A Family Affair: Summer: Truth in Lies, Book 3 (8 page)

A gravel road ran behind the barn, surrounded by pine trees, oak, and
spruce. Had Uncle Will built another barn, maybe one for The Bleeding Hearts Society to harvest and dry their flowers? When Aunt Julia was active in the group, he’d opened the barn for that very activity, though word had it The Society spent as much time devising plans to help heal broken hearts and fatten up thin wallets as it did sorting flowers. Tess walked along the graveled road, curious to see what her uncle had been constructing.

But when she reached the clearing, she wished she’d ignored her curiosity and never gone down this path.
The log cabin she and Cash had so carefully designed stood in front of her, a two-story reminder of what could have been.

Tess turned and ran.

***

It had never been a question of
if
Tess would see Bree and Gina again but rather
when
. She’d been back in Magdalena for three days and aside from the trip to visit Cash and then Uncle Will, she hadn’t left the house. She’d refused her mother’s invitations to the library:
They have the most wonderful selection of audiobooks
: and lunch:
Lina’s Café has the best Turkey Reubens on Tuesdays and I know how much you always loved theirs
; and even Sal’s grocery store:
You should see what he’s done in the dairy section—six different brands of yogurt and tortilla wraps, too
.

Tess
wanted to spare her mother the discomfort of running into those who might offer a comment or three about Tess’s interesting and timely return that just so happened to coincide with her ex-fiancé’s. What to say to that? There was nothing to say but smile and slip out a “thank you,” which, of course, would never suffice. The residents of Magdalena were concerned but equally curious about the situation. Okay, some were downright nosy and weren’t shy about poking around in off-limits territory.

O
n this third day, Tess waited until her mother headed to the library for an afternoon of tutoring sessions. Then she showered, dressed, and made her way downtown. Not much had changed in the eight years she’d been gone. Barbara’s Boutique and Bakery had a fancy sign hanging overhead in pink and white surrounded by tiny lights. Victor’s Pharmacy posted the same “Serving Customers One at a Time” sign in the window. It had to be twenty years old, maybe more. Was Mr. Winston still working or had his son, Raymond, taken over? He’d gone to school with Tess and had been in pharmacy school last she’d heard. She walked past the bank, the diner, and Miss Patty’s Mentionables, an accessory store for women. There was the candle shop, the bakery, the post office, and O’Reilly’s bar. Not much had changed, at least from the outside, but what could you really tell from appearances?

She crossed the street and worked her way from window to window. There were a few new sto
res that caught her interest: a hair salon, a pet groomer, and a consignment shop. Tess stopped in front of Lina’s Café and peeked inside. Phyllis was thinner, her upswept hair a bit grayer, but she had the same laugh and crooked smile that customers loved. And Tess bet she still served up the best coconut cream pie in Magdalena.

Three doors down was an office
sandwiched between the dry cleaners and the sub shop. The lettering etched on the door window read,
Christine Desantro, Finance & Investments
. Nate’s wife? Now that was a woman she wanted to meet. Before she could talk herself out of it, she gripped the handle and entered.

The woman Tess guessed was
Christine Desantro looked up from the paperwork on her desk and smiled. “May I help you?”

It was a genuine smile and the voice was cultured, well-bred, not filled with dialect and drawn-out vowels.
She stood, ran a hand over the tiny wrinkles in her pink blouse, and moved toward Tess. This woman didn’t need designer clothes or a stack of money to spell
class
. She had it, from the cut of her shimmering dark hair to the blueness of her eyes, and further still, to her walk: casual, elegant, natural.

“I was
taking a walk around town, seeing what’s changed since I’ve been gone.” Tess offered Christine a smile, one of the first real ones since she returned to Magdalena. “This place is new.”

“Tess? Tess Carrick?”

“That’s me.” She did not even want to think about what this woman had heard about her. Probably nothing good.

“Welcome back to Magdalena!” She
clasped Tess’s hands. “I’m Christine Desantro and I’m
so
happy to meet you.”

