“Oh, I guess I came on like gangbusters, didn’t I?” With a smile, she added, “I’m glad to finally meet you, Bliss, even though this is kind of weird for both of us. You know, I didn’t know John was my real dad until just after his heart attack. For all those years I thought Hal Kinkaid was my biological father.” She shook her head as if at her own folly and chewed on a bite of pecan roll. “He and I were never close. Never. But still, finding out that he wasn’t the guy whose genes are running around in my body was a shock.”

“I imagine it was,” Bliss replied, though, in truth, she couldn’t imagine anything of the sort. The whole conversation was surreal in a way. What could she say to this forthright woman who seemed to have no qualms about talking about any subject under the sun, including her own conception, illegitimate though it was?

Katie propped one foot on the brace of one of the empty chairs scattered around the table. “It’s really an odd sensation, you know,” she admitted, “growing up believing one thing and learning that you were lied to and that everything you believed in is bogus.”

Bliss only nodded. Her entire life, it seemed, had been a lie.

“Hal Kinkaid—the guy I thought was my dad—was a real jerk. I mean, a first-class bastard. Why Mom connected with him, I’ll never know. He drank too much, always ran around on my mom, left her with a pile of bills. Strange as it sounds, I was relieved that he wasn’t related to me.”

“Yeah, but what about Dad?”

Katie shook her head and rubbed her arms as if she was suddenly chilled. “That’s a tough one. Especially for you and your mom.” She propped her chin on one hand and didn’t argue when Bliss refilled both cups. She added sugar, and this time, a little bit of cream, watching in idle fascination as clouds rose in the dark brew.

“Thanks,” the redhead said, taking a sip. “To think that John Cawthorne had two families. I can’t say I have too much respect for him—well, or for Mom, either—but there it is. Now your mother’s gone and they’re finally getting married. What can I say?”

“lt’s . . . hard.”

“Bingo. On one hand I think they should slow down, let the rest of us catch our breath and deal with all this, and on the other I understand their need to be together. Who knows how much time they have?” Katie shrugged and blew across the top of her cup. “I just hope the rest of us—you, me, Tiffany and my brothers—can handle this. Well, and of course, I hope John can make Mom happy. She deserves it.”