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As Arden explained the nature of her relationship with Dr. Jacob Greene, Ledge witnessed the slow disintegration of Lisa’s hauteur, and he enjoyed watching it.
Arden didn’t let her off easily, either. “By accusing Jacob of adultery, you degraded me, him, his wife, but most of all yourself. You made a complete fool of yourself.”
“No, you made a fool of me,” Lisa fired back. “Why didn’t you tell me you were having that procedure?”
“Because I didn’t need your consent, and I didn’t want to hear all the reasons as to why it was a bad idea.”
“You misled me into thinking that you were carrying on with a married man.”
“No,” Arden said, dragging out the word. “You drew that conclusion without any help from me, and I wasn’t going to defend myself against an assumption that was baseless and false.”
She paused and swallowed hard. “My daughter, who I desperately wanted, was dead. Vindicating myself for how she was conceived—no matter how it had come about—was not a priority. I didn’t care whether you approved.”
As though to underscore that declaration, lightning lit up the room. The flash was followed by a crack of thunder that rattled the windows, calling Lisa’s attention to the blistered paint on the sills. She took in the room as a whole, her critical gaze eventually drifting across him.
She said to Arden, “I thought you had told him his services weren’t wanted after all.”
He’d been leaning against the bureau with intentional indolence. Now, he pushed himself off it. “You don’t need Arden to act as a go-between. You can speak to me directly.”
Finally deigning to look at him straight-on, Lisa sized him up. “You’ve changed since I last saw you.”
“Not you. You’re exactly the same.”
He hadn’t meant it as a compliment, and she got that. She arched an eyebrow. “Your shoulders are broader, but the chip on them is still firmly fixed.”
“That’s not all I’m shouldering these days.”
“Oh? What else is burdening you? Isn’t that dive of your uncle’s doing well?”
Arden stepped in. “That was uncalled for, Lisa. What’s the matter with you?”
Ledge put up a staying hand. “It’s okay. She can’t think any worse of me than she already does. Not that I give a shit what she thinks. In fact, feel free to share with her what I told you just before she got here, see how she reacts to that.”
Arden looked at him with apprehension and gave a small shake of her head. “We’ll talk more about that later. You need to go check on your uncle.”
Lisa said, “Actually, I would like to hear what he has to say. Why is he fearing for your safety? Does he fear this roof will cave in on you, that a high wind will—”
“Arden is in danger from Rusty.”
His terse statement shut her up. A tad more of her arrogance slipped. “Rusty Dyle?”
“That’s the one.”
/> She turned to Arden. “When we talked about him yesterday morning, you seemed not to know him.”
“I didn’t until half an hour before I called you.”
Ledge looked between the two sisters. “You two talked about Rusty?”
Arden said, “Mostly in the context of your rivalry with him over Crystal.”
“Crystal,” Lisa said as though with enlightenment. “That was her name.”
“Still is,” Ledge said.
“Is the rivalry ongoing?”
“More cutthroat than ever.”
