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  To see this wedge driven between Bethanne’s children deeply concerned Max. His appetite gone, he set his fork aside and pushed his plate away.

  “The thing is, before long my father will disillusion her. At some point Annie is going to wake up and be forced to face reality when it comes to our father. I love my father; I care about him,” Andrew said. “It wasn’t until my wedding when I saw how broken up he was over Mom that I realized he needed me. A part of me wanted to tell him he got exactly what he deserved, and then there was another part that helped me see that while he wasn’t the perfect father, he was still my dad.”

  Max admired the young man’s maturity.

  “Annie’s attention and dedication are great for Dad’s ego,” Andrew added. “It upsets me that my sister doesn’t see what Dad is doing, but she will eventually.”

  The question remained how long that would take and what it would do to Bethanne in the meantime. Although Max was probably the last person Annie wanted to see, for his wife’s sake as well as his own, Max felt he had to try.

  After lunch, the two men parted, and for the next few hours Max conducted what business he could from his computer. His flight back to California was scheduled for that evening. Once again, he’d be forced to leave Bethanne.

  He waited until late in the afternoon before he drove over to Annie’s place. She lived in an upscale neighborhood in her own condo. Max wondered how long she’d be able to maintain the payments with her much-decreased wages. Pride often came with a steep price.

  He jogged up the staircase to the second floor and rang the doorbell. He was about to turn away when he heard activity on the other side, followed by a turn of the lock.

  Apparently, Annie had checked to see who it was, because she didn’t show any surprise to find him on the other side of the door.

  “What do you want?” she demanded, striking a casual pose.

  “Could the two of us talk for a few minutes?” he asked, doing his utmost to remain pleasant.

  “Fine. Whatever.” Still holding on to the doorknob, she stepped aside and let him into her condo.

  Max came into the living area, and it was a mess. Discarded clothes littered the carpet, along with magazines and empty fast-food containers.

  Annie must have noticed his surprise, because she commented, “I’ve been busy lately.”

  “So it seems.” Max didn’t wait for an invitation to sit down. He cleared a space on her sofa and made himself comfortable.

  Annie walked to the other side of the room as if to get as far away from him as possible. “What do you want?” she asked again, and examined a fingernail before putting it in her mouth and chewing on the end.

  Rather than watch, Max looked away. “I came because your mother is miserable and it looks as if you are, too.”

  “Wrong,” Annie corrected him. “I’m doing fantastic; sorry to hear Mom’s upset, though.”

  She sounded anything but. Max let the comment slide. “I heard you’re looking for another job.”

  “Found one.”

  “Oh?” It was tempting to repeat what Andrew had mentioned. Max didn’t, because he wanted to keep Annie’s brother’s confidence.

  “I’m going to be working with my father.”

  Max pretended to be impressed. “Selling real estate?”

  She shrugged. “Eventually. Dad’s going to train me.”

  “I’m glad to hear it; I’m sure you’ll do well.”

  Annie sighed as though the conversation bored her.

  “Your mother misses you.”

  “Really. I saw that she tried to call a couple of times.”

  And Annie had let her mother’s call go to voice mail. He wanted to shake the young woman for being so heartless toward her own mother.

  “You know I hate you, don’t you?” she said as casually as if she were telling him what she’d eaten for lunch.

  “I pretty much got that impression.” He stretched out his arm along the back of the sofa.

  “If it wasn’t for you, I’d have my family back.”

  “Perhaps.” Max couldn’t see any point in arguing with her.

  “Everything would be the way it used to be.”

  “You’re already a family,” Max countered.

  “Except there’s you.”

  “Yes, there’s me. I happen to love your mother very much, Annie.”

  “So does my dad.” She yawned as if to say the conversation bored her. “Why are you here?” she demanded, seeming impatient now.

  “To ask you to make peace with your mother.”

  Annie snorted.

  “She loves you, Annie, and having you walk away from her without a word is tearing her apart.”

  “She made her choice. It’s you she loves.”

  “Yes, she does,” he reiterated, “but loving me doesn’t mean that she loves you any less. You’re part of her, and she is part of you. In the end, I fear the one who will be hurt the most is you.”

  “I doubt it.”

  Max studied the young woman across from him and frowned. “You want her to suffer, don’t you? You find some twisted sense of rightness knowing you can hurt her.”

  Annie shrugged, neither confirming nor denying his accusation.

  “Be careful, Annie.”

  “Careful?” she repeated. “What are you talking about? Are you threatening me?”

  “No threats. All I’m saying is that the one who is going to end up losing this battle is you.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You are threatening me!”

  “No,” Max said as he stood. “I would never do that.”

  She pointed her finger at him. “You ruined my life.”

  Feeling sad and discouraged, Max shook his head. “Actually, I don’t think you needed any help. You’re doing a perfectly good job of that all on your own.” He started toward the door, and then looked over his shoulder. “I hope, Annie, that when the time comes you’ll realize how much your mother loves you. If you need anything or need to talk, I want you to know I’m available any time of day or night.”

  “Like I’d ever reach out to you.”

  Max thought it was highly unlikely, but he still felt compelled to say so. “Remember what I said,” he mentioned again.

