Sisters in White (Love in Bloom: Snow Sisters #3) Contemporary Romance (4 page)

“This is going to be so awkward,” Danica said as they rode the elevators down to meet everyone for breakfast. “I texted Kaylie, but she didn’t answer.”

“She’s got a lot to take in. It’s not just your dad. I mean, dealing with her feelings toward him is enough to send anyone back to bed, but remember, Danica, you’ve had time to adjust to Lacy and Madeline. You’ve spent a year and a half getting to know Lacy, and through her, you got to at least become familiar with Madeline, too. To Kaylie, they’re still strangers. Strangers who stole your father.”

Danica realized that she’d been so focused on Kaylie, she hadn’t even taken the time to see how Blake was doing. His father would be at the wedding, and he hadn’t seen him in quite some time either. There were no hard feelings between Blake and his father, who’d raised him as a single parent, working two jobs and doing the best he could. Life and distance were the only things that separated Blake from him. Still, he deserved the same care and tenderness that she and Kaylie did.

“How do you feel about seeing your dad?” she asked as they came to the entrance of the restaurant.

“I’m good. Actually, I can’t wait to see him. It’s been too long.” Blake ran his hand through his thick dark hair and scanned the tables. “There they are.”

Danica followed him toward her father and Madeline, who were sitting at a table. Lacy met them on the way with a plate from the buffet.

“Good morning,” Lacy said cheerily.

She reminded Danica of Kaylie so much that it almost hurt. “Have you seen Kaylie?” she asked.

Lacy shook her head. “No, she hasn’t been down yet. Do you think she’s okay? Should we check on her?”

We
. Lacy’s empathy only further endeared her to Danica. “She’s probably talking to my mom on the phone. I’m sure she’ll be down soon.”
Like hell I am.

They sat down at the table. Danica plastered a semi-fake smile on her face. “Dad, Madeline, did you sleep okay?”

“Perfectly,” her father said.

His voice stirred memories of when she was younger and they were still a family. Danica pushed the nostalgia away and turned to Madeline. “I really like that skirt. It suits you perfectly.” Madeline was only about five foot three, and while Danica remembered seeing the photographs of her as a younger, thinner woman, which Lacy had sent of the three of them from the years when her parents were still married, she now looked more like her age: early fifties, with a mildly thick middle and gentle lines around her eyes. Danica silently thanked God that Madeline wasn’t a trophy wife. That would have made the whole situation much more difficult. Kaylie would find competition with two women instead of just one.

“Thank you. How’s your sister? I was so worried about her last night. We’re a lot for her to digest.”

The pain in her voice was palpable, and Danica rode the fine line of not wanting to say anything that might make Kaylie look immature. “She’s okay. I’m sure she’ll be down soon.”

“I’ll get us some breakfast. Can I bring anyone anything?” Blake offered.

“I’ll come with you.” Her father stood, patting Madeline’s shoulder on his way.

Danica watched them walk away and suddenly felt like there was a little more breathing room at the table. “I’m sorry about Kaylie. This is all very difficult for her.”

“We know,” Lacy said with a tentative smile. “I wish we could have at least gotten to know her before today, with phone calls and emails, maybe even passing a few old photos through the mail, like we did with you. She seems like she’d be nice, from what you’ve told me.”

 “Danica, I appreciate how kind you have been to Lacy, and I know this is hard for you, seeing me and your father together—”

“It’s fine, really,” Danica said, cutting Madeline off midsentence. She swatted the air like it was no big deal, even though her stomach clenched so tightly she thought she might be sick.

“No, it’s not okay, and it’s not my place to discuss that whole thing with you. That’s your father’s place. You deserve to know what happened all those years ago, and I’m sure he will find the time to tell you, but for now, between us women, I just wanted to thank you for your kindness toward Lacy.”

Danica took a drink of water, hoping it would settle the twisting in her gut. “I really like Lacy,” she said honestly. “But I also love Kaylie, and I think we have a rough road ahead of us. I’m not sure if this was a good or a bad idea.” She watched Madeline’s smile fade and felt even worse for being honest. “I don’t mean not a good idea for you to be here. I mean talking about Kaylie. I can’t talk about Kaylie without her here. She’s a really great person, and I know you’ll love her once you get to know her.” Why was she selling Kaylie to them?
Kaylie get down here!

Blake and her father returned with plates of food, and the smell turned her stomach.

“I have to...I need to go to the ladies’ room. Excuse me.” She escaped the restaurant and headed up to Kaylie’s room. She’d need to be quick, or her father’s family would think she’d lost her mind, too, disappearing during breakfast. Although Madeline seemed to take Kaylie’s absence in stride. She even appeared to understand it.
So why can’t I?

She knocked on Kaylie’s door twice, and when no one answered, she texted her.

