“She’s thankful for every little thing,” Karen rushed to explain. “We had lunch ready for her—”

“You cooked lunch? I thought—”

“I know,” she said, cutting her off. “Garth thought it was the least we could do. The truth is I was sure she would have eaten before they arrived and it would be moot.”

“Was it awkward having her there?”

It had been, especially in the beginning. “We were both on edge. You know, other than a few short, painful phone conversations, I haven’t talked to her in years.”

“So what did you have to talk about?”

“Mostly we talked about our kids. She was eager to hear every detail I had to tell her about Lily and Buddy. She showed me pictures of Amiee and you wouldn’t believe how much her daughter looks like her … and Dad. She mentioned that Amiee is full of questions about her cousins. From what she said, we’re the only family Amiee has. I asked about Duke’s side, and from what Cassie said, she never met any of his relatives. Odd, don’t you think? Anyway, she said they aren’t in contact anymore.”

Karen had realized later that in her nervousness at lunch she’d missed a lot, and was able to read a bit more between the lines. “She didn’t talk much about Duke, but I have the feeling this marriage wasn’t a happy one from the very beginning.”

“Yet she stayed.”

“Yes, she stayed.” Karen couldn’t help wondering what price she’d paid for her pride. It was more than obvious that Cassie had come out of the marriage with nothing.

Nichole was quiet for a moment, as though taking time to absorb the conversation. “Did Cassie ask about … anything?”

By “anything,” her sister seemed to be asking about far more than the cameo or the inheritance. “No, nothing. She was overwhelmed with gratitude with what we gave her. It meant the world to her to have the very things neither you nor I considered important.”

“The piano was worth something, but we both knew she would want that.”

“I’m glad we decided to give it to her.” Karen’s throat clogged with the memory of how happy Cassie had been to see the piano. It was right in front when Garth opened the door to the storage unit. Cassie’s reaction had been immediate and overwhelming.

“We hugged before she left.” That was a slight exaggeration. Cassie had reached out and hugged her. It took a moment before Karen had hugged her back. They’d both struggled with tears. Karen had been determined to keep an emotional distance from Cassie, and yet brick by brick that wall was beginning to be dismantled.

“You hugged. So what happens now?”

“I don’t know yet,” Karen hurried to explain. “But I think we need to be open to Cassie. We don’t need to rush into anything. We should take this slow, a little at a time. Perhaps you could phone her.”

“Me? What about you? You’re the one who’s communicated with her most. I hardly know her.”

“The thing is,” Karen said, “we don’t know her and she doesn’t really know us, either, but I think it’s time we changed that.”

The sliding glass door slammed and Buddy came into the house, automatically going to the refrigerator. He opened it up, reached for the pitcher of iced tea, and drank straight from it.

“Buddy!” Karen shouted, appalled at their son’s behavior. She looked for Garth and saw that he was no longer in the kitchen.

Her son whirled around, obviously surprised to see her. “Oh, hi, Mom.”

“I’ve got to go,” Karen told Nichole, frowning at her son.

“Okay.” Nichole sounded eager to get off the phone herself.

“Call me soon and we’ll talk more about what comes next with Cassie.”

“I’ll be in Arizona.”

“Arizona?”

“I’m going with Laurie. Jake arranged for us to stay at this exclusive spa. I’ll be away five days. I still can hardly believe it.”

“Wow! Have fun.”

Nichole sighed. “We plan to. I swear I’m married to the most wonderful husband.”

“We both married good men,” Karen added. Her thoughts instantly went to Cassie, and she wondered what had happened with Duke. Karen wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know. Perhaps one day Cassie would tell her.

“We’ll connect soon,” Karen said, as she ended the call. “Have a great time in Arizona.”

By the time she set down the phone, Buddy had put the pitcher back inside the refrigerator.

“Where’s your father?” Karen asked.

Buddy, his face red and sweaty from a game of neighborhood baseball, shrugged. “He was on his cell like you.”

Karen went in search of Garth and found him in the far end of the backyard, pacing by the fence line, his head bowed and shoulders hunched, and deep in conversation. He looked up when Karen approached.

“I have to go,” he said to whoever was on the other end of the line. “Yes, yes, I understand, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I’ll call you in the morning.” Her husband didn’t look the least bit pleased. His face tightened as he listened. “Okay, okay,” he said, and snapped the phone shut. For a moment it looked as if he was about to toss it down on the grass in a fit of anger.

Garth was an easygoing sort of guy, and to hear him this upset was a rarity.

“Everything okay?” Karen asked.

Garth shook his head. “It’s just work.”

“Problems?”

“You could say that,” he muttered, and then surprised Karen by reaching for her and wrapping his arms around her and holding her close as if he needed someone to cling to.

“Garth?” she asked, because it was obvious that something was terribly wrong.

“It’s nothing. Just leave it, okay?”

This, too, was uncharacteristic of her husband. Karen hugged him back and after a few minutes they returned to the house with their arms around each other.

Buddy had set the table without being asked, which was a shocker, thought Karen, smiling. “Where’s Lily?”

“She’s got dance class this afternoon.”

Garth froze. “It’s not my turn to pick her up, is it?”

“No, you drove last week,” Karen reminded him.

Garth released a slow exhale. “I’m telling you I need a personal assistant to keep track of whose turn it is to drive in all these carpools.” He brought out the salad he’d mixed and set it in the middle of the table.

As if on cue, the front door opened and Lily came in and dropped her backpack just inside the door. “I had the worst day of my entire life,” she complained with a loud groan. “Michael turned twelve and got a Facebook account and the first thing he did was post a horrible picture of me and now people are sharing it.”

“Oh boy. It looks like you could use a hug,” Garth said to his daughter.

“Oh, Dad, a hug isn’t going to help.”

“Sure it will,” he countered. “A hug always helps.”

Karen dished up the Spanish rice and removed the green beans from the microwave.

“Spanish rice again?” Lily complained.

“Hey, hey, count your blessings. We could be having liver and onions. That’s what my mom always made.”

Lily’s head came up and she grimaced. “That is just gross.”

“Count your blessings,” Karen repeated, as the four of them sat down at the table for the evening meal and joined hands.

The banter around the table was lively. It wasn’t until later that Karen realized that Garth had had very little to say. As they readied for bed that night, she noticed how withdrawn he’d become. Whatever had happened at work had deeply bothered him.

Both read for a half hour or so before turning out the bedside lights. As soon as it was dark, Garth reached for her.

“I love you, Karen.”

“I know. I love you, too.” She nestled her head against her husband’s shoulder. But it was a long time before she went to sleep, and she knew it took just as long for Garth, too.

Chapter 22