  “And you remember what I said,” she countered.

  As he walked toward the staircase, Max heard Annie turn the lock on her door, and it seemed on her heart as well.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Just as she suspected, Lauren didn’t see Elisa until Friday morning. Rooster had grown impatient waiting for the owners to return so he could have time together with Lauren before he was forced to return to California. Truth be told, Lauren was as frustrated as her husband. But she wasn’t comfortable leaving the shop in the hands of a part-time employee when she knew how much Elisa and Garry counted on her to oversee the business in their absence. It was rare for them both to be away at the same time, but then these were extenuating circumstances.

  The bottom line, Lauren realized, was that she hadn’t mentioned she’d married Rooster while in Vegas. Even if she had, it was doubtful anything would have changed.

  Friday morning, Lauren arrived right on time. Rooster had their suitcases packed and ready for the trip to Victoria. It was short notice, Lauren realized, but once she explained, she was sure Elisa wouldn’t have a problem.

  Elisa was already at the shop, setting out the jewelry displays, when Lauren let herself in and then relocked the door.

  “Welcome back,” she greeted warmly.

  Elisa expelled a deep sigh. “I can’t tell you how good it is to be back.”

  “Is everything settled?” Lauren asked, knowing Katie’s elopement had been difficult for Elisa to accept.

  “Pretty much,” Elisa murmured, while working to set out the jewelry cases. “Garry and I did what we could for Katie, but I fear it isn’t near enough.”

  “But Katie’s happy,” Lauren said, doing her best to put a good light on the marriage.


  “Blissfully so. Even now, I can’t believe Katie would do something like this. I don’t know what’s happened to my daughter, Lauren, I just don’t know.”

  “But she’s only following in your footsteps.”

  “I know,” Elisa murmured, and briefly closed her eyes. “It gives me a far better understanding of what my parents dealt with when I defied them and married Garry. I can’t believe I was this stubborn when I was her age. I knew Garry, loved him, and believed with all my heart our love would last a lifetime. It’s like seeing myself, but …” She hesitated and bit into her lower lip. “But,” she continued, her voice trembling, “living on a farm miles from any town of substance is not what I’ve envisioned for my daughter.”

  “Katie has her own path to follow.”

  “I know, I know … Garry has reminded me of that any number of times.” She rested her hands on top of the display case and shook her head as though dispelling an image of Katie living so far away. “You wouldn’t believe the house my daughter is expected to make into a home. I wouldn’t let our dog inside there, let alone my daughter. It’s a shack, a tumbled-down old shack. Lauren, you can’t imagine the condition it was in,” Elisa continued. “From what I was told, a foreman who’d worked for the family for years lived there. A bachelor, it seemed. He must have been. I can’t believe a woman would ever let her home deteriorate to the condition the place is in now.”

  “It’s outdated?” In her mind, Lauren pictured a small house with faded linoleum floors and checkered curtains hanging over the window by the kitchen sink. Perhaps there was a braided rug or two.

  Elisa waved her arms as if to say that wasn’t the half of it. “The appliances are from the 1950s.”

  So she wasn’t off by much, Lauren mused, grinning.

  “The wallpaper is ghastly. It’s so old and worn I could hardly make out the pattern, and when I did I could barely believe my eyes. It was flamingos, and that was in the living room.”

  Lauren’s smile widened despite her determination to remain sympathetic. “I bet Katie wasn’t upset about it, was she?”

  “Oh, no. You’d think Dietrich had moved her into a castle. She’s so excited that she couldn’t dig into cleaning it up fast enough. Her father and I refused to let her paint, which is one of the reasons we stayed as long as we did.”

  From what she knew, both families had worked hard to make the small house livable for the young couple.

  “We did what we could for her,” Elisa murmured, working as she spoke. “I filled up her cupboards with groceries and …” She hesitated, and it seemed as if she was about to break into tears. After a moment, she released what sounded like a pent-up breath and continued. “The thing is, Katie didn’t really want us there. She didn’t come right out and say it, but trust me, I got the message loud and clear.” Tears might not have made it to her eyes, but her voice was full of emotion.

  Lauren waited a heartbeat before she said, “As it happens I have a bit of news myself.”

  “Oh?” Elisa turned to face Lauren, her look expectant.

  In retrospect, Lauren wondered if she had a premonition, a sense of foreboding. All at once she found herself hesitant to mention her marriage to Rooster.

  “I’m married,” she announced.

  Elisa extended her chin as if to lean closer … as if she wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. “You’re what?”

  “Married,” Lauren said, with forced cheerfulness. It’d been easier telling her family than it was her friend.

  “You and Todd?” she asked, frowning.

  Lauren shook her head. “No, it’s over with Todd, you know that.”

  “Well, yes, but …” Then, as if the realization hit her, Elisa’s eyes grew as round as Italian meatballs. “Rooster? But you barely know him … You mean to say you actually married … Rooster?”

  Lauren nodded.

  Elisa laughed it off. “This isn’t funny, Lauren. I’m in no mood for a joke.”

