“She can bunk down on one of the beds in the guest rooms,” Brynnie offered.

“I don’t know. . . .” Tiffany looked at Katie, then, moistening her lips, glanced in Bliss’s direction. “Okay,” she finally said, her shoulders straightening a bit as she seemed, for the first time, to accept her position in John Cawthorne’s family. “We’ll be there.”

Katie could have dropped through the floor. Never would she have believed Tiffany could capitulate.

“Good! Good!” John said, practically beaming. “Come on, Brynnie, we’d better get a move on. We’ll see you all in an hour.”

Katie was stunned. Every member of the family had agreed to show up at Cawthorne Acres. In a flurry of activity, they left, climbing into individual cars and trucks that roared away from the apartment house, leaving Josh, Katie and Luke standing in the moon-washed backyard.

“Who would’ve thought?” she said, tousling Josh’s hair.

“What d’ya mean?”

“I never thought this family would get together. Never. This is a red-letter day,” she said to Luke as everyone dispersed.

“I’m just glad you’re okay, Mom,” Josh admitted.

“Me, too.”

“Why don’t you go check on Blue and we’ll get ready to go?”

Josh hesitated, as if he were about to argue, then lifted a shoulder. “Sure.”

“Good.” She turned back to face Luke. “Now,” she said as a cloud shifted over the moon, “you and I need to talk.”

“Do we?” In the half-light his teeth flashed white and she reminded herself that despite everything she was still angry with him. That he’d deceived her.

“Yep. Just because you probably saved my life today,” she continued, “doesn’t mean you’re off the hook, Gates.” She angled her face up to his and said, “There’s still that little matter of your deal with Ralph Sorenson. No matter what happened with Ray Dean, I think you used me and my son. For your own purposes.”

He stared down at her so intensely she had trouble meeting his gaze. For a brief second she thought he might kiss her, but then she changed her mind when he looked away. His eyes narrowed as he stared into the distance, but, she suspected, he saw only what was deep in his own mind.

“I guess you have the right to think anything you damned well please,” he finally muttered. “Can’t say as I blame you.” He turned on his heel and started toward the carriage house. “Give my regrets to your father and Brynnie.”

“But—No. Wait.” She caught up with him, touched his arm and he spun again, facing her with an expression of exhaustion and pain.

“Just for the record, Katie,” he said slowly, his gaze drilling into hers as if he could somehow find her soul, “I never intended to hurt you.” With that, he turned and walked out of her life.

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

“I don’t want the money.”