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“Yeah,” Jesse said, a frown growing on his face. “He never said anything to us about that, did he?” he asked Barry.
Hank finally spoke up. As protective as they were, Veronica was surprised that he and Travis had kept quiet as long as they had. “You mean to tell me that your sister was in a breakup and you knew about it and you never once thought to check on her?”
Travis said, “You took the word of that miserable jackass over your sister?”
Barry looked at Jesse, and then at Hank and Travis and shrugged but the look on his face was a little sick. “I guess when you put it that way, that was a screwup on our part.”
Veronica’s heart pounded with sudden sorrow. “You guess? Is it any wonder that I don’t come home anymore, even though the apartment was less than an hour from the ranch?”
Addison looked at her shoes and didn’t say anything, and Ari went to Veronica’s side. “Girlfriend, if I’d known you, I would’ve come to see you and we could have drowned our sorrows together. But it all worked out, didn’t it?”
Veronica nodded, happiness resurfacing. “Yes.”
Ari grinned. “Love is like that, isn’t it?”
Veronica nodded and placed her hands over Hank’s and Travis’s on her shoulders, loving them even more for their warm assurance, and adoring her new sister-in-law so much it hurt.
Addison looked up and gasped, her eyes riveted to the diamond glinting in the soft lighting in the kitchen. The sound drew Veronica’s mother’s attention and she came to their group, her father following in her wake. The rest of the gathering kept up their discussions, enjoying Grace’s Christmas Eve party.
Grace winked at her from the living room where she stood with Jack talking to Rachel.
“What the hell is that?” Addison asked, pointing at the one-carat diamond clasped in sleek platinum on Veronica’s hand and the matching platinum band on Hank’s hand. “You got married?”
Her mother inhaled what remained of the oxygen in the room and leaned back against her husband. “You got married?”
Jesse and Barry gawked and spoke at the same time. “You got married?”
“They’re quick,” Cord murmured and Jackson chuckled and winked at her. Ari squeezed her and giggled.
Addison firmed her lips. “I was supposed to be your maid of honor. I’m your sister. Your family is supposed to be at your wedding. Why?”
“Because I’ve grown up without a family, at least until Cord and Jackson realized how badly they were hurting me and accepted me the way I am. And, not to put too fine a point on it, Addison, but my sisters were at my wedding. Did I want you there? Of course, but I knew if you were there, the first thing you’d do is question my lifestyle, insult my dress, or my legs.” She shared a long look with her mom.
Her mother didn’t deny it and a martyred look filled her eyes before she firmed her lips. “Pudge, you’ve hurt your parents and your family.”
“Don’t call me that anymore. Did I hurt you, Mom? I learned from the best. From you. I was never good enough for any of you. Every time you criticized me, I lost a piece of myself. I learned to take what you dished out, setting myself up for problems down the road. I knew I couldn’t please you so I stopped caring. After a while I stopped hearing your hurtful words. I thank God that Grandma Kate kept in touch with me. She was my rock when I was growing up, even though she didn’t know how bad you were to me. You never once defended me when Phil and Gordon bullied me, up until I finally moved away.”
“You were just silly, Pudge. Melodramatic. Overreactive,” her mother whispered, obviously concerned that the others would overhear.
Cord held up hand and cast a sharp look at his mother. “She asked you not to call her that. Did you know that Phil and Gordon would back her into a corner so she couldn’t get away from them when they teased her? That’s bullying. Did you know that they were the ones who started the rumor about Veronica being a lesbian at school, because Jesse”—he popped Jesse hard on the back of his head—“and Barry”—he popped him hard, too—“taught her how to lead instead of follow on purpose when you recommended they teach her how to dance.”
