was wrong, he was her nephew and younger too, but she figured harmless fantasies were fine as long as she didn't act on them.

Both remained unaware of the thoughts of the other and Tyler graduated high school, ready to attend college in the fall while living at home as Emma had done. It was a week after graduation and the night of his eighteenth birthday when everything changed yet again. She'd made a big family dinner, the two little girls still too young to really grasp what was going on, but it was a family event nonetheless, no one getting left out. She'd worked for hours on all of his favorite dishes, wanting to spoil him rotten on his special night. She was so proud of him, so thankful for him, and she wanted to show him what he meant to her, even if she couldn't tell him how she really felt. She didn't truly understand what she felt for that matter.

He'd made arrangements to go out after dinner with his friends so it was with some reluctance that he stood from the table at the honk outside and kissed his three best girls, as he affectionately called them, good bye before heading out for a night of male teenaged debauchery. Waving from the front door she closed it once he was out of sight and sighed. She was still young, only 23, but she hadn't felt it recently. She knew now what Debbie had felt, being a mother so young, responsible for an entire family at such a young age, and she'd been even younger and more unprepared than Emma had been. A whole new respect for her sister emerged and she was again overcome with grief at her loss, at the lost chance to tell her sister thank you for all she had done. Of course she'd been grateful, she had adored her sister, but now she understood all Debbie had sacrificed for them.

Doing her best to shake off the melancholic thoughts she set herself to the task of putting Mariana and Grace to bed. That in itself was a feat but it was eventually accomplished and both little hellions were soon slumbering peacefully in their beds. Changing out of the nicer clothing she'd worn earlier she pulled on a pair of cut off sweat pant shorts and a half tank top. Didn't need to be glamorous to clean the kitchen. Clearing dinner away the left overs were packed into the fridge and she set herself to the mountain of dishes left behind. She didn't mind though, it'd been worth it to see Tyler's face when he'd come into the dining room. He'd looked happy, genuinely happy, and that wasn't a look she saw on his face too often these days.

Debbie would be so proud of him if she were here to see this, his step father as well. He'd grown into such a handsome young man, responsible, caring, and sexier than a nephew had a right to be. He was the type of man all mothers hoped their sons would grow to be and as she thought about how Debbie was missing it the tears slowly began to slide silently down her nose. She ignored them, focusing instead on the dishes, but the dam had opened and the rest of what she kept bottled up came rushing to the fore.

Eventually her thoughts turned to Jacob and how he had so easily cast her out of his life. She hadn't let herself cry for him then, she'd been too furious and had the children to think about, but now, alone, she cried for his callousness. For the little girl who would never know her father because she highly doubted Jacob would bother with Grace. Word had it he was already engaged again and would no doubt soon have replacement children as well. If she were honest with herself though, she didn't truly miss him so much as the companionship being in a relationship offered, not to mention the sex. She hadn't bothered with men since the divorce, preferring to focus on her family for the time being, but she missed sex, and yes, she cried for that loss too.

Realizing how ridiculous she was being she swiped her hand across her cheek, brushing the tears away, but they refused to stop coming. It was time for her own personal catharsis and once begun it wouldn't stop until she'd let it all out. Stacking the final dish on the side board she washed her hands and was rinsing them free of the soap when two strong arms came around her from behind, sliding around her waist to pull her back against a strong male body. Tensing in alarm she struggled until she realized it was Tyler, his head lowering over her shoulder to allow his cheek to press to hers, his arms holding her tightly against him in a way he never had before.

"Why are you crying, Em? Please don't cry ... I can't stand to see your tears," he whispered, the sexy rumble of his voice causing a shiver to dance down her spine.