But now that she knew what she was missing, she felt even lonelier than before. And while she was in this house, this town, she couldn’t stop thinking about Morris and how unfairly her mother had used him. She regretted missing the opportunity to pay her last respects to him, although she knew she’d been right not to come to Dundee when he died. She hadn’t wanted to turn his funeral into a battleground. She’d wanted everything to be peaceful and good, wanted Morris to receive the kind of eulogies he deserved. So she’d spent his funeral in a strange church in Texas, begging God to take care of him for all he’d done for her. Then she’d let him go.
It was certainly a cold winter here in Dundee, she decided. Yet the few hours of happiness she’d experienced in Mike’s arms had been well worth the price. She didn’t bother arguing with herself over that. For the first time since she could remember, she’d taken exactly what she wanted, and for a few short hours, she’d felt content. She’d been the girl pressed against the side of the barn; she’d had Mike’s undivided attention. Now she had to do the same thing she’d finally done with Morris—and let go.
BARBARA HILL TURNED OFF her headlights and crept closer to the old Victorian before pulling to the side of the road. Mike had said Lucky was back, but Barbara didn’t want to believe it. After everything she’d been through, it didn’t seem fair; Red had had enough impact on her life already.
But a blue Mustang sat in the snow midway down the drive and light shone from the windows of the house. Someone was there; of course it was Lucky. Mike had seen her.
Knowing that Lucky was once again living in the home in which Barbara had been raised brought back all the negative emotions she’d experienced during her father’s final years. She could still see Red flouncing into the diner while Barbara was trying to have breakfast with her brokenhearted mother, flaunting the huge diamond Morris had given her. She could still hear Red going on and on about how much Morris loved her and her children, how he was finally happy now that he had them. Red had even told everyone they were thinking of adopting a baby together. A baby! When Morris was nearly eighty years old! It was so absurd Barbara hadn’t known how to respond. She’d always admired her father. He’d been an astute businessman, a throwback to the old days when a man’s word was his bond. But he seemed to become a different person once he hooked up with Red. He let her dye his hair a tacky shade of auburn, dress him in matching shirts, turn the house into something garish, kiss and rub against him suggestively in public. Couldn’t he see how silly he looked?
Then there were the things that had happened later, as the situation grew worse: the infidelities, the lies, the greed, the attempt to kill him with an overdose of insulin.
Sickened by the memories, Barbara rested her forehead on the steering wheel. She could no longer look at the house. Morris had expected his first family to welcome Red and her children with open arms. For a short while, at the very beginning, Barbara had tried. Even though she felt terrible for her mother, who was lost and miserable without Morris, living in that small duplex just off Fifth Street. Even though Red’s reputation already spoke volumes about her and she knew Red was after her father’s money. Despite all that, she and her sister Cori had met Morris and Red for dinner in Boise one evening. But that night had been one of the worst of their lives. Red had flaunted her control over Morris, made them all look foolish. And, not too long after that, their brother, Bunk, told them that Red had come on to him when he and Morris were working on a land deal together and Red had come over to pick up a check.
Barbara knew Red must’ve had serious self-esteem issues to need such constant acknowledgement of her sexuality, but it was difficult to be understanding when Red had wreaked such havoc in the lives of the people Barbara most loved—and for so many years. Because Red threw a jealous fit whenever Morris contacted his first family, he’d stopped associating with them. Her father had allowed a woman like Red to tear him away from the people who really loved him. How could he do that? The betrayal bit so deeply, Barbara could only pound the steering wheel with her fists. Damn him! Damn Red and her greedy, self-serving children….
And now Lucky was back—to live in Barbara’s childhood home and serve as a constant reminder of it all.
THE PHONE WOKE Mike from a dead sleep. Lifting his head, he saw that it was nearly midnight and he’d nodded off at his desk. Probably because he was so reluctant to return to his own bed. He knew he’d only start remembering what had happened when he’d slept there last: the moment Lucky had slipped into his room, pulled off that sweatshirt and…
Another ring shattered the silence, and he groped for the phone. “Hello?”
“Mike?”
Josh. Mike rubbed his eyes. “Yeah. How’s the vacation?”
“We’re finding out it’s not easy to travel with an infant.”
Josh sounded rueful enough to make Mike chuckle. “You should’ve left Brian with Mom. She’s missing him already.”
“Rebecca would never have agreed to that. Besides, Brian’s still nursing.”
“Of course. I forgot.”
“Speaking of Mom…”
Mike heard a subtle change in the inflection of his brother’s voice. “What about her?”
“She says Lucky Caldwell’s back.”
Obviously, word was spreading fast—all the way to Hawaii. “She is.”
“What does she want?”
“To fix up the house, from what I can gather.”
“Why now?”
“How should I know?” Mike dimly realized how irritable he sounded, but he was feeling more and more torn about Lucky and didn’t want his family to bring her up every time they talked.
“Mom said you gave her a ride into town. Didn’t you speak to her?”
“She didn’t have much to say.”
“Did she tell you what she has planned for the house once she finishes fixing it up?”
“She might sell.”
“To us?”
“Maybe.”
“That’s a switch. Are you sure?”
“That’s what she said. But she didn’t make any promises.”
“No, I don’t suppose she would,” Josh said. “Mom says she likes being in the power position, likes knowing she has what we want.”
Feeling defensive of Lucky again, in spite of himself, Mike raked a hand through his hair. “That might’ve been true about Red, but I don’t think it’s like that with Lucky, Josh.”