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The coffee was forgotten.
“Where’s my flat screen, my laptop, my printer, my jewelry box?” Stormy asked in a seemingly unemotional monotone.
Tully pushed away from the table. “Hell, I don’t have to put up with this. I’m not on trial.” He turned to leave the room. “Nina, find me a clean shirt.”
His face set in fury, he stalked out.
Stormy trembled but held herself rigid. From two feet away, Tyler could feel her inner rage.
Nina made as if to follow her husband.
Stormy barred her way. “No, you don’t, Nina. I want an explanation.”
“In front of a stranger?”
“In front of the world, if need be.”
“Tully thought we ought to have a look, is all. It’s no big deal.”
“You helped him.” Her voice was flat again. “You did more than look.”
Nina dropped her gaze. “We didn’t think you’d mind. Tully borrowed the laptop and the printer for his office. We put the television in our bedroom. Tully said the chips I the electronics would go bad if they weren’t used.”
“My jewelry? My purses and all else?”
“I have it. I’ll get it for you. I used the purses. I mean, you didn’t need them.”
“Just a minute. I saw Ben Flaherty yesterday.”
Nina paled.
“You abused the power of attorney. You lied to Ben. You owe me an explanation, Nina.”
Nina seemed to hitch herself taller. “In the first place, we didn’t expect you to be released so soon. In the second, Tully won the bid on this fantastic landscaping contract. He went into business for himself. The money was slow coming in, and he needed cash to meet payroll.”
“So you used up all the cash available in our trust fund for that? Nina, I gave you control of my share of the trust so that you could take care of Liane—her clothes, lunch money, if she got sick, or something. That was our agreement.”
“Tully needed the money!”
“Why didn’t you put it back into the trust once the job paid out?”
Nina looked out the window.
Stormy followed her gaze.
Tyler followed suit, watching as sunlight splashed bright and golden over the dunes. The ocean was blue and sparkling. A poignant contrast with the doom and gloom here inside.
Nina spoke first. “Tully was fired as the contractor. But it wasn’t his fault. The crew he had was inexperienced. He went back to work at the golf course, and—”
“Nothing is ever Tully’s fault,” Stormy spat.
“He tries,” Nina insisted. “Things don’t always go the way he plans.”
“Have you ever noticed that all his plans are made with other people’s money? Couldn’t you have drawn the line? Couldn’t you, just once, have said no?”
“He threatened to leave me!” Nina shouted. “And all because of you! We were doing fine until you got into trouble. Nobody wants to hire him now. He had to beg for his job back, and he didn’t get supervisor. And having Liane here was a reminder every blasted day of where you were and what you had done.” Cords stood out in Nina’s neck. “You owe us, Stormy! We want our respectability back! We want our life back. And another thing. If you want to go around having bastards, fine! Mom and Dad may have been forgiving, but they’re dead. I’m not. I’m tired of you shaming our family.”
Stormy took a step back, pain flaring red in her cheeks. “Nina…” she whispered. “When did this happen? When did you stop being my sister? How can you say something like that about Liane?”
