“I’m going to check out her story first, make sure she’s not trying to take advantage of you. Then if she’s being honest, I’ll give her some money to help with her mother’s care.”
“Thank you. I know you don’t have to.”
“If she’s really your half-sister, she’s family. And it’s just money. It’s not like we don’t have enough of it.”
She nodded, but she knew the truth. The money was Sterling money, not hers. She knew better than to rely on anyone. It’d been drilled into her since she’d been old enough to understand what her mother was saying—if she didn’t earn it herself, it wasn’t hers.
Before she lost her nerve, she texted her brothers about getting together to talk. She emphasized how important it was, to ensure Dane would come. Her oldest brother had the annoying habit of avoiding family gatherings. She’d also let them know it was just them, no parents. That might encourage her oldest brother to show up.
“Do you mind entertaining yourself for a bit while I go over to Mom’s?” Vanessa said. She needed to talk
to Ceinlys.
Justin gave her his rental keys. “Take this.”
“Thanks.” She kissed him. “I’ll try not to ask you to come pick me up this time.”
“No, you should call me if there’s any problem. That’s what being married means—taking care of each other.”
She nodded with a small smile. It was sweet that her husband believed it, but experience had taught her that marriage had nothing to do with taking care of each other.
* * *
Vanessa slowed down outside her mother’s condo, looking for a parking spot. She found one not too far from her mother’s Mercedes and sighed with relief. Don’t know why I didn’t call first. Ceinlys was busy, with a calendar full of social obligations.
Her mother buzzed her in, and soon Vanessa was standing in the living room.
“If I’d known you were coming, I might have bought some orange juice. Nothing else calmed my stomach,” Ceinlys said. She was dressed casually in a slim black and white cotton dress that went down to mid-shin. “I only have water, milk…a little wine.”
“Water’s fine. Sorry to drop in like this, but it’s important,” Vanessa said, sitting down.
Ceinlys brought out a glass. “What could be more important than your secret marriage?”
Vanessa’s face grew warm at the reminder of her elopement. In a way, she could see how her mother might be just a teeny bit peeved about not being able to have a grand wedding for her only daughter. On the other hand, would her father have been okay with it? She wasn’t even his. “Why didn’t you tell me I wasn’t Dad’s?”
The smile on her mother’s face didn’t change, but her eyes shuttered. “What are you talking about?” she asked, her diction a tad too precise.
“Dad had a vasectomy after Shane was born.”
A small spot on her mother’s cheekbone twitched. “You must be mistaken. Of course he did nothing of the sort.”
“There’s no mistake. My step-sister came to see me.”
“Your step-sister? Vane—”
“Peggy Teeter. From Provo.”
“Oh, her.” Ceinlys’s mouth set in a stubborn line. Vanessa knew that look. Her mother wasn’t even going to entertain the idea. “The woman is an extortionist. She approached me first, asking for money. When I told her no, she said I owed her and that she’d get what she was due no matter what it took. If she approaches you again, call the police.”
Vanessa shook her head. “I thought she was another one of Dad’s, so I went over to confront him.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have.”
“Why not? It was important to me. That’s when he told me I wasn’t his daughter.”
Ceinlys closed her eyes. “I told that boy never to mention my name.”
“Who was he? What was he like?”