Tess laughed. “Oh, I’m so sure you are one of three people who feel that way.”

“That’s not true. You’ve got a lot of people pulling for you, including my husband.”

“Thank you.” The woman was gracious even if she were fabricating.
“It’s nice to hear, even if ‘a lot’ means five.”

Christine laughed and gestured toward her desk. “Come and sit down. I’ve been dying to meet you.”

“I don’t even want to ask what Nate’s said about me.”

She raised a brow. “If you know anything about my husband, then you know he hasn’t said much.” Christine sank into her chair and Tess sat in one on the other side of the desk. “Nate’s got pretty strong opinions about things, but unless they affect him or his family, he keeps quiet.” She leaned forward, eyes bright, and offered valuable information. “But he cares about Cash, and he’s not going to sit back and let him feel sorry for himself. You know he went to see him, don’t you?”

Tess shook her head. No, she hadn’t known. “Not much news is flowing to my mother’s. This is the first day I’ve made it downtown.”

“Ah. Well, let’s see.” She tapped her chin. “Cash refused to see Nate at first, but
I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you. Our men are both stubborn, though I’ll bet mine gets the prize.”

Tess wanted to interrupt Christine and tell her that Cash wasn’t her man, not anymore, but that might prompt Nate’s wife to begin a crusade to convince Tess just how much Cash was still hers. Some things really were better left unsaid for as long as possible.

“You know I haven’t met Cash yet.” She paused. “Nate said they’d been good friends.”

“They were. I think they got along so well because they were both fighting their own battles.
Cash’s parents took off when he was very young and with Nate’s dad dead and his mother—” She clamped a hand to her mouth to stop the rest of the words. She’d almost said something about Christine’s father. “I am so sorry. Please forgive me.”

“It’s okay. Really.” She picked up a pen and toyed with it. “If you think people don’t want
you
here, can you imagine coming to this town as Charlie Blacksworth’s daughter and facing Nate?”

“Umm, no I can’t. I think I’d rather have the whole town after me.”

Christine smiled. “It was an interesting several months, but in some ways it seems so long ago.” She paused, met Tess’s gaze, and said in a gentle voice, “As horrible as it was to find out my father had a secret family, one he probably considered his ‘real’ one, I’ve been gifted with a second chance and a life I never thought could be mine, with the kind of man I never knew existed.”

“You’re
very lucky.”

“I am, and I will never take this blessing for granted. But I think you can have a second chance too, Tess. We all believe that.”

They did? “I’m not so sure.”

“Pop Benito’s already got The Bleeding Heart
s Society on it,” she paused, “Minus Ramona Casherdon. They’re determined to get you two together. Even Bree,” she caught herself and finished, “even the skeptics are having second thoughts.”

She mean
t Bree Kinkaid, the friend Tess hadn’t spoken with since she left Magdalena. “You know Bree?”

Christine nodded. “I do. We’re friends.”

“And Gina Servetti?”

“Yes.” Her smile faded, flattened
. “But not her cousin.”

“Yeah, nobody’s friends with Natalie, not even the guys.”

“Not surprising.”

Oh, that was a sore spot. What had Natalie done now? Still trying to steal other women’s men, no doubt.

“Tess, I want to help you. Just let me know what I can do.”

Christine Desantro had class
and
a golden heart. “Thank you.”

“I’ve been on the outside,” she said, her voice strong, her words filled with emotion. “I almost lost the man I love. I know that pain.”

Tess wanted to ask her to expand on that last part but decided against it. Maybe when she got to know her better, Christine would share that story.

“Would you like to grab a cup of coffee at
Lina’s? She makes the best pecan rolls.”

“I was just thinking about her coconut cream pie. Does she still have that on the menu?”

Before Christine could respond, the door opened and with it came two chattering, laughing female voices.

“Did you ever see such a sight? I thought I would pee my panties.” More laughter. “He sure thought he was one hot body.”

Tess froze. She’d recognize that affected Southern drawl anywhere and if she waited a few seconds, another voice would pipe in, lower, richer, more mature. She was not disappointed.

