Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

Kelly’s senses went on alert. “Why do you ask?” She glanced down and didn’t see a ring on her mother’s left hand. “No,” she said forcefully. “No. You’re not getting back together with him. He’s happy without you. We all are. You need to go right now.”

The front door opened. Kelly spun around as her father walked into the house.

“There’s a rental car in the driveway,” he said when he saw her. “Who—”

Marilee stepped around her daughters and walked to her ex-husband. “Hello, Jeff,” she said, her voice low and sexy. “It’s been a long time.”

Kelly wanted to scream at her dad to take cover. She wanted to throw herself between them. Nothing good could come of this.

“Marilee?”

“I know.” Her laughter was a soft trill. “I’ve missed you.”

“All right.”

He seemed as shocked as Kelly felt, as confused.

Marilee tilted her head. “Have you missed me at all?”

Olivia stepped between them. “Did you rent a car at the airport?”

Marilee raised her eyebrows. “Yes, I did, then drove up.” She turned back to Jeff. “I was with friends in Colorado. Olivia and I text occasionally. She’d mentioned she was here and I just couldn’t stop thinking about the town. I remember it all so fondly.”

“You left,” Kelly blurted. “For years you talked about leaving, then you walked out on your family.”

“Kelly.” Jeff’s tone warned her.

“No.” She put her hands on her hips. “This is ridiculous. It’s been thirteen years. Thirteen.” She glared at her mother. “You walked out on us. There was no warning. One day you were here and then you were gone. You cheated on Dad over and over again. You made our lives hell and then you disappeared. We never heard from you again. You never bothered to get in touch with me at all. I’m your daughter.”

She felt her eyes start to burn and blinked away the tears. No way she would give Marilee the satisfaction of knowing any of this affected her.

“Then you show up here with no warning? It’s outrageous.”

Marilee’s mouth trembled. “Kelly, I’m so sorry. I obviously hurt you. I’d hoped...” A single tear slipped down her smooth cheek. Her shoulders slumped. “I was wrong. So very wrong.”

Jeff cleared his throat. “Kelly, it’s fine. Your mother is always welcome to visit.”

The tears vanished. Marilee brushed her cheek, then beamed at him. “I knew you’d understand. I’m so happy to be back with my little family.”

“Where are you staying?” Jeff asked. “There’s a new hotel in town. I hear it’s nice.”

Marilee’s mouth formed a perfect circle. Her eyes widened with shock. “I thought I’d stay here.”

“No,” Kelly and Olivia said at the same time.

“To get to know my girls,” she added. “You’ve had them all this time. That hardly seems fair.”

Kelly had no idea how her mother managed to twist everything, but she was a master.

“Dad,” she began, only to have her father quiet her with a look.

“You can stay in the guest room,” he said. “Kelly, would you please get your mother clean sheets and towels?”

Just like that, Kelly thought, outraged. Because no matter what, her father had never said a word against Marilee. Not when she’d cheated, not when she’d left, not in all the years since.

She supposed it was some absurd code by which he wouldn’t trash talk his daughters’ mother in front of them. While she respected the theory, in practice, it made him annoying as hell, and now they were stuck with Marilee in the house.

Kelly walked out of the living room and into the hallway. The main linen closet was by her room. Olivia followed.

“This isn’t a good idea,” her sister began.

“I know that, but what are we supposed to do? It’s his house and she’s his ex-wife. I can’t believe this.”

“Me, either.”

“You had to tell her you were here? You couldn’t have said you were at Disneyland?” Kelly saw her sister flinch and groaned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s not your fault. Of course you would mention that you were here. It’s just, I don’t want her here.”

“Me, either.”

They walked back the way they’d come and down the hall leading to the master and the guest room. Marilee was already in the latter. She examined the queen-size bed and the small en suite bathroom.

“This is so nice,” she told them.

Jeff appeared with her suitcases. “I hope you’ll be comfortable here,” he said as he put them down, then left.

Kelly watched him go. She didn’t like anything about this. Her mother was back and in the house. She had a horrible feeling that once in place, Marilee would be impossible to remove.

“Good night,” she said brusquely, before retreating to her own room. She sat on the edge of her bed and told herself to breathe. That she would be fine.

A lie, she admitted to herself. Worse, the evening’s events had killed her Griffith kiss-induced buzz and how fair was that? Speaking of Griffith...

She pulled out her phone and started to text him, then dropped her phone back in her bag. She had no idea what to say. What a nightmare. Marilee was back and there didn’t seem to be a damn thing she could do about it.





19

Kelly had a hard time falling asleep. It was after midnight by the time she dozed off, so she didn’t appreciate someone shaking her awake a little after five. She opened her eyes and saw her father standing by her bed. He looked tired, as if he’d slept even less than her.

She sat up. “Are you okay?”

“Kitten, I need you to do me a favor. Can you go to the diner and tell Helen I won’t be in this morning?”

“What?”

“I guess you’re going to have to tell her what happened. About your mother.”

Kelly hardly needed an explanation on the “what happened” front. “Sure. I guess. Can’t you just text her or something?”

“I can, but I want you to tell her.”

An odd request, Kelly thought as she swung her feet onto the floor, but her dad didn’t ask for much. Besides, she would really appreciate the chance to get her friend’s perspective on the situation.

Given the early hour, Kelly passed on a shower. She dressed, brushed her teeth, combed her hair and was in her truck by five thirty. Ten minutes later she parked in front of The Parrot Café and thought longingly of coffee. At least three cups, she told herself. Maybe more.

Her mother was back. That hadn’t changed. There’d been no waking up with that blissful it was all just a bad dream feeling. Instead there was reality—ugly, why-did-she-have-to-come-back, reality.

Helen’s happy smile faltered when Kelly walked into the café.

“Hi,” her friend said. “Was I expecting you?”

“No. My dad sent me.” She made her way to the counter and sank onto a stool. “You will never in a million years guess what happened.”

Helen seemed to go pale. “Is Jeff okay? Did something happen to him?”

“What? No. He’s fine. I doubt he slept much, but then none of us did.” She leaned forward and pointed to the full pot. “Can I have a cup?”

“What? Oh, sure. Let me get it.” Helen poured a mug and set it on the counter.

While she was off getting a small pitcher of cream, Kelly inhaled the nurturing smell. “My mother’s back.”