Sisters in Love (Snow Sisters, Book One: Love in Bloom Series #1) (21 page)

When the usual time for his appointment came
around, he’d sat and stared at the phone, paralyzed. He fought the
urge to call her and apologize. What would he say to her? I’m sorry
I made out with you? I overstepped my bounds? I want you? Any way
he looked at it, he’d crossed a line, and she was too professional
to let that slide. She would never forgive him. First, he elbowed
her; then, he kissed her. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d
never felt so conflicted about, and drawn to, a woman at the same
time.
Shit
. How would he figure out how to handle things
with Sally? How could he spend time with Rusty if all he thought
about when they were together was that other woman and her son, who
had also lost Dave?
Shit
. He should have kept his lips to
himself. He really fucked up.

Alyssa peeked into the office. “I’m leaving.
Are you okay to close up?”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks for your help,” he
said.

“Oh, there was some red-haired lady looking
for you earlier, but since you said you couldn’t be disturbed, I
told her that you weren’t here.”

“Great, thanks.”
That’s all I would have
needed
. Blake realized, as he pondered Red, that more than
needing Danica’s advice, he missed talking to her. He could have
sex with any woman. He wanted more than that with Danica.

“She told me to give you this.” She handed
him a business card. “It smells like perfume. I think she likes
you.” She smiled.

Blake took the card and set it on the desk.
“Good night, Alyssa,” he said.

“See you tomorrow afternoon.” Blake was
thankful she’d taken on extra hours until he could hire another
employee. She closed the door, leaving him alone with his thoughts,
a stack of bills, and Red’s phone number.

He picked up the card and brought it to his
nose, inhaling deeply. He brought his hand to his forehead and
closed his eyes. He reached for the phone.

Sally opened the door with a curious look in
her eyes. “Blake?”

“Thanks for letting me come over. I really
needed to talk to you.”

She motioned for him to come in. He followed
her to the living room, noting that she didn’t look quite as tired
as she had the last time they’d spoken. “Can I get you something?
You sounded so serious on the phone.”

“No, I’m fine.” He sat down in an upholstered
armchair. He looked toward the stairs. “Is Rusty here?”

Sally shook her head, her ponytail swinging
from side to side. “He’s out with friends. Listen, if this is about
me asking you to spend time with him, I’ll understand if you’ve
decided not to.”

“That’s not it at all. I just…I went to
Dave’s grave the other day.”

Sally cocked her head and drew her nearly
transparent eyebrows together.

“I ran into that other woman there. I don’t
even know her name.”

“Trisha,” she said, crossing her arms.

You know her name?
“Trisha. Okay. I
don’t know what to say, Sally. I mean, my loyalty is to Dave, but
it’s also to you and Rusty. I just thought you should know what she
told me.”

“Blake, listen, you can stop right
there.”

“But I want you to know. You need to
know.”

“I already do. She just left a few hours ago.
She told me about Chase and about Dave trying to get to know him.”
Tears filled her eyes. “She said they weren’t sleeping
together.”

“Oh, thank God. That’s what she told me,
too.” Blake felt like his body had been released from invisible
shackles. “I was so afraid to tell you.”

“She called me and asked if we could talk. I
figured it was time to face her, you know? Let her know how I felt
about her barging into our lives like she had. But when she came
over…She’s just this little thing, and she was so scared.” She let
out a nervous laugh. “I think she was more scared than I was.
Anyway, she told me everything, and she said that Dave had been
planning to tell me, and I believed her.” She let out a relieved
sigh. “He did. Actually, he tried once, but I didn’t want to hear
it. I never let him get far enough to tell me about Chase. I just
thought he was spending time with her.”

“So, you’re okay with it all?” Blake knew
then that he would never really understand women.

“No. Dave should have told me from the moment
he knew, or I should have listened, but I can’t change that. The
Dave I knew would have done the right thing with regard to the
child. I’m glad he did, but I was honest with her. I told her how
hurt I was that he’d lied to me and that he’d given her the time
that we, as a family, deserved.”

