She shook her head. The past two Christmases, she’d sent her father a card containing a few photos of the kids. In more than ten years, that was the extent of their contact.
“That would explain why he didn’t know we were divorced.” A muscle flexed in Keith’s cheek. “It was pretty damned embarrassing.”
“Embarrassing?”
Regret filled his eyes. “Right before we got married, I called to see if he’d meet us in Vegas. He gave me some flimsy excuse, which made me mad, so I told him not to bother. I said you didn’t need a bastard like him, that I’d take care of you.” An uncomfortable-looking shrug followed this admission. Keith didn’t spell it out, but Liz knew what he was thinking. When he’d spoken to her father, he’d already been married to Reenie. It had only been a matter of time before he’d broken both their hearts.
But another thought surfaced on the heels of the previous realization. Was the way her father had responded part of the reason Keith had gone ahead with the marriage? In addition to the fact that she’d been pregnant with Mica? “You never told me you were going to call him,” she said.
“After I’d spoken to him, I was glad I hadn’t told you.”
The heat of the day seemed to grow worse, become stifling. A large fan whirred in the corner, but Ollie was too conservative to use an air conditioner in May. “What does he want?” she asked, wondering why her father’s actions still hurt so badly.
“He and Luanna have split up.”
Liz’s heart leaped into her throat. How many times had she prayed that her father would separate from the woman who’d made her life so miserable? How many times had she dreamed of reclaiming his love and approval?
“Is he here to see me or Isaac?” she asked.
“I’m guessing he wants to see both of you. Who else does he have, now that Luanna’s out of the picture?”
There was Luanna’s son, Marty, but he was Liz’s age and on his own. Liz couldn’t imagine her father being attached to him. Luanna had spoiled Marty so terribly that hardly anyone could stand him. But maybe he’d changed. Liz couldn’t say for sure what kind of man he’d turned out to be. She hadn’t been in touch with him either since she’d run away.
“Liz…”
She lifted her eyes to his. “What?”
He sighed. “You look devastated.”
“I’m fine.” After all, she’d had eighteen months to recover from the previous blow.
“You’re not fine.” Gently tugging her up against his chest, he kissed her head. Liz would have resisted, as she always did these days, but she wasn’t thinking straight. The news he’d just delivered felt like a knockout punch.
Keith smelled good. Familiar. Comfortable. Not so long ago, he’d meant the world to her. Certainly one moment in his arms wouldn’t hurt. Resting her head against his shoulder, she tried to decide what to do about her father.
“I know you’re under a lot of pressure right now, and you don’t need this.” Keith’s hands caressed her back, reassuring her with their strength.
Liz knew Ollie was watching, and that word of the embrace would probably spread. But she stayed where she was, too shocked to pull away.
“Do you want me to ask him to leave town?” Keith asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Because it was no longer Keith’s responsibility. He had no right. “I’m sure Isaac will take care of that,” Liz said. Her brother felt angrier toward their father than she did, even though Luanna had treated Isaac much better. His presence in the house hadn’t threatened Luanna in the way that Liz’s presence had.
“I wonder what happened to their marriage,” she said, still trying to come to terms with her father’s sudden appearance in Dundee.
“He said he got tired of Luanna’s bullshit. But—” Keith brought her chin up “—I got the impression it was Luanna who left.”
The sting of this particular detail surprised Liz. Had she hoped, after all these years, that her father had finally come to his senses?
What did it matter? It was too late, anyway. The girl who’d needed him so badly was an adult, now.
Straightening up, she disengaged herself from her ex-husband’s embrace. “So he’s here because he has no better place to go.”
Keith’s sympathy reminded Liz that he wasn’t quite as bad as she sometimes liked to tell herself he was. “I’m sorry, babe,” he said.
She smiled sadly and said, “Thanks. But don’t call me babe, okay?” Then she forced her feet to carry her out into the dazzling sunshine.
AS SHE EMERGED from the hardware store, Liz nearly bumped into Carter.
“You’ve already started?” she asked when she noticed the cranberry-colored paint that speckled his hands and hair and even the soft T-shirt that made the most of his muscular build.
“Was I supposed to wait?” he replied.
“No, it’s just that I was going to help you. But—” She shook her head, trying to order her scrambled thoughts. She felt like a punctured balloon, in the process of deflating. “Did you figure out the marbling?”
“Yeah. It’s easy.”
“Okay, well, I’ll be there shortly.”
“I could use a more expensive roller,” he said. “This one won’t last an hour. And I figure I might as well get a few of these while I’m here.” He showed her a tiny screw that he carried in one large hand. “We’ll need them when it comes time to reattach the light plates.”
“Light plates?” she murmured, unable to immediately picture what he was talking about.
“The face plates that go over the outlets and light switches?”
“Oh, right.” She waved a hand halfheartedly. “Tell Ollie to put whatever you need on my account.”
He peered more closely at her. “Is something wrong?”
She stole a glance down the street. “No, why?”
“You seem a little dazed.”
An old truck came rattling by. Holding her breath, she tried to identify the man behind the wheel….
It was Hawthorne Cawley, one of the longtime ranchers who lived in the area. The vehicle was probably one he didn’t bring to town very often, which was why she didn’t recognize it. Letting her breath out slowly, she said, “It’s nothing.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” She began to step around him, but he cut her off. “What’d you find out about the sink?”
Anxious to get to her car and head for the high school, where she hoped to find her brother, she rubbed the palms of her hands on her shorts. “It wasn’t Keith.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“How do you know?”
She pulled her sunglasses out of her purse and took refuge behind the dark lenses. “He said so.”
Carter’s smooth forehead rumpled with impatience and disbelief. “You’re taking him at his word?”
At this point, Liz wasn’t as concerned about the vandalism as she was about the next twenty-four hours. How long would her father stay? What would she say to him? And how would he treat her children? He’d never even met