LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter One

      Tess Miller stood quietly nearby as her older sister, Nina Miller Wheatley, made a minute adjustment to an impeccably set Thanksgiving dinner table. Nina’s formal dining room glowed not only with the light from a crystal chandelier but from multiple candles on the table and antique sideboard. Fall flowers spilled over crystal vases onto Pilgrim figurines and pumpkins nestled beside them. Calligraphy place cards rested in little turkey-shaped holders beside the brown-and-orange plaid place mats. Tess didn’t know why they needed place cards when the entire dinner party consisted of Nina, her husband, their three kids and herself, but her overachieving sister never did anything halfway.

      There was enough food for another six people, at a minimum. Turkey and dressing, several side dishes, salads and four choices of desserts crowded the serving tables. Tess had brought a casserole and a cake, both of which Nina had proclaimed “very nice” and had then set at the back of the buffet.

      Nina wore a rust silk blouse and dark brown slacks that showed off her gym-toned body. Not a salon-tinted blond hair was out of place in her stylish do, and her makeup was perfect despite the hours she’d spent in the kitchen. She’d given a critical once-over to Tess’s black wrap top and slim charcoal pants, but her only comment had been that maybe Tess should consider adding more red highlights to her hair, just to “spice up” her shoulder-length auburn bob. Tess was perfectly content for now with the color nature had given her, but she hadn’t wasted breath arguing.

      The sisters didn’t look much alike. Tess’s brown eyes had a more golden tint than Nina’s, her face was more oval and she’d inherited their father’s shallow chin cleft. At five-four, she was two inches shorter than her sister, though she’d always wondered if being taller would have made any difference in Nina’s still treating her like a child.

      “Everything looks beautiful, Nina,” she said, knowing just what to say to make her sister happy. “I can tell you’ve worked very hard.”

      Nina heaved a long-suffering sigh. “You have no idea. All the chopping and mixing, cooking and baking, not to mention keeping up with all the kids’ extracurricular activities and volunteering at two different schools. I’m utterly exhausted, but of course it’s all worth it for my family.”

      Through her mental sigh, Tess heard a football game playing in the den. She knew her brother-in-law, Ken, and her nephews, thirteen-year-old Cameron and nine-year-old Austin, were parked in front of it, though both boys were probably engrossed in handheld video games. Almost fifteen-year-old Olivia was in her room, likely risking carpal tunnel syndrome with marathon texting to her bazillion friends. None of them had offered assistance to their mother, though Nina wouldn’t have accepted if they had. She loved being a martyr to her overly indulged family.

      Nina shook off her air of selfless weariness to replace it with a sympathetic smile toward her much younger sibling. “You wouldn’t understand, of course, not having a husband and children of your own to take care

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