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“We haven’t discussed it yet.”
“You’d better talk it over with her old man, you know,” Terri said. “And then you’d better come clean with Bliss. There are things she still doesn’t know about that whole mess ten years ago. Oh, hell—” she jabbed out her cigarette “—what do I care? Bob wants to get married and move up north, you know that, and, well, he’s not crazy about kids.”
“Sounds like a great guy.”
“At least he loves me, Mason. That’s more than you ever did. If you want to keep Dee Dee, okay, we’ll try it out and—”
“No. We’re not going to try it out. We’re going to do it. No one changes his or her mind. I’ve already talked to my attorney and we’ll make it legal. As I said, you’ll see her whenever you like, but I’ll have custody. And instead of the child support I’ve been paying you, you’ll get a sizable lump sum.”
She lifted a curious eyebrow. “How sizable?”
He had her and he knew it. Good. He reached for his checkbook. “Name your price, Terri. What’s it worth to you?”
* * *
Bliss scooted back the chair at her desk. So she and Mason had finally made love. She chewed on the edge of her lip and thought, as she had since returning from the ridge, about the only man she’d ever cared for—ever loved. “Oh, you’re the worst kind of fool,” she told herself as she tossed down her pencil and ignored the plans for a remodel of a warehouse on the Seattle waterfront that had been sent to her and lay open on the desk in her father’s den. Work, which usually interested her, held no appeal—not this morning when the sunlight was streaming off the mountains and sparkling in the dewy grass.
Last night she’d watched as Mason had returned, unsaddled and unbridled Lucifer. He hadn’t so much as glanced at the house, where she’d stood at a window. Instead, he’d climbed into his truck and driven away, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
She didn’t believe that he’d used her, wouldn’t even consider her father’s protests that Mason was only getting close to her to get back at him. No, the attraction that she and Mason felt for each other was deep enough to cross time barriers, strong enough to dim the past with all its pain.
So here she was, contemplating loving a man she’d sworn to avoid.
Every time the phone had rung, she’d nearly jumped out of her skin, hoping that Mason had decided to call. Each time, she’d been disappointed. She hadn’t heard a word from him all day, but then, she supposed, it was her turn to make a move in his direction. If that was what she wanted.
She heard a car in the drive and her heart did a quick little leap. Pulling the old curtains aside, she saw Katie’s convertible approaching the house. Her hair was wild and free, her smile wide as she parked, and though Bliss was still thinking about Mason, she was glad for the distraction that her half sister was sure to bring.
A few seconds later, Katie was ringing the bell on the front porch and Bliss threw open the door. A wave of heat rolled inside. “Come in,” she said, before the younger woman had a chance to say a word.
“I just stopped by to let you know that John’s being released, but Mom’s insisting he stay with her in town. She wants him where she can keep her eye on him, and, really, I don’t blame her.”
“Neither do I,” Bliss replied, still unsure exactly how she felt about this dynamo of a half sister but willing to give her benefit of the doubt. “Would you like something to drink or eat?”
“Yeah, a glass of water would be good. Then I’ve got to look under the hood. My car acts like it’s about to give up the ghost and it hasn’t even reached two hundred thousand miles yet.”
“Imagine that,” Bliss said drily.
She poured them each cups of water with ice, handed one
to Katie, then followed the redhead outside, where her bug-splattered car was resting in the shade of a spruce tree. Above their heads fragrant needles rustled in the hot breeze, and from the safety of a high branch a squirrel scolded Oscar, who whined and barked and ran in circles at the base of the tree.
Katie popped the hood and while she bent over the engine, she talked. “Hold this a sec, would you?” She took a long swallow of water, then handed the cup back to Bliss. “You know, those brothers of mine would know exactly what’s wrong, but where are they when you need them, huh? Around? No way. Probably somewhere raising hell. Oh.” She lifted her head and offered Bliss a knowing glance. “They’re really not as much trouble as all that. Even the twins, with their reputations, aren’t bad guys—just, well, irreverent would be a good word to describe them.” She turned back to the cooling engine, touched it delicately as the radiator gave out a warning hiss. “Too hot to do anything with right now,” she said, blowing her bangs out of her eyes and accepting her glass of water again.
“I decided to drop by and fill you in because I have a few minutes while Mom and Josh pick up John.” She scratched her head and frowned, her forehead puckering thoughtfully. “You know, I’d like to pretend that all this is okay and we could be one big happy family, that I was big enough to make nice-nice for Mom’s sake, but the truth of the matter is, I’m not cool with everything that went on between them and though I want them both to be happy, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to call John ‘Dad.”’
“I don’t blame you.” Bliss lifted a shoulder as if she didn’t care, but she was glad that Katie was having the same kind of mental dilemma that she was. The situation was beyond complicated.
“Mom wanted me to tell you that while John’s recuperating at her house, you can come over anytime.”
Bliss wasn’t sure about that. She still had more than her share of reservations where her father and Brynnie were concerned. “How long will he be there?”
“Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it?” Katie said nervously, and Bliss suspected they were finally getting down to brass tacks—the real reason for her half sister’s visit. “You know that Mom sold her portion of this place to Mason, though no money changed hands—the deal hasn’t closed yet. Now Mason’s willing to sell it back to her or John or whoever, which is good, I guess. But the thing is that she did it in the first place behind John’s back. Mom should have talked it over with your dad first, I think. I mean, they’re getting married and all, so why the secrets? If you ask me, when two people decide to tie the knot, they should be able to trust each other implicitly, be able to talk over everything. I mean everything.” She picked at a sliver in the fence rail while Bliss felt sweat collect between her shoulder blades. “Call me a dreamer, but that’s what marriage means to me.”
“I guess it means something different to everyone,” Bliss said, remembering her parents’ union and knowing now that it was based on lies and deception. She took a long swallow from her glass. “Sometimes I wonder if this wedding is ever going to come off.” Her father and Brynnie’s relationship seemed more tenuous as the days passed. Oh, yeah? And what about your relationship, if that’s what you’d call it, with Mason?
Katie took a final swallow of water, tossed the melting cubes onto the grass and handed her glass to Bliss. “Look, I’ve got to run soon. Josh’ll be home in half an hour.” Her eyes darkened with a personal pain Bliss could only attribute to her son.
“You’re worried about him.”