Where r u?
She paced the hall.
Damn it, Kaylie
. Her cell vibrated.

Pool
.

Danica cursed under her breath as she headed back down the elevator and outside into the warm, morning sunshine. The pool was behind the hotel, built high enough to give an extraordinary view of the Bay. She found Kaylie and Chaz lying on lounge chairs. Chaz’s arms were folded over his chest, his lips pinched into a hard line.

Her anger spewed forth. “Kaylie Elizabeth, what are you doing?”

Kaylie looked like she’d never had one baby, much less two. Her stomach was taut between the tiny swatches of her bikini. She lowered her sunglasses and peered at Danica over the frames. “Getting a little sun. Want to join us?” She righted her sunglasses on her nose.

“Listen, I know this all sucks for you, but that was really rude of you to skip breakfast and not tell anyone.”

Chaz sat up and leaned his elbows on his knees. “Just for the record, I wanted to go, but Kaylie nixed it.”

“I’m sure she did,” Danica said. Kaylie made no move toward joining them, and Danica was not going to spend the next two days running between her father and Kaylie. She sat down on Kaylie’s chair, pushing her over with her butt, and took her glasses from their perch on her nose.

“What?” Kaylie said, exasperated.

“You know what. Come on, sit up.”

“No.”

“Kaylie.”

“Why don’t you go hang out with Lacy? God, Danica, couldn’t you have reminded me when I started calling Alexandra Lexi? The names are so close. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before.”

“Kaylie, really? That’s ridiculous. Come on. You’re my sister. I want to hang out with you.”

“So is she; you said it yourself.” Kaylie folded her arms across her chest and turned away just like the stubborn teenager she’d once been.

Danica took another, softer approach. “Kay, Lacy could never take your place. You know that.”

“Well, you apparently got to know her really well at some point, because she walked right over to you in the restaurant.”

Danica dropped her eyes. “We’ve been writing to each other.”

“And?”

The hurt in Kaylie’s eyes stabbed at Danica’s heart. “And I’m really sorry. I should have told you, but you were so mad at me when I told you about telling Dad about Lexi and Trevor that I was afraid to.”

“Afraid? You’re not afraid of anything. Everything you do is well thought out. You probably told Lacy not to tell me, and you had this little conspiracy going behind my back.”

The ugly trust monster rises again
.

“You know what? I’m gonna go catch up with Blake,” Chaz said as he rose to his feet.

“Chaz!” If looks could maim, Kaylie’s would have amputated a limb.

“Kaylie, this is between us. Let him go.” Danica turned to Chaz and said, “I kinda left without explaining anything. Can you please tell them that I’ll be back shortly?”

“Sure.” He looked at Kaylie.

“Ugh! Fine. Go ahead.”

Chaz walked away, then turned back and said, “Danica? Thank you.”

He nodded in Kaylie’s direction, and Danica understood that he was doing his best, but he wasn’t sure how to handle her when she was like this. Then again, when it came to Kaylie, Danica was often shooting from the hip, too.

“Kaylie, I made a huge mistake. I should have told you about Lacy, but honestly, I knew that you’d never accept me talking to her, and I kinda wanted to see what she was like before we all got together. I mean, if she was bitchy or mean, or entitled or whatever, I would have made an excuse for her not to come, but she’s not any of those things, and you can see that she idolizes you despite your bitchiness.”

“Well, she shouldn’t. I’m not her sister.”

“Jesus, you’re stubborn. Okay, you’re not her sister. That’s totally fine, but you are someone she just met, and even if you treat her like a stranger, you should at least be cordial.”

Kaylie held her hand out. “Glasses, please.”

“You’re so frustrating!” Danica said and tossed her the glasses. “Well, I tried. I know this whole thing is weird, and hard, and even kinda icky, but we really need to find a way through this, and no matter what you think, you’re my number one sister and you always will be.”

Danica found her family leaving the restaurant.

“There you are!” Lacy said with a wide smile. “Blake said that you were thinking of going into town today. Would you mind if I tagged along?”

“Actually, I thought we’d all go together. We lined up snorkeling lessons for later this afternoon, too. I’m so sorry. I thought I told you this the last time we talked.”

“You did, but given the circumstances with...well...I didn’t want to assume,” Lacy said.

“Don’t be silly. She’ll get over all of this, and I’m looking forward to spending time with you guys.” Danica looked at her father and Madeline. “I hope that wasn’t too presumptuous of me to set this up. Lacy said that you both had talked about wanting to try scuba diving, so I thought this might be a nice introduction to it, without all the risk.”

Madeline squeezed her father’s hand, and her eyes lit up with anticipation.

“That sounds perfect,” her father said. He slung an arm casually around Madeline, and she leaned in to him.

