“The only bright spot in this whole sordid deal. In fact, Dee Dee was worth all of this. But now, it’s time to come clean.”

“You want me to tell Bliss.”

“I think it would be a good idea.”

“It’ll never happen, Lafferty,” her father said, but his tone was less firm than before. “Because, unless I miss my guess, Bliss will never believe you.”

Dear God. Was her father really so controlling that he would interfere in her life to the point of all this lying and deceit? Fury pumped through her blood and her fingers curled into fists of rage. To think that—

“It was Margaret’s idea.”

“What?” Bliss couldn’t stop the word and suddenly there was silence—hollow, soul-numbing silence. Steeling herself, she yanked hard on the door handle and marched, ready to do bodily harm if necessary, into the house. Oscar gave out an excited yip and followed her inside, but she ignored the dog and glared at her father. “Why are you lying?” Bliss asked her father.

“So that’s the way it was. I wondered,” Mason said. His face was set and hard, his eyes slits as he stood, his hips balanced against the kitchen counter, his arms folded over his broad chest.

The odors of day-old coffee and floor wax drifted to her nostrils. The only noise for a few long seconds was the hum of the refrigerator and the ticking of the clock.

“I didn’t know you were listening,” her father said.

“I didn’t mean to, but I think you’d better explain.”

Sighing loudly, John reached into his breast pocket for a nonexistent pack of cigarettes and avoided the accusation in Bliss’s gaze. He found a plug of tobacco in his back pocket.

“It’s the truth,” he admitted with a lift of one thin shoulder. “Margaret was undone when I let it slip that you were getting involved with one of the ranch hands. She was certain you were going to make the same mistake she did, and since she knew all about Brynnie . . . Well, she threatened to expose Brynnie as my mistress, divorce me and take me to the cleaners. In addition to all that, she was determined to make sure that you never spoke to me again.”

Trembling with rage, Bliss leaned over the table and stared at her father—so old, so tired, so forlorn. “I don’t believe a word of this.”

He blinked before looking at her again. “It’s true, Blissie, and you meant so much to me that I caved in and bribed Terri to claim she was pregnant. Then, after the accident, when you were so hurt. I worked a deal with Mason.” He wiped a hand over his brow and closed his eyes for a second.