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“Havin’ ice cream with my dad.”
“You’d better go eat it before it melts.” Katie hugged the child and set her on the black-and-white-tiled floor. Like a shot, the kid bolted to a booth in the corner where her father was smoking a cigarette and a caramel sundae was dripping over the side of its dish.
Katie and Bliss sat in a booth near the windows and ordered soft drinks, and after they were both sipping from their sodas, Katie, green eyes sparkling, said, “Go ahead. Ask me about Mason.” As if she saw the protest forming in her half sister’s eyes, she added, “And don’t give me any back talk about not being interested. I’m a journalist, you know, write part-time for the Rogue River Review, and you just happen to be one lousy liar, Bliss Cawthorne.”
That much was true, and since Katie had already guessed that she was, at some slight level, emotionally involved with Mason, there was no reason to argue the point. “All right. So I’m interested. A little.”
“A lot, I’d think.”
“A little.”
“Okay, okay. The way the story goes is that Mason had an affair with Terri Fremont years ago. She got pregnant and he, after losing his job at John’s, er, your—well, my dad’s place, too, I guess. Gosh, this is complicated. Anyway, Mason married her and moved to Montana or somewhere. His sister—you remember Patty, don’t you?” When Bliss shook her head, Katie waved her hand as if to dismiss the girl. “She was a wild one and Mason felt like he had to take care of her after his mother died. Anyway, she moved in with Mason and Terri, and I suspect there was hell to pay. Then Terri miscarried and the marriage was in trouble. The baby was all they had in common, the only reason they had walked down the aisle.”
“Miscarried?” Bliss repeated, jolted. “But Dee Dee…”
“Deanna. I know. She came along right after the miscarriage, I guess.” Katie’s face twisted thoughtfully. “I don’t exactly know all the details, probably no one does, but I’m sure… Well, I think I’ve got the story pretty much straight.” She took a long sip through her straw. “As I said, I really don’t know Terri that well and Mason’s pretty tight-lipped about everything concerning his private life. All I’m sure about is that the split wasn’t amicable at all. They were separated for a couple of years and ended up getting a divorce. Terri, who hired some hotshot attorney from Portland, came out smelling like a rose.”
“How’s that?” Bliss asked, knowing she shouldn’t be listening to such blatant gossip, but she couldn’t help herself. When it came to Mason, she couldn’t seem to learn enough. The thought rankled her. She detested women who were forever trying to find out more about certain men, but here she was, pumping her half sister for information on the one guy she should forget about.
Katie swirled her drink with her straw, and shaved ice danced in the glass. “Because by that time Mason had done well for himself. He’d saved for years, bought a ranch in Montana, discovered oil on the property and then started buying other places. He threw himself into his business as if he had something to prove. Worked twenty-hour days if you can believe the local gossip. Terri left the marriage a wealthy woman—well, wealthy by Bittersweet standards. I doubt if she’d cause much of a stir in New York or L.A.” Katie tossed down her straw and gulped down the remainder of her drink.
“What about his sister?”
“Patty?” A dark cloud passed behind Katie’s eyes. “Don’t know,” she admitted. “She has a place over near the river, but she’s gone a lot. Very private person—kind of weird, I think. Never got over her mother’s suicide.”
Frowning slightly, Katie glanced at her watch and found a way to change the subject. “I think we should talk to Tiffany.”
“Now?” Bliss was stunned.
“No time like the present.” Katie dropped a few dollars onto the table and pretended that she didn’t hear Bliss’s protests that she would pick up the tab. “Come on.” Katie was already on her way to the door.
With trepidation as her companion, Bliss slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “Don’t you think we should call her first? Give her some time to get used to the idea?”
“Probably.” But Katie shouldered open the door and walked briskly toward her convertible. “Trust me, she won’t be that shocked. I already introduced myself a couple of weeks ago.”
“But—”
“Come on. You’re not a coward.”
“No, just cautious.”
“Oh, I don’t believe that one for a minute. No daughter of John Cawthorne’s is cautious.”
“Okay, okay.” There seemed to be no talking Katie out of her half-baked plan, and Bliss reluctantly climbed into her half sister’s disreputable car. “You know, she might not be all that interested in meeting me.”
“Never know until you try.” Katie jammed the car into gear.
Bliss settled back in the seat and sighed. The truth of the matter was that she wanted to know more about her older half sister, and if the truth were known, the fact that Tiffany was Mason’s landlord only added to her interest.
“This could be the best thing that ever happened to you!” Katie took a corner a little too fast and Bliss slid in her seat.
Or, Bliss thought, it might just be the worst.
* * *
The air-conditioning was on the fritz and Mason’s office was an oven. Even with the windows partially open, the room was stuffy and warm. Sweat collected around his collar and hairline, and he thought of dozens of reasons to take the rest of the day off. But he couldn’t leave quite yet.
Edie was in the outer office and, as the door between their rooms was ajar, he heard her humming to herself as her fingers flew over the keyboard of her computer.
