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“Good luck getting her to listen,” Rosanna said. “I was telling her that the whole way over.”
Again, Becca braced for Hurricane Isabel to unleash her fury, but this time on Rosanna. Again, she refrained.
“Accidents happen so fast.” Isabel’s voice was barely a whisper. “If I’d lost you today without being able to talk to you and mend this rift, and I’d never gotten the chance to tell you I’m sorry and I love you, I don’t think I could’ve gone on.”
“Mom, I told you. I’m fine. Really, I am. Everything is fine. I’m not mad at you. Please, don’t be upset.”
So much for the new hard-hearted Becca.
She could stand up for herself, but she didn’t have to be mean and heartless. Her mother was so upset, and Becca couldn’t bear to see her that way.
“Come in, please,” Becca said. “Rosanna, will you please shut the door?”
Her sister, who was also curiously subdued tonight, nodded and did as Becca had asked.
She walked arm in arm with their mother into the living room.
The three of them sat for a moment, looking at each other.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you,” Becca said. “I was fine, and I didn’t want to worry you.”
Isabel drew in a deep breath. “No, I suspect you didn’t call me because you were mad at me. And I don’t blame you.”
She paused and swallowed so hard, Becca could hear her mother’s throat working.
“You were right, Rebecca. What I did at Thanksgiving dinner was out of line. I not only embarrassed you and Nick, I embarrassed myself. I hope you will be able to forgive me.”
Nick’s ignosces tattoo flashed in Becca’s mind.
Forgive me.
The memory of how his hard bicep felt under her fingers, as she’d traced the letters, made her shudder. She blinked away the thought.
“Are you okay?” Isabel asked.
“I am. I’m touched by what you said. As far as I’m concerned, we can put it behind us as long as you realize, Mom, we may not always see eye to eye, but as long as we respect each other, we will be fine. And what I mean by respect is you can’t browbeat me into doing things your way.”
Isabel straightened in her chair. Her chin lifted a couple of notches in a guarded stance that had Becca bracing for her to go on the defensive. Becca was so tired of fighting. So tired of trying to please everyone that she almost did a double take when her mother said, “I’ll behave myself. I promise. And I’d like to apologize to Nick. When can the two of you come for dinner?”
Becca took care not to let her face give away what she was really feeling. Because she didn’t know if there would be another family dinner with Nick, but she didn’t have to explain that to anyone. At least not right now.
* * *
When Nick had learned that his father would be visiting, he’d arranged to take off the whole time he was in Celebration.
When he’d told Cullen Dunlevy why he wanted the time off, Cullen had been generous, telling him to take all the time he needed. Actually, he needed only two nights because he’d been late getting to him last night due to the circumstances of the day.
The morning after their dinner, Nick met his father for breakfast. Afterward, they’d met Cece Harrison, the guide who was giving them a tour of Celebration, sharing some of the lesser known history of the area. The woman who tended the front desk at the Celebration Inn had arranged the tour for them. She’d promised that Cece, who was also a staff writer for the Dallas Journal of Business and Development, was not only a friend, but also a knowledgeable local historian. She highly recommended her.
Cece didn’t disappoint. She was perky and pretty and everything a person looking to learn more about the town might hope for.
She even tried to flirt a little with Nick, which caused Ronnie to elbow him good-naturedly. But that only made Nick’s mind drift back to Becca. Ronnie said, “Don’t waste your efforts on him. He’s in love.”
And he was.
Just like that, Nick knew it. But he had no idea what to do about it.
Cece smiled and cooed about how romantic it was to see someone so much in love and how she wished that someday she’d find someone who was just as smitten with her.
Ronnie joked about applying for the job. It was all good-natured and harmless, since he was old enough to be her father.
“Where’s this lucky lady today?” Cece asked.
Both she and Ronnie turned expectant eyes on Nick.
“She’s at work.” He hoped. He really should’ve called her to make sure she was okay. But the tour was moving on.