“My u
ncle is more of a lady’s man than that guy and he’s seventy-two with double knee replacements, a pacemaker, and a hearing aid.”

Gina Servetti and the uncle she was talking about was Uncle Bruno, former trash collector for the city of Magdalena, primo polka dancer
, and trumpet player.

“Hey, Christine. Ready for those pecan—” Bree rounded the desk and spotted Tess. She blinked hard, cleared her throat
, and said, “Hello, Tess,” as though she could sanitize the emotion from her words.

“Hi
, Bree.” Tess turned to face Gina, who made no effort to hide her stare or her distaste. “Gina.”

“Hello, Tess.” Her words slid through pursed lips, cold, biting.

Bree hadn’t changed much since the last time Tess saw her: still tanned, blond, beautiful, and pregnant. Gina was curvier, her skin a healthy olive glow, eyes dark as charcoal, and the same ticked-off attitude. They hadn’t forgotten how she’d run out on them without an explanation or a good-bye.

“Well, I think I’ll get going.” She glanced at Christine who was taking it all in. Bree and Gina must have filled her in on the whole sordid situation, beginning with the night JJ got shot and ending with Tess’s refusal to see them.

“What about the pie?” Christine blurted out. “You can’t turn down coconut cream.” Before Tess had a chance to reply, she smiled at Bree and Gina and said, “Care to join us?”

“Uh…” Bree darted a glance at Gina who shrugged and shook her head.

So much for letting the past go.

“I think I would like a piece of
Key lime pie,” Bree said in a rush. “I’ve had a taste for it.” She rubbed her protruding belly and added, “Since this little guy started doing somersaults.”

Bree was still holding out for the boy.

“Great. Good.” Christine shut down her computer and grabbed her purse. “Well then.” When no one moved, she sighed and plunked her purse on the desk. “We are not going to Lina’s and putting this all on display so we can read about it in tomorrow’s
Press
. Let’s get it all out so I can eat my pecan roll.”

“It’s not that easy,” Bree said, darting a glance at Tess. “You don’t know the pain we suffered. The not knowing, the worrying, the crying…it was awful.”

“I’m sure Tess had her reasons.”

“Which we have never been privy to.” Bree faced Tess, her eyes bright, mouth quivering. “You just left us, and poor Cash, so distraught, we worried he’d try to hurt himself.
Even Nate and your uncle couldn’t calm him down. Do you know he was all set to drive to Riki’s and see if you were there? Wouldn’t that have been interesting? But no, your mother said you weren’t there. She said Riki wasn’t even there, and besides, wherever you were, you needed time alone. Imagine how we all felt when we learned that’s
exactly
where you were.” She paused, spat out, “Staying with the sister who had popped in and out of your life like a Ping-Pong ball. But you trusted her more than us.”

“No. It wasn’t that at all.” She’d had to get away and there was nowhere to go except to her sister’s. Riki would have been her last choice and it had turned out to be her worst.

“What was it then? Tell us, so we can understand?” Gina moved toward her, hands on her plump hips, dark eyes burning. She wanted answers Tess couldn’t give. Not now. Maybe not ever.

“
I don’t think Tess is ready to talk about what drove her away,” Christine said in a soft voice. “We have to respect that.”

“Like she respected us?” Gina shot back. “I don’t think so.”

“I can’t.” They all looked at Tess, perhaps surprised by the pain in her words. “I can’t,” she repeated, blinking hard.

“And we’re not going to pressure her,” Christine said, her voice hard. “I know what it’s like to have your world turned upside down; no answers, only a million questions. Bitterness takes over and you’ll drown in it if you don’t let it go.
For months all I wanted to know was why? Why did my father do it? Why didn’t he tell me? Why wasn’t I enough? On and on it went until I was so torn I couldn’t think.” A faint smile hovered about her lips. “But by then I was in love with this town and the people: Miriam, Lily,” she paused, her voice dipped, “Nate. The why didn’t matter then; all that mattered was moving forward.”