Ashley, she thought. She’d drop everything for Ashley, and she had a feeling Ashley would drop everything for her.

“Did your stepmother ever get in touch?” He’d obviously read her thoughts. “When things started going wrong with Cliff? When the press were hounding you?”

“No. Why would she?”

His mouth tightened. “Some might say it was because you were family.”

“Not all families are like yours, Nate.” She thought of him, getting that phone call about his father, flying across the country to get home. Then staying home. Family loyalty. Love. “She didn’t feel any responsibility for me. She thought I wasn’t her business, and maybe she was right about that.”

“She wasn’t right about that. When you marry someone, you marry everything about them. Their likes, their dislikes, their present, their past—their family. All of it.”

“She didn’t see it that way. And if he had lived, he would have divorced her. She knew that. And she was angry that my father left this place to me.”

“Your father was a wise man, although—” He stopped and she glanced at him.

“You were going to say that if he’d been that wise he wouldn’t have married her. You’re not wrong. But when it comes to relationships, we’re not always wise, are we?” Her father must have felt that marrying Denise was the right decision at the time, even if later he’d regretted it. She, of all people, could understand that relationship decisions were influenced by a number of factors. That those decisions weren’t always straightforward.

“No.” Nate spoke quietly. “We’re not always wise. That’s because decisions aren’t always clear. I hated the way she treated you. Spoke to you. After your father died you were hurting badly. She should have been your main source of comfort, but instead she made everything hurt more. She rejected you when you needed support.”

“And you were the one who was there for me. You and Mel, and your parents, who were always so kind and generous. I preferred being in your home than mine. I slid into your world because I didn’t much like my own.” And she could see now how that feeling had developed and grown as the years passed. “You and your family were my whole world, and when our friendship shifted to something more, you became my whole world. You were everything.” She saw it so clearly now. “And I scared you. I’m sorry for it, Nate. For the way I was back then. For the way I shared all my problems with you.”