  “It’s no joke. He showed up unexpectedly in Vegas and—”

  Elisa held up her hand, stopping her. “I thought you said he was in New Zealand.”

  “That was his original plan, but he flew back early.”

  “To marry you?”

  “Well, no, that just happened … Neither of us planned it.”

  Elisa shook her head as if unable to assimilate what she was hearing. “People don’t accidentally get married, Lauren.”

  “No, no, it wasn’t an accident. He showed up in Vegas after you left, and we realized we wanted to be together. Once we came to that conclusion, we couldn’t see any reason to wait. After all, we aren’t teenagers.”

  Elisa reacted as if she’d been slapped, taking a step back.

  Lauren was quick to apologize. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong. I didn’t mean it like that.” She hadn’t meant to compare her situation with Elisa’s daughter’s. Katie was a teenager, although technically an adult. Lauren was mature and well over thirty. Rooster, too.

  “I was hoping to take a few days off,” Lauren continued, refusing to let her friend’s disapproval influence her feelings for Rooster or the choices they’d made.

  “A few days?” Elisa repeated, almost as if she were in a trance.

  “Yes. We flew back to Seattle together because I knew you needed me here. I’ve worked all week, waiting for your return. Now Rooster and I would like some time alone before he heads back to California.”

  This, too, seemed to shake her friend. “Does this marriage mean you’ll be moving away now?” she asked, clearly concerned she was about to lose Lauren as an employee.

  “I … I don’t know yet. We haven’t had much of an opportunity to decide that.”

  “You’re actually married?” she asked again, and then, as if she suddenly needed to sit down, Elisa lowered herself onto the stool by the diamond-ring counter. Then, making light of the fact, she emitted a short laugh. “It must be something in the water.”

  “It must be,” Lauren said, forcing a smile.

  Elisa grew serious once more. “Does Todd know?”

  Lauren wasn’t sure how her marriage involved Todd, but she answered anyway. “As it happens, Rooster and I ran into him earlier in the week.”

  “So he knows?”

  “Yes, we told him.”

  “And what did he say?”

  It was hard to understand why Elisa remained focused on Todd. This wasn’t a conversation Lauren was especially eager to share. “He was surprised.”

  Elisa snickered. “I bet. My guess is he was as shocked as I am.”

  That pretty much explained it. Todd, however, being Todd, hadn’t been willing to leave it at that. He accused Lauren of being so desperate that she’d married the first man who came along after their breakup. On the outside it might look that way, but in her heart, she knew differently. She loved Rooster, and he loved her. They were right for each other. Right together.

  “I’ve never met him,” Elisa reminded her.

  “I know … we only had that one weekend together before … but remember, we talked every day. He’s a good man, Elisa, and I love him. I know this seems sudden, especially on the heels of Katie and Dietrich, but I feel Rooster was the right choice for me.”

  Elisa looked at her as though she didn’t recognize the woman standing in front of her.

  “He’s thoughtful and tender,” Lauren continued, wanting to defend Rooster and her decision to marry him.

  “You saw him only the one time?”

  “No, it was more than that.”

  “One weekend, then?”

  “Yes, but even when he was eight thousand miles away we talked every single day.”

  “But, Lauren, you can’t really know a person after such a short acquaintance.”

  “I realize how this looks, I really do,” she said, and she was sincere. “If it was anyone but Rooster, I’d agree with you, but he’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a husband. We share so much in common. My parents met him—”


  “Your family knows?”

  “Of course. They flew in for the ceremony. My parents were concerned, too, seeing that we’d only known each other a short while. Dad insisted on having a background check done on Rooster.”

  This tidbit seemed to rattle Elisa all the more. “And did you read the report?”

  “No, there wasn’t time. But my father did, and he couldn’t find anything about Rooster that raised a red flag.”

  “What about his family?” Elisa challenged.

  Her friend was stretching, looking for something, anything, to prove what a terrible mistake Lauren had made, almost as if she was talking about Katie rather than Lauren. Patiently, not wanting to upset Elisa, Lauren explained, “Rooster is an only child, and both his parents are dead. Bethanne’s husband, Max, stood up for him as best man. Max and Bethanne are his family.”

  Elisa continued to look shaken and unsure.

  “Would it be all right if I took the rest of the week off?” Lauren pressed. The shop was due to open in a few minutes; Friday mornings generally had light customer traffic. If Elisa needed to call in someone else, she could.

  “Oh, of course. I apologize if I’m being less than gracious over your news.”

  “I understand; it’s a shock.”

  “What I can’t understand is why you didn’t mention it much earlier.”

  It wouldn’t do any good to explain. “You and Garry were busy with Katie,” she explained, hoping that would suffice.

  “But to hit me with it now …”

  “I’ll be away today and Saturday,” Lauren repeated, growing impatient. “I still have several days available to use as vacation days.”

  “Oh sure … the time off is no problem.”

  “Thank you.” She reached for her cell and sent Rooster a quick text. She would be ready to leave in a few minutes, and he could pick her up at the jewelry shop.

  “Before you leave, would you do me a favor first?” Elisa asked.

  “Of course.” They’d been good friends for a long time, and Lauren was willing to help in any way she could.