Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

“Helen, please tell me what’s going on.”

“No,” she said forcefully. “You tell me. You’ve disappeared. I haven’t heard from you in days. You’ve been coming in here for breakfast every morning. Every. Morning. For years! You’ve shown up with the flu and I had to send you home. But since your ex-wife returned, I haven’t seen you. You sent your daughter to tell me the news and came by once and that’s it. If we were just friends, I’d still be annoyed, but hey, more understanding. But we’re not just friends, are we? There’s a little bit more going on. At least in my mind. I sort of assumed I was the only one you’re sleeping with. Maybe there are so many of us, I have to wait my turn on the information rotation.”

She knew she had to stop talking, that not only did she need to breathe, there was the tiniest chance she was being unreasonable. Or overreacting. Not that she was going to give him a break. Maybe she should invite her ex-husband to move in for a few days and they could all see how Jeff liked it. Although the thought of having to see Troy again was horrifying, so she pushed that away and glared at the man in front of her.

“You haven’t said anything. You haven’t told me what’s going on, so I’m left to wonder and figure it all out for myself. Are you getting back together? Are you tempted? And why on earth is she in your house? There are hotels in town. My God, Jeff, we slept together. I thought we were starting something, but apparently you only wanted to get laid.”

His gaze was steady. She had no idea what he was thinking, which was probably for the best. She doubted it was overly flattering.

“Helen,” he began. “I’m sorry you’re upset.”

“Don’t,” she snapped. “Do not start with that line. You don’t get to be—” she made air quotes “—‘sorry’ I’m upset. That takes no responsibility. It’s not an apology. It’s a weasel thing to say and I expect better of you.”

“All right.” His tone was cautious. “I’m sorry you’ve been worried about Marilee and I apologize for not coming by sooner. I should have talked to you. There’s been a lot going on and to be honest, I never thought you were upset about Marilee being back.”

“She’s not back. Back is seeing someone over coffee. She’s living with you. Just down the hall. Not long ago you and I were just friends. We had one great night, I thought everything was different, then your ex-wife blew into town and you disappeared. What was I supposed to think?”

“You were supposed to trust me.”

“Why?”

“You know me.” He rose and glared at her. “Dammit, Helen, you’ve known me for years. We’re friends. I’m a good guy. I do the right thing. Do you actually believe I would sleep with you, then sleep with my ex-wife?”

Yes. Yes! But she couldn’t say that. She wanted to but understood there would be consequences.

“I’m scared,” she admitted instead. “Marilee is so beautiful and you loved her once and we’re so new and I’m just some girl in town and I don’t understand anything that’s happening.”

He walked around the counter, stopped in front of her, pulled her close and held her. His strong arms felt good, as did the warmth of him. She liked the steady beat of his heart and how he didn’t let go.

“You make me crazy,” he murmured.

“That’s nice.”

He chuckled. “Maybe for you.” He kissed her. “I’m sorry I didn’t come see you or text or call. I should have. I wasn’t thinking. Having Marilee back is a nightmare. I don’t want her here, but I’m not going to tell her to leave.”

“Why not? You should tell her. I can help.”

He smiled. “Thank you, but this is bigger than us. I want Kelly to have time with her mother. Olivia, too, although she and Marilee are closer than I’d realized.”

Helen wanted to point out that Kelly had no interest in spending time with Marilee but sensed that wasn’t a good idea, so kept quiet. Jeff continued to hold her.

“Both girls were devastated when she left,” he continued. “I was relieved for myself, but worried about my daughters. They missed out on a lot. I tried, but we both know I couldn’t fill in for her, then I sent Olivia away.”

Helen drew back. “You did the right thing.”

“If I did, that was just dumb luck. I made the easy decision. I hurt Olivia. I don’t want to make that mistake again. Marilee is nothing to me, but I love my girls and I want them to have time with their mother.”

Which they could from a hotel, only saying that would make her seem petty and small. Thinking it made her that, too, but she was probably more forgiving of her flaws than Jeff would be.

“I know this happened at a bad time,” he said, looking into her eyes. “We’re at that scary new stage. I don’t want to lose you. Please trust me, Helen. We’ve been friends a long time. You know me.”

Something he’d said before, but it resonated with her now. She drew in a breath and knew she had to take a step of faith.

“I do trust you.”

“Thank you.”

He kissed her again, his mouth lingering this time. When he straightened, she was more than a little breathless.

“I’ll be better about staying in touch,” he promised. “I’ll start coming in for breakfast again. I’ve been staying home to act as a buffer for the girls, but they can take care of themselves.”

“Thank you. In return, I won’t slash your tires.”

He grinned. “That’s my girl. Ready to go help a band find their sound?”

She nodded. She would rather stay here with him. Sex in the storeroom would be very healing. But a band waited and she didn’t want to seem too needy. Something she would guess Marilee never had to worry about.

Life and ex-wives could be a real bitch.





23

Kelly slathered almond butter on her whole-grain waffle, then picked up a banana and carried it all to the table. Her dad was back to having breakfast at the café—at least she assumed he was. His truck had been gone when she’d gotten up. If she pretended Marilee wasn’t in the guest room, Kelly could tell herself everything was back the way it had been.

She opened the fashion magazine her sister had given her, prepared to educate herself over breakfast. She’d barely gotten through several pages of ads when she heard her dad’s truck in the driveway.

“Morning, Kitten,” Jeff said as he came into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. “How’s it going?”

“Good. Are you happy to be back in your routine?”

He grinned. “Yup. Nobody makes eggs like Delja.” He picked up his mug and carried it to the table. “They up yet?”

“Olivia is. She’s gone for a run. I don’t know about the other one.”

“You can call her your mother.”

“I can call her a lot of things.”

“Kelly.” His tone was warning.

“What? Are you going to say I have to be nice to her? How long is she staying anyway?”

“I have no idea.”

“You should ask. Better yet, you should ask her to move to a hotel.”

Her dad’s gaze sharpened. “Why would I do that?”

“To get her out of here.”