Danica found herself staring at the ease in which they interacted, like they’d been doing it for years. And, she realized with a start, they had been together since Kaylie was at least three. They’d been together longer than he and her mother had been together.

“Kaylie’s not coming, is she?” Her father’s words fell heavy with disappointment.

“I don’t know, Dad.”

“Would you mind if I talked to her?” Lacy asked.

Danica shot a look at Chaz, who shook his head. “I’m not sure that’s such a great idea.”

“I’ll talk to her,” her father said.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea right now, either,” Danica admitted.

“There’s never going to be a good time for this discussion,” he said. He kissed Madeline’s forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

Madeline grabbed his hand as it slid from her shoulder. “You’re a good man, Don. Don’t you doubt that. Be gentle, but be honest.”

He nodded, lowered his eyes, and walked out the doors.

“You had to go and sic Dad on me?” Kaylie seethed as they rode the jitney bus into town. Every seat was taken, and even though it was early in the day, the smell of perspiration and suntan lotion was already thick. They sat in the rear of the bus, Chaz and Blake in the seats in front of them, and their father, Madeline, and Lacy were forced to sit in the only other available seats, toward the front of the bus.

“Calm down. I didn’t sic him on you. He said he wanted to talk to you. What did he say, anyway?” Danica was glad their father was so far away. She’d be mortified if he heard the venom in Kaylie’s voice, though she couldn’t imagine that she’d gone easy on him out by the pool. When they’d returned, her father looked defeated, as if he’d aged ten years during their ten-minute conversation. Kaylie’s face had been stoic as she’d disappeared into the elevator.

Now she had the same stoic look on her face as she shrugged in response to Danica’s question.

“You won’t tell me?”

“I didn’t listen.” Kaylie turned toward the window, her lips pressed tightly together.

 “You’re such a child sometimes,” Danica said. She tapped Chaz on the shoulder. “Swap seats with me?”

Chaz lifted his mouth into a half smile. “My turn for the silent treatment?”

Danica held on to the sides of the seats as the bus rumbled over the bumpy roads. She slid in next to Blake, and he reached his arm around her. She settled against his chest and closed her eyes and began to count.
One, two, three, four...
There really was something calming about counting to ten.

“Just give her some time,” Blake whispered. “She’ll come around.”

“I know my sister, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.” She turned in her seat and gave Kaylie an icy stare, which Kaylie expertly ignored. She leaned back against Blake and thought about how quickly the day had changed. She’d been so safe and warm with Blake in the hotel room. She’d felt so loved and happy, and that happiness had seemed so easy. But as she mulled over the events of the morning, she realized that she’d brought this on herself. She
should
have told Kaylie about connecting with Lacy sooner, but she also knew how painful that would have been. Once again, she had to get herself out from in between Kaylie and everyone else. How did she keep ending up in this middle place? At least their mother would be there tomorrow.
Oh God. Mom
. If seeing them was this hard for Kaylie, it would be pure torture for their mother.

Awkward didn’t begin to describe their walk through the town shops. Chaz kept his gaze trained on the sidewalk, and Danica felt like she was walking a tightrope between Kaylie and their father. Only Blake and Lacy tried to pull the others into their attempts at light banter, and even those fell on deaf ears. Tension had sealed everyone’s lips, resulting in an uncomfortable silence. Danica desperately wanted to get her father alone to hear what had transpired with Kaylie, but every time she hung back, Kaylie dragged her off in another direction. Finally, while Kaylie texted their mother about the kids, Danica was able to corner him outside of a souvenir shop.

“Dad, how did things go with Kaylie?”

He shook his head.

“Oh no, that bad?”

He turned to her with hurt in his eyes, and it was a look that Danica recalled from the one time she’d ever failed a test. He had that same look of disappointment in his eyes—disappointment in himself, like he had failed as a parent—and it incited the same sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“She wouldn’t even talk to me,” he said.

“You know Kaylie. This will take her a while to navigate, but give her time. Don’t give up on her.”

“Give up on her?” Her father took her arm and guided her farther away from the others. “Danica, I would never give up on her, or on you. Is that what you think of me? That I gave up on you?”

“Dad, no. That’s not what I meant.”
Is it?
No sooner had she gotten the words out of her mouth than she knew the damage had already been done. Her father was already walking away, his head hung low, his thin shoulders curled forward. In his dress pants and short-sleeved button-down shirt, he looked much older than his fifty-eight years. And that, even more than the disappointment, tugged at Danica’s heart. Time was slipping by like sand whisked away in the wind; each year they missed seeing each other was another year lost.

Her father disappeared into the back of the shop and Kaylie came into view. She felt Blake sidle up to her.

“Sweetness, I saw a little alcove over there that we can slip into for a quick make-out session.” Blake’s eyes were lit with mischief.

She was too busy watching Kaylie stalk Lacy to respond.