Mat knew he’d blown it. He’d spent so many years erecting a privacy barrier between himself and his sisters that he hadn’t been able to pull it down when he most needed to. He sat behind the wheel of the car without turning on the ignition and stared blindly through the windshield. If only he’d had the guts to take her in his arms the moment he’d seen her and tell her everything that was in his heart. Instead, he’d bumbled around like an idiot.

Now he had nothing. No date to see her again. No phone number. Nothing.

He was so angry with himself that he nearly missed the flash of yellow jutting out from behind the garage as he began to pull away. He looked more closely and realized it was the rear end of a battered Winnebago.

He couldn’t believe it. Just before he’d left Iowa he’d sold Mabel to a dealer and sent the check to Nealy’s attorney for the girls. Why had she gone to all the trouble of buying it herself? He felt a faint spark of hope. Not much to hold on to, but it was all he had.

He pulled up the name of Lucy’s new school from his memory bank and phoned for directions. After he arrived, he established his credentials with the principal and was shown into an empty office. Just before the walls finished closing in on him, the door opened and Lucy was standing there.

A smile took possession of his face. He felt only a momentary pang of nostalgia for the hooker makeup and purple hair. She looked wonderful—all scrubbed up, shiny, and pretty. Had Nealy smoothed away her rough edges or did Lucy not need them anymore?

He itched to wrap his arms around her, but the conflicting emotions he saw on her face made him hesitate. He’d hurt her badly when he’d let her walk away, and she wasn’t going to forgive him easily.

“What d’you want?”

He hesitated, then decided he couldn’t afford any more fumbles. “I want my family back.”

“Your family?” She hadn’t lost her street smarts, and she bristled with suspicion. “What do you mean?”

“You and Button and Nealy.”

She gave him her familiar bullheaded look. “We’re not your family.”

“Who says?” He took a step closer, only to watch her withdraw. “You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?”

She shrugged, then, true to her nature, looked him right in the eye. “Why are you here?”

He thought that one over. How much could he tell her and still be fair to Nealy?

To hell with fairness. “I’m here because I found out I couldn’t stand not having all of you in my life.”

She leaned against the corner of the desk, her posture awkward and unsure. “So?”

“So, I’m back.”

“Big deal.”