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Carly found everyone in the living room staring at the floor. What on earth had happened while she was outside talking to Lucas? Noah was sleeping on her shoulder, so before she investigated, she carried him upstairs and put him in his crib. She took the baby monitor with her and shut the door before going back to brave the prowling lions in the den.
Things were no better when she got back to the living room. Dillard and Amelia sat on the love seat, but they looked far from lovey-dovey. Her sister practically clung to the sofa’s arm, and Dillard scowled as he looked at his phone. He couldn’t go back to Jacksonville soon enough for Carly.
The breeze through the open windows did little to carry away the stench of Emily removing the polish from her nails. Her mutinous expression told Carly she was doing it to distract herself from what was going on. There was no sign of their grandmother or the family members who had arrived in the night.
She couldn’t decide if she should ask questions or hope whatever it was blew over. Maybe silence was the better choice. A noise from the kitchen alerted her, and she went that way.Her grandmother stood at the coffee bar grinding coffee. Dad and Isabelle were at the breakfast bar, and they weren’t talking either.
“Good morning,” Carly said. “Did you sleep well?”
Isabelle shrugged. “The sheets smelled weird and kept me awake.”
Carly forced a smile. “That’s called fresh air. We hang the sheets on the line in the backyard.”
“You don’t have a dryer?”
“We do, but we hang out clothing and linens when we can. It’s better for them, and it makes them smell like sunshine and fresh air.”
When her sister didn’t answer, Carly looked closer and saw her lips quivering. Moisture hung on her lashes, and she swallowed hard. This situation had to be difficult for her, being carted clear across the country and abandoned with people she didn’t really know. None of this was her fault—it was their father’s.
Carly focused her attention on their father. “Dad, you can’t do this to Isabelle.”
Her sister’s chin jerked up, and she stared at Carly. Was there a glimmer of hope that she had an ally in Carly? She gave Isabelle an encouraging smile. She was used to going head-to-head with their father, who had neglected all his girls for most of their lives. He’d been an absent father even before Mom died. His work had come before any of them.
Her dad didn’t answer, so Carly glanced at Gram for help, but her grandmother didn’t seem to be paying attention as she poured water into the coffeepot. Carly was on her own.
“Dad,” she prodded. “Seriously, you need to cancel your trip. This is too hard on Isabelle.”
He sighed and finally looked at her. “I can’t do that, Carly. It’s too important.”
“You can’t show up here without so much as a phone call and expect everyone else to cover for you. It’s wrong.” She tried to pick her words carefully. Isabelle had enough trauma from yesterday without making her feel she was unwanted.
“You don’t want Isabelle here?”
She could have slapped her father’s smug face. “Of course we want her. That’s not the point. It’s clear this was not her idea, and you gave her no choice. You yanked her out of school before the year was up and flew clear across the country to leave her with people she doesn’t know.”
His jaw hardened, and his brown eyes narrowed. “This is my mother’s house, not yours. This decision has nothing to do with you.”
Carly bit back a remark about preparing their rooms last night. Who did he think did the majority of the work around here? Gram looked good for her age, but she was slowing down, and they all knew it. Which was why no one had made breakfast yet.
Gram turned, her peacock skirt swishing around her ankles. “I’m delighted to see you and Isabelle, Kyle, but Carly is right. You didn’t even call. This is unacceptable.”
“It was a sudden trip.”
“So sudden you couldn’t call from the airport while you were waiting to board?”
“We barely made the flight. We threw clothes in the bags and I drove as fast as I could to the airport.”
Gram folded her arms across her chest. “You at least need to stay and help her get settled in. What about her schoolwork?”Her expression softened when she turned her attention to her youngest granddaughter. “Isabelle, when is your school out?”
“Not for two more weeks,” Isabelle said in a shaky voice. “I have my tests still to take.”
“And how long will you be gone, Kyle?” Gram asked.
He shifted and looked away. “A month or so.”
“So you’re expecting your daughter to miss the very important last few weeks of school? At her age it impacts her GPA. That’s very selfish.”
“It can’t be helped, Mom. There’s a crisis at headquarters.”
