Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

“You know I’m right, Melinda. You’ve said so yourself.”

“I’m right here,” Griffith muttered, trying not to imagine what else his parents had been discussing about his life.

“You fell off the horse,” his father continued. “Granted your divorce was painful, but it happens. I want to say it was all Jane, but you have flaws and part of the responsibility for the failure of your marriage falls to you.”

“You never should have made that poor girl move to Africa,” his mother chimed in. “That was never part of the deal. For some women it would have been fine, but not Jane. I don’t know how she kept from killing you in your sleep.”

Sometimes his mother’s willingness to speak her mind was charming—other times, not so much.

“I know what you’re thinking,” his dad added. “That you failed. Well, so what? What if you’d given up the first time you hadn’t been able to solve a math equation? Should we have pulled you out of elementary school and sent you to work in the fields?”

“Dad,” he began, only to have his mother tsk him into silence.

“Your father is right,” she said firmly. “Things have come too easily to you. You’re making a mistake, Griffith. Love is important. Marriage is important and anything worth having is worth working for. Don’t give up so easily. You’re better than that. Now your father and I have to go to water aerobics and you have to fire your brother. We love you and we’ll talk on Sunday. ’Bye.”

There was a click, then nothing. Griffith put his cell phone on the desk and shook his head. For a second he thought about pounding it on the desk, but he knew he would regret the action later, even if it felt good in the moment.

His parents were wonderful people and he’d been lucky to have them in his life, but every now and then...

Better not to think about what they’d said on the Kelly front, he told himself. They didn’t know what he’d gone through with Jane. The divorce had been—

What? Devastating? Not really. He’d been surprised and angry and hurt, but he’d kept going. If he were completely honest, a part of him had been relieved. Because neither of them had been happy for a long time.

He stood and then sat back down. Now, looking back, he could see that someone like Kelly was a much better fit for him, but he hadn’t known that then. He’d thought he’d loved Jane. He’d thought they were going to be together forever.

Was it possible that he’d gotten it wrong? He’d assumed the problem was that he wasn’t good at marriage and love. Maybe the issue had been his choice instead. And if that were true, didn’t it change everything?

“Damn,” he muttered, not sure what to do with the information. Not that he had to do anything right now. He would sit with it. Of course if it were true, then what about Kelly—what about them?

Questions he couldn’t answer and he still had his brother to fire.

He walked into the warehouse and found Ryan lounging against the wall. When his brother saw him, he straightened.

“Hey, bro, how’s it going?”

“Can I talk to you for a second?”

Ryan rolled his eyes, but fell into step. When they reached the office, Griffith shut the door behind them.

He’d planned a couple of different speeches where he explained how he’d tried to give his brother a place to regroup only to have it bite him in the ass. He wanted to say that Ryan had been given more chances than he deserved and if he’d been anyone else, he would have been tossed out his first week. Which meant he was waiting for his brother to get it—for Ryan to say “Hey, wow, I’ve been a dick. Sorry.” That was never going to happen.

He walked to his desk and pulled an envelope out of the top drawer. “You’re fired,” he said, handing it to his brother. “Clean out your locker. This is two weeks’ pay, which is more than you deserve. You can stay in the house for three months while you figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life, then I’m having the locks changed.”

“What? You can’t do this to me.”

“You didn’t leave me a choice. You’re not doing your job and you’re bringing the team down with you. This is a small company, Ryan. I can’t afford to take the hit.”

“So you’re going to screw me instead.” Ryan glared at him. “Some brother you are.”

“Back at you.”

“Autumn thinks she’s pregnant. What am I supposed to tell her now?”

Griffith’s gut twisted. There was a disaster waiting to happen. And if Ryan took off, Griffith had a sinking feeling about who would be picking up the pieces.

“Tell her whatever you want,” he said with a carelessness he didn’t feel.

Ryan gave him the finger, then walked out. Griffith sank onto his chair. He supposed it could have gone worse, but he didn’t see how.

He picked up his cell and hit a couple of buttons. Kelly answered on the first ring.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“Not great.”

“I’m coming over. You need a hug and then we’ll go get ice cream.”

Despite everything, he smiled. “I’m not five.”

“The ice cream was for me.”

“That’s my girl.”

“You know it.”





28

Kelly’s life had become segmented. There were the happy bits—hanging out with Griffith or her dad or even, surprisingly, Olivia. Then there were the confusing parts which were mostly about Helen, and then there was the horror of having her mother still in the house.

Kelly missed her old life where everything had been pretty much the same. There was something to be said for predictable. Yes, the sex was better now, but it was a high price to pay for—

She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror and smiled. Who was she kidding? The sex was so great and worth nearly everything. So she would put up with her awful mother and assume that settled her account with the universe. As for Helen—that remained a question she couldn’t answer.

Kelly left her bedroom and walked into the kitchen. She needed coffee, then to start her day. She poured coffee, only to yelp when she saw Marilee sitting at the kitchen table.

“What are you doing here?”

“I live here.” Marilee was already dressed and wearing makeup. She stretched as she stood. “I never get to see you, darling and you’re one of the reasons I came back to this wretched little town. I want us to spend the day together.”

That would be a nightmare, Kelly thought grimly. “I have to work.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We both know your father would happily give you the day off. I was thinking we’d go get your sister and the three of us will have some quality girl time.” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t suppose there’s a halfway decent day spa anywhere around here.” Her expression brightened. “Oh, I know. Let’s drive into Seattle. We can check into a hotel and stay the night. Just the three of us. We’ll shop at Nordstrom and have a delicious dinner, go to a spa.” She sighed. “Just like civilized people.”