“What?” Stephanie asked with a gasp as she sat down hard on a chair at the table.

Charlie brought his drink to the table to join her.

Her mind whirled as she tried to absorb that the woman she’d come to know so well through her dad and working close to her at the hotel had been abused. “Did you know?”

“Not until the other day. I suspected, though. She’s always so timid and skittish. I hated to think that was the reason.”

“I had no idea.”

“It’s not something she or Owen speak freely about. I guess it was pretty bad when he and his siblings were growing up.”

“God, poor Owen—and Sarah. He seems like such a happy, laid-back kind of guy. I never would’ve guessed. And I never heard a word about Sarah either.”

“They’ve been private about it, for obvious reasons, and they’re doing well now. We just have to get them through this next week or so, and then they can get on with their lives.”

“I’m glad you’re going with her.”

“So am I. I’m glad she told me about it and is letting me be there for her.”

“So things are good with you guys?”

“You could say that. She stayed here last night.”

Stephanie’s mouth fell open before she quickly closed it. “Really? Do tell.”

“That’s all you’re getting.”

“Oh come on!”

“End it,” he said with a playful scowl. “What brings you over here, and don’t tell me you missed me. You just saw me.”

“Don’t be so saucy,” Stephanie said, amused by his gruffness. “I came to share some good news with you. Grant and I have set a wedding date. Labor Day.”

“This year?”

“Yep.”

“Good for you, honey. I’m happy for you. I was wondering when he was going to get around to making a real commitment to you.”

“He wasn’t the holdup. I was. He’s been wanting to set a date for almost as long as we’ve been engaged.” She slid a finger up and down the side of the glass, moving the condensation around. “I’ve wasted a lot of that time worrying that I might turn out to be more like my mother—”

“Whoa! Wait, what did you just say?”

“That I might turn out to be like her, which had me worried about having kids of my own.”

“You are nothing like her. Nothing. If I hadn’t seen pictures of her holding you as a newborn, I’d never have believed you were really hers—and I thought that from the time I first met you two. She was always a bit of a mess, and you… Even as a little kid, you were so incredibly smart and capable. There’s no comparison, Steph. None.”