Blake ran his hand through his hair as car
headlights shone through the front window. Outside, a car skidded
to a stop and a car door slammed. “Are you expecting someone?”

She shook her head. “Rusty shouldn’t be home
for hours yet.”

“How’d she take it?”

“She cried. We cried. It’s not easy for
anyo—”

Rusty came flying through the front door,
slamming it behind him. “Mom!” He blew into the living room,
red-faced and full of rage. “There you are. And you! Thank God
you’re fucking here, too.”

Blake stood. “Whoa, Rusty.” He held his palms
up. “Calm down, bud.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down.”

“Rusty Michael, what is wrong with you?”
Sally came to her feet, speaking in her sternest, motherly voice.
“You don’t speak to adults like that.”

“No, well, when you hear what I’m about to
tell you, you’ll be pissed, too. This mother fucker,” he said,
pointing at Blake, “knew about Dad and that other woman.” He turned
back toward his mother, nostrils flaring, tears of rage filling his
eyes. “That’s right. Dad was fucking some other woman, Mom, and
that’s not all. He has a kid. A fucking kid. Older than me!”

“How did you find out?” Sally’s voice
trembled.

“My friend Kevin knows a kid who met
him.”

“Rusty.” Blake moved toward him, and Rusty
swung at him. Blake grabbed his fist midair. “Whoa! Holy shit,
Rusty. Cut it out.” He pushed Rusty into a chair, still grasping
his fist within his own large hand. “Calm down.” He didn’t mean to
raise his voice, but he couldn’t stop himself. He looked at Sally,
whose face was streaked with tears; her body trembled as she
watched her son fall apart.

“Mom!” Rusty yelled.

Sally came to his side and knelt by the
chair. “I know,” she said in a soothing voice. “Your father didn’t
have a mistress, but he did have a child, and the woman you’re
talking about is the child’s mother.”

“You knew?” Rusty looked from Blake to Sally
and then back again. “What lies did you tell her?” He pushed
himself up from the chair, but Blake held him in his seat so he
would be forced to listen.

“No. I just found out, and I didn’t tell your
mother anything. The boy’s mother did.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Mom. What the fuck?
This is a fucking nightmare.” He slumped into the chair, and Blake
let go of him, then paced the small room.

Sally shook as she spoke through her tears.
“I know, Rusty. I thought he was having an affair, too, but he
wasn’t. This is a lot to take in.”

“A lot to take in? How about this is
rewriting fucking history and it sucks!” Rusty yelled.

“Yes, okay, it sucks,” she admitted. “But he
was your father and he loved you.”

“Loved me? The fuck he did. He never spent
time with me. He was going to
her
house when I went to
practice.”

Sally sprang to her feet, her eyes wide with
anger. “While you were at practice, Rusty? Really? Do you think I
buy that?”

Rusty shot a look at Blake.

“Don’t blame him. I knew it when Dad was
alive. Your coach called me ages ago. Rusty, your dad let you have
your time with your friends—who, I might remind you, you had
decided were more important than your family. It was your choice to
drop from the team. It was your choice to hang out with your
friends and not with us, and I get it, okay? But don’t villainize
your father any more than he deserves.” She wiped her eyes and
continued. “Yes, he was spending time at her house with that kid.
Yes, he was lying to us about it, but she said that—”

“She said? Why would you believe anything
that she had to say?” Rusty demanded.

“Because I love your father, and I'd like to
think that I knew what kind of man he was. Because he was getting
to know his son and trying to figure out how to tell us about a
child who had no choice in the matter about being born. Because if
you had been that boy, I’d have hoped for—no, I’d have expected—the
same thing of him.” Sally sank down into the couch.

Blake was amped up on adrenaline. His eyes
darted from mother to son to the front door. He wanted nothing more
than to leave them to deal with their issues, but was that
appropriate? He wished Danica were there to help him figure it out,
but that option was no longer viable.
Danica
. Just the
thought of her brought back the taste of their kiss, the feel of
her in his arms. If he ever wanted to have a shot with Danica, he
had to learn to pull up his big-boy boots and navigate
uncomfortable situations. He took a deep breath and forged forward
on his own.

