“I, uh, I hope you’re happy,” Bliss said, more for the sake of conversation than from conviction. In truth, hadn’t everyone suffered enough? Reluctantly she conceded her father his point. It was time to make a stand, to recognize his other daughters, to find a place for all his family. She just wasn’t sure that she could be a part of it.

“We will be happy, won’t we, darlin’?” Her father nodded and his mouth turned up at the corners.

“Absolutely. That’s all there is to life, isn’t it? Being happy.” Brynnie appeared to relax a little, although she avoided looking directly into John’s eyes.

“As long as you don’t hurt anyone in the process,” Bliss interjected.

“Never intend to.” John was adamant.

“Never,” Brynnie agreed, clearing her throat.

Bliss couldn’t remember when she’d been more uncomfortable. She took another long swallow of the tea and watched several honey bees flit from one opening rose blossom to the next. In the lacy branches above them a squirrel scolded noisily, and off in the distance a horse’s whinny sounded over the rumble of a tractor chugging through the fields.

“You know, there’s someone who’s pretty darned anxious to meet you.” Brynnie reached into a worn suede bag and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Do you mind?” she asked, and Bliss shook her head. “Good. I know it’s a nasty habit and I should quit, but . . . Oh, well, what can I say? I just love to smoke.” She shook out a long white filter tip, lit up and waved out her match. “My daughter, Katie, is dying to talk to you.”

“Is she?” Bliss’s stomach knotted. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? To see her half-sister, even if it meant coming face-to-face with the fact that her father had been unfaithful to her mother. She found a little bit of pride deep in her own innards and managed to force some starch into her backbone. “I’d like to meet her, too.”

The minute the words were out, Bliss regretted them. This was all happening way too fast. She sensed that she’d just hopped aboard an emotional freight train that was suddenly careening out of control.

“Good.” Brynnie’s grin was infectious. “I’ll let her know and we’ll set something up. If you’re lucky you’ll get to know her son Josh, as well.” Brynnie’s eyes sparkled. “My first and only grandchild so far, though I’m counting on a dozen more.” She sighed and tapped ash onto the lawn. “I’m afraid that Josh, devil that he is, has got Grandma’s heart twisted around his little finger.”

“Several times,” John said with a chuckle as the telephone rang.

“I’ll get it,” Bliss said, starting to stand, but her father, already on his feet, waved her back to her chair.

“Stay put. I’m expecting a call.”

As she watched Bliss’s father close the screen door behind him, Brynnie drummed her fingers nervously on the armrest of her plastic deck chair. “I worry about him, you know,” she admitted, then dragged hard on her cigarette. “He makes light of that heart attack, but you can’t convince me it was nothing. If it wasn’t, he wouldn’t have had to suffer through that god-awful surgery.” She eyed the glowing end of her cigarette, then frowned regretfully. “I’ll have to give these up,” she decided, her brow furrowing. “I hate to, but I can’t have them around the house tempting him.” She slid Bliss a conspiring glance. “I guess I’ll have to sneak one now and again. Just because I’m gonna get married, I can’t give up all my vices.” She bit anxiously on the corner of her lip. “This place . . . all the worries and work here, it’s too much for him, don’t you think?”