Some rivers dried up. And that was how she felt. She’d cried so much she felt permanently dehydrated. And her dad didn’t know half of what was going on in her head. He didn’t know all the stuff that had happened, and she couldn’t tell him.

“I’m not trying to erase your mother, Izzy. Far from it.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “You don’t think we deserve happiness? You don’t think your mom would have wanted us to be happy?”

Izzy didn’t know the answer to that. Her mother had always been the center of attention, always the star, whether it had been at a party or a school event. Becca Parker lit up every room she entered. People around her were dazzled by her brightness. Izzy had heard her parents described as a “beautiful couple,” and it was true they attracted attention wherever they went, and not just because her mother had always insisted on arriving late and last for everything. It had driven Izzy crazy, but she no longer remembered that. All she remembered was that everyone had paid attention to her mother.

“Everything is cool, but you should be careful.” She said it casually. “She’s probably after your money.”

“You think that’s the only reason a woman would want to be with me?” For the first time since he’d walked into the room, he smiled. “I’m not that bad a judge of character. Relax, Izzy. You’ll like her, and I know she’s going to like you. It’s all going to be fine.”

Seriously? He thought it was going to be fine?

This family was already a total mess, and he was planning on making the mess worse. Izzy wasn’t going to let that happen. She needed to keep this family together, no matter what. For herself, sure, but also for Molly. Molly relied on her, and Izzy wasn’t going to let her sister down.

Her objective wasn’t to make sure Flora liked her, it was to make sure the woman never wanted to set foot in the house again.

3

Flora

It was a relaxed dinner, that was all.

True, she’d changed her outfit three times, but that was because this evening was important. It was important, essential, that his daughters liked her, and she was confident she could make that happen. It helped that she had a pretty good idea of what they were going through. She hoped that, in time, she might even be able to help a little. She’d make it clear that she had no intention of disrupting their family or causing the slightest ripple in their safe, familiar world. Not for one moment did she think she could replace their mother, and she didn’t intend to try. She’d encourage them to think of her more as an older friend.