“Rusty, I never knew about her or the boy,”
Blake began.

“Chase,” Sally said.

Rusty glared at her.

“He has a name, Rusty, and as hard as it is,
he’s your half brother. We need to get used to that,” Sally said
with a pinched look, like the words tasted acidic.

“Like hell,” Rusty spat.

“There’s plenty of time for you two to deal
with all of that,” Blake said. “But before I go, Rusty, you need to
know that I never knew about any of it. Your dad did nothing but
rave about you and your mom. I had no idea that he was spending
time with anyone other than the two of you.” He started for the
door, then turned back, thinking of Danica’s wisdom once again.
“Listen, this isn’t about me. It’s about your family, and I get
that, but this guy who you want to be angry at, he’s not the guy I
knew. I don’t think I’ve ever met a guy who believed in family more
than Dave.” Blake realized that there was no way Dave would have
taken his own life. He had even more to live for than Blake had
imagined. Blake ran his hand through his hair, distracting himself
from the guilt that was gnawing at the muscles in his neck for even
considering that Dave could take his own life—and worse, that Dave
had been going through so much heartache and turmoil but didn’t
feel he could confide in Blake. He made eye contact with Sally,
once again sure that changing his behavior, becoming a better
friend and man, was the most important thing he would ever do. He
was beginning to understand how putting others first would change
everything for the better. “If you need me, just call.”

On the way to his car, Blake knew he had
already made a decision about Danica, and there was no way in hell
he was going to walk away like a weak boy who had done something
wrong. For the first time in his life, he knew he was making the
only right choice there was.

It had been weeks since Danica had seen
Blake, and as she sat across from Belinda, with her toned-down
makeup and less-hookeresque jeans, Danica couldn’t help but wonder
if Blake had gone back to his player ways.

“Are you listening to anything I’m saying?”
Belinda asked.

“Yes, of course. You said you were thinking
about taking a writing class.” Danica heard the disinterest in her
own voice, and it turned her stomach. She needed to pull her shit
together. Maybe giving up her career was a good move. Her empathy
was failing her, and all she could think about was Blake—not the
right thoughts for a therapist to have.

“Yeah,” Belinda said in between gum smacks.
“I think I have a story to tell. You know, misunderstood woman acts
out, then realizes there are other ways to get attention. Who
knows. I could be the next E. L. James.”

Let’s hope not
. Danica had picked up
James’s book at the bookstore, and she’d flinched with
embarrassment when a woman at the bookstore saw her reading it. She
hoped that if Belinda wanted to be a writer, she wouldn’t write
something that might be embarrassing for readers to be seen with.
Hell, more power to her if she can write something that sells.
Who cares what anyone else thinks
. Danica realized that she’d
been thinking that a lot lately. “Maybe so. I think it’s a great
goal.”

“You think I can do it?” Belinda asked.

“I have faith that you can do anything you
try to do.” After seeing the transitions in Belinda’s life, she had
even more faith in her.

“Then why are you so glum about it?”

“Am I? I’m sorry. I’m just a little under the
weather lately,” Danica lied.

“No, you’re not. I’d recognize this a mile
away. You’re bummed over some guy.” She laughed. “You went from
dressing all professional, to dressing more fun, and now you’re
back to Little Repressed Annie again.” She popped a bubble. “I’m
sorry. I probably shouldn’t say that.”

Caught
. “You’re…perceptive. But I’m
fine, really. And I do think you should write. Writing is very
cathartic.”
Maybe I should write
.

“Hang in there,” Belinda said as she gathered
her coat and stood to leave. “In my experience, no guy is worth
feeling bad about.” She turned and faced Danica with a wide smile
across her muted-red lips. “You taught me that.” She winked and
headed for the door. “See you next week,” she called over her
shoulder.

The more Danica saw Belinda, the more she
liked her, and the more she liked her, the more she saw pieces of
her sister in the things she did. It had been weeks since she’d
seen Kaylie. She reached for the phone and dialed her number.

“Hello?” Kaylie sounded as if she’d just
woken up.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, just tired.”