“I couldn’t have it both ways. You both worshipped him.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘worship,’?” Liz replied. “He was clearly flawed. We just accepted it. What other choice was there?”
“Cut out and cut ties, apparently,” Kasey said. “Cat, I can’t believe you thought you had to keep that all to yourself.”
“It must have been awful.” Liz’s voice was so kind, I felt a lump rise in my own throat.
“I can’t believe you both knew,” my mom said.
“Well, it’s not my favorite memory,” Kasey conceded. “But it’s just part of this place. Like the house. And the hurricanes.”
Liz added, “A broken elbow from climbing out the window.”
“Mom dying.” A beat. Then Kasey added, “Marshall dying.”
“The sale. Your illness. And now the wedding.” Liz paused. “It has to all be mixed up together. There’s no other way.”
In the silence that followed, I realized: Earlier I’d wished I could be there, to support, or at least be present. But what was stopping me? I put my hand on the door, pulling it open.
When I came onto the porch, all three sisters turned. But it was my mom I kept my eyes on as I slid into a chair to join them. First, her face was surprised. Then a bit sad. And finally, nothing but grateful.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The morning of the wedding, the Egg was packed.
“How is it already so busy?” I asked as I picked up an order pad.
“Saturday,” Clark replied, dropping some plates in the window. Clank.
“Wedding guests,” Lana said at the same time. “Eleven and twelve are all talking about the karaoke last night.”
The door sounded. Cardoon was coming in, a mom and three kids trailing behind him. “Best chocolate chip pancakes on the lake,” he said, waving them to open counter seats. “They’ll be with you in a moment.”
“Yo,” Clark said. “What happened to our alert system?”
“Don’t ask me,” Cardoon replied. “I sent the text.”
I looked at Lana. But she hustled off, making a point of not looking at any of us.
Cardoon watched her go, then shook his head. “That girl. Everything was going so well! Not just with the system, either. And now—”
I raised my eyebrows as I filled a water pitcher. “Now?” I prompted him.
“She’s back to saying we’re just seasonal.”
Professionals,I added in my head.
“It’s so stupid.” He sighed. “So I’m not her type. But her type is crap and never ends well. So why not give a shot at something different?”
“Or someone,” I said.
“Exactly.”
“Need bacon,” Clark called out.
“On it,” Ben replied.
Cardoon nodded at the kitchen. “Hey, good news about Sudden Constellation, huh?”
