LITMIR.BIZ

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and adding cinnamon, nutmeg, barely a whiff of almond extract and a dash of cream before slipping thick slices of French bread into it to soak. “I just know that she would understand if you need a break. She’s sensitive to the situation.”

      “Which means you did discuss it,” Annie said in disgust. “Margarita night must have been a real blast.”

      “To be honest, I don’t remember that much about it,” her mom admitted, looking chagrined. “Helen apparently overdid it with the tequila. She was a little stressed out.”

      “Helen was stressed out? Why?” Annie regarded her mother with dismay, distracted for the moment from her own turmoil. “She and Erik aren’t in trouble, are they?”

      Dana Sue forked the bread slices into a skillet in which butter sizzled. “No way. This was about her mom. Flo broke her hip. Helen’s in Florida now. I had a call from Erik last night that she’s driving her mother back up here today.”

      “Flo’s coming home with Helen?” Annie asked, stunned. “Oh, brother, how’d that happen?”

      “Flo asked, then Erik encouraged it. I gather she wants to move home. For now, that means into Helen’s place.”

      “Yikes!”

      “That was pretty much my reaction,” Dana Sue said, setting two plates with golden slices of French toast in front of them, along with a pot of strawberry jam and a small pitcher of warm maple syrup. “Something tells me if things don’t go well, Erik is going to spend the next few weeks hiding out right here.”

      “He’d be better off in another state.”

      “Enough of that. Let’s get back to Ty,” Dana Sue said.

      “I’d rather not,” Annie said. She concentrated on her favorite comfort food, hoping if she didn’t make eye contact, her mother would drop the subject.

      Dana Sue persisted. “Is there anything I can do?”

      “Not unless you know how to deaden the pain in my heart every time I see him,” Annie said wistfully.

      “Afraid not, kiddo. There’s never been a cure invented for that particular kind of pain.”

      “What about margaritas?”

      “Based on recent experience, I can tell you for certain that whatever temporary escape they might provide is nothing compared to the pain they leave behind.”

      “Too bad,” Annie said. “Maybe you should put the Sweet Magnolias to work on a cure for the lovesick blues. You guys could make a fortune.”

      “I’ll mention it next time we get together. We are pretty inventive.”

      They ate in silence for a few minutes. Eventually Annie faced her mother. “I still love him,” she admitted. “I don’t want to, but I do.”

      “I know, sweetie.”

      “Am I supposed to forgive him and give him another chance after what he did?”

      “Only you can decide that,” Dana Sue said.

      “How did you decide it was time to take Dad back?”

      “He convinced me I could trust him again.”

      “Just by coming back when I was in the hospital, and then not giving up even after you kept pushing him away?”

      Dana Sue’s expression turned thoughtful. “That was part of it, but mostly I took a leap of faith. I think that’s all any of us can do once we’ve been betrayed. It’s a question of looking at the evidence that someone’s changed, evaluating whether you’re happier with them than without them, then taking that leap.”

      “Sounds scary.”

      “It is.”

      Annie sighed. “I don’t think I’m there yet.”

      “You don’t need to be. You’ll get there when it feels right.”

      “What if Ty’s healed and gone by then? What if he’s given up on me?”

      “If you believe with everything in you that you’re meant to be, then you go after him.”

      Annie stared at her. “Pride be damned?”

      Dana Sue nodded. “Pride be damned. Look at your dad. Once he came back to town, remember how hard he fought to get back into my life, back into both our lives? I kept pushing him away, but he never gave up. You’ve got our stubborn genes. You’re strong enough to get whatever you really want.”

      She covered Annie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Meantime, make sure Ty does his fair share of groveling. You’ll feel better for that, no matter what.”

      Annie chuckled. “You know, I think I will.”

      Chapter Six

      When Ty got up on Saturday morning, he pulled on a pair of cutoff jeans and wandered toward the kitchen in search of his son. Usually by now Trevor had crawled into bed with him to wake him for the trip to Wharton’s for breakfast. Ty made it as far as the living room before stopping in his tracks.

      There, lined up on the sofa, were his fourteen-year-old sister, Katie, and four of her friends. Judging from their rapt, slack-jawed gazes and sudden silence when they saw him, they’d been waiting for him.

      “Good morning, girls,” he said, regretting that he hadn’t grabbed a T-shirt and maybe a decent pair of pants. “Katie, I didn’t know you had company.”

      “Mom said I could invite some friends over,” she said with a touch of defiance.

      “Any particular occasion?”

      The girls giggled, their cheeks turning bright pink. Katie frowned at them. “You’re acting crazy,” she scolded them. “I told you it was okay to come over, but only if you didn’t act all weird. He’s just my brother.”

      “He’s Ty Townsend!” one girl corrected in an awe-struck voice. “And he’s right here, and he’s not wearing a shirt!”

      Ty bit back a groan. “Katie, I think maybe you should offer your friends something to drink. They seem a little overheated. Where’s Trevor, by the way?”

      “Cal took him, Jessica Lynn and Cole for a walk. He said for you to meet them at Wharton’s.”

      “Okay, then. Nice meeting you, girls,” he said. He left to a chorus of more giggles as he went back to his room to shower and dress.

      When he emerged, the girls were gone, except for Katie, who hurriedly stuffed something behind her. He regarded her suspiciously. “What was that?”

      “What?” she asked, all innocence.

      “You put something behind the cushion,” he said, crossing the room in a few quick strides and yanking away the cushion before she could stop him. Five-dollar bills scattered. Ty stared at the money in shock. “You charged them to meet me?” he asked incredulously. “What? Five dollars apiece?”

      Katie’s face flamed. “Ten, because you weren’t wearing a shirt. We’d agreed they’d pay extra if you weren’t.”

      “I’m surprised you didn’t let them peek in my room while I was sleeping. They might have gotten quite an eyeful.”

      “That would have been rude and an invasion of your privacy,” Katie said indignantly. “I would never do that.”

      Ty wanted to be furious with her, but she sounded so solemn about the boundaries she’d set, he couldn’t seem to muster the energy to yell. “You do know that even this was wrong?”

      “Why?”

      “Because I’m your brother, not a sideshow at the circus. And what if one of those girls had snapped a picture with a cell phone and sold it to a tabloid

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